Feedback, page 3

Hello. I enjoyed very much reading the account. Thank you for sharing it with all of us. My husband and I live in Alabama and we have felt so totally, totally helpless throughout this horrific event. He works in construction and I do believe it is driving him crazy that he cannot go up there and help the emergency workers. We just sit in front of the television, numb, not talking and then both talking at once. It is absolutely impossible to absorb. It is very difficult to get through even an hour without crying, at work or at home. We had a community prayer service this morning which seemed to help all of us and our flag is flying proudly at our home. I hope everyone in New York, Washington and all over the world know that we are all with you, praying and uniting together to do anything we can to help us move forward. I've always been a patriotic person, but this has brought out feelings in me that I had no idea existed. Take care and please tell your friend how happy I am that he was able to go home and be with his family. I'm sure many, many people would have felt the same way towards the man who was celebrating. I have to keep reminding myself that they are just pawns of evil, just like the suicide pilots and hijackers. May God be with us all.

Abby, Alabama

Thank you SO much for your generous retelling of events from Tuesday. As I sit in my office on the West Coast listening to songs such as "I will remember you" and "We are the world" I read your writings and my emotions are going from tears to anger and back to tears. Your recap helped to bring back the reality of what happened in New York. Although we were all deeply impacted by this tragedy it is sometimes easier to go about life as usual and put it out of your head while working thousands of miles away. Your story helped remind me that New York and the East Coast are still very much in the midst of this horrendous assault, and my prayers are with all of you.

Wendy, disney.com

I am glad to hear that the Weatherly guys are all right. Do you know if Scott Gerham is safe? He is my broker and I am concerned about him. Your story is the first I have heard about the guys at Weatherly.

Thanks and God Bless, Jim Yes, Scott got out OK

Thanks for sharing your story and that of your friend. The ripple effect of this act of terrorism is incredible. Everyone has a story or has been effected in some way. Thankfully, the woman that I know who worked on the 32nd floor had jury duty on Tues morning. My in-laws own a business in Chinatown. I was so afraid for them until I knew they were safe. As this was unfolding, who knew if all of Manhattan was being attacked or the whole country?

Undoubtedly, we will know someone who is missing. My husband grew up in the shadows of those great buildings often using them as a subject for his photography class in high school. I bought maternity clothes there last year. I pray that the nice woman who waited on me is alive. I remember that day looking up at those mammouth buildings and being awed by how small I felt in comparison. The sense of smallness, powerlessness is renewed by this act. What can we do? Many are speaking of their anger. I understand, but can not fathom that killing more people will help. Find them, torture them, make them confess. Then kill them one by one. Not possible. We will drop bombs on innocent people who will end up feeling as we do now. This world is crazy. I feel small.

holycross.edu

Thank you for your moving depiction and reminding me to hug my child. Here in California we are with you. God Bless.

lanset.com

Bless you and your friend.

Susan, LCSW Illinois

Thank you for sharing Bill's story - our thoughts and prayers are with all who suffered in, and from, this terrible event! (I read this at Geocities.com)

This note is circulating here in Canada, and I hope you will consider passing it around to your friends and family.

Thanks for your description of your friend's long walk and ride to safety. I am almost speechless when I read such accounts, and see them on the television. I will not allow myself to ever forget what has happened and I suppose I will tear up thinking about the people in the tower, the fire fighters and workers trying to save people, and the New Yorkers encouraging them in so many different ways. God bless you all.

Phil,
Texas

I live in a small town in Vermont and have just attended a vigil service at the college that I work at. I want you to know there are many, many people thinking of the victims and their families.

God bless you all and this entire country.

Denise
middlebury.edu

Hi there,

I was very moved by your account, as I have been moved to the core of my being by so many accounts of this tragedy.

I feel nothing can justify the killing of innocent people (or for that matter guilty people even if that is a bit easier to stomach), whoever is behind the killing.

One would think that this week's events might cause us to pause as a people and look at whether we are responsibly using our country's position as a superpower in the best interests of this planet and it's people. I am dismayed to see the overwhelming knee-jerk hind-brain response of the government and people of this country to this event, all yelling "We have to find out who's responsible for this and kill them no matter what the cost." Those most directly responsible are already dead. Their colleagues need to be identified and stopped from committing further acts of insanity. But if we dare to look deeper it becomes clear that our government is responsible for similar behavior, under the immensely hypocritical guise of "protecting world freedom". Deeper than that, we are responsible, each one of us, for preferring to close our eyes to injustices so that we can have a comfortable life inside our bubbles of luxuries - luxuries paid for by the people and nature of the whole planet. We are responsible, for not having the integrity to sacrifice our comfort for the sake of the greater good and for not holding our government accountable for it's actions. Nuff said. If you care to educate yourself about some of these issues you might want to look at some of the following websites: www.indymedia.org, www.alternet.org, www.thepaperboy.com (follow links to worldwide newspaper sites), www.michaelmoore.com. May you be your best and truest self in the challenging days that lie ahead.

