A Day Without Politics......And It Couldn't Come Too Soon!!!

When looking back through time, there are only a handful of moments that one can remember where they were and what they were doing when the event took place. In the three decades plus of my life, I can remember the following dates:

Space Shuttle Challenger: I remember sitting in my fourth grade class watching the first teacher in space lifting off for her historic mission. I remember seeing the look on my teacher's face and all of us asking a thousand questions as to what had happened.

The Death of Princess Diana: I was living in Georgia and for some reason I was up late watching TV. I remember the breaking news alert of Diana being in a car crash. I remember the sinking feeling in my stomach at 3 or 4 in the morning when they announced she had died.

September 11, 2001: I was living in Texas with my fiancee (now my husband). Both of us traveled weekly by plane in our jobs, but remarkably neither one of us were on a plane that morning. Most of us not living in the affected areas that day were trying to see a television at work, at lunch, just about anywhere we could find one. I remember standing with a group of co-workers and there was silence. I remember feeling a sense of community. I felt like I had something in common with people that I may never have had that with in the past.
On that day seven years ago, politics took a backseat. The normal everyday complaints that we had in our lives seemed petty. People in this country were overly-friendly to each other. I remember reading that even criminals took a break off that day and a few days after the tragic events. Yes, we were a country united in a feeling of defiance, our pride, and most importantly we were a country of patriots.

Today, I will not mention politics. Not because I don't want to, but out of respect for that love of country. For one day every year, Americans must ensure that we are united. It is true in life, but easily forgotten, that we have many more things in our lives that should unite us than divide us.

Tomorrow we will return to the partisan politics of our day, but today........I will honor those who no longer have that same opportunity.

If you know where you were that day and what you were doing and feeling, please feel free to share. I would love to hear other points of veiw regardless of your political beliefs.