Your help needed

[Dan_ref]

Around 8:45 this morning I was driving to work when the
news of the attack hit the air. I was traveling south along
the Hudson River and I could see the plume of smoke roughly
30 miles to the south. A short time later the news of a
second attack hit the air. The rest of the morning was
consumed by many frustrating attempts to locate family &
friends by phone, over networks that worked less than 10%
of the time. No one I know got killed, although there were
2 people in downtown NYC; 1 actually made her way out
of building 1, another saw both buildings fall. There are
still a few who I have yet to hear from. Some are firemen,
policemen and emergency services people I know, some of
these are fellow officials. My aunt, a tough 69 year old
New Yorker, works in midtown part time. I tried to call her
when I first heard the news to warn her but she was already
out of the house. I later learned from my mother that she
was aware of the attack when she left for the subway, but
she was damned if anything was going to keep her out of the
city. We have heard from her, she's still stuck somewhere
in midtown. She'll get home, transit strikes & snow storms have given her plenty of practice in making her way out. My
story is by no means unique, many have a much sadder and
horrible versions. Please, sometime this week, arrange to
donate some blood.

[Mark Padgett]

My daughter here in Portland has two friends in NY who may have been affected by the trade center attack. One works in one of the towers, the other across the street. We do not yet know if either one was involved.

The local Red Cross was actually asking people not to come in to donate blood today (Tue) because they were already at capacity. They are asking people to wait until tomorrow or later this week. It was comforting to know our locals responded so quickly and in such numbers.

Kind of makes you put everything in perspective. I had a doctor's appointment this morning and my doctor has two kids who play basketball. I have officiated games involving each of them many times. Usually, we discuss the sport, but this morning, neither of us was in the mood. It was "strictly business".

Perhaps the scariest thought I had was that I was flying cross country last Wednesday and last Friday.

[BktBallRef]

Make no mistake. Years and years from today, you'll still remember where you were and what you were doing when you heard the news. The events of this day are horrendous and will never be forgotten. War has been declared. This is only the beginning of a long, painful period in our history.

Our prayers go out to those who were injured, those who lost their lives, and their families. Our thoughts and best wishes go out to those who are working so hard to rescue those in need. Our respect, admiration, and appreciation go out to those brave men and women who have been, and will be, called upon to protect us from such cowardice and malice.

It's always a moment that I look forward to, the playing of the Star Spangled Banner by one of our local high school bands, on Friday night. No doubt, this Friday night, it will be more special, more emotional and perhaps more difficult, to stand on that sideline, than ever before.

[Dan_ref]

Yes, we are in for some difficult times.

Funny now when I think that I never took my kids to the
top of the twin towers, even after all these years. What's
the rush, it's not like they were going anywhere. Geeze.
The downtown skyline looks empty, we've had a gem stolen
from us right before our eyes. Over 250 firemen estimated
dead, at least 50 cops.

[Brian Watson]

When you say where you were when you heard seems a bit funny now, even though it wasn't. I was in a 9:00 meeting, someone was late and said someone had flown a plane into the WTC. We went on with the meeting not knowing the true gravity of the situation.

My first thought, and those in the meeting with me (except for the person who knew but didn't elaborate) was that it was a cessna or other small sightseeing craft that got too close, disoriented, heart attack, etc. It wasn't until after ten we got out and saw a crowd of about 100 people huddled around the TV in the break area. I got to there right as the first building collapsed. It was still a minute or two before I realized it was an airliner not a small plane, and to realize what really happened. To go from thinking there was an accident to a huge attack in the blink of an eye was pretty dramatic.

It made our meeting seem worthless, and I really cannot tell you much of what went on. There was a reporter who summed it up best last night I think. She had reached down and picked up a ream of the office paper we have all seen falling. It was budget analysis for one client and an insurance anlaysis for another. She said "To think, 24 hours ago, this was pretty important stuff, to someone".

[JAdams]

Yesterday's events sure put things into perspective, don't they? Whiny coaches, your aching feet, time away from your family, irrational fans... they're not very important right now. Please, eveyone, let's pull together, help those who need help, treat others (including minority groups in this country) with empathy, and realize that our little problems in everyday life aren't really problems at all. And mourn for all those who are dead or hurting...

[dblref]

What happened yesterday and continues today is absolutely mind boggling! I had a really chilling thought when I saw the Pentagon damage last night. Up until a year ago, I worked on the E-ring, 1st floor, where the plane hit. One of my neighbors was injured, but will recover. Also, from Jan. to June, my son worked worked on a special project in a building next to one of the towers. We have to remember all of these victims in our prayers.

[Peter Devana]

You people have said it all and everyone in Canada agrees!!! Keep a stiff upper lip and do what you have to do. We are all supporting you and your President.
Pistol

[mick]

This, from a Canadian newspaper, is worth sharing.


America: The Good Neighbor.

Widespread but only partial news coverage was given recently to a remarkable editorial broadcast from Toronto by Gordon Sinclair, a Canadian television commentator. What follows is the full text of his trenchant remarks as printed in the Congressional Record.

"This Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the
Americans as the most generous and possibly the least appreciated people on all the earth.

Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy
were lifted out of the debris of war by the Americans who poured in billions of dollars and forgave other billions in debts. None of these countries is today paying even the interest on its remaining debts to the United States. When France was in danger of collapsing in 1956, it was the
Americans who propped it up, and their reward was to be insulted and swindled on the streets of Paris. I was there. I saw it.

When earthquakes hit distant cities, it is the United States that hurries in to help. This spring, 59 American
communities were flattened by tornadoes. Nobody helped.

The Marshall Plan and the Truman Policy pumped billions of dollars into discouraged countries. Now newspapers in those countries are writing about the
decadent, warmongering Americans. I'd like to see just one of those countries that is gloating over the erosion of the United States dollar build its own airplane.
Does any other country in the world have a plane to equal the Boeing Jumbo Jet, the Lockheed Tri-Star, or the Douglas DC10? If so, why don't they fly them? Why do all the International lines except Russia fly American Planes?
Why does no other land on earth even consider putting a man or woman on the moon?
You talk about Japanese technocracy, and you get radios.
You talk about German technocracy, and you get automobiles. You talk about American technocracy, and you find men on the moon - not once, but several times - and safely home again.
You talk about scandals, and the Americans put theirs right in the store window for everybody to look at. Even their draft-dodgers are not pursued and hounded. They are here on our streets, and most of them, unless they are breaking Canadian laws, are getting American dollars from ma and pa at home to spend here.

When the railways of France, Germany, and India were breaking down through age, it was the Americans who
rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned them an old caboose. Both are still broke.

I can name you 5000 times when the Americans raced to the help of other people in trouble. Can you name me even one time when someone else raced to the Americans in trouble? I don't think there was outside help even during the San Francisco earthquake.

Our neighbors have faced it alone, and I'm one Canadian who
is damned tired of hearing them get kicked around. They will come out of this thing with their flag high. And when they do, they are entitled to thumb their nose at the lands that are gloating over their present troubles. I hope Canada is not one of those."

Stand proud, America!