Thoughts on 9/11

I was as horrified as everyone else when I got up on 9/11 almost 10 years ago and saw the unimaginable events playing out. And as we are coming up to the anniversary of it, I have been thinmking about how it came to be even closer to me than I ever imagined.
You have heard me talk of Jane, my tent mate in Yosemite. She was from New York. As I saw what was going on, I was concerned about her as I know she worked in the area, I did not know if she worked in the towers.  She was not there that day. I sent her an email asking her to just let me know she was ok. She didn't answer for three days. When she was able to get back to me that she was ok I was grateful that the one and only person I knew in New York was safe and sound.   So she will be here to celebrate another milestone birthday in November.
Here I was in California, and across the continent I knew just one person that could be touched by this immense tragedy. How small the world is. And how widespread our lives are these days. We get to know people from all walks of life, and we are able to keep in touch in so many ways. Easier than even 20 years ago. The world is still a big place with many wondorous things in it, and many not so good things but I try to look at all the beauty and good each time I open my eyes.
When I see what people can do to each other like 9/11, then I have to see what the firefighters and the Security people and police did on that day. What made everyday citizens become heroes both outside and inside the twin towers. That makes me feel both proud and humble.
Would I have that kind of courage in the face of such an event? I guess we would only know if it happens to us. We had a group of preteens at the beach here, and one boy was body surfing when he got caught in a rip tide. A 13 year old girl who was in the water helped to save him without thought for her own safety. He was pulled from the water unresponsive and was revived and now has a long recovery but he will recover due to a young girl doing what she could and without thought to her own safety. Courage comes in all forms. Everyday.
When in our travels we have the opportunity to be helpful to our fellow man or woman, or for that matter our fellow animal, I feel we need to push our normal boundaries and find it in ourselves to honor the ones that came before us and give of our selves. That should be the legacy of 9/11. That we have learned that there is no difference in any of us in the middle of a disaster, or emergency, we are all afraid, it is those that step up that are the brave ones.
It doesn't always go the way we plan, but it is always the right thing to do.
I always wanted to go to New York, now that Hurricane Irene has passed, I may have to wait a while, but I am going to plan a trip to visit Jane and see how she really is face to face. I want to see the Big Apple.
Keep moving people!