Riggins with little brother Charlie and little sister Sadie.

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Saturday, September 11, 2010

Saturday 911 2010

When I got up this morning and was having my coffee I said to Donna remember 9 years ago what happened today, she knew right away that it was Sept 11th and we had a rough 24 hours on that day.

My mother & fathers generation were the same way on Dec 7th, I remember my Mom saying everybody remembered where and what they were doing on Dec 7th 1941 when we were attacked by Japan at Pear Harbor.

On that morning in 2001 I was in my office at Lake Sherwood enjoying a slow morning after the conclusion of the summer season, I had just refilled my coffee cup when, Linda the Dispatcher said “Sam hurry you’ve got to see this,” I went in the office and a news flash was announcing that a plane had crashed into the World Trade center and there was a picture of the smoking building. I remember telling Linda what a terrible accident and that my Granddad had told me about a plane (a B-25) crashing into the Empire State Building during WW2 when it was lost in the fog. I called for Mary & Chris to come in from their offices and see this and not to much longer later we saw the second plane hit the other tower. Right away my cop & military instincts kicked in and I said, this is no accident, we are under some kind of attack, and who could be doing this.

We were like most Americans glued to the TV and it wasn’t until later in the afternoon after the collapse of the towers and they were showing the burned and damaged fire equipment and police vehicles that had been a block away that Mary said “Sam doesn’t your son Sam work close to that, I guess that was the first that I realized that he was in great danger and said “ yeah his office is about a half block away and his office faces those buildings.” Needless to say I went into  my office and tried for the first of dozens of time to call him and got the same recording that I would get for the next 24 hours that the long distance service to that area code had been interrupted and would be be available soon.

Donna and I tried until the next morning when we received a call from my other son Tim in New Jersey who said he had just heard from Sam and that luckily he was not in his office but on a business trip in New Jersey and was safe, he said that Sam had said the phone service was out all over the New York area and he would call us when he could. We later found out his company offices were heavily damaged and it would be a year before they were allowed back in, but that his co-workers had evacuated safely.

A couple of weeks later I received a picture from one of my friends that I traded train pictures with that was taken two days before the attack ( 9-09-01) It was taken at the Hoboken train terminal and he was focusing on an old commuter coach not even realizing that the WTC Towers were in the background across the river. He got more than he bargained for because  this cannot be done today.

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Sept 08-01 View from Hoboken Rail Terminal

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Sept 09-2001, Another view by the same photographer.

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Today's view from Sam Jr’s Office.

I know most of my fellow blogger’s remember where they were and what they were doing and I for one am glad we have had the resolve to try and make this a better world, and that yes we are safer in this country today for those efforts, and yes we will defend our freedom from any cause that wishes to take it from us.

I guess with all the controversy in the news lately about an Islamic Mosque wanting to locate near that site, I have been giving it a lot of thought, and one of the freedom’s we enjoy is the freedom to choose and practice a religion of our choice, I guess to since in my own lifetime I made the conscious decision to defend these rights and freedoms. Maybe we should all sit back and take a deep breath and say what difference would it be if it were a Christian Cathedral, or a Jewish Synagogue or for that matter a Moslem Mosque, it is a house of God and we have made it a freedom to go there and worship without fear.

Hey Rigg’s wants to show you he is still the same old happy guy he always is, but he slips once in awhile and just has to be a stealer.

Rigg'sstealing09-07-10a

This time it’s the Satellite Remote Control.

Rigg'sstealing09-07-10b

Mom, trade you for a treat from my Treat Can.

Here’s another picture of him giving Dad directions to the doggie park.

Rigg's&Dad08-29-10a

                The next drive turn right Dad.

Well that makes for an interesting day here in Dardenne Prairie, hope I didn’t offend anyone with my feelings but sometimes I am like AL of THE BAYFIELD BUNCH and I get carried away with my opinions and I say something that might cause hard feelings with another blogger who doesn’t share my view. Anyway You 'all be safe out there,hear. Sam & Donna…Oh yeah it’s EH for my Canadian friends…. 

11 comments:

  1. Wow, looking at those pictures is mind blowing. Great post today!

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  2. Thank you for writing about 9/11 today, Sam. I'm sure it is on the minds of many of us. I echo many of your sentiments. A big thank you to those who have kept us safe. Freedom isn't always free. And just because we have our rights, it doesn't mean we should make unwise decisions.

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  3. It must have been awful for you and Donna waiting for news of your son. Who could forget that tragic day, or the heroism of the police and fire fighters? Nice post. :)

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  4. Amazing that your son just happened to be out of town that day....We just watched them rerun the whole tragic day of events on TV...We all should NEVER forget that day....and thanks to you, and all who serve and have served our wonderful country..

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  5. Interesting, and good, post Sam. I for one agree 100% with your sentiments regarding the controversy over the mosque near the site of the Twin Towers. Folks who cite the US Constitution to uphold and claim their own rights as citizens, must be willing to uphold those same rights for others even though they may not always agree with some of the decisions. It's called democracy and it's not always easy.

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  6. Likewise, my ex-husbands step-son worked in Tower 2. One of his children were home from school sick that terrible day. The wife has a meeting at work she could not miss so he stayed home with the child.

    When getting ready to fulltime, I went through boxes of pictures taken over the years. There they were - ones I forgot. Len's daughter and family visiting from Houston standing at the ferry station taking us from NJ to Liberty Island with the towers in the background.

    For a few years Len drove a semi on weekends (for vacation cash) for a local nursery delivering nursery stock from Mass down to Va. I usually went with him. How well I remember the Sat after 9/11. We had to go to Connecticut. The drive took us across the river from lower Manhattan. We saw trucks taking debris to Staten Island and the area was still thick with dust.

    GOD BLESS AMERICA

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  7. amen to your post, Sam. Freedom is not free..hug your family today!..and we all should be very thankful!

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  8. I respect and agree with your opinion about the freedom to practice and worship a particular religion, but I think it is a poor choice of location for the mosque.

    Looks like Riggs was maybe wanting to change channels for Animal Planet or Dog Whisperer.

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  9. Thanks for the post today and the pics of the Twin Towers. I agree, we all know exactly where we were and what we were doing at that time 9 years ago. It's uncanny the things you remember against the things you forget.
    Take care and be safe.
    Mike & Gerri

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  10. You did a good job writing about 9/11. I'm certain I couldn't maintain my objectivity as well as you did.

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  11. Thank you for your post about this... It's so hard to find the right words for what we feel inside. You did it well.

    Tell Riggs I would give him THREE treats for that remote, if the satellite would come along with it?

    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    Karen and Steve
    (Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/

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