It still makes me sick when I see video of an airliner crash into the WTC. Or when I see one of the buildings crash to the ground.
Also, as I was briefly watching part of the movie “United 93” which aired Sunday night (as I recall), feelings of both sadness and anger welled up inside of me as I watched. I was angry at the actions of the hijackers. I was angry at the ineffectual response of NORAD. I was angry at the ineffectual response of the FAA. I was angry at the ineffectual response of the Air Force. I was angry that CNN had reported that a “light plane” had crashed into the WTC.
I am surprised at how strong my feelings are. They have not ebbed much, if at all, over the last 7 years.
My wife had a strong reaction to the movie, too. She asked me to turn it off.
My husband and I have a double memory on this 9 /11 anniversary. On October 23rd of this year it will be the 25th anniversary of the suicide bombing of the Marine Barracks in Lebanon. My husband was serving with a regular Marine deployment to the Mediterranean that year and the group of ships was off the coast of Lebanon supporting the conflict there. He was woken up as he slept on his ship that Sunday morning by the yells and screams of the injured who had been brought to the deck above to be treated. He was able to help with the wounded that day. I was back home with our oldest son who was 3 yrs at the time in North Carolina (Camp Lejuene) that day (our son has just returned from his second tour in Iraq with the Marines flying the same helicopters his father flew!). I will never forget the unbelievably palpable grief and heaviness over our Marine community for many weeks after. Over the years since we would remark at how amazing it was that the United States had not had a terrorist attack being such an open country that we are. Stationed in the Washington, D.C. area in the late 80’s, we could drive into the city and park right by the Lincoln Memorial or the Capitol Building and walk wherever we liked on a Sunday afternoon. The morning the attack happened in New York we were on a morning neighborhood walk, a neighbor stopped to tell us a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. We continued walking and I asked my husband who is a pilot if that wasn’t highly unusual for a plane to just mistakenly crash like that and we even speculated about it being a possible terrorist just as we had remarked about it over the years. When we returned home to turn on the TV, we of course watched in shock and horror as the events of that day unfolded. So I say let us not forget to be ever vigilant not only for our country and it’s defense, but also to be spiritually vigilant and realistic about what is behind the terrorist threat to our nation and the people’s of the world.
[url=http://www.vulcanhammer.org/?p=996]I reran an old posting (click here) which pondered just how Osama in Laden got to where he did–and how easy it is to get there with the wrong “input.”[/url] Part of that is as follows:
[blockquote]Thinking about engineering students in the 1970’s should make a person think about one in particular. The scion of a successful family, he wandered about his native region as a student, visiting various places of sin on the way (sangria at the Mexican restaurant was about as far as most of us got in that.) At one point, this engineering student had a religious experience that changed his life and catapulted him in a trajectory that ended up crediting him with a well-publicised “engineering†feat: the destruction of two of the world’s tallest buildings. The student, of course, is Osama bin Laden, and the buildings were the World Trade Centre, destroyed on 9/11. The religion is Wahhabi Islam.
Liberals, of course, would be unhappy with both of the courses taken on either end of the oil patch (they weren’t happy with the oil patch either.) But they need to have a serious, collective reality check and come to the understanding that all religion isn’t the same. There’s a significant difference between people who’s most potent political weapons are prayer and the ballot box and those who are willing to kill themselves if they can take enough “infidels†with them. Christianity has, in some ways, been too kind to its mortal enemies. Think, for example, what the result of l’affaire Dreyfus would have been in an Islamic state rather than Catholic-secular France? Dreyfus wouldn’t have made it to Devil’s Island, let alone back.[/blockquote]
When I think of that day it I think of how easily it could have been me. They chose a United flight from Newark to San Francisco. If four days earlier they had chosen a Continental flight from Newark to Oakland it would have been me. I don’t know if I would have been as brave as the heroes of United 93. I’m not sure I want to know.
It’s times like this that Matthew 5:44 very hard to swallow. And I find it remarkable and incredibly challenging that we have the lessons we have coming this Sunday in the RCL.
I remember the beautiful stars that morning as I left my house at 6:00am to drive to see a customer. I remember God saying to me as I got in the car and went to turn on the radio – don’t turn that on, I want to hang out with you and talk to you.
On that 3-1/2 hour drive – 6-9:30- I was remembering scriptures about God’s love and grace, psalm 46 – which starts with an earthquake and ends – be still and know that I am God. God was reminding me of his promises and goodness all of that morning.
Then the turmoil as I heard the news, and the report about the plane going down in PA, 90 miles from home – and later learning that the hijacked plane made it’s U-turn right above my house.
Bad may be bad, but God is Bigger and better – every day in every circumstance.
I am in my late seventies and still blessed with a good memory. It is easy yet to remember when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor we had ~1090 casualties. We got thrown into WWII by this action.
When the terrorists attacked us on 9/11 we had ~3,000 casualties. Other countries have felt the sting of terrorist. Keep going and they might get us mad again.
It still makes me sick when I see video of an airliner crash into the WTC. Or when I see one of the buildings crash to the ground.