Regards

R C earthlink.net

Just read your story on the Internet, and was glad to see something that turned out well. I live in Michigan and have been horrified over the events of the past several days. Our prayers are with everyone in New York and Washington D.C. and all of their families. I've been reading some of the profiles on Yahoo of those that perished.

We have our flags flying.

Thanks,
Lynn pnu.com

Thank you so much for being willing to share your experiences with us. This has been such an horrific time in our history, but for those of us who were not there, your story gives us a better understanding. I pray that God will be with you in the coming days when the press is no longer there keeping you and fellow New Yorkers in the forefront of our minds, and will comfort you in dealing with the loss, not only of friends and loved ones, but of security and peace.

God Bless,

Lisa, Nashville, TN

Thank you for sharing a very personal moment in your life. I live in Edmonton, Alberta and have watched the horror of Tuesday's events on T.V. I cannot even begin to imagine what it must have been like to live through it. Know that my family and I pray for all the victims, their families and those who witnessed, and by the grace of God, survived. I can only marvel at the strength of character shown by the citizens of New York and Washington, the bravery of your emergency crewa. God bless all of you.

Sincerely

Rita visionwall.com

I must say I was very moved by the account's of your friend's story, may God Bless You!

Joann

I, too, feel as if I'm in the Military, even as a civilian. I work in Chicago, less than two blocks from the Sears Tower. On Tuesday, we all thought the Sears was going to be next. Even as a 22 year old woman, I feel that if Osama bin Laden, or any other terrorist, was put before me right now, I'd be willing to fight to the death. Likewise if I was on a plane being hijacked: I would, with all of the other passangers as well, I'm sure, pounce upon whomever was trying to hijack us and beat them down.

KmcCleary, Chicago

Thank God you didn't make it in on time Tuesday. When I first saw the images on the TV in my bedroom as I was getting ready for work here in Cincinnati my first thought was, "Wow! Now that's special effects!" I wondered what new movie promo this was. Seconds later, the second tower was hit and I stood there as dumbfounded and horrified as the rest of the world. First, I cried. Then, like the rest of this great nation I slowly started becoming angry.

My son is a corporal in the United States Marine Corps stationed at Camp Pendleton in Southern California. I remember back when he went in I worried that we may end up in some stupid fight and I could lose him to a battle over oil, or something like that. To me, that would be stupid as we have other options for oil than to obtain it from the Middle East. Canada, Mexico, and Alaska are all oil rich area's of the world and are all close allies.

But this, the senseless slaughter and destruction of human life, the terror felt by all those aboard the flights and those who managed to survive the intial crash and explosions in the towers. For this, I would proudly send my son to battle and he will go to courageously defend his country's honor and to get some pay back for this horrendous deed. Do I want to lose him? Of course not. I'd much rather have my son back than a flag and a medal. However, we must identify those responsible for this and then we must go and get them no matter what it takes. President Bush has my blessing and my son. I pray that he uses him and all our other sons and daughters wisely.

Yes, I agree. Iwo Jima was re-visited by those fireman who raised our flag. It was the first thought that came into my mind when I watched them on TV. I don't think those guys meant it to look that way and I doubt that they even realized at the time that it did. I looked upon it as a very proud moment in the midst of so much pain and despair. It was eerily similar.

Yes, Osama bin Laden has done nothing more that to awake a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.

Someone's going to see in great detail just how the United States of America get's up, dusts itself off, and then kicks ass.

Best Wishes and Semper Fi

Stephen
1stciti.com

writing from Canada:

I was/am moved by your account of survival and terror. My condolences to all who lost a loved one in this horrible event.

God Bless America and the rest of the democratic world.

Ian, Saskatoon, Canada

Dear Barry,

Thank you for sharing this story, it made the events of last Tuesday more real because of it being one man's story. While I agree that a sleeping giant has been awakened, I hope that we do not overreact in such a way as to make things worse. There are people in parts of the world that hold a hatred for the United States. I do not totally understand why that is, but surely part of the blame lies with the past actions of our country.

Yes, we need to do what we can to stop terrorism in the world. At the same time, we need to do what we can to improve the relationships with those people who we have, perhaps unwittingly, helped to oppress through our past actions. I think it is only in this way that we can truly heal the wounds and prevent future atrocities.

Regards,

Chris
netflix.com

Hey,

I'm glad your friend survived. I'm Irish but this tragedy has affected us all. I have a picture of the Yankee's victory parade from last year. I can see many of the fan's faces clearly. I can't help but wonder how many of those are now dead. Oh God why.

