September 11- Six Years Later
Last year, I blogged about September 11. As I re-read that blog, my thoughts haven’t changed.
As the defining moment of my generation, people always say, they will never forget where they were on this date.
On 9/11/01, I was heading to a co-worker’s house. We were planning a noon flight from Dayton to Chicago. We were going to mix a little business with a lot of pleasure. We were going to see a couple of Reds games against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Our expense statement would show that customers attended the games, and they were quite hungry and thirsty.
I was driving and listening to the AM news when the first plane hit. I instinctively called my neighbor. Her husband worked and lived in NYC, most of the time. She immediately updated me on what she knew from the news channels. She quickly got off the phone to call her spouse.
When I arrived at my friend’s house, we turned on his TV. Just then, we saw the second plane hit the South Tower. We looked at each other and knew that we were not going anywhere that day. This was prior to the official grounding of all flights.
In a matter of a few hours, history unfolded in front of us. At the time, nobody knew what was the extent and breadth of the attacks. There were many false alarms that day.
About 2 p.m., I slowly made my 80-mile trek home to my family. The hugs went on all night long.
My interest in travel, and work for that matter, were never the same after September 11. To think that 3,000 innocent people were just doing what they did every day, but were irrevocably and mortally caught in the crosshairs of some terrorists was unthinkable. When people say that “Life is Too Short”, they are being glib.
I used to love international travel. I had been to over 25 countries, prior to 9-11. Since then, I have traveled to Canada, once.
I don’t fear for my life by traveling. I hate the inconvenience of flying. I hate the indignity of having to take off my shoes. I hate the fact that I have to be patted down, have been questioned, and have been un-necessarily delayed. Exactly how many blond haired, blue-eyed terrorists have we experienced?
Screw the racial profiling argument. If Nordics were attacking America, I would be the first to get in line to be searched.
With new threats, we now cannot take any liquids, toothpastes, or gels on planes. What will happen when some terrorist want to-be decides to hide liquid explosives in a bra or body cavity? Do we now fly nude or wearing only a paper gown? Are TSA proctologists that far fetched of an idea?
BTW, the technology exists where someone can implant explosives into their body (e.g. calves, pecs, breasts, love handles.)
If someone is intent on a suicidal mission, how do we psychologically screen them? They will not, and cannot be stopped.
Upon further review, when you take my individual non-travel history since 9-11 into consideration, the Terrorists have won.
Here is my 9-11 Solution.
Make September 11th a National Holiday.
Make it a crime for anyone to announce a September 11 Sale. As a matter of principle, CLOSE ALL BUSINESSES, BANKS, and CANCEL MAIL SERVICE. There should be NO COOKOUTS or POOL PARTIES. NO GAME SHOWS, NO SOAP OPERAS, AND DEFINITELY NO REALITY SHOWS on TV. Make all TV stations run 9-11 features and tributes. Make 9-11 the REALITY show for everyone.
David Worley was prophetic in his 2003 song. “Have You Forgotten?”
Make no mistake, we have.
It has only been 6 years since this tragic day. Before General Petraeus could even provide his recommendation to Congress this week, he was assailed by a full-page ad, paid for by moveon.org, calling this PATRIOT “General Betray Us.”
NICE, WITTY, AND CLASSY.
ENOUGH. The terrorists are our enemies, not each other.
Politicians today launch pre-emptive strikes, going against something, just because the other party came up with it.
Democrats said the “Troop Surge” was doomed before it was started. And now they say it was a failure before the results and reports have been released.
NICE, WITTY, AND CLASSY.
I posted a joke about a year ago, it still holds true:
The Pope is visiting Washington, D.C., and President Bush takes him out for an afternoon cruising on the Presidential yacht.
As the defining moment of my generation, people always say, they will never forget where they were on this date.
On 9/11/01, I was heading to a co-worker’s house. We were planning a noon flight from Dayton to Chicago. We were going to mix a little business with a lot of pleasure. We were going to see a couple of Reds games against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Our expense statement would show that customers attended the games, and they were quite hungry and thirsty.
