If you have a notion to add anything here, please feel free to do so!


It's nearly a year gone by now and yet the mental pictures of that day are still fresh in my mind. I've gone through the mourning along with the rest of the world and to this day I am still saddened everytime a memory pops into my head.

At first, on that very day, I was scared. Soon saddness overwhelmed me. It tugged at my heart strings to think of all the people directly involved in this terroristic act. Innocent people! People with futures to look forward to. People watching the coverage with family memers in those buildings and on those airplanes. Firefighters trying to save lives as the buildings crumbled and their families watching it live on national and international television. I cried a tear for every single life lost and for every single person directly involved. I cried a lot that day and the week to follow.

President John F. Kennedy is dead. The space shuttle has exploded. Princess Diana has been killed in a car accident. John F. Kennedy Jr. has died in a plane crash. Do you remember where you were and what you were doing at the time of these news stories? I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing each of these times. And as I listened to the news reports on each of those ocassions I felt totally helpless and I cried. There was nothing more I could do than that. But September 11th was different for me.

Soon, I was angry again! Something was taken from me as well on that day. The freedom I cherished, yet I know I took for granted at times, was stripped from me. I HAD to do something. Me, a nobody, a singular person with no real skills to contribute. But I had to do SOMETHING to try and help. I started a blood drive at work. I sent money to several different funds. I wanted to go volunteer to help dig but when that finally occured to me they were asking folks to stay away till they called for more volunteers. I never got the chance to help in that respect. I needed to do more.

A week had gone by and I still hadn't found anything more I could personally do to help. I was playing around on the computer one day and I stumbled across a site that had a poetry contest on it. I hadn't written poetry since high school but I thought, "The grand prize was $10,000, and stranger things have happened", so I went to the site. A poem just spilled out of me. It took me about five minutes to write. It is short and sweet and here it is.....

The Land Of Freedom

At last, in strength, I feel revived.
The fear I felt has since subsided.
They've challenged us and we stood strong.
They know not what they do is wrong.
We've stood our ground with proven loyality.
A better America this could never be.
That lives were lost and buildings crumbled,
gave strength where fear was to have rumbled.
When told in time, in history books,
The land of freedom could not be shook.

Now, mind you, I didn't have any real hope of this ever even making a head turn. But I sent it to The International Library of Poetry on a whim. Three weeks later I was notified by mail that I was now a semi-finalist in the contest. They needed my permission to print my poem in a book called "Letters from the Soul" and they also needed me to send verification that it was indeed an original poem. This book is now in publication and has a Library of Congress ISBN #. Three weeks later I was notified that my poem was being nararated to a CD. They needed my permission to have a "special narator" read my poem to be recorded to a CD. By now, as you can imagine, I am blown away! This poem took me 5 minutes to write for crying out loud. I was also extended an invitation to The International Poets Convention. They sent me an invitation and ask me to make my reservations for myself and my spouse. I was told poets from around the world would be there. I declined. I am not a poet. I couldn't imagine trying to mingle with some famous and not so famous poets.

Well, anyway, I am still (as of this post) in contention for the grand prize to be announced in the fall of 2002. OMG...that's really soon. And there are other monetary consolation prizes I could win. All the winnings WILL be turned over to the efforts of the 9/11 cause. So keep your fingers crossed folks!

I am rambling...but I need to get this out! I thought of an appropriate song to add....

A few verses from a song done in the 70's by a group called The Brotherhood of Man.....seemed to fit. TY scotz...for finding it for me! *kisses*

United We Stand


For united we stand
Divided we fall
And if our backs should ever be against the wall
We'll be together, together, you and I


And if the world about you falls apart my love
Then I'll still be here
And if the going gets too hard along the way
Just you call, I'll hear

Oh...and one more thing........I found this jpg a while back but I want to post it here........if you all want to post anything, again, please feel free! TY for listening........*hugs*

~We Remember~

Attached Images

freedom in the eye of the beholder.jpg (4.0 KB, 452 views)

__________________
Minds are like parachutes. They only work when they are open.

~Thomas Dewar~