Remembering

I was 18 that day working as a legal secretary for an attorney.  He had a TV set up in his office so he could watch the news throughout the day.  He was having issues with our shared calendar so I went in to fix it and figure out what was going on when we first noticed the news story.  Back then, the World Trade Center was in the news quite often, either for bomb scares or something so I just thought it was some sort of bomb scare again.  Then we noticed the smoke coming out of one side when they showed the video.

We watched the news as the second plane flew in and just couldn't believe it.  I sat in his office with the attorney and his daughter watching the morning unfold and more news of other downed planes come through.  It was just heartwrenching.  Being that I worked in the capital of a major state and news got out that they planned to fly planes into each major capital I was scared.

When I finally went home that day no one really knew what had happened and there was lots of speculation.  People were angry, distraught, confused and scared that it would continue.

I visited the site with my husband in 2003.  It was still full of rubble and there were huge gaping holes where the buildings used to stand.  The flag was still hanging at the site. We saw lots of photographs, letters and flowers.  People stood to pay respect and it just brought it all back.

I find it sad that people had to die over disagreements regarding religion, freedom, personal expression, and personal opinions.  It shouldn't be that way.  But for now, it is the world we live in.  I hope each day we all work towards a common good while we rebuild our hearts and country.

I believe in the Religious Society of Friends Call to Peace. 

The Quaker Peace Testimony

We utterly deny all outward wars and strife and fightings with outward weapons, for any end, or under any pretence whatsoever; and this is our testimony to the whole world. The spirit of Christ, by which we are guided, is not changeable, so as once to command us from a thing as evil and again to move unto it; and we do certainly know, and so testify to the world, that the spirit of Christ, which leads us into all Truth, will never move us to fight and war against any man with outward weapons, neither for the kingdom of Christ, nor for the kingdoms of this world.

Declaration of Friends to Charles II, 1660