Take Notice and Pay Tribute

Two Thousand Nine Hundred Seventy-Seven.  That's the number of American lives that were lost during the September 11, 2001 attacks (I refuse to include the 19 hijackers).  Every year around this time we see posts, banners, articles, you name it reminding us to 'Never Forget'.  To never forget what happened on that tragically fateful day.  But why do we only see these things and pay tribute one day a year.  How come it seems as though we are proud to be Americans only a couple of times a year - July 4, September 11, December 7 and every 4 (2) years during the Olympics. Why aren't we proclaiming our American pride 365 days a year?  Truthfully, I don't have an answer for that question. All I know is sometimes it takes something big (good or bad) to make us realize what blessings surround us.  So why wait for something big.  Lets be loud and proud to be Americans everyday because we have men and women fighting for what our founding fathers sacrificed everything for - Freedom.

For many of us fellow Americans we remember September 11 on occasion; usually when there are conversations involving terrorists.  It's not an event that plagues us daily or sometimes even months pass before there is a reminder of the events that occurred that day.  There may have been 2,977 lives lost but there are thousands more who are influenced by those events on a daily basis. The families that had to find the strength to persevere and redefine their lives. The Mothers and Fathers who were tragically turned into single parents in an instant.  The children who were stripped of their childhood and forced to grow up in the course of a couple hours. The turmoil that will forever haunt the memories of those directly affected on a daily basis. I know that EVERY American was affected that day, but those are the ones who are affected everyday.

Don't get me wrong the lives that were lost should always be remembered and the men and women who risked their lives in order to save the people trapped should forever be honored.  However, the families of the people who never came home that day those are the people we should pay tribute to.  Those families are the ones who truly had to pick up the pieces of their lives and reconstruct themselves.

So today I pay homage to the American public that will Never Forget.  I remember the lives that were lost.  I honor the heroes especially our military for serving and protecting our Nation voluntarily. But most of all I pay tribute to the families who, 12 years later, have rediscovered themselves, created a new life and who really don't EVER forget.