September 11. What do You Remember?

A Hand Touches A Piece of The World Trade Center

9/11 Ten Years Later:


Today marks the ten-year “anniversary” of the terrorist attacks on The U.S. Almost everyone who was older than 5 can recall exactly what they were doing, where they were, and who they were with when they heard, or saw what was happening. Many controversies arise out of even the mention of that day. Opinions, views, and feelings range wider, and sometimes more violently, than even the most heated religious, political, or even race issues.

I have mixed feelings on this “anniversary”, and I am sure I am not the only one who does. Just like on that day back in 2001.

In many ways, I wish everyone would find a positive way to move forward, instead of recreating the suffering over and over. I do not understand why many want to take themselves back to something so horrible. I have this view on anything miserable, not just That Day in 2001. I KNOW the past is what shapes our future. I know events make us what we are today. What I have never understood was the need to constantly revisit, and relive the event. Live the life you are in, grow, and learn from what has passed. Embrace, and even use to make your world better the things that were not good in the past. Perhaps that old saying “Misery Loves Company” would be best re-written as “Misery Loves Miserable Company”. It seems for those that want to be miserable, they always want to surround themselves with others in the same misery. If they feel alone, they want to create a misery for others to join them in theirs. Why would anyone want to live in misery? Why would you not want to move away from those who want to recreate the misery from years ago?

I could not have wished for a better friend to be with, than the one that was with me when this happened. To me, the events of Sept 11, were not just one day, but a whole week. I was on vacation with Aimee’, and her daughter Baillie. Every day of that vacation is, in my mind, connected to 9/11. Aimee’ is one of a few long-time friends I love dearly, and could easily travel with. We were comfortable with each other, and could easily be ourselves. Baillie was, I think, 4 at the time. We loaded up my car, and drove from her place in Washington, to spend a week in Sunny California. We had arranged to spend time with many of her family, and had plans to visit many of the wonderful attractions in the San Jose, and Santa Cruz region. We were enjoying her family, and I was meeting many of them for the first time. We had planned almost every day to spend with different family members, and doing different events and attractions. The first stop was Danielle, and Gabriel’s place in the Santa Cruz Mountains. This was to be our home-base. That day I also met Shawna, Lauryn, and Robyn…some of the most wonderful people! To me, they were not like most people’s family… these I actually enjoyed, and wanted to visit with. And they accepted me, and I even felt welcome, and comfortable around them.

Shawna enjoyed church, and Saturday evening, she timidly invited us to join her at the service the next morning. She had seemingly been rejected by others for this sort of invite. Aimee’ and I were Both really happy to accept the invite. Surprisingly, the next morning, many of her family joined us at church. The service was good, enjoyable, and fulfilling. I enjoyed Shawna’s company, and looked forward to getting to know this wonderful human Aimee’ spoke so highly of. We all made more plans to spend more time in each other’s company. The week’s schedule was full, but there always seemed to be room to squeeze-in a little more!

That was Sunday, the 9th. We headed through the beautiful Santa Cruz Mountains to explore the area. I spent many days in these mountains as a child, and driving through the wonderful California Redwoods, and Cedars was taking to me to a great happy memory-place! On the way back through the mountains, we came across a little place that had carved statues made out of the local trees. It was the home, and workshop of a spirited old man. This was his income, and obviously his love, too! I loved the creativity, and detail This man put into his carvings. I totally fell in love with a carved bear. We left without buying anything on that visit, but we knew we would be back.

