| Author | Message | ||
     Crusty |
Today is 09/11/2016. 15 years ago, a bunch of barbaric religious nut cases murdered 3,000 innocent Americans. Never forget. | ||
| Pwnzor |
I remember it in vivid detail. It was the first time I had ever heard the name "Bin Laden", and I knew nothing would ever be the same again. I wonder how people would have reacted to Pearl Harbor if there had been 24 hour news in color back then? Watching the video footage is still as surreal today as it was 15 years ago. Sadly, most of America has fallen back to sleep. | ||
| Two_seasons |
RIP to those who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Citizens from 90 countries perished that day! | ||
| Sifo |
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| 86129squids |
We watched the Nicholas Cage film about the event, and the first responders a week or so ago. Very compelling, highly recommended. Today's weather is beautiful... just like 15 years ago. But, we've still got a LOT of work to do. Have a great day my friends, be mindful of the occasion, and be ever so vigilant protecting you and yours. Give thanks to all those who serve, whether in the armed forces or in our civic arenas.  | ||
| Court |
I am sitting here in NYC today and it's amazing how so many folks are still in recovery. I could really do without the photo of the falling people. But, I understand for folks, who only saw it on tv, it's less bothersome. But . . . I am heartened that at least one wonderful thing happened today. http://nypost.com/2016/09/11/sniper-takes-out-isis -executioner-from-a-mile-away/ Go see your virgins •••••••. | ||
| Torquehd |
I agree, Court, the folks falling also struck me wrong. Thank you for sharing that article, that put a smile on my face. | ||
| Pwnzor |
It's a harsh memory. I sat and watched hours of video last night, including the people falling in slow motion having leapt to their certain deaths. | ||
| Griffmeister |
I can never forget that day heading to a job and hearing the sketchy reports on the radio. Still seems more dream than real. Two weeks later four of us went to ground zero to assemble two excavators. It was our second day there when they changed it from a rescue mission to a recovery. That was sad and sobering. Know what's really hard to get my head around? There are kids in high school now that weren't born yet. This is now history to them. | ||
| K12pilot |
I agree w Court also. SAD DAY!!! Never Forget!!! God Bless America!!! | ||
| 86129squids |
"In order to teach, one must offend. In order to learn, one must be offended." No one wants to see someone jump from a skyscraper, but IT HAPPENED. I can't change it, you can't change it. Yeah, harsh, of course, but- so is a lot of medicine. And we're not going to get a spoon of sugar to make it go down. Plagues don't always result from biology- many arise from ideology, and spread faster than fleas. Both require eradication. My eternal respect for those who defend our Nation, and our neighborhoods. Due to medical issues I never had the chance- but my Dad was AF Korea. Tonight at work I got asked again if I'd ever served- I've developed the habit of speech of saying "standby" as I go do the next thing my guests need. It humbles me every time. | ||
| Airbozo |
I guess I am a sadistic person as I don't see that cartoon as harsh enough. In order to remember how horrific event it was, horrific reminders are needed. I gathered yesterday with my In-laws, to remember the day 15 years ago that we sat down for the funeral of my wife's grandfather. We were sitting in the church when the F-I-L's pager went off. Two people in the world had his pager number, his assistant and Scott McNealy, CEO of SUN Microsystems. Embarrassed, he silenced it. It went off again seconds later. Then once again as he got up to leave the room (remember this was his fathers funeral). His mother was visibly upset that the pager had interrupted her husbands funeral and was even more upset that her son got up and left. I will never forget the look on his face when he returned less than a minute later. He was shaken, afraid and there were tears in his eyes. It was obvious that something had happened to him in the seconds he was gone. Something worse than the loss of his father. No one else saw beyond the grief for his father, but my wife and I. We locked eyes with him and we were both overwhelmed by the emotions he had in his heart. We too knew something bad had just happened. Something worse than the loss of the patriarch of their family. As Mass ended, one of the priests stood up and asked for a moment of silence for the victims of a terrible plane crash that just happened and we were all in shock. It felt like there was something else going on. We walked outside shortly after the second plane hit and it was apparent this was no accident. Everyone was in shock. It was surreal watching the smoke come from the towers. I don't remember anyone saying a word as we just stared in amazement at what was going on. Over the next few hours, we went to the funeral home where they would intern the SO's grandfather and held a short quiet ceremony, then drove