Tuesday 11th Sept 2001

What a difference a day makes

The following helps to put things in perspective

On Monday we emailed jokes
On Tuesday we did not

On Monday we thought that we were secure
On Tuesday we learned better

On Monday we were talking about heroes as being athletes
On Tuesday we relearned who our heroes are

On Monday we were irritated that our rebate checks had not
arrived
On Tuesday we gave money away to people we had never met

On Monday there were people fighting against praying in
schools
On Tuesday you would have been hard pressed to find a
school where someone was not praying

On Monday people argued with their kids about picking up
their room
On Tuesday the same people could not get home fast enough
to hug their kids

On Monday people were upset that they had to wait 6 minutes
in a fast food drive through line
On Tuesday people didn't care about waiting up to 6 hours to
give blood for the dying

On Monday we waved our flags signifying our cultural diversity
On Tuesday we waved only the American flag

On Monday there were people trying to separate each other by
race, sex, color and creed
On Tuesday they were all holding hands

On Monday we were men or women, black or white, old or young,
rich or poor, gay or straight, Christian or non-Christian.
On Tuesday we were Americans

On Monday politicians argued about budget surpluses
On Tuesday grief stricken they sang 'God Bless America'

On Monday the President was going to Florida to read to children
On Tuesday he returned to Washington to protect our children

On Monday we had families
On Tuesday we had orphans

On Monday people went to work as usual
On Tuesday they died

On Monday people were fighting the 10 commandments on
government property
On Tuesday the same people all said 'God help us all' while
thinking, Thou shall not kill'

It is sadly ironic how it takes horrific events to place things into perspective, but it has. The lessons learned this week, the things we have taken for granted, the things that have been forgotten or overlooked, hopefully will never be forgotten again.

Gil