FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

By Garry Lovette, Senior Editor

Remembering the Heroes of 9/11

by Garry Lovette
Senior Editor

Do you remember where you were and what you were doing on the morning of September 11, 2001? I’ve heard so many different stories from that day that it boggles my mind.

I remember the day well. My day had started off the usual way with prayer, breakfast, and planning for the day ahead. Then we received a very d i s t u r b i n g phone call from my wife’s sister. She told us to turn on the television, that something had crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center. We, like everyone else, assumed that a plane had somehow veered off course or lost control and had crashed into one of the buildings. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that we along with the rest of the world would learn the terrible truth… that terrorism had come to our shores, and that thousands and thousands of innocent men, women and children were probably dead. No one could have predicted that morning that within two hours of the beginning of the work- week that both towers of the World Trade Center would come crashing down. (I believe the final death toll to be 2,967).

There were many miracles that day. Miracles about the people who had never missed a day of work in their lives, but for some reason they missed that day. Or the other miraculous stories of people that missed their flights that day and would have been on one of the four planes that crashed into the towers, the Pentagon and in a Pennsylvania field.

The real miracles that day were the first responders. NYC firefighters, police officers, and other brave medical personnel and ordinary civilians who risked or even gave their lives trying to help and save others. They are my heroes. My family will never forget what they gave that day. (Some gave all). The death toll should have, and would have been much, much higher (some estimates say that 30,000 should have perished) had it not been for these brave men and women who unselfishly put themselves in harm’s way to save tens of thousands.

Say a prayer today for those families of these brave individuals. Pray for our troops as they defend the homeland and try to eradicate the very source of this insanity.

Thank you President Bush, your administration, and all of the individuals around the world who see to it every day that we are as safe as we can possibly be. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are God-given rights. Let us never take them for granted, and let us never forget that fateful day and all the sacrifices that were made for us.

CG