seven years

so. it was a morning just exactly like this- chilly for the am commute, but promising to be a bright, warm and crisp, beautiful early fall day.

around nine or so i lost my internet. I remember being aggravated. then i remember martha telling me that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. I remember calling my mom to tell her to turn on the news. I remember not getting a single shred of work done that day, and feeling on the verge of puking.

I remember that in a blink of an eye, life was different. The world was different. No-one is safe from a sucker punch. A girl can't insulate herself from the sting of the cute by turning her down. A mom can't really prevent her son from making poor decisions. A husband can't really prevent his beloved from dying. But one thing we all sort of forget is that we also can't avoid a sucker punch. As humans, we try to keep our wits, and make contingency plans, and make an effort to keep everything well thought out, so plays from behind are our only weak spot. A play from behind ultimately changed the entire world.

New york is different, The travel industry is different, the entire world is different. That girl and the boy who turned her down; the son and his mom who worries for him; the husband, his beloved. But mostly the families; They are all different. We are all different.

I am.

I don't know that there is anything to be gained from September 11. I like to think at the very least we could see first hand how racism and hatred are catastrophic; the most vitriolic and damaging of all personal values. But I don't know.

Yes i do.
I learned it.

Hatred has no place for me. I will not foster it, and i will not tolerate it with those i hang around with. I sincerely hope others have banished hatred from their being, but i can't be responsible for that. I can lead by example; and i'm going to do so, I started seven years ago, and it's my responsibility and honor to carry on doing so.