September 10.

NOTE: I have posted this on FB every September 10 since 2002.

For my parents, it is the day JFK was shot.

My mom was a school teacher at the time and she remembers every detail about that day. What she was wearing, where she was, what she was teaching at the moment the PA system in the elementary school interrupted to tell her that the president had been assassinated.  

JFK was the dawn of a new era in the United States. The first Catholic president, he was young and ambitious, handsome with a pretty wife and two darling children. He inspired hope and dreams, and helped a nation of people who were disillusioned by a war they didn't understand and oppression of their own citizens look toward the future with bright eyes and expectations for a better day. He was the FDR of the 60s. 

Some of you might be thinking that this is a blog comparing JFK to Obama.   It is not, though the similarities have always been and shall continue to be striking, both in the political parallels of our time and that era, as well as between the two men and what they represent to the US, and the world. 

No, this is a blog about those moments in our lives that are unforgettable. The ones that are seared upon our memory like a brand on a bull's behind. A somewhat crude simile, I know, but for me it encapsulates exactly how these events become a part of who we are.

They are unexpected, imposed by someone else and often times painful, leaving a lifelong impression. 

Today is September 10. Which means that tomorrow is September 11. We all know what September 11, means now. But why do I always pause for a think on September 10? 

Well, it's because September 10, 2001, was a completely ordinary day.  Just like today.  I think. 

On September 10, 2001, I returned to port in San Diego, from a 4-day cruise to Mexico that I'd taken with a group of friends. My biggest concern was if I would get through Customs with the six bottles of booze I was bringing back. I made it and flew on back to Park City, UT, unpacked and got ready to go back to work on September 11. 

Traveling was easy. No worries, no TSA, no extra checks at the border, I could carry as much liquid on the plane as I wanted and when I got home, I was met at the gate, past security, because it was one day, less than 24 hours, before you would need a boarding pass to get to the gates at an airport.

Little did I know how fortunate I was to have chosen the four-day cruise instead of the five-day. 

Next morning, I got up and followed my usual routine. Start the coffee, turn on CNN, jump in the shower, get a cup of coffee and sit down on the sofa to catch up on current events for a few minutes before getting ready to go to work. 

On this particular day, however, I never made it to sitting on the sofa. With coffee in hand, I was still standing just behind my sofa when the first plane hit the World Trade Center. 

Leon Harris was commentating on CNN's regular morning show. It was a replay that I saw, and I thought to myself, "Good God, what happened to the pilot of that plane to be so off course? This is a tragedy." 

Our brains have this amazing tendency to fit events of our lives into already existing explanations. So, my brain just figured this was a really bizarre, and tragic plane crash.  As my brain was working all of that out, my eyes glued to the TV which was focused on the destruction that had just taken place, I saw another plane fly into the shot, headed directly for the remaining tower. 

Leon Harris was commentating. I don't know what he said, but I remember the frightened and shocked pitch of his voice as he spoke. 

The plane just kept going.  It never wavered. 

A sharp intake of breath as I realized what was happening. 

And the moment of impact. 

And the horror. 

And the tears. 

Leon Harris commentating. 

Breaking news, a plane crashes somewhere in Pennsylvania.  Let's go to our reporter on the scene. 

Split screen.  Horror on both. 

Breaking news, a plane has crashed into the Pentagon. 

Split screen.  Horror on all three. 

My brain stops.  My friend works at the Pentagon.  In slow motion, my coffee crashes to the floor as I run to the phone to call her. 

In a nightmare.  But I'm awake. 

It's the nightmare where you can't dial the phone to save your life.  But, shit.  I'm awake. 

Busy signals. 

The phone company is sorry, but all lines are busy. 

Beep.  Beep. Beep. 

I keep dialing, and finally the call goes through. 

I get a machine, it's not my friend's voice. 

I've misdialed. 

Crying, I talk to the machine. I tell it that I'm trying to find my friend who works at the Pentagon. I tell it that I know I've dialed a wrong number, and don't know why, but still I am talking to this machine that belongs to a person I have never met.  Finally, I hang up. 

And I sit on the floor and keep dialing until, mercifully, I finally get her cell phone. 

No answer. 

I leave a message.  And I go to work because I simply don't know what else to do. 

The story goes on for me as it does for each of you. Ultimately, she called me and she was fine...had gone to somewhere else that day, thank God. 

And, the woman who owned the machine I talked to called me.

Caller ID.

She called me to see if I'd found my friend, and to see if I was okay.  I never even asked her name.  But I will never forget her, or her compassion for a total stranger. 

So, these are the things about which I think on September 10.

On September 11, I reserve my emotion and energy for the families of the people who died. I send them my love and my compassion as best I can, and I pray that the day will come that September 11, doesn't break their heart all over again. 

Though, I know that day certainly will never come. 

On this September 11, do what you must to honor everyone touched by what happened that day, seven years ago.

And remember that out of each tragedy dawns new love and opportunity for peace and harmony. 

Believe that.  Know that.  Live that. 

May God bless all of us in this troubled world, and guide us all to find our own peace and show us how to spread it across the global community for the greater good of all. 

Peace to you and to all you care for.

#NeverForget