nmah5669.xml

nmah5669.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2003-09-09

My supervisor and I were in Brookgreen Gardens, in Myrtle Beach. We'd spent the morning going through the gardens and seeing the sculptures. Around noon, we went into the gift shop and found everyone huddled around the radio. When we asked what had happened, the sales clerk told us that someone had bombed the World Trade Center.

One of my favorite sculptures is "The Pledge of Allegiance." It shows several grade school children standing around the flag pole with their hands over their hearts. When we entered the garden, the flag was all the way up; when we left, it was at half mast.

Yes. I'm more grateful for my country, and I'm proud of its people. We saw so much heroism in the aftermath of the tragedy. For every anti-American demonstration, we had several more countries offering us their prayers and support. I'm also more aware of security, but not to the point of being obsessive about it. I don't mind taking longer to fly, and I still prefer it to other modes of travel.

The decent people from all over the world who offered help, compassion, and kindess. So many people were heroes--the fire-fighters and emergency crews who dug through ground zero, the producers and movie-makers who used their equipment to light the ruins so the emergency workers could keep working; the engineers who helped shore up the ruins so that more people whould not be lost; the people from all over the world who sent what aid they could. September 11 united every decent person in a common goal; we will not be terrorized by cowards who use religion as an excuse to commit murder.

Yes, and yes. I fly the flag more often. It not only stands for our country and the freedom we offer, but as a symbol for all those who were lost on September 11, regardless of their country.