Never forget

Ten years ago.

I was 14 and in the 10th grade on September 11, 2001.  I remember hearing rumors about it in class.  We didn’t know exactly what was going on, but we knew something big had happened.  The bell rang, we switched classes, and then the announcements started – some students were being called down to the office for their parents to be taken home.  This continued for the entire rest of the day, and soon teachers gave up their lesson plans.  At that point, we had heard what had happened.  Two planes.  Twin towers.  Unbelievable.

The rest is kind of a blur.  My name was called eventually, as was my brother’s, and my mom took us home, along with my friend Angela who lived just a few minutes away from us.  At home, we sat in front of the TV, as I’m sure most everyone else did on that day, taking in all of the horrible images.  Things like that happen in movies, I thought, but not in real life.  If only it had been just a movie.

Today I am melancholy as I remember the horror and despair, the lives lost, the idea that something this terrible could happen so unexpectedly.  But I am also hopeful as I remember the heroes of that day, those who are rebuilding something new in place of destruction, and the incredible human spirit of dignity and resilience.

On this tenth anniversary, I sincerely hope everyone makes it through this day unscathed.  I pray for those who lost loved ones. And today I remember.

Ten years ago.

click photo for source

Cold

This is not how I expected to spend my first weekend back in Hamburg…  I’ve been in bed sick all weekend.  Started Friday with sore throat and got worse from there.  All I did yesterday was lie in bed, eat toast and chicken soup, and drink tea and juice.  Oh, and I watched about 7 hours of Friends.

Today I feel a bit better and have upgraded from bed to the couch, but still just watching more Friends and lounging around.  The Internet is so boring on Sundays…there’s nothing else to do but rest.

Speaking of cold, it is COLD in Hamburg.  It’s the end of July, almost August, and it is 57ºF.  What the heck?!   I miss summer!  But I can’t really complain because back home they just had 104º with a heat index of 116º, and that is just ridiculous.  Sorry for all of you guys that I’m complaining about the cold!  Hey, I wouldn’t mind it if you passed about 25 degrees over across the ocean…what do you say?  We’d gladly take it off your hands!

And with all of the big, crazy events and tragedies that have happened this weekend (Norway terrorist attacks, Amy Winehouse’s death), and a forecast of rain all this week, I’m feeling the need for a little lightheartedness.

So I’m going back to watching Friends, and for you, here is a video of kittens dee-jaying.

à la radio

This evening (US Eastern Time 1-2 p.m.) I will be participating in a friend’s sister’s college radio show.  We will be discussing the recent French regional elections.

Click on the image to go to the webpage to listen! (Then click on the radio picture on the top left corner, which will open an .mp3 to play in iTunes.)

If you are free from 1-2 p.m. EST, or 6-7 CET (for my France friends), listen for me!  I’ll be on in the first half hour.

Politics isn’t one of my strong points, and it’s usually not all that interesting to me.  But I have heard (and now read) quite a lot about these elections, and it has been fun to do something more intellectual than planning lessons on “How are you?” and “What is your name?”

Please come listen!