A Moment of Silence ....

McHaffie · Post by **McHaffie** » Tue Sep 11, 2001 8:52 pm

Ahhh, an update. I am very glad to hear your sister-in-law is well. Give her my best, and cheers to you and your family my friend.

Take care,

John

[ This Message was edited by: McHaffie on 2001-09-11 22:54 ]

WyoBadger · Post by **WyoBadger** » Tue Sep 11, 2001 9:23 pm

Tony, Thank God. It is hard to rejoice over much, as I said somewhere else. But every life spared is a victory.

Jesse, consider yourself hugged. I think we all need some sleep, too...

John, thanks for your strength. Hang on.

Betty, I'll be playing Amazing Grace from my balcony tonight before I turn in. I'll be gone tomorrow night. But I'm with you in Spirit.

Take care, everybody. Get some rest. Pray.

Tom

Ine_Jones · Post by **Ine_Jones** » Tue Sep 11, 2001 9:53 pm

I'm very sorry about all this tragedy... I just couldn't believe it when I saw it. I was there in 1998 and visited the Twin Towers. I feel so sorry for the people who is suffering this terrible situation now. I hope the international situation doesn't get any worse... nobody wants more wars.

I sincerely wish the best to all of you who had familiy or friends there.
This is so sad...

Inés

Chuck_Clark · Post by **Chuck_Clark** » Tue Sep 11, 2001 10:03 pm

Tony

I also want to say how happy I was to hear your sister-in-law is safe.

They're now saying 78 police officers and over 250 firemen, including their chaplain, died in the buildings' collapse. Having just retired from a career with the police and having helped debrief some of ours who helped in Oklahoma City, I just want to call special attention to those heroes who died because their devotion to their duty sent them forward into that hell to try to help others.

[ This Message was edited by: Chuck_Clark on 2001-09-12 00:05 ]

TonyHiggins · Post by **TonyHiggins** » Tue Sep 11, 2001 10:48 pm

We got a phone call from my sister-in-law. She was in the part of the Pentagon that got hit, just off to the side enough. Pieces of ceiling fell and she saw injured people lying outside. She had planned to go to the area that was directly hit in another 15 minutes. My brother was unable to get in contact with her for 6 hours. He stayed to help at the Pentagon. He had paramedic training. A closer call than we suspected. It goes on for us. My other brother is in Kuwait as part of an Air Force rescue team in case a pilot gets shot down. If there is some retaliation in the Middle East, he'll have some sort of involvement.

Our government has been talking about playing hardball if and when they find out who was involved in planning or supporting today's atrocity. We have phenomenal power to do massive destruction on the scale we were hit with. I wouldn't argue against a response against the perpetrators, but I hope we don't condemn a lot of innocent bystanders to the same brutality we've suffered. Muslim and Middle-Eastern groups are being deluged by hate-mail and threats in the US. I'm saddened by this as well as the circumstances around the world that have provoked today's horror. There's no excuse for it, but it didn't come out of the blue, either. Pray for true justice and peace for everyone.
Tony

_________________
<a href="http://mchaffiewhistles.com/clipsnip/ne ... tml">Clips and Snips Tunes</a>
"When you make it to the top of the mountain, keep on climbing." -Zen saying

[ This Message was edited by: TonyHiggins on 2001-09-12 00:52 ]

ErikT · Post by **ErikT** » Wed Sep 12, 2001 2:57 am

Thank you for the reminder, Tony.

I too join in the lament for the fallen and for our country. Here in Germany, we are on Threatcon Delta, which means that we are preparing either for eminent action or for eminent threat. Please continue to pray for our military throughout the world.

I have to admit that one of my first responses was anger and hatred. I am saddened by this because I am convinced that conflict not only shapes our character, but also reveals what is already in our hearts. Looks like I need to have my heart worked on.

