Never Forget

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

Sorry someone had to post a thread today to remember this fateful day.

Theres a blood red circle
On the cold dark ground
And the rain is falling down
The church doors blown open
I can hear the organs song
But the congregations gone

My city of ruins
My city of ruins

Now the sweet veils of mercy
Drift through the evening trees
Young men on the corner
Like scattered leaves
The boarded up windows
The hustlers and thieves
While my brothers down on his knees

My city of ruins
My city of ruins

Come on rise up!
Come on rise up!

Now theres tears on the pillow
Darling where we slept
And you took my heart when you left
Without your sweet kiss
My soul is lost, my friend
Now tell me how do I begin again?

My citys in ruins
My citys in ruins

Now with these hands
I pray lord
With these hands
For the strength lord
With these hands
For the faith lord
With these hands
I pray lord
With these hands
For the strength lord
With these hands
For the faith lord
With these hands

Come on rise up!
Come on rise up!
Rise up

Take time today to hold the ones you love.

[formerlyknownasprince]

. . .

[Milo Christensen]

I'll be giving blood today. I've done so every 9/11 since that fateful day. Seems like it's the least I can do. Along with supporting those who work to make sure it doesn't happen again.

[uncas]

And because I am more pessimistic than most, I am expecting all the politicos to make hay out of the 5th An. of 9/11 for political reasons.
I would rather have 20 minutes of silence to remember those lost ( and those who worked at ground 0 we are still losing due to health reasons ) than a 1 min. speels by all of our politicans.

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

Milo I just gave blood, I had to get the second part of my physical and they had to take blood so I said what the hey let me donate a pint or two. Now I'm off to see if there is a little service at my Church. Odly the same beautyful erely fall day. Bright, crisp just like 5 years ago :(

[Russ Manheimer]

Joe,

This day will indeed live forever. It is now part of our national memory as much as Pearl Harbor, Gettysburg and Lexington.

I took off today and will go work on Sjogin, trying to bring a little joy to my part of the world.

I was there on 9/11, in front of Trinity Church, waiting to jaywalk across Broadway to Wall Street when the first plane hit. The first thing I heard was a loud clang from behind me. It turned out to be a girder from the North Tower that landed next to Saint Nicholas Church.

When I turned around to see what made the sound, assuming it was a construction mishap, I noticed a cloud of what first seemed to be confetti. After debris stared to float to earth I realized that what I saw was the stuff of business. Files, folders, letters, binders and such. A life’s work, blown into the ether. I walked up Broadway and stood in shock watching the North Tower burn when the second plane hit. The absolute horror.

I reached safety and eventually home that evening.

Joe, where you downtown that day? It’s now 8:46, the moment our world changed.

Thanks for starting this.

Russ

[uncas]

Russ
I agree, we won't forget but future generations will not remember. A bit like Pearl Harbor. Those who lived through it will not forget but those who did live through Dec. 7th are becoming fewer in number. Those born after 9/11 will think of it only as a page in our history books.
One has to live through a disaster such as this to remember what it really was like.

Regardless, my thoughts are with those who died and those who are still suffering the consequences of 9/11; the families, the firemen, the EMTs, the police, and the people of NYC and elsewhere who bonded together to help.

[Jeff Benagh]

I was just listening to this as I read your post.

Thanks,

Jeff

[Dave Fleming]

http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL780/3097474/6292566/186437301.jpg

[Osborne Russell]

Along with supporting those who work to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Does that include working against those who are so stupid that if they continue to have their way it will happen again inevitably?

[Phil Heffernan]

So I went out walking this morning at 8:25, after I'd put out my flag from my bedroom window.

I wandered to the nearly (but not quite) finished 9-11 memorial at the Mayors Park...No one there...

I wandered down to the War Memorial on Main St. and saw the flag flying at full mast. Still no one there. Decided that the flag should be flying at half mast on the 5th year anniversary of 9-11.

I'm untying it, by myself, when who comes by, but Joe CSOH. He helps me complete the task.

We stand there at 8:46 until 9:03am...Just me and Joe.

I suppose everyone was in their own private space, somewhere, but I sure would have liked some company this morning...

I going back to the memorial now, to raise it to full mast at sunset...