Ger euro.apple.com

god bless you

fedusa.com

Very touching article. Thank you for a very human story. As I am an upstate NY'er, I did not know anyone involved in this tragedy, but I fear that much more violence is heading our way. God Bless, stay well!

Besicorp.com

Thank you for the article. Again I cry.

We are the largest Naval base in the nation and probably have the largest saturation of military instalations within a 50 mile radius. Our area is rocked again with the movement of our family, friends and neighbors. My daughter is 12 and on Tuesday her life changed and with each day she realizes how it effects her more and more. Tuesday was a long day for her.

They heard of the planes in school. Her Aunt (my sister) is a 767 pilot for American airlines as is her Uncle. I did not locate them until 2pm. As soon as I knew my daughter was at home I called her from work to let her know they were safe. She was relieved but still not fully grasping the implications. She did not even ask about her other Aunt (my other sister), Uncle and cousins who live in Kuwait.

My other sister's husband is a manager of Hardee's reastaurants in the middle east. I recieved and email from them assuring their safety the evening of that horrible day and was able to talk to her by phone from Kuwait on Wednesday. My daughter came home from school on Wednesday and that is when the reality of these events hit home. She said that her friend was upset because her father would not be home to take them trick-or-treating for Halloween as they had all expected. His carrier was turned around and heading back to the middle east.

My daughter and I retaliated in our small way by going to the mall in Va. Beach (Lynnhaven) and showing that we will not fear. It is near the master jet base(Oceana). On any given day you always see the planes dog-fighting overhead and doing touch and goes. Tonight we noticed them with new eyes. The mall was ghostlike and the sounds of the jets more prevailant than ever before and they were armed.

My family realizes we are just beginning this crusade and our community is up for the challenge. We remained strong when we lost a majority of our population for desert storm and will remain strong again. I pray for my parents because they have 4 daughters and one is an American Airline Pilot, one is in kuwait, and the other is in a military community. We are all prime targets that any terrorist would love to take a bite out of. Let them! There are a lot more of us to follow behind us and just like them, we pass down our personal resolve through generation after generation. Americans never forget!

arlohome

Thank you for writing that article - it was very moving, very real - there are actually no words to describe what happened.

I live on the West Coat - so we can only watch TV with horror. You are right everyone knows someone there.

Your comment about having woken a sleeping giant is very right on!! We, here on the West Coast, are flying our flags in honor of those who are missing and who have been killed, and those who survived.

We are all very proud to be AMERICANS!!!!

Thank you,

Berit

Just note that that article by Gordon Sinclair was written approximately 30 years ago (1973 to be exact). Granted, many of his points are timeless and are just as relevant today (or perhaps even more so) as they were then, but I wanted to make sure that people didn't think that this was just now being released in response to what occurred this week.

For the original transcript (which BTW was released as a record which enjoyed a certain of popularity on the radio at the time, considering it was so unusual) see the link below. You will also note that the version posted here was only a portion of the original text.

http://www.rcc.ryerson.ca/ccf/news/unique/am_text.html

jbchambers

I saw a picture of a person falling from one of the buildings... Even though it was a picture, it will be burned in my mind forever. I hope the best for all of you.

Tom, Kansas City, Missouri

Thank you so much for an incredible report. I sit in the safety of my office in Savannah, Georgia and join with you in the perception of a Waking Giant. Please convey the best regards of Americans in the southern portion of our nation to all your co-workers - especially the one whose moving account you offer - and know that we are with you in spirit, a renewed spirit of patriotism that will be a mighty force with which to reckon.

Thank you again.
Rebecca
hostsouth.net

Thank you for writing this account of this horror in New York. The generosity of those who are helping in this crisis is immense. Stories will come out in the next days and months of those who have survived or witnessed this barbaric attack.

You are right. Nothing will ever be the same again. Too often, we have been politically correct and we should have been examining closely those people traveling on watch lists and putting up terrorist cells in this country. That has to come to an end.

We have many enemies - we need to reexamine our foreign policies, get our intellegence opperatives to work again -something sadly lacking in the last 8 years - we need to tighten our borders - they are a leaking sieve here in San Diego and across the Southwest and also tighten those entries from Canada. Unfortunately, we also have to look very closely at those trying to enter here from Middle Eastern countries. That nice looking man, woman, or couple may just be terrorists.

This attack took a year in planning. Where was our in-country intel? Our military is appalled by the lack of cohesive intelligence on China, the Middle East and Korea. Politically correct has been more important than examining who is working in America and who they may be trading intelligence to overseas.

Best wishes to you, your family and your fellow workers and New Yorkers.

San Diego, CA

A great story - fortunately with a good outcome. Just to let you know, the flags are flying here in California today. Remember New York! is the buzzword of the day.

FehrandPeers.com

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