Never Forget!

Today is September 9, which means that in just two days it will be 9/11 again. A day of remembrance....a day to pause and honor the thousands of men, women and children who died on September 11, 2001 when our country was attacked by terrorists. There have been many, many news articles, commentaries, blogs, books, etc., written about it, and there will be more written this week on the anniversary of the attack.

I'm no one special -- just an ordinary citizen -- and my words will be read by few people. But I believe that in many ways, I stand for the majority of Americans...for the every day citizens who weren't heroes that day, but whose lives were changed forever by the events that took place. And I'm worried because I think so many of us have come to view September 11 as just another day that falls between the 10th and the 12th of the month. How many of us really stop and think about it; stop and remember where we were, what we were doing, how we felt when we saw the images on TV. I guess if you're home on Friday morning or somewhere near a TV, you'll watch one of the morning news shows and see how they remember the day. Maybe you'll catch the evening news or watch a news special Friday night.

What will I be doing? I'll be sitting in a room Friday evening with about 200 other members of Sweet Adelines, learning about singing better and watching some great entertainment. For months, I've been helping to plan this weekend-long event, and it didn't even sink in that we were holding the first day on September 11! In my brain, it was just a date. And yet, I've been to the site of the attack on the Pentagon a number of times. I've taken tour groups to the new memorial to the 189 people who died in that part of the attack. I've visited the site of the Flight 93 crash in Pennsylvania several times. I pass it every time I go to visit my son who lives near Pittsburgh. Why didn't the date register in my head while planning for the weekend?

I think it's because it seems so distant now. It's been 8 years, but it feels like 20. So much has happened since that attack, even within my own family: births, deaths, marriage, divorce, graduations, illness...good and bad. So much water under the bridge. But I -- no, WE -- must never forget that so many young men and women have died in the war that followed September 11 and is still going on today. We have been safe these past 8 years in great part because of the sacrifices they have made!

I'm lucky that I haven't had to send one of my sons into harms way, but I know plenty of others who have. In their honor, I'll spend some special time on Friday just thinking about them and all the other men and women around the world who are fighting to keep me safe. I'll say a prayer for their continued safety and for ours as a Nation. And I'll encourage my friends, family, and everyone I know or run across that day to take a few minutes out of their busy lives and do the same thing. If we don't do that -- if we don't spend time remembering that awful day of September 11, 2001 -- then it is bound to happen again. We can't let that happen!

Never forget....