CB knew I rarely turned on my TV in the morn. I like the quiet. Gives me time to pause, pray, prep for the day\u2026 even have an added cup of coffee. But this day would be profoundly different. I don\u2019t remember the coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHey, you need to turn on the television. A plane just hit the World Trade Center in New York.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And with that I scrambled to find the remote in between my two young sons\u2019 playthings, turned on the news, and almost immediately saw the second explosion. When Flight 175 crashed into the WTC\u2019s South Tower, I must admit, I couldn\u2019t comprehend what I was actually watching. I mean, maybe like most of us, I knew it was real, but I had only seen such in the cinema, so it didn\u2019t feel <\/em>real\u2026 and yet it was. Shocking and real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was 8 months pregnant with son #3 at the time; no doubt all hormones were heightened, but this was too much to grasp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As is my practice, if watching the news, I will venture from station to station, searching for truth, noting the bias that too often creeps in. But on this September 11, 2001, they were all covering the same thing in the same, shocking way\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Flight 11 took off from Boston, headed for Los Angeles, with 76 passengers, 11 crew members and 5 hijackers on board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Flight 175, referenced above, took off also from Boston, en route to LA, with 51 passengers, 9 crew members and 5 hijackers on board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Flight 77 left from Dulles, outside DC \u2014 they, too, off to LA, with 53 passengers, 6 crew members and 5 hijackers on board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And lastly Flight 93 left from Newark, headed to San Francisco. They had 33 passengers, 7 crew members and 4 hijackers on board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All would perish. All would perish at the manifestation of evil. Let us be clear: this was not a random act of violence. This was a calculated, evil attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The morning continued\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n I remember watching precisely at 9:59 am, when the South Tower, hit second, began to collapse. My previous thought of this series of events being \u201cshocking and real\u201d was only magnified in that moment. Like many, it was unbelievable seeing the fortress fall \u2014 and only in a handful of seconds. To think that something spent years in the making could crumble so quickly\u2026 it was inconceivable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Inconceivable, too, again\u2026 how evil this act was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think of this day often throughout the year \u2014 but especially this week. I think, too, of the dear friends of mine who have birthdays on this day \u2014 so hard\u2026 hard to frolic or host any festivity. And there are so many stories \u2014 so many true tales of honor, courage and sacrifice \u2014 stories that make the evil actually pale in comparison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s the thing about evil; it doesn\u2019t last. And while days like 9\/11 will always be remembered for their prolific tragedy, the truth is that sometimes the evil shocks us into remembering what\u2019s most important\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n As said then by Gen. Colin Powell, \u201cYou can be sure that the American spirit will prevail over this tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And by Sen. Lamar Alexander, \u201cSeptember 11 is one of our worst days but it brought out the best in us. It unified us as a country and showed our charitable instincts and reminded us of what we stood for and stand for.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n And New Yorker Jeff Parness, \u201cWhen Americans lend a hand to one another, nothing is impossible. We\u2019re not about what happened on 9\/11. We\u2019re about what happened on 9\/12.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n May we always be a people who remember the beauty of what happened on 9\/12\u2026 our resilience, perseverance and honor of one another. Such would be wise to each and always remember now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Respectfully\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n AR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" CB knew I rarely turned on my TV in the morn. I like the quiet. Gives me time to pause, pray, prep for the day\u2026 even have an added cup of coffee. But this day would be profoundly different. I don\u2019t remember the coffee. \u201cHey, you need to turn on the television. A plane just … <\/p>\n