Friday, September 11, 2009

Today, we sailed on...

As I'm sure everyone is aware, today is the eighth anniversary of the terror attacks on September 11. Just like people can tell you where they were when the Challenger blew up or JFK was shot, anyone over the age of 18 can tell you where he or she was that day.

I myself was on the college shuttle back from a 9:30 a.m. American history class. Ironic, eh? That shuttle ride was the only time I can remember our rasta-reggae-loving bus driver did not have Bob Marley jamming on the radio. I remember the silence of my fellow students and the solemnity of the broadcaster's voice. I recall thinking it was some sick joke, like an edition of The Onion gone terribly, terribly wrong.

I distinctly remember looking at my watch at exactly 8:46 a.m. while waiting for the shuttle to class. Shortly after that glance to my wrist, I watched staff pulling a little plastic bus-wagon full of toddlers from the nearby university daycare center down the street and thought it was such a beautiful day and how adorable the children were.

A lot has happened since that day, much of it bad or worse. But as I put in my Facebook status for the day, I am choosing to remember the anniversary with hope rather than sadness.

Today's blog title came from an Examiner article about Christopher Columbus. He wrote that sentence in his diary every day of his voyage to America, to a land only he saw in his dreams (never mind he thought it was India...). The article by Mary Ann Maxwell-Hebbert reminds us nothing truly important is finished in a day, and we should just have courage we're heading in the right direction.

The photo for today's post (from referencelibrary.blogspot.com) is of a photo frame in the style known as "tramp art." Back in the Great Depression, the (mostly) men who criss-crossed the country as hobos created an entire genre of art which originated from their ingenuity and a lack of resources. They took what they had and made the best of it. That is an American ideal - to find hope through daily struggle and "making do."

One 9/11 widow did just that. Cathy Carilli found hope in her own pets after the loss of her husband and now works to make sure others find hope in animals. She founded The Tower of Hope in 2006 to train service animals for disabled veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Finally, on a much lighter note, Newsday recently posted a story on the continued success of Journey's touchstone song, "Don't Stop Believin'." While not even the band's biggest hit, it remains in the iTunes top 100 downloads (ahead of seven Michael Jackson songs, Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer," and "Eye of the Tiger"). Former Journey lead singer Steve Perry puts it best, in his quote, "It's about having hope and not quitting when things get tough because I'm telling you things get tough for everybody."

(My favorite part of that YouTube video is the shot of the drummer at 0:50 in full '80s basketball regalia.)

1 comment:

Mary Ann said...

Megan, thank you for linking to my article, I enjoyed reading your blog and think it is a great idea to focus on our happy thoughts. Thanks for sharing.