When important events take place, a common question people ask each other later on is, "Do you remember where you were when that happened?" I was watching a documentary about one of the flights that crashed into one of Trade Center towers last night, and it got me remembering where I was when it happened...


September 11, 2001 started out like any other day. I got up at the buttcrack of dawn - I had to be to work by 6AM. I was the manager of a coffee shop in Great Falls, Montana. I got up, took a shower, got Sunny ready to go to the babysitter's house, and we were on our way. After dropping Sunny off at the babysitter's, I drove a short distance to work. I unlocked the doors, turned on the lights, got coffee brewing, got the espresso machine prepped, made sure everything was properly stocked, etc.

Part of my duties included delivering coffee to businesses who'd call orders in. I really enjoyed making deliveries. It broke up the monotony of the day and I also got to interact with some really awesome people. Making killer tips didn't hurt, either. The phone-in orders didn't usually start until around 8AM or so, and that gave me a couple hours to prepare in-house orders and oversee things until I had to head out on a delivery.

I was just getting ready to deliver some drinks when the Coke delivery guy came in with our shipment. We had a cooler with 20 oz. Coke beverages for people who weren't coffee drinkers. Before the Coke man filled the cooler, he said, "Have you guys heard about the airplane that crashed into one of the Trade Centers?" The owner of the coffee shop and I looked at each other like, "What's he talking about?" and told him we were clueless. He said that a passenger airplane had crashed into one of the towers, and at that point, they weren't sure why it happened. We all assumed that some sort of technical difficulty within the airplane must have caused the accident. An attack was the last thing on our minds.

I had to head out the door to deliver some coffee, so that's what I did. While in my car, I turned theradio on and every single station was reporting the goings on in NYC. While out on a delivery, I heard over the radio that a second plane had crashed into the second tower. At that point, I knew something really, really bad was going on.

There was no TV or radio in the coffee shop, so throughout the duration of the morning, I would report back to everyone at work what I had heard on the radio while out on deliveries. It seemed like each time I made it back to the coffee shop, I had some more horrible news to report.

Great Falls is the home of Malmsteen Air Force Base. Why does this matter? Well, they basically locked the place down as soon as the attacks happened. Nobody could get in or out of the base. My boss' husband was an electrician and worked on the base. He was out on a job when the attacks took place, and because they locked everything down, he had no choice but to stay on base for quite some time.

I was with my late fiancé at the time, and I remember him calling me at work - saying that it might be a good idea for me to come home and stay home for a few days. He expressed that he was concerned that I might get attacked if anyone noticed any of my Arabic traits. People REALLY hated Arabs at that time, and made their hatred very known. I wasn't nearly as concerned as he was...I don't look nearly as Arabic as I could due to my Dad's honky genes. I decided that it wasn't obvious enough to worry about, so I stayed at work and continued on with my duties. I can't say I wasn't worried at all, though. I remember walking around with a minor feeling of paranoia - hoping that I'd fly under the radar...and I did. Other people of Arabic descent weren't so lucky, and that bothers me to this day.


Anyway, as we all now know, both towers were struck and eventually collapsed. People went into ultra-patriotic mode. Since the town I lived in was comprised of mostly Air Force guys and their families, it was a very patriotic place to begin with. Almost every car in town had American flags attached to windows and antennas. Car windows were covered with that temporary paint junk - everyone basically using their vehicles as a bulletin board on which to post their patriotism. This happened all over the country. The Air Force base in town had finally let people come and go again, and things slowly began to return to normal.


I'm one of the lucky ones. I didn't know anyone who was injured or killed that day. Though I don't buy the story the government dishes out as to how this tragedy happened, the fact remains that it did happen. Thousands of people lost their lives. Thousands of people lost their Mom, Dad, brother, sister, grandparent, friend, etc. My heart genuinely goes out to all of these people, and I sincerely hope they're all doing okay.

Ten years is the blink of an eye or an eternity. Depends on how you look at it, I suppose.

I got this email today...


Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey.. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so she dictated these words:

Dear God, Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much.. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick. I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her You will know that she is my dog. I really miss her. Love, Meredith

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.



Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, 'To Meredith' in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, 'When a Pet Dies..' Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:

Dear Meredith, Abbey arrived safely in heaven. Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away. Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.. Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you. I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much. By the way, I'm easy to find, I am wherever there is love. Love, God

[/img]• I normally post my Random Randomness on my Karen's Chronicles page, but I decided to do it on my Opera blog this time. I've totally been neglecting my other page. I just don't get as much out of it as this one.

