Photo won't post--sorry!
9-11-06-
In a moment, I'm going to post a comment that I wrote about 9-11 in 2002. But first, I want to speak to the mess we're in, because it's all related. I'm not surprised that President Bush and his cronies aren't taking any of the blame. However, it is clear that we'll be years correcting the damage that they've caused. But wait. There's enough blame to go around--several times. Osama bin Laden has set the Arab people back years in the eyes of the American people. We were just beginning to turn our opinions around and realize that Israel is not always right, and that the Arab people are not always wrong. Now, that door may be shut forever (Although Israel will be on my D list for a long time because of their invasion of Lebanon). And that Hezbollah Nasrallah guy, playing god with his people's lives, is another guy living the Land of Stupid--a country whose borders are right next to the Lebanese President Emile Lahoud's Land of Stupid and Lame. Perhaps the trophy for bumbling goes to the Israelis, whose fiery, shoot from the hip style reaction to Hezbollah's sins has shown their government to be inept and immature. Sharon would never have let this happen--and I'm not the first one to say so.
So here we are. They kill us. We kill them. We can do better. What we need from the world's governments is leadership. Intelligent leadership. Alright, so maybe America is a little short on intelligent leadership right now...you guys start. Maybe we can catch up after the next elections.
God gave us such a beautiful planet and filled it with beautiful people. We need to do a much better job of taking care of both.
Here's the comment-
by Janelle Meraz Hooper
“We done good.” My Hispanic grandmother used to say that after our family had survived its latest crisis. We were a houseful of women. Leaky roofs, plumbing problems, and skunks in the backyard often tested our resolve. I thought of her this morning when I realized that it’s almost September 11th again.
It’s occurred to me that I’ve never been so proud to be an American. That’s really saying something, because coming from a military family, I’ve always been fiercely patriotic. Now that I look back, we done good.
The large-scale recovery that I’ve read about and observed on national television has been impressive. Patriotic books have been written. Songs have been composed. That’s all good. But I’m just as proud of the recovery that I’ve noticed on a small, local scale as I am of what I’ve observed on national television and heard on the radio.
The American Spirit is everywhere. We’ve all noticed the flags flying from porches, mailboxes, and cars. Last week, when I left a parking garage in Tacoma, the attendant took my ticket and handed me an American flag. I didn’t ask her (I wish I had), but I think the money for the flags came out of her own pocket. She done good.
Did you happen to meet my friend Linda after the crisis? Linda, an exemplary artist, found her own way to recover. She handled her grief by sitting and artfully painting a purse-full of wooden hearts in an American flag motif. Then, she glued pins to their backs and hit the road. Everywhere she went, whenever she saw someone who looked like they needed a hug, she’d stop them, put her arms around them, and give them a pin. Yep. I said give. Linda wasn’t out to make a buck. She was out to help heal some grief. She has given out literally hundreds of stars and stripes pins. I’m so proud to know her. She done good.
Our children emptied their piggy banks and sent the cash to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to help the children in Afghanistan. And this wasn’t just a “keep busy” project for our younger generation. Firsthand, I observed the trauma in my six-year-old grandson’s eyes when he saw a man in a white truck with red and blue markings on its side reach into his mailbox and “steal” the money he was sending to our president for the children of Afghanistan. So often, our children amaze me. They done good.
Some of us are just realizing how much we hurt from the bombing in New York. We pushed the grief so far down inside that it has taken years for it to surface. We weren’t ready for more grief. There’s been so much in our lifetimes—Korea, Viet Nam, Desert Storm, and the rest—but we handled it, each in our own way. We done good. If we get more trouble, we’ll handle it too. Out of the rubble—of New York and our hearts—has come a fierce survival instinct and a love of country that runs deeper than the Grand Canyon and wider than the Columbia. “Don’t tread on me!” we warn those who would take our freedom away. And if they decide to try, “Bring it on!” we say. Someday, the history books will have the last word on September 11th. When the next world generation grows up, let them read the record and say, “They done good.” (excerpt from Free Pecan Pie and Other Chick Stories)
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