Also, as I was briefly watching part of the movie “United 93” which aired Sunday night (as I recall), feelings of both sadness and anger welled up inside of me as I watched. I was angry at the actions of the hijackers. I was angry at the ineffectual response of NORAD. I was angry at the ineffectual response of the FAA. I was angry at the ineffectual response of the Air Force. I was angry that CNN had reported that a “light plane” had crashed into the WTC.
I am surprised at how strong my feelings are. They have not ebbed much, if at all, over the last 7 years.
My wife had a strong reaction to the movie, too. She asked me to turn it off.
My husband and I have a double memory on this 9 /11 anniversary. On October 23rd of this year it will be the 25th anniversary of the suicide bombing of the Marine Barracks in Lebanon. My husband was serving with a regular Marine deployment to the Mediterranean that year and the group of ships was off the coast of Lebanon supporting the conflict there. He was woken up as he slept on his ship that Sunday morning by the yells and screams of the injured who had been brought to the deck above to be treated. He was able to help with the wounded that day. I was back home with our oldest son who was 3 yrs at the time in North Carolina (Camp Lejuene) that day (our son has just returned from his second tour in Iraq with the Marines flying the same helicopters his father flew!). I will never forget the unbelievably palpable grief and heaviness over our Marine community for many weeks after. Over the years since we would remark at how amazing it was that the United States had not had a terrorist attack being such an open country that we are. Stationed in the Washington, D.C. area in the late 80’s, we could drive into the city and park right by the Lincoln Memorial or the Capitol Building and walk wherever we liked on a Sunday afternoon. The morning the attack happened in New York we were on a morning neighborhood walk, a neighbor stopped to tell us a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. We continued walking and I asked my husband who is a pilot if that wasn’t highly unusual for a plane to just mistakenly crash like that and we even speculated about it being a possible terrorist just as we had remarked about it over the years. When we returned home to turn on the TV, we of course watched in shock and horror as the events of that day unfolded. So I say let us not forget to be ever vigilant not only for our country and it’s defense, but also to be spiritually vigilant and realistic about what is behind the terrorist threat to our nation and the people’s of the world.
My thoughts are: a (perhaps slim) majority of America is again asleep and overconfident with our way of life.
My take in our local paper — http://www.newarkadvocate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080911/OPINION02/809110342
[url=http://www.vulcanhammer.org/?p=996]I reran an old posting (click here) which pondered just how Osama in Laden got to where he did–and how easy it is to get there with the wrong “input.”[/url] Part of that is as follows:
[blockquote]Thinking about engineering students in the 1970’s should make a person think about one in particular. The scion of a successful family, he wandered about his native region as a student, visiting various places of sin on the way (sangria at the Mexican restaurant was about as far as most of us got in that.) At one point, this engineering student had a religious experience that changed his life and catapulted him in a trajectory that ended up crediting him with a well-publicised “engineering†feat: the destruction of two of the world’s tallest buildings. The student, of course, is Osama bin Laden, and the buildings were the World Trade Centre, destroyed on 9/11. The religion is Wahhabi Islam.
Liberals, of course, would be unhappy with both of the courses taken on either end of the oil patch (they weren’t happy with the oil patch either.) But they need to have a serious, collective reality check and come to the understanding that all religion isn’t the same. There’s a significant difference between people who’s most potent political weapons are prayer and the ballot box and those who are willing to kill themselves if they can take enough “infidels†with them. Christianity has, in some ways, been too kind to its mortal enemies. Think, for example, what the result of l’affaire Dreyfus would have been in an Islamic state rather than Catholic-secular France? Dreyfus wouldn’t have made it to Devil’s Island, let alone back.[/blockquote]
When I think of that day it I think of how easily it could have been me. They chose a United flight from Newark to San Francisco. If four days earlier they had chosen a Continental flight from Newark to Oakland it would have been me. I don’t know if I would have been as brave as the heroes of United 93. I’m not sure I want to know.
It’s times like this that Matthew 5:44 very hard to swallow. And I find it remarkable and incredibly challenging that we have the lessons we have coming this Sunday in the RCL.
For me, amid the sadness of 911, is the joy of today….for I became a great grandmother for the first time….
[i] Congratulations, Dee. [/i]
I remember the beautiful stars that morning as I left my house at 6:00am to drive to see a customer. I remember God saying to me as I got in the car and went to turn on the radio – don’t turn that on, I want to hang out with you and talk to you.
On that 3-1/2 hour drive – 6-9:30- I was remembering scriptures about God’s love and grace, psalm 46 – which starts with an earthquake and ends – be still and know that I am God. God was reminding me of his promises and goodness all of that morning.
Then the turmoil as I heard the news, and the report about the plane going down in PA, 90 miles from home – and later learning that the hijacked plane made it’s U-turn right above my house.
Bad may be bad, but God is Bigger and better – every day in every circumstance.
I am in my late seventies and still blessed with a good memory. It is easy yet to remember when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor we had ~1090 casualties. We got thrown into WWII by this action.
When the terrorists attacked us on 9/11 we had ~3,000 casualties. Other countries have felt the sting of terrorist. Keep going and they might get us mad again.
There’s an old saying: “Don’t get the Yanks mad at you…..you will regret it!”