I was reminded yesterday...

...of a funny story from way back when Katherine was about five or so.

Yesterday, Emily was watching a show on Animal Planet (I think) about crocodiles, alligators and reptiles in general. She loves watching those kinds of shows. Very often I will find her watching Discovery, Animal Planet or the History Channel. She's fascinated by it all and similar to Ryun, absorbs the information like a sponge. Ask her how to survive stranded in the woods? She'll know. Stuck on an island in the middle of nowhere? if Emily is with you, have no fear...she'll either find a way to get you home or find a way to make the conditions livable. Chat with her about what has been found on archaeological digs and what it means historically and she'll know that too. Need to write a report on sharks...no need to go to the library...just ask Emily. When I say sponge...I am not kidding. Between her and Ryun, they know the most obscure and random things...things you would never think you need to know...until you do.

Anyway, Emily watching the show about reptiles reminded me of the time I called Ryun on the way home from somewhere and asked him to"stir the crock." Katherine, who was with me in the car said (and yes, she was dead serious), "Mom, are we really having a crocodile for dinner? That is so cool!"

History...Part Two

What follows is the blog entry I wrote on September 11th, 2002.

One year. The days have passed so quickly. Some days were filled with fear, others with grief, and some just seemed like regular days.

Life has gone on. Not to downplay or undermine the fear or the grief but, we had to go on. We as Americans as difficult as it has been and may continue to be, had to show the world that we will not cower to acts of terrorism. The pride, the commitment, the American dream whatever you may perceive that to be, has never been stronger. The terrorists successfully knocked down two American landmarks and damaged another. The one thing they will never succeed in doing is knocking down or harming in any way American pride. It has always been here and it always will. Nobody will ever take that away, nobody ever could.

When I think of September 11th, I can't help but think of the children whose parents were taken away from them so abruptly. I think of the first group of Americans to declare a war on terrorism...the brave passengers of flight 93 who valiantly and successfully prevented the potential loss of many more lives. I think of the heroes, the men and women who thought nothing of their own lives to save the lives of others. Is there anything more noble or admirable than that? I don't think so.

I have the privilege and honor of living in a country where freedom prevails. I have a wonderful family and friends and the two most precious children in the world. During life's hard times, if I remember all of that, I will be much better off than a lot of people in this world.

In honor and tribute to the victims and heroes of September 11, 2001...with gratitude beyond words for the brave men and women serving our country today... may we never forget their sacrifices, may we never forget how fortunate we are.

History

In the days that followed September 11th, 2001 Ryun and I gathered and saved virtually everything we could get our hands on regarding the terror attacks. From newspapers, to news reports, to magazines, to yes, even comic books, we managed to gather a good number of things. Our plan was to save it, and show it to our children when they got older and could better understand what had happened, why it happened, and how dramatically it changed the world as we knew it. About a year later, near the first anniversary of the attacks, I sat down and went through it all. I compiled a scrapbook of the articles and pictures we had saved. I organized and labeled the video tapes. I looked through and documented the magazines and books. Then, I boxed everything up and put it away.

It was back in 2006 when I took this collection out for the first time. I wanted to wait until I thought Emily was old enough to at least have some understanding of what happened. Before that it was too hard to look at, and, even now, years later, it's still not easy. I will take it out again though. Katherine is old enough to see it now, and I am sure both Emily and Katherine will most likely have some discussion about it in school. I took pictures of the collection when I took it out back in 2006. Click on each picture to see a larger version.

The whole collection.

Some of the headlines I cut from newspapers and magazines, creating a two page layout in the scrapbook.

Land of the free, home of the brave.

The Heroes of 9/11/2001. Included on this page are the Firefighter and Policeman's prayers.

A close up of some of the books and tapes on which we recorded numerous 9/11 news reports.

Another close up of some of the magazines etc. To the far left is the aforementioned comic book entitled, "Heroes" put out by Marvel Comics.

This is the front page of the Boston Herald, one year later. Although it is hard to see in the picture, the small black print you see there, lists the names of every victim of the terror attacks.

I'll Be Back...Eventually

I have hardly updated here at all lately. It's been such a fun, relaxing and enjoyable summer, and while I have missed updating here, I wouldn't trade a minute of the time I have been spending with Ryun and the girls. We have spent more time together this summer as a family with Ryun and the kids being home and it had been so nice.

I am getting only slightly excited about school starting next week. It will be nice in some respects to have a schedule back in place. It will be a less hectic schedule since the kids won't be dancing this year which, although I am sad that the reason they won't be dancing is strictly financial, I am not going to complain about being less busy.

Anyway, whether I like it or not, they start next week, and I should be making appearances here more frequently when they do.