{"id":3309,"date":"2015-09-11T05:30:11","date_gmt":"2015-09-11T15:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/grumpyseniors.com\/?p=3309"},"modified":"2015-09-11T06:21:36","modified_gmt":"2015-09-11T16:21:36","slug":"the-day-our-world-stood-still","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/grumpyseniors.com\/?p=3309","title":{"rendered":"The day our world stood still"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"9-11-lights-over-ny-sized\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I was sleeping the morning of September 11, 2001.<\/p>\n

The phone started ringing at 3 o’clock.
\nIt was the Mayor.<\/p>\n

“Get in here right away.”<\/p>\n

In addition to my regular job as IT Director, I had been heavily involved in Civil Defense for many years.<\/p>\n

Stumbling around I threw on some clothes and headed out of the bedroom wondering what the hell is going on.<\/p>\n

My wife was in the living room watching something on TV.
\n“Look.”<\/p>\n

\"building<\/a>Stunned.
\nHeart broken.
\nAngry.<\/p>\n

People were dying in New York City, the Pentagon and some lonely field in the middle of nowhere.<\/p>\n

Red lights flashing I raced into town.<\/p>\n

I joined government and military officials in the command center early that morning and we stayed for days.<\/p>\n

Everyone – police, fire, emergency medical services scrambling to be ready for… anything.<\/p>\n

There are no plans to prepare for “anything”.<\/p>\n

\"fireman<\/a>We had no idea what to expect – but we were at war.<\/p>\n

Hawaii was a major transit point for terrorists between Indonesia and the mainland.<\/p>\n

Anything could happen here.<\/p>\n

Cops that hadn’t worn a uniform in years dug them out of the closet and stood guard at buildings, transmission towers and power stations.<\/p>\n

Nobody made fun of them if their shirt didn’t fit well anymore or their shoes were dirty.<\/p>\n

They were just glad they were there.<\/p>\n

The major concern was Waikiki.<\/p>\n

It’s a high value target because of the number of international visitors packed into a small area.<\/p>\n

All air traffic was grounded except for some planes coming in from Asia and one wasn’t answering the\u00a0radio calls.<\/p>\n

Our discussions turned to whether it might be shot down.<\/p>\n

It was a terrible time that tarnished our souls forever.<\/p>\n

Like so many others – my life changed that day.<\/p>\n

\"alive\"<\/a>I was angry.<\/p>\n

I still am.<\/p>\n

It’s a good anger – not the kind that slowly eats a person inside – but one that reminds you that as a nation we failed to protect our own and it must not happen again.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been fourteen years since those attacks on the World Trade Center where nearly 3,000 people died leading to long-running U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.<\/p>\n

\"flag23\"<\/a>It will, of course, happen again.
\nWe’re still at war whether the politicians want to admit it or not.<\/p>\n

The enemy is patient, waiting for when we let our guard down.<\/p>\n

There is no way to stop a determined group of fanatics hell-bent on bringing us down.<\/p>\n

You can’t stop 100-percent of everything.<\/p>\n

That’s why I do what I do now.<\/p>\n

Stuff I don’t talk about with the government that adds its little bit in keeping people safe.
\nI hope.<\/p>\n

It’s our generation’s Pearl Harbor.
\nI can never forget or forgive.<\/p>\n

I hope you can’t either.<\/p>\n

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