Where were you when...

Today is September 11, 2006. Five short years ago was September 11, 2001. Where were you?

It used to bother me that my generation had a lack of "where were you when?" moments, it doesn't any more. I used to wonder what my moon landing, Pearl Harbor, or Miracle on Ice moment would be. I think I'm done wondering. I don't have a moon landing, but I do have a Challenger explosion and a Columbia reentry. I don't have a Pearl Harbor, but I do have a September 11th. I don't have a Miracle on Ice, but I do have the 2004 World Series. It seems that so many of the moments that are etched into the public conscious are bad, scary or otherwise negative.

I will always remember where I was when the Red Sox FINALLY won the World Series. It was close to midnight, and I was home by myself. Where was Chris? He was in California visiting the family. I had to celebrate by myself, but we were on the phone shortly thereafter. I could go into the fact that the whole experience was a let down because the Cards rolled over and played dead, but I don't think my Grandma MacGregor cared either way. I'm sure that she was in my house yelling and screaming as much as I was!

My memories of Challenger are a little more foggy, given I was only ten. I do remember that I was at school, and I didn't believe my friends when they told me. I will, however, always remember Dan Rather and President Reagan on that day. Columbia has more vivid memories as it occured on Chris and I's first anniversary, February 3, 2003. Columbia has a more ethereal quality because it didn't occur within the range of the TV camera. All the cameras caught was the after effect, of the bits of the shuttle coming back to earth.

Well within the camera range were the events of September 11, 2001. I have almost a minute by minute remebrance of that day. I remember that the evening of Monday, September 10th I'd stayed up a bit later than normal and caught the segment on the TV news about what would be in the papers the next morning; I remember that when I walked into work there was some buzz about a small commuter aircraft having hit the World Trade Center; I remember that my mother called me a 10am at work to tell me she loved me and to say she was very grateful that I had been on a plane the week before and not that day; I remember running up and down the stairs of our building at 131 Main Street in Burlington to watch the news in the company owner's apartment; I remember that our internet was extrememly slow because the main part of the system of our provider was in lower Manhattan; I remember the look on my friend Kate's face when the north tower fell; I remember asking "why today?" like it mattered at all; I remember being angry at one of my authors who called to bug me about flyers that she wanted; I remember worrying about the handful of people who lived and worked in New York; I remember being grateful when I heard from all of them; I remember being glued to CNN for a week; I remember that it was a truly beautiful day in Burlington; I remember the silence outside when I went home; I remember that life went on.

Most of all I remember that unlike the World Series and the space shuttle, which galvanize sports fans and science geeks, September 11th made me both proud and afraid to be an American. I was proud that the nation could pick itself up, dust itself off and go on about its daily life, but I was (and remain) fearful of the arrogance that brings with it. We are a large country and are capable of a lot of good, but we so often act without consideration of the consequences of our actions. We move around the world with a firm commitment that we can stand up to any foe and leave democracy in our wake without the consideration that not every battle deserves to be fought, and that democracy doesn't work in all places. This level of arrogance is what leads to situations like what is happening in the Gulf States of our country. We are so convinced that we can take on any foe that we forget that before we take ON we must take CARE.

As I leave you I'd like to ask you: Where were you when? When your son/daughter took their first step? When you realized that above all your parents are people, just like you? When you knew that you were in love (with someone besides yourself)? When you smiled at a stranger and made their day? When you took the time to care about something outside of yourself, with your whole self.

Later Days.

Dad is much better

I wanted to thank the family, you're support while Dad was ill is much appreciated. He is home and is like a completely different person. I spoke to Mom last night and she shared that he's been weeding the garden like a madman and is over all much happier and much healthier.

On the homefront in Colchester, Chris has been to two different specialists who offer him little to no resolution on his knee. His next step is to contact a specialist in Hartford, Connecticut and to schedule an appoint at a pain clinic here. Does any of this keep him from living his life? Heck, no! He was in Watertown, New York last week broadcasting a Vermont Ice Storm game. I have to admit that normally I don't listen to his broadcasts as I find that I become overly critical of what he's doing (I hear Chris, my husband, not Chris, the broadcaster). This broadcast I did listen to a bit of and he was really good! I'm very proud of the progress he's been making, it's night and day from where he was six months ago. He's currently in negotiations with St. Michael's College to work with them in the basketball and baseball seasons. He'll be broadcasting Middlebury College football games starting in October. I've even heard some rumblings about a few options with the Vermont Lake Monsters. So, in short, he's got is S$%T together for the moment.

Things with me are about the same. I've just returned from a training seminar in Washington, DC. It was actually pretty good. I learned a lot about how I communicate and how that is perceived by others. There was one, um, interesting, person at this seminar, and if the people I met there read this, they'll know who I'm talking about. I just wanted to stick a hot poker up the nose she was looking down. JD suggested a tire iron to the head, but we decided that the prison time probably wasn't worth it. I just hope that she learned as much about her communication style at this event as I did.

Speaking of interesting people...if you're an avid blog reader and podcast subscriber, check out 20somethingmarketing.com. Fabulously funny and insightful!

Later Days!