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AL'S RANTS

 

"An Unforgettable Day.. "

I was going to speak about the Latin Grammys, however that all changed on September 11, 2001 a date that will undoubtedly be forever significant for generations.

I began my day as I do most days going on the computer to answer my e-mails when I was IM'ed by a German client of mine stating that our country was under attack, just barely being awake I noticed that on the AOL main page the horrific shots of the first tower of the World Trade Center on fire. Instinctively I yelled out to my wife Maya, who works as the office manager/event coordinator at wireimage.com (an online photo agency) of what was unfolding she had just put our son Kyle on the bus for school and was now getting ready for work when she dropped everything and called work where editor Sam Mircovich had already assembled the Los Angeles bureau's staff photographers to cover our city's reaction to this horrible event in New York City. She had me grab a television and portable radio to bring into the office to keep abreast of the entire situation. Our town had completely shut down, major businesses were closed, attractions were no longer available to the public; all our events like the Latin Grammys, The Madonna concert and sporting events, were cancelled. The streets were empty it seems as though the large portion of our society were huddled around their televisions, secure and safe in their homes. Basically life was at a standstill, the images being broadcast on all stations were graphic and surreal. I spent most of my day watching the events unfold in the hub of a news organization perhaps just a bit more focused on the facts like some of the victims that were involved in the massacre. David Angell, Executive Producer of the NBC sitcom FRAISER was among one of the many that was aboard one of the flights leaving Boston bound for LAX. as was widow & actress of actor Anthony Perkins, Berry Berenson.

I felt the best thing I could do was to return home to awaiting my children to see how the news effected their days and to look for my photos of the New York skyline that I had taken the last time I was in New York last Summer for the premiere of The X-MEN. When the press corp boarded a ferry to go to the premiere held on Ellis Island a local fotog told me to take a photo of New York because "You never know when you'll get the chance again." I never in my wildest dreams imagined the truth behind those words! I kept the radio on all day keeping up with all the new details and updates being made available but still it all seemed so far away and so unfathomable that it just left me numb. I never thought that I would live to see the very fabric of our lives begin to unravel. Our lives as we know it have changed we will no longer be the happy go lucky carefree Americans we used to be, we will be looking over our shoulders we will be more paranoid of our foreign neighbors. Reality has hit us square in the face and the ugliness, the darkest nature of humans has shown its face.

As I returned to pick up Maya at work I could see the fatigue on her face. I know she wanted to talk about it but I felt a bit drained from the day's events. Unfortunately I had to go to work that evening on an independent feature that did not have the luxury of postponing production. As I arrived to the Culver City set of DARK COMMANDOS I saw the actors and small crew all huddled around a small television, it seemed that no matter where you went you could not escape these catastrophic images. Then it hit me during one of the breaks in takes when we filed outside to watch the update, Peter Jennings of ABC introduced a video montage of the gruesome acts of terrorism. For the first time this whole day I found myself choked up, tears started to wellup in my eyes as the video showed heroism, terror and some of the most dreadful visions of destruction known to modern man. The pictures along with the sounds of people screaming in disbelief and horror drove it home for me, the one image that haunted me was that of a woman's reaction to the people jumping from the windows of their office windows, still alive as they plunged to their deaths. I will never forget those sites, ever!

My heart goes out to the victims but I am afraid that this is just the tip of the iceberg as more bloodshed is inevitable and we may very well have to fight a war for the first time in many generations on our native soil. Our enemies are here boys and girls taking advantage of our freedom to congregate, practice free speech and religion and they have been preparing all their lives to destroy our way of life! Protect yourselves and your loved ones, be a bit more careful but do not take your rage out on anyone you may feel unsure of! Leave that for the experts by no means let chaos take control of our lives, it is not right for us to drag people from cars or their homes and enact vigilante justice, our government knows who and where they are we just have to be supportive and patient, we will have justice. America will be victorious we will prevail, support you nation give blood, comfort each other and most importantly stand behind our leaders from George W. Bush down. We have to be united despite or differences because we are in fact at war...


God Bless America!

Al Ortega
Your man in the Trenches.




