Words cannot describe the pain, sorrow, desparation, and anger I still feel to this day when I think about 9/11, still 5 years later.   

Today is Patriot's Day...to honor, remember, celebrate, and recognize the men and women that gave their lives helping thousands to get to safety, the individuals who on a daily basis fight for our freedom, and a day to stop, and be humbled that we are here today...living.   

Today is their day..................

I love everyone of you and just wanted you to know...whether it be yesterday, today or tomorrow, it will be forever.   

Humbled,
Stephanie

Amen Steph! Thank you.

I pray we continue to heal and move forward as one nation under God.

   Thanks for the reminder.It's hard to believe that the memory of that day still bring tears to my eyes.We live just a couple hours outside of  NYC.It was just so close to home,and my I remember the unsettled feeling, until my family was all together that day.I couldn't get to 2 of my children because the schools were in Lock Down.My husband was sent home because he works in the state Capital building.My most vivid memory is of the brightest bluest Sept. Sky and the following days of eerie silence in the sky.I agree we need to remmeber all of those who suffered a personal loss that day and never forget them.
Mary Grace

Steph,

Well said.

Today, as it is for many, is an extremely hard day for me. For those who don't know, I live directly across the Hudson River from NYC....about 4 miles north of the World Trade Centers...

September 11, 2001 started out as everyother day. I drove across the George Washington Bridge on my way to work. 45 minutes later, I was sitting in my car (still on my way to the office in Stamford, CT), when my favorite DJ's (WPLJ's Scott and Todd) anounced that a plane had crashed into Tower 1....then a second plane into tower #2. 

By the time I walked into my office, everyone was in the IT office watching the news on internet. I along with my collegues watched the 1st tower fall and then the 2nd....the office was completely silent....only broken several seconds later by the muffled sounds of one of my coworkers crying. His wife Laura worked in the towers. To say the time was somber is an understatement.

Needing to get back across the Hudson before they shut everything down, I left work at noon. Still no word from Laura. I told Steve, WHEN she calls, tell her to get to NJ and I will get to her. Fast forward two hours, I enedup driving the long way home, as the George Washington bridge was already closed. I crossed the Tapanzee Bridge and drove down the Palisades Interstate Parkway. Eventually I had to cross the entrance to the GWBand when I did, there at its entrance was not the usual 1/2 mile back up of traffic trying to get into NYC, rather there were two surface to air military vehicles surrounded by soldiers, which I later found out were air lifted from West Point.

Late that afternoon, I finally received a phone call from Steve. Laura had made it home safely. Due to the wonderful NYC traffic, she never made it to the office. She like many of us, watched the towers fall.

Unfortunately, many of her coworkers did make it into the office, but did not make it home. Although I did not know any of them personally, I still felt the loss. 

Today, I still live in the same apartment, I still have NOT been to ground zero. To me, it is a sacred place that I need not see.

This morning, Scott and Todd, still on the radio, were reflecting on 9/11. Various individuals were calling into the show, telling their story, stories of moms, dads, sisters, brothers, friends, husbands, and wives. This morning, I relived the events of 5 years ago. This morning, I cried....

September 11, 2001...the day I finally realized what my grandmother meant when she said "I can remember what I was wearing, what I was doing and who I was with when Kennedy was assisinated"..... today, she is with me in spirit only...and like her, I can now say "I can remember what I was wearing, what I was doing and who I was with when 9/11 happend".

Today is a special day to remember....it should be a day to say hello to your neighbor, kiss you wife, hug your children, and call a long lost friend.

This is my hello and my hug to each of you,
Greg

9/11



Two thousand one, nine eleven

Three thousand plus arrive in heaven

As they pass through the gate,

Thousands more appear in wait

A bearded man with stovepipe hat

Steps forward saying, "Lets sit, lets chat"



They settle down in seats of clouds

A man named Martin shouts out proud

"I have a dream!" and once he did

The Newcomer said, "Your dream still lives."



Groups of soldiers in blue and gray

Others in khaki, and green then say

"We're from Bull Run, Yorktown, the Maine"

The Newcomer said, "You died not in vain."



From a man on sticks one could hear

"The only thing we have to fear.

The Newcomer said, "We know the rest,

Trust us sir, we've passed that test."



"Courage doesn't hide in caves

You can't bury freedom, in a grave,"

The Newcomers had heard this voice before

A distinct Yankees twang from Hyannisport shores



A silence fell within the mist

Somehow the Newcomer knew that this

Meant time had come for her to say

What was in the hearts of the five thousand plus that day



"Back on Earth, we wrote reports,

Watched our children play in sports

Worked our gardens, sang our songs

Went to church and clipped coupons

We smiled, we laughed, we cried, we fought

Unlike you, great we're not"



The tall man in the stovepipe hat

Stood and said, "Don't talk like that!

Look at your country, look and see

You died for freedom, just like me"



Then, before them all appeared a scene

Of rubbled streets and twisted beams

Death, destruction, smoke and dust

And people working just 'cause they must



Hauling ash, lifting stones,

Knee deep in hell, but not alone

"Look! Blackman, Whiteman, Brownman, Yellowman

Side by side helping their fellow man!"



So said Martin, as he watched the scene

"Even from nightmares, can be born a dream."



Down below three firemen raised

The colors high into ashen haze

The soldiers above had seen it before

On Iwo Jima back in '45

The man on sticks studied everything closely

Then shared his perceptions on what he saw mostly

"I see pain, I see tears,

I see sorrow -- but I don't see fear."



"You left behind husbands and wives

Daughters and sons and so many lives

Are suffering now because of this wrong

But look very closely. You're not really gone.



