9-11

[Kiltedfirepiper]

.......
just wanted to share my (slightly inebriated) thoughts about the day.

its the 7th anniversary of a tragic day.
some want to forget, some want to move on , and some want it firmly planted into our brains.
for me its firmly planted...........

I cried that day .
not because there was someone I knew there but because of the brave men and women who ran in while others ran out.

I dont care be they police, fire , EMS, or any other public servant!
they ran in while others ran out... NOTHING else matters....the second the first tower fell my heart ached because I KNEW from my time on the job that they were dead....and the towers hadn't even hit the ground.......


I could write three pages on how as a firefighter the whole unfolding of events made me feel, and how I'm sure the familys felt. but I just want to acknowledge that this happened and it still hurts.

everyday I leave for work I KNOW theres a chance that I could never come back....thats a part of the job...
I remember a quote that said

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.

my wife knows it ....but I'm sure on some level she denies it could ever happen to us ( he works for a smaller Department......single family dwellings are nothing like a highrise) but it could happen...it HAS happened....I blong to an e-mail list that reports on the deaths of firefighters...not as a morbid thing but as a learn from their mistakes thing.
believe me when I was single it was a diffrent story, now I have two kids and a wife......things look different I promise you.
I ad this video not to make you sad, but to understand the sacrifice that EVERY firefighter makes for his family.
the first time I saw this video I balled my eyes out .
1 because of all the sacrifice of life FOR life.
2 because the voice sounds almost EXACTLY like my daughter....and the thought of her saying these things BREAKS my heart!


I am going to be involved with my first 9-11 ceromony this year as a fulltime 100% union firefighter...all the other times I felt an outsider because I was "part time"
I am piping, along with a piper from the Police Dept., and hopefully we will honor those who gave all....I ask that you do the same for no other reason then that they gave all..........no politics....not religion...no nothing....just the ultimate sacrifice to save others....




KFP

[Navyguy]

Tanks, now I have to go to work with red puffy eyes. But realy thank you for what you do.

[Sealark]

Very nice words, Kiltedfirepiper, very nice indeed.

[ardchoille]

The folks who are healing from this would rather not be reminded of that tragic day. I would like for folks to avoid bringing it up (it re-opens old wounds), and move on. I don't mean to offend anyone, but I have assisted several survivors and they don't want to be reminded every year.

[JS Sanders]

For me, this is the 1st year I've not been requested to pipe at any 9/11 Ceremonies.

In 2002 & '03, I had to turn down appearances because there were so many observances.

Starting in 2004, requests sharply dropped off. The past two years I've had but one, and as of this moment, nothing for 2008.

Slainte yall,
steve

[macneighill]

Ian, for some, it is their way of getting over it. I know as a Firefighter for over 18 years, its our way to heal. The Brotherhood we share is unlike any other, no matter what Fire Department they serve within. For us to lose 343 of our family, its gonna take a long time to heal. As for me being offended, know that I am not. And yes, I agree with you, some do not wish to remember year after year. But, not all.

[Spc. Scott]

I know that it is firmly planted in my mind as well.

Being stationed at Ft. Bragg at the time one thing that we were always being told is that we are to be ready to deploy at any time. The feelings of anxiety filled all of Thunderbolt Field to be sure and I would guess all of the fort that day. It was a thing I had never felt before or since.
I wouldn't end up deploying until the fall of 2003 and even that didn't carry the weight of that morning.
Thank you doesn't really cover it for me but what else can one say?
Thank you to all of you who have or do fill such a position.

[sjaredh]

I can't forget that day. I don't want to either.

[beloitpiper]

I think everybody knows exactly where they were when it happened. Personally, I don't know a single person who hasn't been personally affected.

Play proud, firepiper.

[OFCJAX]

Damn, my allergies are acting up again.