I am also convinced that there is nothing to be gained through this hatred. One life does not replace another. While I do hope that justice has its day, I also feel that we should neither hurry it nor dispense with it. Hatred is like a blind man flaying against an unseen enemy; his aim is unsure and his restraint unchecked. He forgets civil justice and is as likely to hurt his friend as his enemy.

I hope that we as a nation remember that only Peace can beget peace. Let's leave justice to those that hold the sword and to He that has established their power (Romans 13:4).

My prayers to all,

Erik

[ This Message was edited by: ErikT on 2001-09-12 05:00 ]

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Wed Sep 12, 2001 2:57 am

Yes, I agree with you completely. There's
no excuse for this outrage, and it didn't come out of the blue, either. Also, the terrorists hope we will kill innocent people. I was at the gym today and people were genuinely baffled as to why this might have happened. I hope Americans learn more
about the middle east, tragically now
our backyard.

Vinny · Post by **Vinny** » Wed Sep 12, 2001 6:28 am

John - I'm so sorry to hear about your cousin and her friend. You're in my prayers at this time of loss and sadness.

Tony - The news about your sister-in-law is good indeed, a welcomed comfort among so much tragedy. It reminds us just how thin the thread is by which life hangs.

I agree about our nation's response. Hate evokes hate . . . if we choose it. But there are some people whose absence would make the world a better, safer place. Evil is a reality. I hope we are able to respond accurately, justly and swiftly.

Take care,

Vinny

[ This Message was edited by: Vinny on 2001-09-12 08:30 ]

LeeMarsh · Post by **LeeMarsh** » Wed Sep 12, 2001 3:09 pm

Yesterday I was kind of out of it.
Knew folks that worked at the pentagon,
Knew folks that work around the WTC,
Heard rumors that all were okay,
But sitting here in Houston,
1000 miles from my home in DC,
Left me feeling disconnected.

My thoughts kept returning to the loss of so many folks.
Folks that were fathers, sons, mothers, daughters, aunts, uncles, neices, nephews.

So many gone,
So many waiting to find out who they had lost.
Held on the edge of mourning
or rejoicing,
did their love make it out,
or ...

The mood in the Federal building were I was working was somber, anxious, angry, confused.

Mid afternoon,
Across from the federal court house
here in Houston,
sits Tranquility Park.
Played the slow airs there
amoung the trees and fountains
to speak the as yet unspeakable.

A time for the music to feel the player.
A little peace, but not enough

Lee Marsh

Wandering_Whistler · Post by **Wandering_Whistler** » Wed Sep 12, 2001 3:38 pm

Like many of you, I was in a state of shock, sadness, and outrage yesterday. I read with growing depression the messages, such as Jessie's, of people saying they did not have the heart to play the tinwhistle. While I did not post, I shared that sentiment. I left work early yesterday, and spent much of my remaining evening watching television and holding my wife. I recieved email from a few friends of mine, telling me that they were not going to this week's session. I can say that the thought of going to session didn't exactly appeal to me as well.

However, today, I reflect back on yesterday's events. The aim of terrorism, I feel, is exactly what it's name implies: To paralyze a people with dread, fear, and terror until they capitulate. While President Bush's speech may have been hastily penned by professional speechwriters, there were fundamental truths contained within it. America is a strong country, a proud country, and while I have sometimes been ashamed of the actions my government, I have never been ashamed to be an American.

There's not much I can personally do to make amends for the many innocent lives lost yesterday. I must leave that task up to my government and it's allies. However, in my own way I can strike directly at their goals. I *will not* be paralyzed. I refuse to bow down to fear and despair. I do not wish to make less of the feelings of those who are grief-stricken, because we have been witness to a terrible tragedy, and have earned our grief. However, I stand straight and proclaim that no act of terror will bring me to a standstill. To that end, today I have added fifty tunes to my archive. These songs are all reels...jaunty, energetic tunes. And tonight, I will be going to session, even if I am the only one there. And when I play happy music there, I hope that it is understood that I do so not in callous disregard for the lives lost yesterday, but in defiance of the evil that took them.