The next day, Monday the 10th, we ventured into the heart of San Jose to spend some time with Aimee’s Grandparents. These were her Dad’s parents. The drive over the mountains was slow, winding, and could even make the most solid of people a bit queasy. Shortly after leaving the mountains, and we were on the freeway, we noticed Baillie was extremely quiet in the back seat. About the same time we turned to see why she was so quiet, the smell hit us! She had gotten car-sick, and she was sitting in a pool of vomit… her lap and carseat were filled! It was all we could do to not puke, ourselves. I found an exit, and we pulled-in behind a carwash to take care of Baillie, and the mess. I am sure anyone watching would have thought it was the funniest scene ever! Here, was a poor little scared girl, soaked in her own vomit. Aimee’ and I were both trying not to puke, ourselves, so we were having to take turns attempting to clean up. First, was Baillie: She did not miss an inch of herself. She managed to cover every stitch of clothing, fill her shoes, and it was even in her hair! The only option was to strip her completely. We first attempted to clean her up with the baby-wipes, and a couple towels. That proved to be inadequate. We asked the carwash attendant if there was a hose we could use. He had seen our attempts already, and was quick to provide one. So, here was Baillie, butt-naked, getting hosed-off in a parking lot. We really tried not to laugh, but it was just so funny! We had only planned to spend an afternoon with Aimee’s grandparents, so we did not have much with us in the way of extra clothes. The only thing we had for Baillie was her swimsuit. We took turns cleaning out the car, and dismantling the carseat, hosing off all the parts, and attempting to put it back together. The carwash attendant gave us some more towels to use. We managed to get enough cleaned-out that we could travel the rest of the way. We had to keep the windows all rolled down because of the smell.

Once we were at her Grandparents, we gave Baillie a bath, then we all went to the pool, and relaxed a bit. Afterwards, I finished cleaning out the car, and we laundered all of Baillie’s clothes, her carseat cover, and all the towels. We all went to dinner, and Her Grandparents wanted us to stay the night. We had not planned for this, and had no extra clothes, or bedding. Her grandparents had not seen her in a very long time, and really wanted us to stay. We decided to stay the night. We set-up bedding on the living room floor, and at bedtime, we each wore one of grandpa’s large t-shirts to sleep in. I gathered all of our clothes, and put them in the laundry, so we could have clean clothes for the next day. They had cuckoo clocks. Hundreds of Cuckoo clocks, grandfather clocks, swiss clocks, and any other kind of clock that made funny sounds at varying intervals during the night. We did not sleep very solid, and found ourselves giggling, and grumbling every time one would go off during the night. Finally morning rolled around.

It was Tuesday, Sept 11th. Today, we had planned to meet-up with Shawna, and go to Great America Amusement Park. We were not in a hurry, because the park did not open until 10. I got up first. It was not early, and we had lounged lazily all snuggled in the bedding. We were not eager to get up, because we had not slept much with all those clocks, and it was not often we just lounged, and snuggled. (And Aimee’ was never eager to get up early.) I transferred our clothes to the dryer, and went to shower. Aimee’ and Baillie stayed snuggled in the bedding. It was not very long before Baillie was trying to get me to hurry up and finish showering so we could take her to the amusement park she was excited about. Baillie was excited to get to go on roller coasters, and other rides today, and knew the sooner she got me out of the shower, she could get her mother in, and we could get going. When I got out of the shower, her grandparents had gotten up, and Baillie was having a ball with them, and talking about how much fun it would be at the amusement park. Aimee’ headed to the shower, and I started to gather our things, and get our clothes out of the dryer. While her Grandma was making some breakfast, her Grandpa turned on the TV to watch his morning programs. I was in the laundry room, and heard him grumbling at the TV. I did not pay much attention to what he was grumbling about. Then I saw him flipping channels, and heard bits of the same thing on each channel. I heard “Plane Crashed into The World Trade Center”. He was still grumbling about not being able to find his programs. I asked him to stop for a second. The First Image I saw on the channel he stopped on was a human jumping out of a smoking building that was incredibly tall in New York. I took the remote from him, and just sat watching in wonder, and trying to grasp exactly what I was seeing, and what had EVERY single channel on the same subject. Her Grandpa was still upset about his programs being interrupted, and did not grasp what was being broadcast. Baillie came and sat right next to me, not saying a word. I held her. Grandma stopped making breakfast. Grandpa Grumbled. When Aimee’ came out of the shower, she could tell something was different. She came and sat next to me, not saying a word, we held each other. Then we both looked at each other, and said “We need to pray for whoever Did This!” We both were on the same path at that time in our lives, and we both understood how those who would do such things to others were the ones who really needed God’s Love. We Prayed.

