My OperaRemembrance and Memorial
Thursday, September 11, 2008 9:00:00 AM
It is the 7th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack on this country through hijacked jets used as missiles in New York at the World Trade Center, and at the Pentagon. One hijacked jet, flight 93 did not make its target due to the heroic people on board. I cannot ignore the significance of this day. I will never forget. As horrible as I felt on that day, I did not go through what so many went through in losing love ones.I was working in Philly at a childcare center, allowing my classroom staff to leave. Businesses and offices were letting people go home. I waited with a few children for their parents to come get them. Most of the children were gone by 12:00 noon. The last child was picked up at 12:30 and the mother actually said that she was going to go home and take a nap and comeback later for the child, but changed her mind.
One of the 9/11 feel good miracle stories is that of Genelle Guzman-McMillan. She worked for the Port Authority. Ms. Guzman-McMillan and her co-workers were on the 65th floor of Tower 1 waiting to be rescued. They had been told to stay put and then given the word to evacuate. They were at the 13th floor when the building collapsed. Ms Guzman-McMillan went through the floor. She saw a co-worker run back up the stairs as she was falling and the building was coming down. The co-worker did not survive. Ms. Guzman-McMillan lay in the rubble with her head pinned under 2 beams for over 24 hours before she was rescued. She said she prayed to the Lord to let her live and she would live His way for the rest of her life. Ms.Guzman-McMillan was the last person to be pulled out of rubble alive. During her recuperation, she let her boyfriend Roger McMillan know that they could not live as they had lived before and that she was now doing things right by the Lord. They were married. She and her family attend The Brooklyn Tabernacle (love the choir). Her pastor, Jim Cymbala included her 9/11 experience with emphasis on her prayer while trapped at the WTC in his book, Breakthrough Prayer. Read more here.
A memorial to the 9/11 Pentagon victims will open today. Pres. Bush marks the 7th anniversary with the dedication to the new 9/11 memorial to the Pentagon Victims. It is the first national 9/11 memorial. The New York and Flight 93 memorials are still in constructive progress. I pay tribute to those who freely sacrificed their lives on that day, and the many heroes who helped to make such a big difference in saving so many lives. I pray that America maintains and builds its strength so that we never again experience the horror (or worse) of that day.Addendum: Forgive Me. How could I forget!
