> Here in St. Louis (and I imagine throughout the US)
> ... there is absolutely NOTHING in the skies that does
> not have feathers. I can't decide what's more
> disturbing -- the televised coverage or this silent,
> eerie local reality.
Earlier this evening I did hear the sound of a jet in the sky. It
seemed to go on forever. I was almost in a panic. I was on the phone
with Travis at the time and he said it was probably a military jet. I
did call one of the local television stations and they confirmed that
the military did have aircraft in the skies over Puget Sound.
All day the line 'the drone of planes at night has never frightened
me' has been in my head. I'm not sure we'll ever be able to feel that
way again in this country. I'm afraid our lives are going to change
in ways we haven't even conceived of yet. I also fear that many more
people will die before this is all over and done.
I am so grateful (maybe we should all go back & read those posts from
Kate, Shane, Colin, et al tonight) that our community seems to be
unhurt. My first inkling of today's horrendous events was from the
JMDL and my first thought was 'this has got to be a fucking joke!'
But then I turned on the tv and there was the World Trade Center with
smoke & flames pouring out of it. Completely unreal looking and yet
all too real. I think I've been in shock all day since then.
But I did go to work. At first I didn't want to but as I drove toward
Seattle it occurred to me that I *had* to go to work. I felt it was
important to maintain some semblance of normalcy and *not* let those
bastards bring the workings of this nation to a complete halt.
They've already succeeded in shutting down our air travel and creating
mayhem in the nation's capital and its greatest city. We cannot let
them freeze us in complete panic. That's my gut feeling anyway.
Thanks to everyone who checked on our listers in NY & DC and thanks to
those who checked in to let us know they're ok.
My heart goes out to all those who lost loved ones in this day's
horrible events. If anyone thought we were invulnerable in this
country, there's no way they can ever believe that again. I pray that
the repercussions of this are not too destructive but I don't have a
very optimistic outlook right now. All we can do is pray and hold to
those we love and also hold onto the belief that love is stronger than
hate.
My love to you all,
Mark
