Do You Remember??

There are some things that, as we look back or talk about, we never forget where we were or what we were doing when you heard or saw it. Being September 11 today, the first thing we're all thinking about is the terrorist attacks that took place 9 years ago. To me, it's all so fresh in my mind and my memory that to say it happened 9 years ago seems unreal.

We were atationed in Bad Aibling, Germany at that time and we had Josiah, who was 10 1/2 months old. I had been out walking around base with him in the stroller while Josh was at work, we had gone shopping for a few things at the commissary and then come back home. I turned on the TV and thought I was watching a movie. It looked interesting so I watched for a few minutes until I realised that it was the news, not a movie. Just then the 2nd plane hit the towers. We sat glued to the TV for awhile watching and wondering just what it meant for us, being overseas and all.

As we walked around base later that day, the hummers, armed guards and guns all started coming out. The base was locked down-nobody could drive on base for a week or two. If you drove off base then you had to park off base and walk back on. They finally opened up the gates with massive inspections once a week to let cars back on (which we needed to do our big shopping trips once a week). After a month or so they set up a big tent and did inspections of every car driving on base for many more months-it may have even been a year or more. It was crazy and even a bit scary for awhile. We had just been home to see family in May that year and had no plans of another trip for another year and a half.

So that's where I was. I was in shock and awe and the world changed as we knew it.
As I ponder these events though, I think of another time and event when I can never forget where I was and what I was doing. On January 28, 1986 I was in elementary school. It was a big day and they were launching a new space shuttle-the Challenger. This time everybody was watching becuse there was a teacher on board and it was a big deal. They had it playing on the big screen in the library of the school. I was the lucky one that got to take our attendance to the office and, as I walked past the TV, I watched a replay of the explosion. All 7 astronauts died that day. It was devistating and so sad

They all had families and I'm sure that those families also remember that day and all that it had in store every year as well. It may not have been a terrorist attack or something that somebody planned as sabotage, but it put the space program back 2 1/2 years while they figured it out and regrouped and then planned and built a new shuttle to be launched.


So today, while my thoughts are on 9/11/2001, I also remember many others who have lost their lives, whether fighting for our country or furthering our knowledge. They are all disasters either way. My thoughts and prayers go out to all who have lost their lives and to their families who grieve for and miss them every day. And, especially, to all our troops who are deployed or will be deploying to go and fight for our freedoms and rights and the families who worry and miss them every day while they're gone.