LF,
I started several times to post something today. I was terribly afraid it would turn into a platform for someone to go off on a political rant of some kind. This and December 7 are two days that I think we should just be Americans.

I was only 3 when Kennedy was assinated so I have no real recolection of the events of that day. But like people describe remembering the very moment they found out about Kennedy, I will never forget the moment the second plane hit the World Trade Center and I knew America was being attacked. I didn't know if we were attacked from within (like Oklahoma City) or from outside.

Whatever the case, I knew at that moment that my country was under attack.

I was at the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association National Championship Shoot. My best friend and I were in the car listening to the radio waiting for our relay to start. The announcer started screaming that a second plane had hit the world trade center. I looked at my freind and said "things will never be the same again". He responded "I guess this means we're at war". As the news spread, the firing line at the championships fell silent. I stayed at the campground that evening and men & women from all over the country sat around their campfires in groups of five or six staring into the fire in silence. It was quite frightening. Usually, there are guys with banjos and guitars plaiying and singing (badly, but having fun) and people laughing & talking until the wee hours of the morning. It's a joyful event where old friends gather once a year and catch up on family, jobs, ohter friends. That night, it was silent. Everyone was kind of in shock.

I went home in the morning and that was the first decent TV pictures I had seen. The reception at the campground was bad and even with the poor picture quality, we could see the horror that had unfolded. The World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in a field out in the middle of nowhere in Pennsylvania.

I remember asking myself over and over "what would make someone want to kill thousands of innocent people?"

7 years later, that question remains unanswered.

It was a tragic and horrible event. It was the first shot fired in a war that I fear will last my lifetime. I'm not talking about Iraq or even Afghanastan. It's a war between different views of the world and different values on human life.

LF, on this one day, I just could not stomach hearing someone spout off about this side causing it or that side causing it or if this person had not done something or if that person had done something. This is a day to mourn the loss of life and wonder why a few young men believed killing thousands of innocent people was the path to glory.

Thanks for posting and please everyone, let's keep the politics out of this, at least for one day.

Jeff