email52.xml
Title
email52.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
email
Date Entered
2002-03-11
September 11 Email: Body
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Monday, September 17, 2001 12:37 PM
Subject: America
All Staff Members,
I was out of town last week when the WTC fell. I hope that none of you have close friends or family who are victims of the catastrophe. Regardless, the sadness and bereavement will be with us for a long time.
I was in Tucson and drove 2,700 miles back to Long Island -- through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and NY. The trip afforded me an opportunity to witness first hand many of the supportive, patriotic, mournful events across the country. I know many of these are being held locally, but I witnessed it all across the country, and want to share some of my observations....
> Everywhere there were flags -- big ones and little ones -- on cars, draped from overpasses, stuck in lawns, taped to mailboxes, and being waved by people.
> The HUGE flags you see occasionally in front of businesses, the ones that are 10 or 20 feet high, were universally flying at half mast all across the country.
> Many of those tall digital signs visible from the interstate (that normally advertise something like gas prices at truck stops) read "God Bless America" or "Pray for Our Country".
> I stopped in Nashville, TN for dinner and encountered a group of about 200 people in a candelight vigil, singing God Bless America and the Star Spangled Banner -- in the middle of the main street of the nightclub/restaurant district. And all up and down the street, people came out of buildings and stores with candles and joined in -- and people in the stopped cars sang along.
> The next morning, in a small town east of Knoxville, TN, the electronic sign on the local bank asked everyone to "Keep the victims and their families in your prayers".
> On entering West Virginia, someone had made a home-made sign -- a white sheet with the words "United We Stand" spray-painted in Red and Blue -- and mounted it below the billboard welcoming you to "Wild, Wonderful, West Virginia".
> In Maryland, I passed a school that had about 1,000 small flags stuck in the ground outlining all the walks on the front lawn.
> In Pennsylvania, every otherwise unused digital highway or road work sign flashed "Proud to be an American".
> On every small town radio station, the local DJs were announcing cancellation of local events -- replaced by fund raisers and memorial services -- telling people where to donate blood or how to contribute otherwise. And every local store had sold out every flag they could get.
> And the stations were playing patriotic songs you rarely hear broadcast -- like "Ragged Old Flag" by Johnny Cash.
The attack has been compared to Pearl Harbor. The perpetrators would do well to remember the sentiments of Japan's Admiral Yamamoto following Pearl Harbor. He said that he feared they had ... awakened a sleeping giant and instilled in it a terrible resolve.
When the grief has waned, I hope our national resolve lasts long enough to respond appropriately to this travesty. I like the way John McCain put it..."I say to our enemies, We are coming. God may show you mercy. We will not."
Ron Farmer
Sent: Monday, September 17, 2001 12:37 PM
Subject: America
All Staff Members,
I was out of town last week when the WTC fell. I hope that none of you have close friends or family who are victims of the catastrophe. Regardless, the sadness and bereavement will be with us for a long time.
I was in Tucson and drove 2,700 miles back to Long Island -- through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and NY. The trip afforded me an opportunity to witness first hand many of the supportive, patriotic, mournful events across the country. I know many of these are being held locally, but I witnessed it all across the country, and want to share some of my observations....
> Everywhere there were flags -- big ones and little ones -- on cars, draped from overpasses, stuck in lawns, taped to mailboxes, and being waved by people.
> The HUGE flags you see occasionally in front of businesses, the ones that are 10 or 20 feet high, were universally flying at half mast all across the country.
> Many of those tall digital signs visible from the interstate (that normally advertise something like gas prices at truck stops) read "God Bless America" or "Pray for Our Country".
> I stopped in Nashville, TN for dinner and encountered a group of about 200 people in a candelight vigil, singing God Bless America and the Star Spangled Banner -- in the middle of the main street of the nightclub/restaurant district. And all up and down the street, people came out of buildings and stores with candles and joined in -- and people in the stopped cars sang along.
> The next morning, in a small town east of Knoxville, TN, the electronic sign on the local bank asked everyone to "Keep the victims and their families in your prayers".
> On entering West Virginia, someone had made a home-made sign -- a white sheet with the words "United We Stand" spray-painted in Red and Blue -- and mounted it below the billboard welcoming you to "Wild, Wonderful, West Virginia".
> In Maryland, I passed a school that had about 1,000 small flags stuck in the ground outlining all the walks on the front lawn.
> In Pennsylvania, every otherwise unused digital highway or road work sign flashed "Proud to be an American".
> On every small town radio station, the local DJs were announcing cancellation of local events -- replaced by fund raisers and memorial services -- telling people where to donate blood or how to contribute otherwise. And every local store had sold out every flag they could get.
> And the stations were playing patriotic songs you rarely hear broadcast -- like "Ragged Old Flag" by Johnny Cash.
The attack has been compared to Pearl Harbor. The perpetrators would do well to remember the sentiments of Japan's Admiral Yamamoto following Pearl Harbor. He said that he feared they had ... awakened a sleeping giant and instilled in it a terrible resolve.
When the grief has waned, I hope our national resolve lasts long enough to respond appropriately to this travesty. I like the way John McCain put it..."I say to our enemies, We are coming. God may show you mercy. We will not."
Ron Farmer
September 11 Email: Date
September 17, 2001
September 11 Email: Subject
America
Collection
Citation
“email52.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 4, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/38067.