After a while of just watching what was happening, we ate breakfast, and kept watching more of the news. The news made it clear that almost any large event, or place where large amounts of people could gather would be closed. We called Great America to see if they were open. The recording told us they were closed. We had an anxious four year old that we needed to find something positive to fill up the day with. After a while of searching, we found a small amusement park that was indeed open today. This was Happy Hollow. We Called Shawna to make sure she knew our plans had changed. She was not interested in joining us at Happy Hollow, and I did not blame her one bit. We would all see one another later that evening. Driving through San Jose to Happy Hollow was very surreal. I grew up in San Jose, and was very used to the hustle, and crowded streets. Today was different. The Streets were empty. There were a few vehicles, but it felt like the city was vacant. Every office building, every government complex, every industrial facility was empty. The Airplanes were not flying. The airport was still. Occasionally we saw a few other vehicles on the roads. As we went over the freeways, they were empty. Occasionally we saw one or two people out and about. But mostly it was freakishly quiet. We joked about having missed the rapture.



Baillie at Happy Hollow

When we pulled into the parking lot at Happy Hollow, we found only a few other vehicles there. We confirmed at the ticket booth that they were in fact open. Once inside, it hardly felt like a fun, festive, exciting amusement park. There were about two-dozen other people total in the entire park, including the employees. But we knew it would be fairly positive, and a good distraction for Baillie…and as it turned-out, a good distraction for us, too! We managed to enjoy the day, and find positive among what we knew was a horrible day. It was somber, but good at the same time.

That afternoon, we went back to The Santa Cruz Mountains. On the drive back, we saw many angry people with angry, vengeful signs in the windows of their cars, homes, and businesses. We did not find joy in the anger these people showed. Once we were back at Danielle, and Gabrielle’s, I took a nap, and Aimee’ got online. Aimee found a wonderful sign on the computer, and she printed out two copies of it to place in the car windows. It was an American Flag, which filled the whole page, and written in bold print across the entire flag, it said: “WE TRUST in GOD. PRAY”. I seldom ever put any kind of sign in my car windows, But I Eagerly put that one up!

That night, many of her family made plans to gather at a restaurant for dinner. We went also. Shawna rode with us. On the radio, we kept hearing about someone called “Bin Laden” that was responsible for the attacks on The U.S. A small town we drove through was named “Ben Lomden”, and we commented how those people are probably wishing they were not named that right now, because it was so similar to the name broadcast across the news. We passed the redwood carvings again, and I said I wanted to go back before we leave, to get a redwood bear. We all enjoyed a cheerful dinner, and each other’s company.

Much of the plans we had made were changed, or cancelled after Sept 11th. Our plans had changed, but we still managed to fill-up the week with plenty of activities. We explored much of the areas we had each known as children living around here. We found old-familiar stomping grounds, cherished old memories, and found new things to be excited about. We went shopping, (We were on a mission to find a specific pair of Sketcher’s Shoes for Aimee… and we found them, too!) And found fun places to eat (Wienerschnitzel!). The one thing we saw no matter where we went was the anger, and hatred people were showing toward the 9/11 events. When people would notice the sign in our car, they would stop the anger, and actually smile for a moment. We got many thumbs-up, and “Thank you-s” We did what we could to show our trust in God, and show that we knew it was not in our hands. Most of Aimee’s family was in the same path as we were. Share Love, Peace, and caring. Let God take care of the rest. We Did see plenty of Love, and caring, too, but we were always surprised at how much hatred was being shown. After a while, we stopped listening to the news, because it was not positive, and they were looking for reasons to promote anger.


On Friday, the 14th, We headed through the beautiful Santa Cruz Mountains to explore The Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk. I had spent many wonderful days here as a child, and could not wait to finally revisit this wonderful place, now as an adult. We got to The Santa Cruz Boardwalk, only to discover it, too was closed, and It looked and felt deserted. It was hard to tell if it was closed for the season, or closed because of 9/11. A few shops were open, and we walked the entire boardwalk, and enjoyed a few of the places. It was a gray, chilly day, so we could not exactly go play in the sand and surf. We ventured out along the Pier, enjoyed the fresh ocean air, ate some wonderful seafood, and found plenty of joy in the day. We spent a good portion of the day in the area, because We WERE AT A BEACH IN CALIFORNIA! Yippee! We would not waste that opportunity! We enjoyed the shops, food, and atmosphere. Late in the afternoon, the sun came out, but it was still chilly, so we did not go to the water. We even walked The Boardwalk several times, just to enjoy it… even empty, it was delightful!


