What On Earth?-Column #52, September 2006

Welcome to my annual 9-11 anniversary column. As we approach the 5th anniversary of the deadliest day on US soil (much deadlier than the first WTC attack on February 26, 1993), we take the time to reflect on the event.

As we take a look back on the event, we also get to take a look ahead. What lies ahead for the Big Apple is construction on the new Freedom Towers, complete with reflecting pools to indicate where the original Twin Towers once stood. Donald Trump, being the big building expert as he is, scoffed at the plan, saying it looks like a pile of junk. He says he would've reconstructed the original Towers, but the new towers would be one foot higher than the original. Sounds good to me, but we may never see it (or will we?).

When the 10th anniversary of the 1993 attack came around, those who had lost loved ones that day as well as on September 11, got to take a look at the one piece remaining from a tribute fountain bearing the names of the 6 victims of the '93 blast. It was constructed in 1995, and had a globe on top. The fountain unfortunately was destroyed in the rubble of the Twin Towers (not very many of us saw the fountain's destruction).

That night, President Bush vowed for justice against the "despicable acts of terror." There would be justice, soon enough. And even the sports and financial worlds had to take a breather after the attacks. At each and every game, we all remember to rise during the National Anthem to pay tribute to those we've lost, from the 9-11 and hurricane victims to those who lost their lives fighting in the war on terror.

The TV world had to take a breather, especially sports and game shows. The following month, the NY Yankees and the Arizona Diamondbacks would meet in the World Series. While the Yankees did lose, they showed the Big Apple and the rest of the country that life does go on, and we took advantage of that. For game shows, especially Millionaire and Weakest Link, they did some shows and matched all money won and donated it to various 9-11 charities. While that may have been a good thing, for Millionaire and Weakest Link viewers, the problem was, that there were too many celebrity shows!

Other than that, the bumper stickers and license plates and other signs say it all: WE WILL NOT FORGET. No, we won't. And in closing, this is John Lee saying the same 4 words I've said in each of my previous anniversary columns: "God Bless The USA." Now, "Go HOME."