October-November 2001 Edition

Thoughts From Residents   Veteran Grieves As a veteran, my heart goes out to the people who have been injured and Lost loved ones today.  It's a national disaster of the highest magnitude and has been described as being worse than the Pearl Harbor bombing. Due to the vast injuries suffered across the United States, we implore each and every one of our friends to go to the nearest blood bank and make a donation.  Some people are unable to donate due to personal situations but if you know of family or friends who are able to donate, please pass this message on and let's do our part in this time of crisis. Ed Buckman (New KWVA Chapter 270)   Hug Your Family We will all never be the same! God bless us all!  Before you go to bed this evening, make sure you hug your kids, wife and family and tell them you love them! FFF   Cherish Each Day If we learn nothing else from Tuesday's events, it's that we are never guaranteed a tomorrow and we should live each day to the fullest. Our families and friends should always come first and be held close to the heart. We should cherish each day with them. Life is short, ENJOY IT! Georgia Oliver    God Bless America I, like you, am deeply saddened and shocked by the horrific events that occurred in our country on September 11th.  These terrorist acts have sent shock waves throughout the world, and there is not one person or business that has not been affected. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. Terrorists only win when they freeze, frighten, and prevent the free from pursuing all that is good and fair in the world. God Bless The Leaders Of Our Country, God Bless Us and God Bless America. JBK     Not A Dream I woke up yesterday morning hoping that Tuesday's events were just a horrible and terribly vivid dream, but sadly it was all too real. From the deserted, quiet streets to the sound of fighter jets flying overhead, I know the world as we knew it is gone, and the way we live as Americans has changed forever. I consider myself very lucky not to have been in downtown Manhattan on Tuesday. I've been thinking about how I took my wife and children to the WTC last year because it was the best place to see all of the city of New York. Those structures, which were not only beautiful but an incredibly innovative engineering feat for the time, were a symbol of the strength and power of the city. It's very saddening, and it's only going to become worse as the casualty figures come in and we respond as a nation to this attack. I am still shocked, but I am certain of one thing: We will prevail. We will rebuild the WTC, and we will prevail over the terrorists by showing them that we will never surrender our lives to fear. There is little anyone can say to dull the pain or lift the spirits. Thinking back on the events of Tuesday must be both a personal and communal experience. The question that we must confront together, however, is how to proceed. Israelis often say that terrorism only works if you let it change your lifestyle. They are, of course, right--yet, we have never before faced the terror they face on a regular basis. So how do we react as our hearts and souls fill with concern, worry, shock, and, most of all, fear?  We must face the fear we feel and conquer it. We must memorialize the lives of the accidental heroes so that we do not forget them, and we must continue to live and work and cherish life as much as we can, knowing the pain so many will feel. To do otherwise is to confirm the validity of the terror and to shy from the fear. My mother never let my sister and I leave the house in the morning without a kiss good-bye nor did my father ever leave for work without coming into our rooms and, whether we were awake or asleep, kissing us good-bye. As we walked to school, it was mandatory that as you passed by the windows of our house you turn around and wave back to my mother who always perfectly timed your pass--in between making breakfast and bagging lunches. Yesterday reminded me of those mornings, and why my parents did what they did. Each day presents a set of unknowns; even the simple notion that everyone will be together again at the dinner table is not a given. And that was on my mind yesterday as I began to think about all the people who would not make it home for dinner and the ones who would be waiting in vain for a loved one to return. Keith Brown (on 9/13)   (Pictured above is Keith Brown and his son's soccer team pausing for a moment of silence in tribute to the men and women who lost their lives on Sept 11th.)     Pride I love my country with all of my heart.  I sympathize for the people that have lost loved ones to this horrible event.  I can't help but feel a silent aching pain for all of the lives that have been lost to something so senseless.  I also feel an overwhelming and swelling pride for the way our country has banded together to try and help any of those in need.  Many lives have been taken from us, but the bonds between all Americans have been strengthened infinitely.     I began to lose hope in humanity when this WTC attack began, and then my beautiful country turned around and filled me with a hope and pride that I have not felt, on a national level, since the day I was born.  I always knew that I loved my country and my fellow Americans, but now I truly understand why.     When my son grows up I will not explain to him the carnage and cruelty that engulfed this event, I will tell him of the extraordinary and heroic way that people all over were reacting and responding to this event.  I will tell him how everyone I know, including myself, was crying at home for people that we had never even met.  How each one of us felt this pain for those who were lost, and those who had lost, and how all we wanted to do was wrap our arms around every victim and every helper.  I will tell him that if he wants to truly understand the capacity of love, he should remember that when push came to shove, Americans stood back to back to back and faced the enemy.  And I will probably have tears in my eyes when I explain this to him because this is not a mere memory, it is an experience and an emotion and I am not sure if any one word can describe it.     What is the word for love and pride and support and compassion and hope and adoration and admiration...oh yes.  It is America. Kimi         What Do You Think?: Send an e- mail to editor@fairlawnnews.com or post a message on the Fair Lawn News Discussion Forum.