Sundays with Steve - We remember

I Remember September 2001

After I attended some business meetings Friday morning at the ornate and lovely Library of Congress, Mrs. Steve and I spent a pleasant weekend in Washington, D.C We’d both done the obvious tourist things on many visits over the years, but we had planned this weekend to be a bit different.

We spent hours exploring the Old Executive Office building, next door to the White House, then more hours thoroughly exploring the grounds around Mount Vernon and neighboring Alexandra. We poked into the national Arboretum, and watched Pres. Bush drive by in a motorcade (but we didn’t wave, too touristy). Mrs. Steve consented to go to a fancy seafood restaurant, even though she generally dislikes seafood. It was a very nice couple of days, relaxed, interesting, and enjoyable. Sunday we caught the afternoon America West flight leaving National Airport, and got lucky enough to be bumped up to first class for the uneventful flight to Phoenix.

We settled back into our routines on Monday, until the world changed forever the follwing morning: We both came in from our morning walk along the canal to find our distraught son Greg yelling from the front door, ‘Come quick, look at the TV, an airplane flew into the World Trade Center!’

And my wife, Mrs. Steve, remembers 9-11 in these words:

Where were you when the world stood still?
In that moment the world became changed
With an imprint of terror
Forged forever in fire
When destruction fell down like fall rain?

Were you drinking your coffee?
Were you driving to work?
Were you holding your babe to your heart?
Were you humming a song?
Were you righting a wrong?
Were you ironing your favorite shirt?

Where were you when the world broke in
disrupting your everyday plans
and disturbing the notion
that safety and peace
were the inalienable rights of all man…

Were you calling your Mother?
Were you taking a bath?
Were you going through the motions of your day?
Were you baking a cake?
Were you planning a break up
and trying to find the right words to say?

Where were you when the message came
That nothing in life is for sure?
And all we get is each moment with no guarantees
of tomorrow, next week or next year…

Are you speaking a kind word?
Are you doing your part
to comfort and never cause pain?
Remember those moments
With your head and your heart
So the terror did not happen in vain…

Remember the message, remember the date
Remember nothing in life is for sure
for all we get is each moment with no guarantees
of tomorrow, next week or next year…


(c) 2010 Stephen J. Matlock
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