Today, on the 7th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the N.Y. Twin Trade Towers and the Pentagon and the field in PA (on the way to the White House), the Pentagon was the first to unveil their 9/11 Memorial. 184 benches were made showing the name of each of the 184 citizens killed in the Pentagon or on American Airlines Flight 77 as it smashed into it. It cost $22 million to build.
Under each of the "benches" is a shallow, glowing light pool. If the bench has the name of one of the 59 people aboard Flight 77, the name can only be read while facing the sky; if it has the name of one of the Pentagon victims, the name faces the Pentagon. Each bench was drapped with a blue cloth which was removed while the victim's name was read out during the ceremony. I would think that was an unbelievable moving, yet sorrowful, moment for the families.
There is also an age wall that begins with the age in inches of the youngest victim preceeding to the age in inches of the oldest victim. Thus, it begins at 3" and ends at a height of 71". Brings tears to your eyes just to think about it. Now add another 2,800+ victims from the Trade Towers.
All that to mention that everyone over 10 years of age remembers what they were doing on 9/11/2001 around 9 a.m. Eastern Time. I know it is still fresh in my mind, hearing the first news report as I drove to the library at 7:45 a.m. my time. I remember watching on a small TV in the boss's office with a friend and crying with her as it was obvious that people were dying.
It's been 7 years since we've been attacked; may it be 7 more and 7 more and 7 more and on and on and on.
Bill and I drove 9 hours to Mentor, Ohio over Labor Day weekend to see the parents and extended family: 2 brothers and their families. Pictured here, on the left, are Carolyn and her dog Cody (a shelter dog - yeah!) and, on the right, Kim and her boyfriend Mark.
That leaves one niece and two nephews to get photos of for another posting which should be by next September when our nephew Greg gets married. The wheel keeps turning. As it should.
My 2 brothers and their wives are the best, hosting us, as usual, to dinner at their houses. The weather was nice so we were able to eat in or out. Keeping up with everyone's activities is always a challenge.
This trip was the first to see Dad since his stroke in Sept., 2007. Also his and mom's first time to see me since my 5 surgeries since July 2007. We each thought the other would look worse than what turned out to be the case. It's nice to be pleasantly surprised.
Families are a blessing, and as Robert Frost so aptly said: "Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in."
And, as Dorothy said (in my favorite movie), "there's no place like home."
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