9-11 Rememberance

By Anthony R. Behr

This is a reprint of an e-mail sent by Tony Behr on the morning of the 10th Anniversary of 9-11:

Maryrose and I had just sent six of our children, ages 7 to 17, safely off to school that morning. Maryrose was making coffee and I was sitting at the kitchen table, watching a strangely odd story on TV about a small plane that had crashed into the World Trade Center.  After quite a while, the helicopter TV camera panned to a very large airplane clearly aiming at the Towers. It was immediately apparent that our country was under attack. I yelled to Maryrose to come watch the TV. We sat there, almost motionless, as the plane crashed into the Tower, changing our lives and our country forever. Within seconds the phone rang. It was Christopher. He had just gone away to college. I said “hello” and he asked “What the hell is going on?”  It was the first time I felt helpless as a parent. We stayed on the phone for what seemed an eternity, me trying to act as a strong parent comforting his oldest child, and he seeking courage and safety. It is a moment I will never forget, both as a parent and as an American.

I realized at that moment that my children would never again have the feeling of safety that I and other Americans had enjoyed for many years as a way of life. The world shrank the moment the first plane hit the Tower. We were no longer safe “way over here,” away from the dangers of “over there.” America was now vulnerable in every way. Think of the ways in which your life has changed since those planes hit the Towers! They are almost too many to count.
 

As I watch the events again and see the faces of those who lost loved ones, it is almost too much to watch. The pain and anguish on their faces and the feeling of loss that comes through the TV appears as strong today as it did ten years ago. Many of us have prayed for them every day since the Towers crashed, but the pain does not appear to have healed. For those of you who pray, please continue to pray with the hope that maybe someday your prayers can help ease another’s loss. For those of you who don’t pray, please find it in your hearts to think of them often, as they need both thoughts and prayers.

As a parent I have held my children even closer to me than on September 10, 2001. I didn’t think it was possible to hold them closer, but it was.  And remember, there is always time to hold those close to you even closer.

As an American I was proud to see our politicians gather together as “one” after the attack. It gave me hope. I am sorry to say I no longer have that hope in our politicians. They seem to have forgotten that we are all Americans. Until they remember that, we will continue to be held hostage by the terrorists and our country will continue to falter. Today we will see everyone coming together to remember a day in our history as important as Pearl Harbor Day. While today is important, tomorrow and the next day and the next day are even more important. Please remember that we are all Americans and unless we come together to act as “One Nation under God,” our children and our children’s children will not know the safe, free and prosperousAmerica that we once enjoyed.

God Bless you. God Bless the victims and their families and God BlessAmerica.