September 12, 2001 - The Skies Were....

"We woke this morning, to an empty sky."

It was eerie.  The Oce office was next to the runway at Ontario Airport, in the IE, SoCali.  Our windows overlooked the 10; Southwest planes landing every 10 minutes or so...

Not today.  No planes, no cars on the 10, the 91, 55, or 405.  For the few of us who did venture out or in, few words.

Watching those planes go, the bodies tumbling, and the towers rumble down, was incredible, heartwrenching, and "...more than anyone of us can bear..."

In the Deep Silence of September 12, the inability to contemplate such an act gave way to anger, then guilt - what could we have done to allow this?  How can somebody hate us so very much?

There may or may not have been "weapons of mass destruction" - We didn't care.

The nations states of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan may not have officially condoned - We didn't care.

Allies shaking in their boots, predicting our massive reaction, positing restraint - We didn't care.

In the resolute absence, we wanted  'big holes in the ground' somewhere.

It started that day.  The integration of all arms of the military and each intelligence agency.  Army, Navy, and Airforce coordinated attacks together - sailors, marines, and soldiers coalesced.  FBI deployed overseas, sharing data with the CIA, and military intelligence. 

The Patriot Act.  Metal detectors, long lines, in our airports, and disappearing receptionists - that's right up until September of 2001, salespeople were greeted(or shunned) by somebody at a desk in the lobby.

Not anymore.  Bulletproof glass, cameras, employee phone listing, and a phone waited in front of a locked door.

The times changed.

For over two decades we've seen independence and freedoms eroded in the name of security, in the name of health. 

The United States of America has been at war since its inception. Is it because we're inherently evil?

No.

The world has evil in it. The downing of the Towers didn't deliver Evil, it cast light on that forever present force, comfortable in our ignorance.

Today, 21 years later, the impact is felt in every facet of Life - you can almost smell charred remains; hear the distant crash of concrete, glass, and flesh.  

Unlike that day, the skies aren't empty.