the distance back to Long Island where her grandmother lived. Not many words were exchanged as we listened to the radio and then watched the TV as they replayed the events including the towers coming down. As surreal as that was, nothing seemed to match the sound of nothing we heard outside. Nothing. No traffic, no planes, nothing. It was as if we were camping in the sierra's it was so quiet. The page my F-I-L received was indeed from Scott asking if he was downtown (more on that in a minute). He also asked if he could get downtown to find out the fate of the SUN employees in one of the towers. We tried for several hours, but there was no way to get there and thankfully we never got close. I have always felt sad for my in laws, because they never got the chance to properly grieve for the SO's grandfather. They never had a chance to sit and share memories and good or bad events. Their grief was also hijacked that day and it still shows in how they deal with this anniversary. I found out this weekend that the funeral was actually supposed to take place on the 10th, but because one of the sisters could not get a flight, it was postponed to the 11th. I also found out that the family was scheduled to be in the 2nd tower the morning of the 11th on a sightseeing trip the F-I-L planned so he could visit SUN's offices. Spooky. Everyone from SUN got out that day. Some were lost for a couple of days due to reporting issues, but they were all eventually accounted for. It took us a week to get flights out of New York. We were contemplating renting a Winnebago to drive across country as there was nothing we could do to get a flight. The phone rang and it was for one of the sisters and she was told she could fly out if she got to the airport within an hour. The next call was for all of us to get to the airport the next day and we could all get out. As the SO and I were standing in the security line (almost a 1/4 mile long), we were approached by a couple of Officers, who grabbed our luggage and asked us to follow them. We were told that we were being singled out because of our race (I look as white as they come) and they moved us to the front of the line, where we got screened and shuffled on-board a flight. We took off an hour later. Nothing like being racially profiled eh? Sadly the SO's family have never been able to properly grieve they way they should have and I can see many issues because of it. The emotions and sense of loss are just as strong now as it was 15 years ago. So the 11th is a harsh day for many reasons in my family. This may be part of the reason I don't feel the cartoon is harsh enough. Events like that should never be watered down and the brutal reality should be felt by all. Sorry if my opinions offend. Suck it up. | ||
| Court |
>>>Sorry if my opinions offend. Suck it up. It's a matter of perspective. You didn't stand there, dodging falling bodies and listening to the sound of them hitting. You saw the few, very few, of the hundreds, that were shown on television. I've sucked it up. I've been shot more times than most people and served as as Expert Marksman in the United States Marine Corps. My best friend is one of the top Snipers from "The Farm". This stuff probably bothers me more than most. But, fact of the matter is . . . . America has been weakened. Ilf the Soviets had flown a fighter jet 30 feel from a Naval combat ship when Reagan was in office . . . if the Koreans has been, with the "banned" Irani scientists present, shooting nukes and if China were essentially invading sovereign territory it'd been an entirely different thing. Shame. | ||
| Airbozo |
When the Soviets buzzed my destroyer, I gave em a sky full of chaff. They stopped. Reagan _was_ president then. I also lost friends on the Stark who could not tell the missile was 10 feet off the water because there was not enough money in the budget to fix their system at that time (AN/SLQ-32). I understand perspective Court and no I was not dodging bodies. (I have in another situation). But the live footage showed much more than was being shown hours later. Someone must have told them to tone it down. I've been grazed by a bullet, but it didn't stick and I'm not allowed to say when or why because someone in the military might get embarrassed. I was also an expert marksman in the Navy, but I only shot paper targets and oil barrels. I just feel that the more we water down these types of events the less impact they will have. Kids these days need to know the horrors of what has shaped our history or like some of the SO's students, they will only feel it was a _minor_ event and have no connection to it. Most of her students have little idea that people were jumping from buildings to escape raging fires, knowing they would fall to their death. Most of them also don't realize that bodies were blown out of the building when the planes impacted (something you could see on the footage). For me it goes back to the statement: "Those that forget history are doomed to repeat it". Again, I am sorry if I offended. And yes I agree, America has become weaker and not just by the actions of the politicians. |
