Memories linger from that September morning

Every generation has “That Day” that they remember exactly where they were when something horific happened.
For my mother’s generation is was the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
For my generation it was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963.
For the younger generation it may have been the morning of the Challenger explosion on Jan. 28, 1986.
But the world changed forever on Sept. 11, 2001, and we all remember where we were that terrible morning.
I worked late the night before putting out the previous sports news.
My daughter was in her first semester of college and she called and asked if I had the TV on because they had heard in class that a plane had hit one of the World Trade Center towers in New York.
I turned on the TV and watched as the second plane hit the South Tower and then a few minutes later another one crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
As I scurried to get ready to head to the office, the report of a final crash into that field in Pennysvania blared into the room.
All over America, citizens were stunned at the event unfolding in front of them.
Our world was forever altered never to be the same.
That weekend, the NCAA, NFL and Major League baseball did not play any games.
Barry Bonds pursuit of 71 home runs was suspended and Roger Clemons had to wait to become the first pitcher to go 20-1.
We all remember where we were that September day as Alan Jackson sang:
“Did you stand there in shock at the sight of that black smoke rising against that blue sky
Did you shout out in anger in fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cry?
Did you weep for the children who lost their dear loved ones and pray for the ones who don’t know?
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble and sob for the ones left below?
Did you burst out in pride for the red white and blue for the heroes who died just doing what they do?
Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer and look at yourself to what really matters...
Did you go to a church and hold hands with some stranger, stand in line and give your own blood?
Did you just stay home and cling tight to your family and thank God you had somebody to love?”
Our country has overcome many terrible days in our history but we should never forget the price that was paid each time we see flag-draped coffin returning to their loved ones.
I remember covering the Eunice High – Notre Dame that Friday and the pre-game ceremony that included candles and the release of red, white and blue baloons.
There were those who argued the games should not have been played as the nation mourned its losses and angrily prepared for the impending conflict with terrrorists.
But I was glad to see the outpouring of American spirit on display.
Read the fourth verse of the Star Spangled Banner - that no one ever sings or possibly even knew existed off Francis Scott Key’s pen:
“O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation;
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land;
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave;
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!”