Mr. Charlie

I always wanna hug you, Ki. I think I love you in an entirely (well, let's say 95%) non-sexual way.

Chula Vista

Not to mention the insane amount of heroism that's associated with that event.

Fred, check these out. Brings it all back like it happened yesterday.

70 Powerful Images From September 11, 2001 - The Roosevelts

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“The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well,
on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away
and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”

FRED HALE SR.

I've been reminiscing myself today and looking at tons of footage of the aftermath. It was a horrifying image back then and it still resonates today. I'm not the biggest patriot but I have alot of admiration for the emergency response and the way the community of New York came together in such a tragic event. Giuliani was the perfect man for the job at that time. I thought he handled himself impeccably. I won't forget 9/11 for the rest of my life. I think its less about the impending war and more about the ability and courage of people to step up in harrowing instances.

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" I slashed and burned thru my 15 minutes of fame."

fiddler

I think most people who were hold enough to remember the events 14 years ago will always remember those events. I know for a fact that there's a proud bunch of men and women, stationed around the World who will never forget. It's impossible not to, the evidence is a near constant reminder. I know generally public opinion of the military right now, and that's fine. That's everybody's right. It's just not a great feeling that 14 years later, there's still hatred towards Muslims, and people who still hate the military for our involvement and what we've been doing for 14 years. It's not a great feeling when people are still blaming Muslims, even teenagers, for what happened. It's not a great feeling when people are calling in bomb threats to military posts on 9/11. Yeah. I remember where I was, and what I was doing. I made my choice to go into the military, and I don't regret it. But I wish people would realize that we're doing our jobs, like everyone else.

More over, there's an unsung group of heroes from 9/11: the 100 rescue dogs who worked day and night to pull people from the rubble. They were bringing out so many dead people, the dogs would actually get depressed - they thought they weren't saving people, which is their goal in life.

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Every being is intelligent. But if you measure a fish's intelligence on it's ability to climb a tree, it will live forever thinking it's stupid.

The Batlord

Puppies!!!

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Chula Vista

A set of turnout gear for each of the firefighters lost on 9/11.

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“The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well,
on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away
and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”

Mr. Charlie

I was living in Manhattan when the planes hit but I don't think about 9/11 much. That image is sad though.

fiddler

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Every being is intelligent. But if you measure a fish's intelligence on it's ability to climb a tree, it will live forever thinking it's stupid.

Mr. Charlie

So you joined the military as a direct result of 9/11, fiddler?

fiddler

As a direct result? No. It was a couple years after that I joined. 9/11 was an interesting stick in the sand to my teenager mind. Ultimately, though, the military offered me an opportunity to get out of a situation that I would have probably died in as a result of O/D or gangs or something else equally unpleasant.

I say that 9/11 was an interesting stick in the sand about enlisting, because at the time it was a very real understanding that enlisting meant war. At that particular point in time, when I enlisted, my recruiter told me point blank, no hold backs, no games, no B.S. there was an 90% chance of me being deployed. The way I looked at it, I could stay where I was and possibly die. Or I could enlist and possibly die. At least though, if I enlisted - provided I survived combat and such - I'd have more chances. Not only a career, but college, and ultimately a future that didn't revolve around the next score.

I believe I had already firmly made my choice about the military before 9/11, did it add to it though? Sure, it probably did.

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Every being is intelligent. But if you measure a fish's intelligence on it's ability to climb a tree, it will live forever thinking it's stupid.