Remembering 9/11

If you aren't already thinking back to that day, 10 years ago (how is that possible that it has been a decade already?) me telling you to do so most assuredly is not going to make a difference.

However, in writing my next book, 9/11 plays a pretty critical part in my running life. I am including a little excerpt here to illustrate that:

November 11, 2001:

Exactly two months after the horrible terrorist attacks on Washington, DC, New York and a field in southwest Pennsylvania, I was scheduled to take on my very first marathon in Harrisburg, PA. It was on that fateful day two months prior when, faced with the first real uncertainty in my own adult life of what the heck was actually happening in my country, that I turned to the solace of running. Everyone else was clustered around the television getting muddled bits and pieces of information and misinformation about the crashing world around us. I decided that what I needed most was a run.

On this run, I saw for the first time ever, an afternoon edition of a newspaper sitting n the doorsteps of the houses I ran by. A throw-back to a bygone era, it would have been extremely quaint and Rockwell-esque if the pictures on the front had not been death and destruction and the beginning of a new way of life steeped in fear and uncertainty.
 
I thought about including some pictures here of perhaps the WTC with a remember ribbon over it, like the Mets did on Shea Stadium before it was demolished but again, while I am linking to it for those who haven't seen it, I highly doubt anyone needs to be reminded of that horrific day.


Be extremely thankful for all you have and if you know someone who was directly affected by that day in NYC, DC or in a field in Pennsylvania, give them an extra long hug today.