I was driving and listening to the AM news when the first plane hit. I instinctively called my neighbor. Her husband worked and lived in NYC, most of the time. She immediately updated me on what she knew from the news channels. She quickly got off the phone to call her spouse.
When I arrived at my friend’s house, we turned on his TV. Just then, we saw the second plane hit the South Tower. We looked at each other and knew that we were not going anywhere that day. This was prior to the official grounding of all flights.
In a matter of a few hours, history unfolded in front of us. At the time, nobody knew what was the extent and breadth of the attacks. There were many false alarms that day.
About 2 p.m., I slowly made my 80-mile trek home to my family. The hugs went on all night long.
My interest in travel, and work for that matter, were never the same after September 11. To think that 3,000 innocent people were just doing what they did every day, but were irrevocably and mortally caught in the crosshairs of some terrorists was unthinkable. When people say that “Life is Too Short”, they are being glib.
I used to love international travel. I had been to over 25 countries, prior to 9-11. Since then, I have traveled to Canada, once.
I don’t fear for my life by traveling. I hate the inconvenience of flying. I hate the indignity of having to take off my shoes. I hate the fact that I have to be patted down, have been questioned, and have been un-necessarily delayed. Exactly how many blond haired, blue-eyed terrorists have we experienced?
Screw the racial profiling argument. If Nordics were attacking America, I would be the first to get in line to be searched.
With new threats, we now cannot take any liquids, toothpastes, or gels on planes. What will happen when some terrorist want to-be decides to hide liquid explosives in a bra or body cavity? Do we now fly nude or wearing only a paper gown? Are TSA proctologists that far fetched of an idea?
BTW, the technology exists where someone can implant explosives into their body (e.g. calves, pecs, breasts, love handles.)
If someone is intent on a suicidal mission, how do we psychologically screen them? They will not, and cannot be stopped.
Upon further review, when you take my individual non-travel history since 9-11 into consideration, the Terrorists have won.
Here is my 9-11 Solution.
Make September 11th a National Holiday.
Make it a crime for anyone to announce a September 11 Sale. As a matter of principle, CLOSE ALL BUSINESSES, BANKS, and CANCEL MAIL SERVICE. There should be NO COOKOUTS or POOL PARTIES. NO GAME SHOWS, NO SOAP OPERAS, AND DEFINITELY NO REALITY SHOWS on TV. Make all TV stations run 9-11 features and tributes. Make 9-11 the REALITY show for everyone.
David Worley was prophetic in his 2003 song. “Have You Forgotten?”
Make no mistake, we have.
It has only been 6 years since this tragic day. Before General Petraeus could even provide his recommendation to Congress this week, he was assailed by a full-page ad, paid for by moveon.org, calling this PATRIOT “General Betray Us.”
NICE, WITTY, AND CLASSY.
ENOUGH. The terrorists are our enemies, not each other.
Politicians today launch pre-emptive strikes, going against something, just because the other party came up with it.
Democrats said the “Troop Surge” was doomed before it was started. And now they say it was a failure before the results and reports have been released.
NICE, WITTY, AND CLASSY.
I posted a joke about a year ago, it still holds true:
The Pope is visiting Washington, D.C., and President Bush takes him out for an afternoon cruising on the Presidential yacht.
They're admiring the sights when, all of a sudden, the Pope's hat blows off his head and out into the water.Secret Service guys start to launch a boat, but President Bush waves them off, saying, "Wait, wait. I'll take care of this. Don't worry."
Bush then steps off the yacht, walks across the water to the Holy Father's little hat, bends over, picks it up, and then walks back to the yacht and climbs aboard. He hands the hat to the Pope amid stunned silence.
The next morning, the headlines in the New York Times headline reads:"Bush Can't Swim!"
NICE, WITTY, AND CLASSY.
How about we focus on the TRUE ENEMY before they provide us another apparently forgetful reason not to get along?
NICE, WITTY, AND CLASSY.
How about we focus on the TRUE ENEMY before they provide us another apparently forgetful reason not to get along?
posted by J. Jay @ 9:46 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
So true, so true.
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