Remembering 9/11

Dear Kari:

The news of 9/11 was shared by the world through modern electronic communications. I first heard the dreadful news of that morning when I logged onto my computer and pulled up a news web site. When I saw the headlines, I turned on the television and throughout the day, the radio was on at work.

Memorials have been held in 2002 and will again in 2003. In the broad context of our society, we will experience it together through television. But with the rise of the Internet, small pockets of remembrance take place through the web.

My journey to the World Trade Center site took place in November of 2002 and I posted my observation here.

I’ve been to DC since 9/11, driven near the Pentagon and at that time saw little sign of what had happened as the repair work was so swift. But the military vehicles parked along the highway indicated things were different.

I’ve yet to make it to Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

And so I conducted a search on Yahoo using the terms: "Shanksville" and "memorial."

The first site that came up was a site maintained by a small student group of your fellow Kansans. In their site, they had a link to the Somerset County Commissioners who have established this site for news and progress on an official memorial.

The second link was a summary of a feature story on WITN public television.

Smock is a small town near Shanksville and the Smock Historical Society had this page with photos of their neighboring town’s memorial in 2002

The next link was to a photograph in the 9/11 Digital Archive which is a joint project with the Smithsonian to create a visual record of 9/11.

Kim Denny’s personal web page contained photos from a visit to the makeshift memorial site on September 6, 2002

I then came upon a page that contains photos taken by Nicole Carol Miller’s family on September 11, 2002 from the memorial service for the 40 who gave their lives on Flight 93

The main page begins an emotional tribute that served as healing for her family and allows others to get a glimpse of a vibrant life ended too soon.

Nicole Carol Miller was 21 years old, a student of West Valley Community College in Saratoga, California and beloved by family and friends. One sentence to describe a life shows the poor power of words. Yet, it is the combination of photos, music and words in this kind of web page that the power of the Internet to draw people together is demonstrated. I clicked and scrolled through the pages of the testimonials sent from all over the world to the Miller family. It was not long before I could not continue.

In remembering 9/11, my hope and prayer is for God's peace and love to be upon those who lost someone. In remembering 9/11, I want to rededicate myself to an active faith undimmed by life's difficulties, love that chooses to give, and a life that works for a better world.

Be well,
Rene