I'll never forget that day...

PH

[Dave Fleming]

Lest We Forget

[BrianW]

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/notowers.JPG

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

Taken by the janitor on the roof of my office building. I still keep the photos in my desk with the flag I removed from my pole that day.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid79/p3ab29b7667bf94bf5124e712e2178ce6/fb1fc462.jpg

:(

[Ken Hutchins]

We will never forget.

[Ian Marchuk]

Nay , shipmates , not ever.....

[Jeff Benagh]

I've made a point of not posting (or reading much) the bilge since the split. I did, however read it before and up to 9/11.

Today's anniversary made me think a bit about the changes in my life since then. On that day I returned to work from a 2 week vacation with my wife (due in Feb 02) and our 20 month old son. During that morning I tried to concentrate on work and listened to reports over the wall on radios but was somehow drawn to you in between calling home.

I've lived in Boston for 15 years but I grew up in NJ within sight of the WTC. It was completed when I was in 2nd grade. I last visited in 1987 with a German friend and distinctly remember walking across the plaza on a brilliant August day. My dad lived in Manhattan and I spent about 2 days per week in "the city" my entire childhood life. In late July 2001 I was on a business trip about four blocks away, halfway between the WTC and South Street Seaport (you can tell I belong here based on my choice of landmarks ;). On 9/9/2001 my wife (5 year Manhattan resident) & I pointed out the WTC from the NJ turnpike to our son.

On 9/11 I lost several friends, including one close colleague on AA 11, a childhood friend and some friends from our auto racing club on U 93 -- the threads of my life converged in a strange way and people I knew from childhood and people I met throughout my adult life were killed in this terrible tragedy. On 9/15 I attended the funeral of a friend, and the brother of a colleague who I still work with every week.

Later, I learned that my brother's ambulance tried to respond but was directed to evacuate victims brough by ferry in Jersey City (he is now midway through the PA police academy) -- he has still not spoken to me about it. I heard the stories of a close friend's (almost a father) flight from the WTC and his daughter's (virtually a sister) story of arriving for work work at Liberty Plaza. I was cheered by my mom's story of seeing an entire street rise and applaud a NYFD fire company speed off to a call on 9/15. I had a second business trip to Manhattan on 10/10-11 and walked through a vacant, dusty ghost land of lower Manhattan to work 4 blocks from the site and stayed at a hotel filled with FEMA workers. I got to witness the sadness of a New York cabbie (obviously of Middle Eastern decent) obscuring his hack license.

Since then, I had the birth of a wonderful daughter. My wife nearly died but survived. My dad died suddenly. My son & daughter have grown from babies into wonderful little people.

On the other hand, because of you people I have been very happy. I built and launched a boat. We joined a small local yacht club, learned how to race, met a bunch of great boat people, and our kids have really had a great time. I met a bunch of great wooden boat people at WB school in 2004. I've started another boat. My son, now six, who was three during the construction, sailed our Shellback across the lake and back by himself earlier this summer.

I grieve for my missing friends. I grieve for the lost innocence that we will never recover. About an hour ago my son asked why I was so sad. I told him I would tell him tomorrow -- I hope he forgets until he is a little older.

[brian.cunningham]

I would have autocrossed with someone yesterday, but she had the mishap of being on one of the planes. :(

We won't forget.

[Lucky Luke]

Joe,

This day will indeed live forever. It is now part of our national memory as much as Pearl Harbor, Gettysburg and Lexington.
........the moment our world changed.

Russ

Not only of American's memory, but the World's.

Sure, it happened on american ground, and was aimed at America. But it did shock the whole world.

You were there, Ross, right there. I cannot really imagine how astounded you must have been, "the absolute horror" as you say, when the second plane hit .

I was on the parking lot of a supermarket, in France, about to switch-off the radio when I heard thhe information. I stayed there, listening, not really understanding. Something unbelievable, un-understandable, beyond comprehension had happened. The commentator was watching TV, and the tones his voice reflected what he was seeing....

I believe that each one of us still perfectely remembers where he was, what he was doing, the shock.

But by respect for the families, friends, lovers of the victims of that day, I shall not say in this thread what I think of what has been the "response"....