Aimee' and Baillie at Santa Cruz

We found plenty of joy, and life-giving love in the events , and gatherings of her family. There were many gatherings, some road-trips just to go for a drive, and explore, birthday parties, and just good hanging-out. I had never before met a family of anyone that I actually enjoyed, and I wanted to spend time with. This was the only family I had every found that accepted me, welcomed me, and was comfortable. Saturday was our last day to visit, and relax, and there was a Huge gathering at the clubhouse of Aimee’s Grandma. This was her Mom’s mother, and all the family I had come to love was her Mom’s family, too! There was swimming, barbeque, and plenty of fun, games, and just good socializing. It was early in the day when the event was over, and one of the families invited us to come to their house for the evening. Shawna happily rode with us, and we all went over there for the afternoon. We were planning to head back home on Sunday Morning, so we enjoyed the afternoon and evening with the rest of this part of her family. We purposely took the road that would lead us to the wood-carvings on the way to Danielle and Gabrielle’s that evening. It was already closed for the night. I was disappointed.

Sunday Morning, we loaded the car, and got ready to head home. As we left, Aimee’ suggested we go out of our way so I could get my bear. It was out of our way, and I did not want to delay the trip home for my own desires. Aimee’ insisted. She knew how much that bear would mean to me. We went to the carvings-place. I picked the carved-bear that I loved the most, and inside his little shop, I also found some wonderful jewelry made out of Redwood! I found a Redwood Cross on a chain, that I also got. I also recall that Aimee’ was interested in some Redwood Cross Earrings… but I do not recall if she ever got them.

We drove home that day. When we got to Aimee’s place, it was late in the afternoon. We spent some time sharing the highlights of our trip with her mom, and then it was time to get myself home, and start the normal work week again.

The next Sunday, we attended our own church, after missing two weeks. During that service, The Pastor was talking about unconditional Love, and purposeful prayer. He referenced the events of 9/11, and commented on how he knew everyone was praying on that day. Then he asked the congregation how many people’s first thought was “We need to pray for those who committed these horrible acts”? Aimee’ and I were proud to put our hands up. A few others put their hands up, but the majority of the congregation looked around at each other and asked, “Why would we do that?” “Why would we pray for the people who did this, instead of for the victims?” The Pastor already knew what the response would be, and went on with his pre-planned sermon about “Loving your enemy”.

For quite a while after September 11th, 2001, many Americans embraced friendliness, got to know their neighbors, showed care, concern, and love toward others. It seemed that maybe those fateful days had actually been a wake-up call. It seemed that America might actually attempt to find some common-ground again. It seemed many walls, barriers, and divisions had been abolished. It seemed much of the population was eager to have peace.

Now, Here we are a full ten-years later, and everyone has forgotten to play nice. People find the goofiest things to fight about. Last week, I heard that the “Anniversary” event at Ground-Zero was limited on space, and the Fire-Fighters, and Police were told they could not attend. This caused a huge uproar. Those Fire-Fighters, and Police who had responded to the emergency in 2001 felt they had the right to be there. They were causing fights, and divisions among people to assert their right to be invited, and attend. They were acting like little three-year olds who do not get to play with a toy that another child has.

