Thoughts on today

It’s 11:30 a.m. here and I don’t think I could possibly be in a place more different than New York. The tallest building is only a few stories high, the pace of live is very slow and relaxed, and there are eight million less people. I slept in this morning because I am going into work at noon (I have training tomorrow), took a shower and looked at my phone. It said 8:46. Even eight years later, I can remember every little detail about that Tuesday and the days that followed. I remember the sound of the fire engines rushing past for twenty minutes as I filled out a survey for the JSEA. I can remember sitting in Mr. Dimichele’s class when Mr. Dougherty announced that a plane had hit and the discussion and questions that followed. I remember sitting in advisement with Dr. Tricamo for what seemed like an eternity before lunch. I remember sitting in the quad after school with Jon Spagnola and Mr. Dimichele while waiting for my aunt and cousin. I remember meeting Johnny and Bobby on the subway at 59th St. I remember seeing the smoke all along the south shore from the LIRR and I remember my dad picking me up at my aunt and uncle’s in Baldwin. Time and distance have done little to alter my feelings and memories from that day and being so far from home and people who understand the feelings has been a struggle today.

But I am hopeful because I know tomorrow will be a better day. The rays of sunshine sneaking through the low lying clouds here remind me that the sun and light are still there (and always are.) The dozens of Coast Guard members who are volunteering throughout Sitka today remind me of the unity and national pride that reverberated throughout America that day and in the days that followed. My own experiences since that day have shown me that together we can do anything that we set our minds to. So I leave you today, as I pray for peace, unity and solace with hope for the future.

The following are some quotes, poems, prayers that I have found to be particularly striking on a personal level and wanted to share with you:

A QUIET HERO

Some men die a glorious death full of fanfare and fame
Others die so quietly we hardly know their name
It doesn't matter how they die, the void they leave is great
He died a quiet hero, there really is no debate ...
He saved the lives of others, snatching victory from defeat.
~ Author George G. Howard ~

St. Ignatius’ Prayer of Generosity
Lord, teach me to be generous.
Teach me to serve you as you deserve;
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labor and not to ask for reward,
save that of knowing that I do your will.

Deo et Patriae—For God and country

Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith,
Where there is despair, hope,
Where there is darkness, light,
Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much
seek to be consoled as to console,
not so much to be understood as to understand,
not so much to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
it is in dying that we awake to eternal life.

If You’re Out There (John Legend)

If you're ready we can shake the world
Believe again
It starts within
We don't have to wait for destiny
We should be the change that we want to see