September 11th 2013

   Today is September 11th 2013. Will anyone of age ever forget where they were on 2001? I was managing my pharmacy in Wilmington, NC about an hour from one of the largest Marine Corps bases on the East coast. I was in the office of the store alone all morning until the pharmacist said, "We just heard something on the radio. You should get the TV out of the back & see what's going on." I grew up with the news telling me that hurricanes were coming & my Mom saying they weren't & they never did so I really didn't believe anything was happening. Nevertheless, I got the TV out & plugged it in at the front register where a group had gathered. We watched the plane hit the 2nd tower.

   Wow. And we watched for the rest of the day. My Grandmother had flown from LAX on the 10th. My mother's cousin worked in the Pentagon. My mom was a school teacher in Jacksonville very near the base. No one knew what would be hit next. There were stories of Camp David, our base. It was terrible. The cell phones wouldn't work. The military was mobilizing. This was happening on American soil? Are you for real? 

   What happened on that day was a true tragedy. I don't think anyone was in any way prepared for what happened. I don't think anyone was to blame either. I'm not a fan of George W. Bush but I reckon he did the best he was capable of. I'm not saying someone couldn't have done better. I'm also not bashing our sitting president. Not for any reason. I don't believe it helps anything at all. I think the best thing we can do is a nation is to not let them win. We keep about our normal lives as best we can & not let them keep us from taking a flight or what have you. 

   The message? Never forget. Never forget how heroic the first responders   were. Never forget how those ordinary citzens took down Flight 93. Never forget how lives were affected. But don't don't place blame on another American. Now is not the time to get into a political debate. No matter what. We were all one on that day & just let us never forget. God Bless America.