By Jame La Barrie - Skydive Carolina.
Seven years ago, time stood still. Like other moments in history, we remember exactly where we were when we first heard the news..... the unthinkable was happening, we were under attack. Someone, somewhere, with an unknown face created a vast plan while we slept and went about our daily lives innocently wrapped up in things that at the time seemed so important.
The tragedy of September 11th shook the world and awakened us from the stupor of the daily grind. Family and friends we had lost touch with became important once again. Not since the World Wars of a different generation had America felt so united, so together. Personally, I remember passing strangers on the street and making eye contact and having that recognition sink in....an acknowledgment that despite the differences in our lives, the worries remained the same.
Fast forward seven years and amongst all the noise of the media and the talking heads of economy, politics, Hollywood drama....have we forgotten the events of seven years ago and the shocking images of airplanes hitting buildings? Have we become complacent once again and allowed daily rituals and our 'busy-ness' to drift from the important things of life?
Today is September 11th, 2008. The words September 11th or 'Nine - Eleven' will forever ring in our ears as a date of significance, but let us not forget how we felt on that day. How we stopped in our tracks and took stock of what we had, what we knew and how we thought about life and what is important to us. Let us once again remember and reflect what is important. The petty squabbles with our neighbors or friends or people we jump with in our community means nothing. Let's shake each other's hands, offer peace and never forget the lives lost and the families that lost loved ones.
The cause and effect of September 11th is being felt today as more than 4,500 American lives alone - and many of other nationalities - have been lost in today's war in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 120,000 US troops are separated from their families with the most recent surge. The war waging abroad seems so distant. Regardless of your take on the current situation and the opinions behind it, again let us stop for a moment and be thankful that there are thousands of men and women willing to put their lives on the line out of a call of duty to their country... whether they agree with the battle or not. They are there in harsh conditions of a foreign country separated the comforts of family and home so that we may have the privilege of going about our daily routines without the constant worry of bombs dropping around our homes as thousands of others do in countries around the world.
I plead to all who read this post in a small, but close-knit community of skydiving to take a moment and take stock of our freedom and remember how we felt seven years ago.... that sense of community, closeness and what is really important in our lives.
Safe Skies to skydivers around the world!
