It's a little weird...I didn't even realize the anniversary was coming up. Then again, I don't watch much TV and I get the majority of my news from Internet sources. Even so, with the little TV I do watch, I haven't seen anything about two-hour concerts or any crap like there was last year, when you had to be a veritable hermit not to hear about them.

I think this is a good thing. No celebrities congratulating themselves on their "sacrifices" by playing a concert for free. I'm not sure what they were thinking, but, "Wow...I think I'll go onstage in front of a few million people across the United States for free so it'll look like I care" must be something akin to it.

Anyway, the second plane had already crashed into the towers when we were able to get to a TV. Completely surreal...and I know it's been said by lots of people that it looked like something out of a TV show, but it really did. I couldn't help but to think that.

My friend and I walked back outside to smoke again (we smoke a lot there), and stood around talking about who did it. I said something about bin Laden...but hell, I could barely remember the guy's first name.

Later on, we heard about the third and fourth strikes in Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon. After that, it was like waiting for the next shoe to drop. Like..."where the fuck are they going to kill us next?"

I went through the rest of the day watching the events unfold. The towers fell. More than 3,000 people died in one fucking fell swoop. And they could do it again. Anytime. Anywhere. My question was..."when?"

Everything pointed to Al Queda, with which bin Laden was celebrating that night, I'm sure. I remember hearing about middle Eastern inhabitants celebrating our deaths. And I didn't have a clue about what to do. Lots of people asked me what they thought "we" should do (although none of these people were in the military, but I guess they thought "we" were going to do something from the comfort of "their" fucking La-Z-Boy chairs). I remember all the grr-woof-woofery the next day. I pointed out to some people I thought would listen that Afghanistan is completely landlocked, surrounded by countries who were celebrating in the streets -- how do you propose we get in there? Via water? Did they think a neighboring country would let us march right through or fly over?

I guess events proved us wrong on that one -- Pakistan let us stage and march right on into Afghanistan. I'm not always right, I guess...hell, I'm not even right 10% of the time.

And the day's events unraveled. And I fell asleep on the couch around 7 p.m.

I worried myself about friends of mine in who worked in Manhattan and NYC. They all ended up fine...one of them, Robert Knoll, was in San Diego that day. It was pointless to call them on the phone though.

And in the meantime...

President Bush spoke to the nation last Sunday evening. I didn't know he would be speaking and tuned in about halfway through it. I remember thinking that he should have spoken four days later, on the anniversary of those attacks that completely screwed up our country and our way of life.

Or did it? I still do the same things I've always done. Of course, the Armed Forces men and women (of whom I'm extremely proud of) have had to change their lives, first with Operation: Enduring Freedom, then with Operation: Iraqi Freedom.**

I'm not so sure things are very different. I'm sure they could be if our (Republican) Congress wasn't working in the best interests of the U.S. people...but this isn't up for me to decide. Past politicians seem to think shooting missiles and dropping bombs on vitamin factories and "Al Queda camps" (read: wasteland where people aren't hanging out) will stop our adversaries in their tracks. I beg to differ.

In any case, besides longer waits at the airport because airline security personnel are searching 80-year-old grandmothers, Al Gore (who is bad enough on his own, but definitely not a terrorist), and anyone who otherwise looks nothing like the past 3475298347520983475 people who have terrorized U.S. interests, my life hasn't changed much at all. And I think this is a good thing.

So, please...sometime today, don't think about the crap that's gone on since then. Don't think about the families of those who died that day who are also trying to bilk the system out of lots and lots of money. Don't think about the bitching, hypocritical war protestors and left-biased media who "support the troops, not the war" by actively protesting against them. Don't think about things like my dad said: "Those firefighters and policemen were there because they wanted to make overtime, not because they cared about what happened." Don't think about the grr-woof-woofers who actively pander to send the bravest of men and women into war, who still can't legally buy alcohol, where they might die without ever having experienced what they should have, while they will sit their fat asses on couches, having never served in the U.S military.***

Don't think about any of that crap.

Just remember what happened. It could happen again.

3,000 people. One day.

That's all it took.

-- Ninja R