*** Warning, the following will mention faith, possibly religion. As always PLEASE DON'T PROSELYTIZE in the comments! Y'all always do anyway, but that won't stop me from making the request anyway. My Mama is already on the case, okay. She's got me all prayed up with extra to spare. I'm set.****
I know that today is the day 50 Cent and Kanye West's albums come out and their album sales, Britney Spear's Performance at the VMAs and whether Beyonce (we're giving her the benefit of the doubt) meant what she said when she said she is "jealous" she wasn't born Latina are what people will be obsessed with today, but I want to take us back to September 11, 2001 if you don't mind. This YouTube video has a perspective you probably haven't seen.
I remember exactly where I was the first time I heard that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. I was pulling in to the parking lot on my first day of a temp. assignment when Russ Parr said a plane had hit the World Trade Center. I didn't think anything of it. I thought it was one of those little tiny crop duster planes. It was after all, the World Trade Center, how bad could it be?
You might not remember what the late 90's were like, but for people in my age group, it was the era when everything we touched turned to gold. Folks graduating from B-school with six figure signing bonuses.Dot come millionaires. Everybody was headed to a start up or helping to start a start up. The era when we could pick a President based on who people wanted to have a beer with. Do y'all remember that poll? The cold war was over. Whippee! I was arrogant, young and foolish. ( Some of you think I still am... Imagine me now... Just worse!) Then WHAM! That wasn't a little plane and WHAM there was another the WHAM! Another and then WHAM! Another!
The world stood still horrified as we watched people jump from the top of a skyscraper.....but this was no movie... they couldn't fly. They'll never hit DC. They have missiles to shoot things out of the air I heard. WHAM. Um no, that would be a NO! I know people in DC! Are they okay? Who is next? Are we? Did the building just come down? Go fill up on gas because we will be out tomorrow, the folks in the office said. And then there were the Nostradamus prophecies. Did any of y'all get those via e-mail.
Then later as family members took to the street wondering aimlessly holding up photographs. Photos of lost loved ones everywhere. When it comes down to it, isn't that all that matters? Who will look for you if you're missing or gone? -- not a freaking IPO.
Sound Byte Religion Not Enough
I am absolutely certain that those 19 hijackers' beliefs were absolutely wrong. Certain they were wrong. If they were so wrong and were willing to take so many lives as a result, could I be wrong too? What did I believe? Why did I believe it? What do you believe? Why do you believe it?
Yes, you CAN be too stressed to be blessed and sometimes, the Lord doesn't make a way. I didn't want to hear no madness about the Prayer of Jabez increasing my territory when I am watching people jump from a skyscraper or watch a 100 story building plunge to the ground knowing that there are people inside! So I was sitting in church ( It was not Bedside Baptist where our leader is the Rev. Dr. A. Larm Clock, Sr.), one Sunday shortly thereafter and I literally couldn't listen to another "The Lord Will Make A Way.Pray Pray Pray!" sermon. I figured I had better high tail it outta there before I started blaspheming or heckling the preacher from the balcony. It was a serious possibility. If God was up there then surely God had us on call waiting.
The Universe is magnanimous enough to accept that I'm human and flawed and I have imperfect faith. No one ever promised us that our lives would be without tragedy or pain. Through my own little journey chilling out in the wilderness, I learned that sadness is as legitimate as happiness, suffering is as legitimate as joy, failure is as legitimate as success. What or who you believe in or don't believe in, is no panacea. There is no cosmic Burger King where you "have it your way." I grew up and realized that life does not always go according to plan, you don't always get what you deserve, and sometimes THAT is a good thing. The Universe may make a way, but the path may require walking through the valley of the shadow of death, not a yellow brick road and sometimes, it is not a short little trip up to the corner store.
If you had to flee your city at a moment's notice, how would you get out? If you have kids in school, who would evacuate them? Have you ever seen a copy of your child's school's emergency plan? Do they have one? How would you communicate if the phones were jammed? Would you get stuck in traffic? Run out of gas? Be able to function without electricity for several weeks? Where would you go if you had to flee? What would you take with you and how do you keep somebody else from taking it from you? Check out Survivalist.info. Don't let US be the only ones that don't have a clue. Other folks are preparing. Are you? Do you know what TEOTWAWKI is? Up until today, I didn't. YIKEs! Seriously, be prepared. I am not prepared according to Captain Dave's Survival Guide.They might sound crazy, but I have the feeling that they'll be maxing and relaxing while we're running for our lives. BTW, the likelihood of TEOTWAWKI went up 14 points in less than 12 hours. Um what does Captain Dave know that we don't?
Lots of folks have given their own meaning to September 11, 2001. Where were you the day that Hell rained down from the sky? When you first heard the news, what did you think? How did it change your life? Let that marinate and leave it in the comments.
**It is early so I haven't seen another Black blogger who has posted about 911, but if they do, I'll try to add a link***
