[CH] the silence
Diane Salts (diannesalts@home.com)
Tue, 11 Sep 2001 23:33:00 -0700
It's been 180 years since an attack had befallen the continental U.S.
Today is my nephew, David's, birthday.
It is also my best friend, Laurel's, birthday.
Some how small things seem to matter...
Here, where I live, there is Sea-Tac Airport, Fort Lewis, McChord AFB and the Olympia Airport for the State Capital. In the air at any given time are planes, large and small, helicopters... all manner of aircraft.
Today the skies are silent. I looked at the sky and somehow it seemed empty and sinister. I thought "this is how the sky looked 200 years ago". As I sat in my car, trying to muster the courage to drive the I-5 corridor that runs between the bases, I looked at my loving and unaware puppy, I thought "I wish I were a dog" , "You don't have to be terrified to go to work because you live in a military area".
As I drove past the main gates of Fort Lewis, the traffic was very slow. I saw many people, driving by in their own cars, saluting the men and women that were waiting in line to report to the base.
In the Port of Tacoma, a ship sat at anchor in the middle of the harbor. Official crafts patrolling the waters.
My sister, who drives schoolbus, had noticed the silence of the skies. While sitting at a light after dropping off her last kidlet, she saw a plane, painted white and flying very low. All she could think was "Oh MY God!" Then she realized she was seeing a military plane, an AWAK. She said she could not stop shaking, even after she knew what she was looking at. The mere sight of an airplane scared her that much.
I have a horrible time not crying, out of sheer fear, regarding these terrorist attacks. My very being cries out for vengeance.
My prayers and all my thoughts are for those who are gone and those who will be grieving the loss of their loved ones.
Diane and Ruby
Olympia Washington U.S.A.