Responses from Al's Rant

(note: some notes contain some mature language)

To see some of Al's pics of the Candlelight vigil he attended, click here to see WireImage 


Good rant. Thanks for sharing.

My father - who I don't know very well - served in WW II. Before this service he and his father, mother and siblings were listed by their sheriff in North Dakota as 'potential Nazi sympathizers' or something. They were forced to surrender their hunting weapons - and the sheriff had hunted with them in the recent past. (Grandpa and Grandma were from Germany - I believe my real name is Schtenglevagner or something, my dad doesn't even know).

After that, Dad and his brother were drafted and served (haha). I only learned this 4 years ago. So you know where I stand on the subject of 'rounding up Muslims' and the like.

It looks like we are building to a major invasion of Afghanistan, with possible side-incursions into other areas. Today I found myself singing (a bit anyway), The Battle Hymn of the Republic (though the original 'John Brown's body' might actually be more appropriate). 

My dad suspects real war is coming. The first combatants may have been the passengers of the 4th hijacked airline. There will be real casualties, and God help me, I find myself sorry that I'm not draft age (and on blood pressure meds, no less!).

May God have mercy on us all,
CW


Hi Albert, 
Great website!!! 

Also, thank you for the comic relief. Being that I am from New York, this has been particularly difficult and painful. To see my fellow New Yorkers, Firefighters, Policemen rescue workers and all those people in the airplanes perish because of some sick, sick barbarian has been heartbreaking. To see my hometown look like a war-zone and not be able to go there or do anything about has been a nightmare beyond belief. 

It took 3 days to track down family, loved ones and friends, the good news is that they are all okay, just very very shaken up. 

I hope the indomitable spirit that the New Yorkers are displaying in helping others and rescue/recovery efforts spreads its way through to the rest of the world. 

Take care, 
Laura 



Well said, Albert. You never cease to make me proud.

Just so you know, my good friend Sarah (cute Filipino girl) works a few blocks away. She is actually doing really well, all things considering. I talked to her again today and she says this for her has just put things into perspective. She is a banker for Golman Sachs and realizes how unimportant money is. Lucky for her, she decided to sleep in on Tuesday and was on her way out at 9am when she saw the news. She lives on 15th street and as you know everything from 14th down is closed. The whole thing is unreal. She talked to people who saw the 2nd plane hit from their offices and saw people blown to pieces. They actually saw body parts flying. I can't even imagine.

Here is an e-mail from one our friends stuck in NY. She lived there for 4 years and just went back on a vacation.

hi everyone, I've spoken to many of you already, but I just wanted to tell you that I'm fine. I was in Rockefeller center when it happened so i was a good distance away. I found out about it when I was on my way to get Conan O'Brien tickets; I passed by the NBC store where they had TVs in the storefront window. It was unreal. I first saw that the north tower was hit and figured it was a freak accident by an amateur pilot. I went to get my ticket, and when I returned to the TV in the window 5 minutes later I saw that the south tower was hit. I went inside the store where I could get audio, watched for about 15 minutes, but then the NBC store cut off all the TVs because the store was getting packed with people/non-customers (I'm SURE nobody was in there to buy a Will and Grace TShirt at that time, but whatever). So I went back home to watch the news. This was about 9:10am when the news still hadn't hit everyone but I could hear the news spreading on the streets. All cell phones were down, and people were lined up at the payphones. I ducked into a nearby church to say a quick prayer for what had happened and what was to come. They were holding morning services, and I don't think they even knew what had happened yet. I took the subway about halfway but then they shut down all transit system so I walked the rest of the way. By the time I got home, the south tower had already collapsed. Then the north tower collapsed. Carl (my friend John's brother) and I went up to the roof of the apartment where we had a very clear view of what USED to be the downtown skyline. It was a little freaky b/c the apartment is a couple of blocks away from the Empire State Building and we could see a fighter plane circling the empire state in it's protection. We watched the smoldering remains of the WTC for a while and then returned to the apt where we watched the news for about 5 straight hours. Around 1pm, John returned home from work. He was working downtown, about 3-4 blocks away from the twin towers. He said it felt like 4 consecutive earthquakes, and he witnessed most of the incident. He had soot allover his pants and shoes, he's having some breathing difficulty, but is otherwise fine. Another friend's sister was evacuating the north tower and was underneath the south tower when it was hit. Her account is horrible, I can't even imagine going through that. Not only for the explosion and panic, but she said that she could see debris from the building coming down at them, and then they saw people jumping from the tops of the building, bodies coming down. The whole city is in a very somber mood. The streets were packed b/c the subways were down, all the bridges and tunnels were closed, and all businesses let out. Everyone was walking home, the grocery stores were cleaned out, traffic was packed. There were people making their way up from downtown wearing facemasks, with soot all over themselves or their cars. By evening, the streets were void of cars, but there were plenty of people walking about and packed in bars. We went to one local bar to watch the presidents address and it was completely silent in there (except for one drunk girl. There's always one drunk girl, isn't there?). The good news is that New Yorkers are responding valiantly. There are already too many volunteers. We went to donate blood and were told to come back the next day because they already were too full. I'm sure everyone is going through the same thing we are right now, with the only exception being that we are in close proximity to the attack. It is all unreal. I'm still in disbelief. I thank God that John is fine, but I know that he's lucky. But anyway, I'm fine other than the same emotions that everyone in the US is going through. I was supposed to fly out of NY this morning but FAA shut down all airports so I'm stuck here for a little while. 
Debi 


