September 11, 2001 ~ September 11, 2003
...souls need soothing, still.

It is difficult to believe it has been two years since September 11th, 2001, or, 9/11 as most of us have come to call it!

At the risk of repeating that which has been stated so many times...on that Tuesday morning, our world, as we had always envisioned it, was to be changed forever.

Personal change was unavoidable, even if only slightly. Initially, however, the impact was both immediate and powerful!

For the first time, in my life time, the entire country was united via a very personal, albeit, most tragic, common ground. This was amazing!

It was remarkable to motor down the interstate, in any part of this country, and experience a feeling of...well...almost, an intimacy, with the person or persons in the next vehicle. I had never felt so close to so many! Additionally, there was a vast amount of heartfelt concern that came over me, towards absolute strangers, that, until 9/11, I would never have even noticed.

Many, may have experienced more subtle effects.

Perhaps we were just a little more Thankful for the many things in our lives which we might have taken for granted...

Maybe, we pondered more about the position which our God holds in our lives.

The value of our Faith...the necessity of keeping it strong, as we weathered the uncontrollable events that happened both to us and around us, may have been considered more at length.

Possibly, we gazed just a moment longer at that beautiful sunrise, or, took a second whiff of those flowers.

Maybe our granddaughter's skin felt a little bit softer; her voice a little sweeter; her hugs could cause our eyes to get misty.

We might have experienced the resurgence of our treasured virtue of Compassion, which may have become dampened by the coolness of our society over the years.

Whatever we have done, needed to be done...as an attempt to cultivate our sense of Peace and Rightness in our world. To begin to forgive, but not to forget.

As one business to another, as one citizen to another, as one person to another; our message it a simple one...

May we each find Grace in the many areas of our lives. If Grace cannot be found, our hope is that we all, at least, find Peace, Compassion and Mercy.

May we all maintain a renewed sense of Marvel in life.

Of course, we would never think of not mentioning those ones who, by complete and utter surprise and shock, were sacrificed for the misguided religious beliefs of a group of total strangers, to whom, they had done no wrong, in order to prove their twisted point. A Barbaric act which, in and of itself, defies every religion of the globe!

Nothing that we can offer could possibly soothe those who lost their husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, uncles, aunts, grandfathers, grandmothers, cousins, nephews, nieces, mates, lovers and friends on that crisp and clear Tuesday morning.

Each one of those Two-thousand-nine-hundred-ninety-eight persons, who are either, deceased, presumed deceased, or still unaccounted for, belonged to someone! Each one of them was the center of, at least, one other person's life!

The magnitude of that wave of sorrow which surged from the epicenter of that heinous act can only be incomprehensible! The aftermath of such to be felt until no one, who remembers, still lives.

Many events, which can be directly linked to 9/11, have transpired since that day.

As a side topic; I was on the ground floor of one incident before I knew what was happening!

Early one morning during one of the first days of October, 2001, I was drinking my tea and reading the online version of the Orlando Sentinel; the newspaper from my home town. Having relocated from there 22 years previous, I like to keep up with the local news of that city.

I came across an article about a man who was suspected of having contracted Anthrax. At the time, no one was certain where he could have come into contact with this disease. The man, however, had been vacationing in North Carolina shortly before its onset.

Research told me that Anthrax, found in the environment, is usually found around livestock that have the disease and, although not directly transmissible, a person could contract it from drinking water that had been contaminated with waste from infected animals.

This immediately sent up a red flag for me! I live in the mountainous region of the western part of the state of North Carolina. Tourism is the livelihood in this area with its Gem Mines and beautiful scenery. There are many farms here that have livestock and only a very small percentage of the town's 4,000 or so residents have treated water. The remainder of residents use well-water.

One does not need to be brilliant to know that water from the multitudes of rivers and streams that we have here, many of these easily accessible to livestock, eventually finds its way into the underground water table.

Finding the email address for the medical reporter who authored the article in the Orlando Sentinel, I posted a message right away to see if there had been any progress regarding the location this man had contracted the disease, and inquiring as to which area of NC he had been visiting.

On October 7, I received a reply from the reporter. She stated that the man had been to Durham, and, also, Charlotte, both of which, are at the other end of the state. She informed me that it was the opinion, of most persons she had spoken with, that he contracted the disease in Florida.

Needless to say, there were great sighs of relief on the home front! On the other hand, we had no idea what was about to take place. The rest, as you know, is history.

As still another September 11th passes, may we all take several moments to consider those who were lost; those whom they left behind; and those who are lost every day in the multiple wars against terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations.

For those of us who still shudder when we hear an airplane overhead; or, get apprehensible when checking our mail; or, are still just trying to make the slightest bit of sense of it all...let us know that none of this is about our God. Who could worship a god who would require such acts be committed against fellow humans in order to prove one's love, loyalty and faith?

_{contributed by: J. Stilwell-Cheek}

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