Greg Mahan, the Wandering Whistler

Post by **Dale** » Wed Sep 12, 2001 4:13 pm

Hi, everyone. Reading through this thread on an office computer(I'm still off-line most of the time)was quite an experience. As I wrote in the chiffandfipple message you've all probably received, I'm reminded of the importance of ALL good-hearted communities, whether they are defined by geography or, in our case, a common interest.

I am praying for the victims and the grieved. I am praying for freedom from the kind of racism that this attack may engender or inflame. This is about decency and indecency and not about race.

Thanks to you all for your heart-warming posts. Thanks for being a part of this community.

Dale

[ This Message was edited by: DaleWisely on 2001-09-12 18:14 ]

JessieK · Post by **JessieK** » Wed Sep 12, 2001 5:00 pm

My husband Richard says that the only way we can beat them is to rebuild beauty and goodness, and not to let them take away our joy. He went to a lunchtime session today and was happy to participate. I took out a whistle and played every tune I could think of. I did't really feel up to it, but I did it anyway. So, HA! We can still make music.

Jessie

livethe question · Post by **livethe question** » Wed Sep 12, 2001 5:26 pm

Yes, our music is both healing and a part of the healing.

_________________
Peace

Namasté - "I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides, I honor the place in you of love, of light, of truth, of peace. I honor the place within you where if you are in that place in you and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us."

jim

[ This Message was edited by: livethe question on 2001-09-12 19:28 ]

WyoBadger · Post by **WyoBadger** » Wed Sep 12, 2001 9:46 pm

This is really, really long, sentimental, and probably off topic. Thought it was only fair to warn you.

While singing the Star Spangled Banner with my fifth graders today, it occurred to me that yesterday was the anniversery of the Battle of Fort McHenry, 11 September, 1814.

America had been brought to the edge of surrender by an overwhelming military attack on the heart of our own soil. The White House and the Capitol had both been burned. Fort McHenry, near Baltimore, was the Americans' last stand. In the midst of all the fear and outrage, the commander of the Fort made preparations for the coming battle. One of those preparations was the making of the original Star Spangled Banner.

At 42' by 30', the flag could be seen from miles away for what it was: a symbol of freedom, of defiance against tyranny, of pride and joy in the face of overwhelming odds.

As the enemy fleet advanced up Chesepeake Bay, the American navy was nowhere to be seen. On shore, the inexperienced American militia was quickly overwhelmed, retreating to the safety of the fort. But still the banner flew.

Through the night rockets, shot, and bombs fell in and around the fort. Still the banner flew.

Early in the morning, before first light, the Brittish ships stopped firing. It was then that Francis Scott Key, a captive of the Brittish fleet, penned the words of our National Anthem. He didn't know if the silence was caused by victory or defeat. As the sky brightened, he finally saw what flag it was that flew over the fort. The enemy withdrew. Peace returned.

The point of the battle was not to kill the enemy, or to spread destruction, or to rejoice in revenge for what had been done to our country. The point was to preserve the freedom represented by that flag, whatever the cost.

This morning, I saw a picture of an American Flag that someone had raised in the midst of the WTC destruction. Rumor has it that the flag was found burried in the rubble. I believe Mr. Key would approve.

People of many nationalities have expressed their sympathy and love. Though you may live under different flags, you too understand what it is to be free.

So, play your whistles, rejoice in your freedom to do so. For it is your hearts that are free, and no one can take that away.

This is long, I know, and perhaps too sentimental. If I have wearied or offended anyone with my words, I am sorry. Our nation is far from perfect, but we will overcome. As it was in 1814, so may it be now.

"Oh thus be it ever when free men shall stand
between their loved homes and the war's desolation..."

SlimJim · Post by **SlimJim** » Thu Sep 13, 2001 1:33 am

Warm but quiet vibes from UK