Thank you for that I loved your writing! All my best to you and your family 

@--{--{--- 

Peace and love, 

Mary L. Carter 
Actress / Pro. Model / Certified P. T. 
http://www.MaryLCarter.com/ 



Hi Albert it was great to hear from someone who is also mad and sad, I have only skimmed over your page I will read it later. I will say I feel scared for those muslin living in the state that having nothing to do with the nuts that carried out those acts of war, I hope with all my heart that people are treated fairly.
Later Fitzroy Barrett



I'm from New York. I lived in Queens and Long Island. I worked in the city for over 8 years. Most of my friends are cops, firemen and carpenters. I have been able to contact some of the people I thought might be missing. I was able to reach two brothers - one a mechanic for Otis Elevator who was stationed in the WTC. The younger brother is a fireman stationed in Brooklyn. Both were at the scene. Both are alive and working to make it a better situation. But there are others... Only time will tell. I remember in 1993 when the first attempt was made on the Towers. The look on people's faces on the subway, the silence of the stares, and the fear in the eyes of men who held those "certain" physical traits. I really fear what might be brewing.

In my home town of Floral Park, Long Island the churches are filled. The number of people who left for work on the morning of 9/11 is far greater than the number to return that evening.

I just got a call from a friend telling me that more people are being arrested for trying to board American aircrafts? Is this true?.... I guess acquiring a picture of Britney Spears or whatever is a little insignificant at this time, but I can't wait for the day those little things start to occupy my mind again.

Sean 



You the man.

Nice article Al, thanks for sending it our way! 

Mojo 
(this is from special effects guru Adam "Mojo" Liebowitz 
Emmy Award winner for Star Trek Voyager.)



We Americans! 
America the land of the free? 
Land of the proud? 
Americans celebrate diversity? 

I just received some very disturbing news. 

Every one of us probably knows someone of Middle Eastern descent from MANY different countries. It has come to my attention that one of my close friends who is of Middle Eastern descent that has lived here in America for most of his life is being attacked and IS NOW considered "enemy number one" This is outrageous! His little brother (10 Yr. Old) who was BORN in THIS COUNTRY! Has been told by his friends that THEIR OWN PARENTS HAVE TOLD THEM THEY ARE NO LONGER ALLOWED TO PLAY WITH HIM! 

WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!?????????? 

