September 11…25 Years Later
Every year as this date approaches, I struggle with what to say that I haven’t already said. Yes, I could tell you exactly where I was, and about the numbness I felt for days.
As I reflected on that day and all that I witnessed, two words continued to come to mind: HOME and COMMUNITY.
I know there is strength in the differences between us. I know there is comfort, where we overlap.
Ani DiFranco
On that day and for weeks after, the need to be HOME was strong…and not just our own homes but some SAFE HAVEN.
Our friend was in Houston for a trade show and was headed for the airport when flights were cancelled. He called his son and said to do whatever it took to get him HOME.
The need for connection and community is primal, as fundamental as the need for air, water, and food.
Dean Ornish
A few weeks later, I had to travel from FL to San Diego when the country was under a high terrorist alert. The thought of being all the way across the country from my HOME frightened me. I brought a road atlas and the numbers of every car rental agency programmed into my phone. I knew that if something happened, I was heading HOME.
Community is much more than belonging to something; it’s about doing something together that makes belonging matter.
Brian Solis
COMMUNITIES helped many find a HOME until they could make it home. Remember the shop owners in NY who opened their doors to strangers escaping the debris from the falling buildings?
It was the COMMUNITY in Newfoundland, Canada, Gander International Airport, and the COMMUNITY of Gander.
You can read about it here, but these wonderful people opened their hearts and doors to the people on the 38 flights that were diverted to Gander International Airport. 250 flights were diverted to Canada on that day.
7,000 passengers were stranded in a town of 10,000. Nonessential businesses and schools were closed so residents could volunteer to help.
If I had a wish, it would be that we return to that time when neighbors looked out for their neighbors…strangers offered help whether they knew you or not…COMMUNITIES came together to celebrate and to help each other…and our FLAG flew proudly throughout our neighborhoods.
When those in DC put their differences aside and came together on the steps of our Nation’s Capitol.
A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm.
Henrik Ibsen
In every community, there is work to be done. In every nation, there are wounds to heal. In every heart, there is the power to do it.
Marianne Williamson
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