Remember September 11th

WTC south tower at moment of impact, Sept. 11, 2001

WTC just after impact on south tower, Sept. 11, 2001

WTC towers aflame, with Empire State Building in foreground, Sept. 11, 2001

Bystanders in front of St. Patrick's Catherdral react in horror, Sept. 11, 2001

One of the 2,814 WTC victims falls to his death from the north tower, Sept. 11, 2001

The collapse of the WTC south tower, Sept. 11, 2001

Ground Zero, Sept. 12, 2001

New Jersey view of the Manhattan skyline, Sept. 12, 2001

Brooklyn view of the Manhattan skyline, Sept. 16, 2001

We Must Never Forget !
WTC
Pentagon
Shanksville, PA

Flight 93 National Memorial
Shanksville, PA

(photo courtesy of Tim Minick)

(photo courtesy of Tim Minick)

On Sunday May 26, 2002, the New York Times published a lengthy article titled "Fighting to Live as the Towers Died" . From the introduction of the article:

"They began as calls for help, information, guidance. They quickly turned into soundings of desperation, and anger, and love. Now they are the remembered voices of the men and women who were trapped on the high floors of the twin towers.

"From their last words, a haunting chronicle of the final 102 minutes at the World Trade Center has emerged, built on scores of phone conversations and e-mail and voice messages. These accounts, along with the testimony of the handful of people who escaped, provide the first sweeping views from the floors directly hit by the airplanes and above".

Read the entire article
(note: "The New York Times on the Web" requires you to register)

If you have 45 minutes to invest, you must see this very moving audio-visual presentation that is dedicated to the victims and heros of the September 11th terrorist attacks (7 MB Flash file - requires about 25 minutes to download with a 56 Kbps modem and another 20 minutes to view the presentation).

I received this in an e-mail that is making its way around the globe - the author's name is unknown.

What is an American ?

You probably missed it in the rush of news last week, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American - any American.  So, an Australian dentist wrote the following to let everyone know what an American is, so they would know when they found one.

"An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek.  An American may, also, be Canadian, Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani, or Afghan.  An American may, also, be a Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, or one of the many other tribes known as native Americans.

"An American is Christian, or he or she could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim.  In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan. The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them chooses.

"An American is also free to believe in no religion. For that he will answer only to God, not to the government, nor to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government or for God.

"An American is from the most prosperous land in the history of the world. The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes the God given right of each man and woman to the pursuit of happiness.

"An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need. When Afghanistan was overrun by the Soviet army 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country. As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan.

"Americans welcome the best -  the best products, the best books, the best music, the best food, the best athletes.

"But they also welcome the least.  One national symbol of America, The Statue of Liberty, welcomes "your tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the homeless,  tempest tossed."   These in fact are the people who built America. Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the morning of September 11, earning a better life for their families.

"I've been told that the World Trade Center victims were from at least 30 other countries and cultures with first languages other than English - including those countries of  the 9/11 terrorists.

"So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler tried. So did General Tojo, Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung, and every bloodthirsty tyrant in the history of the world. But, doing so would be futile because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place.  They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American."

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