Valentine Surprise

These beauties arrived on my doorstep today.

Thank you Sweetie!

 

Love you!

xoxoxo

 

 

“Love doesn’t make the world go round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.”

~Franklin P. Jones~

 

 



Where were you...

Where were you 13 years ago today?

It was Monday morning.  I was with friends in our church basement crafting for our fall bazaar.  Pastor John came down and asked me where Terry (hubby) was.  I said he had planned to go to Manhattan the day before, but “changed his mind”.  He would be home that week rather than in New York as usual.  That’s when Pastor John told me that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center.

Shock and disbelief overwhelmed me--if Terry had kept his plan to go to NYC that week, he would have been in his company’s offices in the Trade Center that Monday morning.

Oh, but for the grace of God…

I remember...and I thank God that he “changes minds”.

Let us never forget!

Where were you when the world stopped turning?

 A tribute to those who died on 9/11

Flight 93 Memorial...Ordinary People...Extraordinary Heroes

Sunday, on Mother's Day, hubby and I had planned to take a motorcycle ride--our first of the season.  He suggested we head to Somerset to visit the Flight 93 Memorial.  I was hoping the distance wouldn't be too long for my backside to endure--getting there was one thing, but knowing there was another two-hour stretch to get home is another.  However, I decided to give it a go as I have been wanting to visit the memorial. It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon--a bit chilly on the ride down but still a wonderful day to enjoy the sights of spring bursting forth in God's creation.

It was mid-afternoon when we arrived at the site just outside of Shanksville, PA.  There were quite a few cars and bikes in the parking lot.  As we headed towards the Visitor's Shelter, there was a somber air all around.  No loud voices or laughter--just sober faces contemplating the story this place held.  I think everyone realized that out in front of us, in that open field, was the final resting place for the 33 passengers, 7 crew members and yes, the 4 terrorists, all of whom were on board Flight 93.  

Throughout the plaza at the Visitor's shelter, there are interpretive panels retelling the tale of that unforgettable day for America--photos of the passengers and crew members, as well as photos of the crash site from that day.  In just moments, we were taken back to 9/11/01. 

A park ranger shared an excellent narrative interpretation of the events of that day.  He shared some things we had not previously heard from media reports.  He used stories of two of the passengers and one flight attendant.  Listening to his tale really brought home that these were just ordinary people who somehow found the courage to do an extraordinarily heroic thing that day.

The area of the crash site is vast (to the left of the wall in the above photo).  It is enclosed by a black fence and the Black Wall that borders the walkway leading to the Wall of Names.  

The Wall of Names is placed in line with the flight path of the plane as it approached this rural field. 

There is a large boulder that marks the impact site.  In the above picture, you see it out near the treeline in the middle of the photo.  Below is a zoom view--there are two small American flags in the ground in front of the boulder.

If you look just past the heads of these folks you can see some equipment up on the ridge where the new visitor's center is being constructed.  The ranger shared that back in 2001, that was the site of a scrap metal facility--there were a couple of workers outside that morning as the jet roared just 40 feet over their heads and crashed 300 yards away.

Other details that brought more clarity to the reality of this horrific crash were...Flight 93 struck the ground almost upside down at a speed of between 563-580 miles per hour...had the plane maintained its speed and flight path rather than crashing here, it would have arrived in Washington D.C. in less than 20 minutes, reaching its probable target, the Capitol...when the 7000 gallons of fuel on board exploded, the fireball shot 200 feet in the air, scorching the surrounding earth and damaging the grove of trees...the voice recorder from the cockpit was found 20 feet down in the crater created by the crash...they excavated down to a depth of 40 feet before they no longer found any debris...the largest piece of fuselage found was about 5' by 6'...paper debris was found eight miles away...

"Let's roll."

The above names are the ones that filled the media stories throughout the days and months following 9/11.  However, there was one that I don't recall hearing about that really hit me Sunday--Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas...and her unborn child.  My heart twisted inside me when I read that information beside her photo.  I knew I had to capture her name on the wall...as tears slid down my face for this mother and her child...on Mother's Day...

Looking along the Wall of Names out into the field...the final resting place for those on board Flight 93.

These spaces in the wall hold an array of small tributes...to honor those who rest beyond the wall...to honor their sacrifice and to remember their lives...

If you have the chance to visit the memorial, I encourage you to do so--never forget.

“We will not waver, we will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail.  Peace and freedom will prevail.” President George W. Bush,  October 7 2001

Sunday Sojourn

Wow, talk about grace...