My question is this: WHY ON EARTH WOULD ANYONE WANT TO BE THERE?? I was in New York in 2005. I was not looking to find, nor even see anything to do with Ground-Zero. I Purposely had not even looked on a map to find out where it was. I wanted nothing to do with such a negative place. I stumbled upon it by accident. I was driving through Manhattan, and I could feel it. (I am tuned to many things most are not, but that is another story all by itself). I was suddenly so overwhelmed by the negative energy engulfing my soul, that I wanted out faster than was possible! (Anyone who has ever been in Manhattan knows traffic is not exactly swift, nor is there a fast route out.) I was engulfed in feelings of hatred, anger, fear, and evil. I could feel the energy of hundreds of angry souls. I could feel the energy of souls that had not found any final peace. I could feel the energy of hateful souls. There was absolutely no reason I would ever step willingly into such an angry, hate-filled place. I believe too many Americans want to keep that hatred alive, and fuel the fire of anger, rather than seek peace, love, and joy. I believe that too many people keep the anger alive, and refuse to use the loss toward something positive, and peaceful that will benefit their fellow human. I believe that when we lose someone, we should do things that the lost person would have wanted, so they can know their work is done, and their souls can be freed, instead of trapped in anger, strife, and disputes. We cannot change what has happened to cause us to lose lives of those we love. Holding onto it, and even fighting over it does not do anyone any good. Being kind, doing positive, and always doing so with the joy of the person we lost always brings good. As long as everyone is fighting over who should and should not be able to attend Ground Zero on any given “anniversary”, there will never be peace. I do not believe there should even be a “formal” event, or commemoration. I believe each person who wishes to recognize the day, should do so in their own way, in a private way, and in a way the lost ones would have wanted. I believe Gathering in the manner of an organized, formal event only further fuels the “Misery Loves Miserable Company”.

I have been in Pennsylvania, and while I was aware of the region where flight 93 went down, I would not purposely go visit that area. I have been in Washington D.C., and also was not seeking to go where the plane hit The Pentagon. When I lived in Virginia, it amazed me to no end, how the people re-enacted the major battles of The Civil War. (Often on the very same spots they had originally happened.) I have known many people who were victims of Hurricane Katrina, and Every year when that “anniversary” comes around, they behave horribly toward their fellow man, and they let everyone know why they are acting that way. They WANT to be miserable, and make others miserable because a calendar says it happens to be the same date as when some horrible event happened in their lives.

This does not make any sense to me. Why do humans wish to be miserable? Why would anyone want to re-invigorate the feelings ANY horrible event created? Why would they NOT want to find happiness, and grow from that pain, and suffering? They choose to keep going back to the horror. They want others to go back with them. I Understand the need to express the feelings of an event, and the need to explore why you have those feelings. Express those feelings, explore those feelings with the purpose of using what you discover to grow, move forward, and help others do the same. Sure, if someone can have a better understanding by hearing your story, Great! Please tell it. But tell it to help others learn, understand, and gain knowledge of what has made our world what it is now. Teach, and tell so that maybe one day people will actually want to stop this hatred on this Planet We Call Earth. Everyone says they want peace. But that is only what they say. If they really wanted peace, they would not fight. If they wanted peace, they would tell their story for the purpose of helping others to learn to not tolerate hatred, or violence of any kind. If they wanted peace, they would not fight about whether or not they got invited to an “anniversary”. If they truly wanted peace, they would take the fact that there was not room for them and say “Thank you. I had hoped to spend time teaching my grandchild about peace. Now I can do that, instead of fueling the fire of anger at Ground Zero.” But they would rather fight, and they want miserable company.

I am not in any way suggesting people forget what happened, or ignore the date. It is part of our history, and part of what makes us who, and what, we are today. We cannot erase, or even change the events that have happened in our lives, but we CAN move forward in a positive, healthy way… If We choose to do so. Or, we can hang onto the past, never move forward, and seek miserable people to be in our miserable company. We DO HAVE A CHOICE.

WHICH PATH DO YOU WISH TO TRAVEL?

Above, I posted a photo of The Bear, and Necklace. It reminds me daily to find hope, move forward, help others, and seek a positive path. It reminds me that “I TRUST IN GOD” and I PRAY. It reminds me that I have struggles, and I can dwell on those, or I can look for something positive. This bear reminds me of all the love, joy, acceptance, and care I found in Aimee’s family, and even though many of those people are not in my daily life, I still cherish the impact they made on my heart. An Impact that could have been destructive, considering the events of the week I met them, but they chose kindness, and love.

Two of my favorite bumper stickers.

September 11, 2001 was not just about the United States. That date will always be important around the globe.

On this date that will forever be on our hearts, souls, and minds, I Hope you can find PEACE, LOVE, and JOY. My Hugs, and Prayers are for you. May you Trust In God. Jon~=:-)