• My son went to the winter formal dance for his school tonight. He wore black slacks, a black shirt, black tie, and black shoes. (Johnny Cash style!) He looked SO incredibly handsome! I'm just so proud...and sad. After he and his date took off to head to the dance, I sat on the couch and cried. This might seem stupid to those of you who don't have kids...and maybe even some who do. I'm just so close to my son. We're inseparable. I guess seeing him all grown up and leaving with his girlfriend really hit me where it hurts. It was like a big bitch-slap in the face saying, "He's not your baby anymore! You are no longer the main woman in his life!" I'm teary eyed just thinking about it. I love my kids so much...to know that my son will be leaving home in about two years just kills me! I feel as though someone is severing my heart with a jagged piece of glass or something.

• On a happier note - as I was sitting on the couch bawling, my daughter who is 9 came over to me and gave me a big hug. She's always doing whatever she can to make everyone happy and content. I have NO idea where she gets that! She said, "Don't worry, Mom. I'll still be here for a long time!" I smiled, hugged her, and said, "Thank you so much, Sunny! I know you've still got a few years, but there's going to come a time when you'll be leaving me too, and it will kill me just as much as your brother leaving is killing me!" She looked at me with eyes that said, "Aww...I'm sorry." I didn't want it to be like a guilt trip, so I said, "But that's okay, because you'll always be my baby no matter what." I'm so lucky to have my kids. I love them both more than I can begin to express. I treasure each and every moment I have with them.

• Okay - I'll stop with the sappiness now. I just had to vent that. I feel better now.

• Lonnie took me to Starbucks a little while ago. I got my usual: Venti, Quad, Iced Mocha w/ soy milk. It was way too sweet...it made me really nauseated.

• We're going to go shopping tomorrow. I think we're going to Lloyd Center. I friggin' love that place! I wish someone would take me there, hand me about $10,000 and say, "Have fun!" Oh man...that would seriously make me happy! But then, who wouldn't it make happy?! Hehe

• Lonnie said that he already got my Christmas present. I was kinda pissy when he told me. Like I told him, "You know I'm a peeker! Why did you tell me if you aren't going to give it to me 'til the 25th?!" Please don't get me wrong - I really appreciate him getting me something. He normally doesn't. So yeah - that part made me go, "Awww "...but then I thought about it and was like, "Goddamn it. Now I have to sneak around trying to find it!" But then the thought hit me, "Wait a minute here. He hasn't left the house to go anywhere without me. It has to be something online!" So I asked him if it was. He said, "I'm not going to tell you." Psssht... We all know that means, "Yes...yes, it is!" So now I'm waiting until he does leave the house so I can snoop around his computer! I am determined to figure it out before the 25th. I see this as a challenge!

• I have zero money of my own. Yeah - zero. That means that I will be like the cheap-ass who never gets anybody anything for Christmas. It's really not fair. I don't want to have to ask for money. "Uh yeah, can you please give me money so I can buy you something?" Not exactly tactful, ya' know? I'll just make him something instead, I guess. I mean, what else can I do? And for you pervs like LC & Dennis, don't worry. He'll get plenty of XXX lovin'. That's not exactly a department that's lacking.

• I still need to bake more cookies. I have all the stuff for it, I just need to do it. Maybe tomorrow if I have enough energy after shopping. If not, Monday. I gotta make cookies for all the people I missed the first time around. I've made some new friends since then, too, so I have to include them! Siran & his twin sister, Siray are on the list, Jose, Galadriel AKA Kimbers...there are a few others, too. I feel all shitty for forgetting some people the first time around, so I have to make up for it. At this rate, I will be making one batch of cookies every week for the rest of my life! Oh well, that's okay. It's more than worth it if it means having such awesome friends!

• I just asked Lonnie if he got me a Chihuahua. He said,"Um, no. I didn't get you a Chihuahua." Damn! What a pisser!

• I'm going to lay off the Vicodin for a few days. I think I'm growing a tolerance to them. It's taking more of 'em to help, so I'm just going to suffer through the pain for a few days so I can get back to taking less. I don't want to damage my kidneys or anything.

• My feet are so cold!

• I was supposed to call my Dad today, but spaced it out. Ooops!

• I'm going to go upload the pictures of my son & his girlfriend now. Maybe I'll post a couple in another blog entry.

• By the way - I cannot believe you're still reading this. Seriously - all I ever do is babble! Thanks for taking the time...that's totally awesome of you!