September 11: If I knew
Hi, Dr. Bob here.
On September 11, 2001, I went to chapel at Clearwater Christian College, where I have taught since 1996. Like every other Tuesday and Thursday morning that semester, I was prepared for the debate class after chapel.
Little did any of us know what was happening while we were in chapel. As chapel ended, we heard the announcement of the planes flying into the trade towers, and the death and destruction which followed.
I thought of an old friend who worked across the street from the towers years ago, whom I visited before the towers were built. I wzs glad he had moved to another state years before the attack.
I was concerned about friends and family who worked in NYC, and was happy when I learned they had not been harmed.
But thousands of people died; thousands of families have grieved for the last eleven years. I thought of the national grief that was beginning that day, that hour.
Close to tears, I went to class–a small group of communication students studying debate. We didn’t study debate that day; instead we talked, wept and prayed. Quite similar to my September 11 activities every year since, though the initial pain and grief has moderated, but will never go away.
The attack on the USA on 9/11 was our generation’s Pearl Harbor. Our lives and country have never and will never be the same. As my parents lived through Pearl Harbor, we have lived through 9/11. And life has not been the same.
So today I’m celebrating Patriot’s Day. I’m wearing my stars and stripes flag tie and my Sons of the American Revolution pin. I went to chapel. Wept and prayed. And got ready for my next class. And I pray that there will never be another day like 9/11 that America has to go through again.
There’s not a lot that any of us can do. Comfort and encourage those who still mourn. Love and thank God for our country and try to improve it. We can make sure we never forget, and communicate to those who were too young to know what happened to our country on September 11, 2001.
We can let others know the true values that make the United States a great county. That we must fight to keep it free, to defend freedom of speech, freedom of worship–even freedom of the press.
God bless the USA.
Copied from my old friend Dr. Bob Griffin’s website, grif.net.
[Written by a widow of the 9.11 Islamic sneak attack on the US in New York and Washington DC, I thought this fitting to share today. Not humor, nor meant to be. 9.11 will never just be “another” September day.]
IF I KNEW
If I knew it would be the last time that I’d see you fall asleep, I would tuck you in more tightly and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.
If I knew it would be the last time that I see you walk out the door, I would give you a hug and kiss and call you back for just one more.
If I knew it would be the last time I’d hear your voice lift up in praise, I would video tape each action and word, so I could play them back day after day.
If I knew it would be the last time, I could spare an extra minute to stop and say “I love you,” Instead of assuming you would KNOW I do.
If I knew it would be the last time I would be there to share your day, When I was sure you’d have so many, I wouldn’t have just let this one slip away.
Dr. Bob Here 