Rememberance

Being in Hawaii puts me 6 hours behind EST and I was asleep when it happened. We are so far removed from a lot of the country geographically that many events are over when the news finally reaches us.

The day started out as many others have in the past and I got ready for work like I always do. I dropped my wife off at work and went to work at Fort Shafter. I can't remember where I had first heard the news, but I do remember standing in front of the television in my living room in disbelief. I thought I was watching a movie or something being played, not the morning news. That disbelief turned to horror and a sickening feeling as time passed and more of the details were reported.

The images of people trying to find loved ones was especially heart-wrenching as well as all the scenes of people walking out of ground zero covered with soot and grime. I had a profound sense of helplessness as I watched, unable to do anything from so far away. The call for blood donations came in and my wife and I went down at the first opportunity to donate. It was the least we could do for the people on the front lines.

Being contracted to work at Fort Shafter, I remember going in and told that all non-essential and civilian personnel would no longer be allowed on base on a temporary basis while events and details were sorted out. It was like that for a while and for months after it took 30-60 minutes every morning to get on base.

The aftermath is especially memorable because I have never seen Waikiki look as empty as it did in the following days and weeks. It was no surprise that things looked dead as tourism took a complete nosedive... it honestly looked like a ghost town and eeriely quiet. Our local economy rebounded eventually, but it took time and everyone had to pull together to help each other through it.

September 11, 2001 should be remembered by everyone for a variety of reasons, the least of which as the reason why we must remain steadfast.

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." ~ George Santayana

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." ~ Benjamin Franklin

The price of liberty is eternal vigilance ... words spoken by many and have never rung more true.