Starting the day with tears

A few days ago I wrote about feeling sad because Ransom had flown back east to teach, his first travel in over a year-and-a-half. I miss him and the dogs miss him, but of course we all know that he'll be home soon.

Not so for the families and friends and, in fact, the entire country as we ponder the events of twenty years ago, September 11, 2001. I started my day by watching TV, something that is extremely rare for me. Being on the west coast the ceremonies were well under way when I tuned in but I still experienced some very powerful moments. The reading of the names is always poignant and I was struck how many of the dead were young. I myself was 52 when the towers fell; many of the victims were quite a bit younger,

I watched the National Geographic's "One Day in America" series about 9/11 over the last few days and that too brought a lot of tears. I am not a TV junky so there were a lot of images I had never seen. Horrifying images. Brutal images.

I also watched a PBS Frontline episode about what the events of that day have meant over the last twenty years as the US has repeatedly gone to war to punish the terrorists or, supposedly, defend our country.

None of this is good news. I am, as the masthead proudly proclaims, a cynic. Frankly I don't see how anyone can be anything but a cynic when you consider the trajectory we've taken over the last twenty years, over the last forty years even. I am proud to be an American, but there is so much room for improvement!