All of those people, even those who've never met you

All of their lives, they'll never forget you

Don't you see what has happened?

Don't you see what you've done?

You've brought them together, together as one.



With that the man in the stovepipe hat said

"Take my hand," and from there he led

Three thousand plus heroes, Newcomers to heaven

On this day, two thousand one, nine eleven



Author UNKNOWN

When I read all the posting here, I had to include this poem  Like others I was able to relate with my mom on her I rememberwhat I was doing when Kennedy was assinated, also I was able to relate for her distatse of hail to the cheif after the 3 day funnerel and  the "oh my God" footage"  I hope ev1 gets out of this as much as I did  ( I calmly say as I sit here in tears)
Mike
Firefighter/emt

_____________________________________________
Her hair was up in a ponytail; her favorite dress tied with a bow.
Today was “Daddy day” at school, and she couldn’t wait to go.

But her mommy tried to tell her, that she should probably stay home.
Why the kids might not understand, if she went to school alone.

But she was not afraid; she knew just what to say.
What to tell her classmates, why dad wasn’t there today.

Still her mother worried, for her to face this day alone.
And that was why once again, she tried to keep her home.

But the little girl went to school, eager to tell them all.
About a dad she never sees, a dad that never calls.

There were daddies along the back wall, for everyone to meet.
Children were squirming impatiently, anxious in their seats.

One by one the teacher called a student from the class.
Then she called the girl, as seconds slowly passed,
every child in the cass turned to stare.
Each of them was searching, for a man who wasn’t there.

“Where’s her daddy at?” she heard a boy call out.
“She probably doesn’t have one,” another student dared to shout.

And from somewhere near the back, she heard a daddy say,
“Looks like another dead beat dad, too busy to waste his day.”

The words did not offend her, as she smiled up at her mom.
She looked back at her teacher who told her to go on.

And with hands behind her back she slowly began to speak, from
Out of the mouth of a child came words incredibly unique.

“My daddy couldn’t be here, because he lives so far away.
But I know he wishes he could be, since this is a special day.

And though you cannot meet him, I wanted you to know all about
My daddy, and how  he loves me so.

He loved to tell me stories, he taught me  to ride a bike.
He surprised me with pink roses, and taught me
to fly a kite.

We used to share fudge sundaes, and ice cream in a cone. And
Though you cannot see him, I’m not standing here alone.

“Cause my daddy’s always with me, even though we are apart.
I know cause he told me, he’d forever be in my heart.

With that, her little hand reached up, and lay across her chest.
Feeling her own heartbeat beneath her favorite dress.

And from somewhere in the crowd of dads, her mother
Stood in tears. Proudly watching her daughter, who was
Wise beyond her years.

For she stood up for the love of a man not in her life.
Doing what was best for her, doing what was right.

And when she dropped her hand back down, staring straight into the crowd.
She finished with a voice so soft, but it’s message clear and loud.

“I love my daddy very much, he’s my shining star. And if he could be here
He would be here, but heaven is just too far.”

“You see my daddy is a fireman and he died just this past year,
When the airplanes hit the towers and taught Americans to fear.”

“But sometimes when I close my eyes, it’s like he never went away.”
And then she closed her eyes and saw him there that day.

And to her mother’s amazement, she witnessed with surprise.
A room full of daddies and children all starting to close their eyes.

Who knows what they saw before them, who knows what they felt inside.
But perhaps for a mere second they saw him by her side.

“I know you’re with me daddy.” To the silence she called out.
And what happened next made believers of those once filled with doubt.

Not one in that room could explain it, for each of theirs eyes
Had been closed. But there on the desk beside her,
Was a fragrant long-stemmed pink rose.

A child was blessed, if only for a moment by the love
Of her shining star and given the gift of believing
That heaven is never too far.

They say it takes a moment to find a special person,
An hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but an entire
Lifetime to forget them.

Hi all,

Two weekends back, Olga and I decided to go play tourist in lower Manahattan. Well, it took me over 5 years to finally visit ground zero, but I finally broke down and went to the site. As expected, there were several hundred people walking around the construction site, pointing, commenting, and in a few cases staring into the distance and crying. What moved me the most is that is has now been over 5 years and there was still a collection of flowers, teddy bears, pictures and notes still being left at the site.

We also stoped by St. Pauls Chapel. For those who don't know, St Pauls is directly across the street from ground zero. St. Pauls is also the place where the firemen, police, national gaurd, etc...would take breaks and catch a quick nap before returning to ground zero. The church has an amazing remembrance set up that includes some of the original notes, photo's bears that were left at the site the days after 9/11. They even had several scrolls where you could write messages and/or express feelings.

On a different note,  we did not go into NYC for ground zero, rather it was for the historical nature of the area. For those who don't know, Olga recent applied for her citizenship and is studying US history for her citizenship test. I thought what a better way to learn about history....walk in the foot steps of our forefathers....

Now for the historical significance of the area, St. Pauls should be remembered for its other historical importance. For those of you who are history buffs...  General George Washington took mass at this church prior. To further the significance of the area, approximately 6 blocks away, is the Federal Hill building. What is the significance....General George Wasthington took his oathe to become the first US president on the front steps of Federal Hill.....after becoming president, he continued his religeous services at St. Pauls until the capital was moved from NYC to Washington. St. Pauls has his chair on display for all to see.

Yes, this area is full of significant historical events....As I said, is there a better waI thought what a better way to lean about history then walking in the foot steps of our forefathers....

If any of you plan on visiting NYC, please let Olga and I know, we would love to play tour guide.

Shari, the Philly walking tour is next. I'll keep you posted as to when.

Greg