How do you explain to a 10-year-old child that his life is now in danger and people think he is evil because of the color of his skin? A child that is an AMERICAN! BORN IN THIS COUNTRY! Is this what we are going to NOW teach our children? Are we going to add yet another skin color to OUR LIST OF BIGOTRY? African Americans were enslaved and they still experience bitterness and judgment even from their own race! Asian Americans were put in internment camps during W.W.II and still they are plagued by racism! Latin Americans (whom are the work force of most of Los Angeles and across the world) are scrutinized, under paid, etc.! Women (who were not too long ago allowed to vote)! are still subjected to sexual harassment, criticism, and underpaid for the same work as a man! Native Americans are starving and not getting proper medical care STILL! And SO ON and SO ON! What do you want to do? Send everyone back to his or her own countries? There would be NO ONE LEFT! And what do you want to do to the massive amounts of Biracial Americans like me? Send one part of my body to Germany, one part of my body to Italy and one part of my body to Africa? I myself because of my ethnic features have always been mistaken for being of Middle Eastern descent. How long will it be until? I get death threats, nasty emails, spit at, or rocks thrown at me? As you probably noticed from my above statement Every one has a "label" to their "race"! When will our different "labels" and "races" be called THE HUMAN RACE or better yet... AMERICANS? 

THIS IS ABSURD PEOPLE! STOP THIS IGNORANCE NOW! 

We have got to stop all this bigotry and violence! It is time for us ALL to join together as a nation and stand proud! To hold or brothers and sisters hands and help one another cope through this time of dire need! We need to EDUCATE THOSE THAT ARE IGNORANT! This is what the terrorists want! For us to bring WAR UPON OUR SELVES! Do we want to give them the satisfaction? They are watching our news and laughing at us! The news is telling every minute of the president's schedule and whereabouts in the next few days! News reporters are fighting on national television with Arab journalists! What are we stupid? What are we just a soda pop nation that makes gods of celebrities and boy bands? Have we not learned anything after all these years? Wake up people! 

Spread the word of PEACE AMONGST OUR SELVES! WE TOGETHER AS AMERICANS! UNITE! REJOICE! BE PROUD! Know that if we STICK TOGETHER as ONE we WILL WIN this WAR and find PEACE once AGAIN! DO NOT WAR AMONGST OUR SELVES! 

Please copy/paste/forward this message to every one that you know! Print it out! Hand it out to others! So that we can JOIN TOGETHER and SPREAD THE WORD OF PEACE! Thank you 

Written by: Mary L. Carter 
September 13, 2001 
Mary L. Carter 



Okay folks, let's stop for a minute and think about what some of us are doing...and that exactly what I mean, SOME of us. 

What happened this week, September 11th, 2001, was truly a declaration of war against the United States of America, yes, the land of the free. I'm very pissed off. I'm so pissed that I can kill someone, however, if I do kill someone, it's going to be those responsible for such a heartless act. 

Our security was breached and the enemy walked among us. They committed a crime and like cowards, those who weren't part of the suicide team, fled. Cowards. Those involved...probably Muslims. 

Before jumping to conclusions, please know that Islams are peace-loving people. It's not something I read in textbooks or learned via the Discovery Channel, it's something I learned while stationed for 9-months in the Persian Gulf back in 1990-91, during the Shield/Storm. It's something I began to educate myself about even after the experience. 

After the attack last Tuesday, our Commander-In-Chief asked us to not let the tragic incident force us to stop living our lives and therefore, we must not. In the days that passed, I've been hearing of hate crimes being committed worldwide and even moreso, here in the United States. Now, I'm not condoning what happened but at the same time, I feel it's wrong for us to think that just because a muslim terrorist committed the crime, that Muslims are terrorists, because they aren't. I know it. Muslims come in all shapes, sizes, colors and ethnicity. 

The Muslims I know are kind and hospitable people. The Muslims I know are hard workers and the one's I personally know love this country, the United States of America. A few of the ones I know I served with in the United States Army. The Muslim-Americans I know, in the early hours of the war, prayed and when the ground war started, picked up that rifle and took the lives of other Muslims and fought hard for the United States of America. 

I am asking that you think about something before you build a wall of hate, the same hate that eventually led to constant terrorist attacks against the United States. I'm asking that you be responsible Americans (and if you're not American but living in the United States) to be responsible citizens and protect each other. The Muslims aren't the enemy out there...the terrorists are...and those should be our targets. The men and women responsible for the terrible act. 

Here's something to think about: Think about all the Americans who died when the World Trade Center went down (as well as the 4 planes that were intentionally used as missiled against the World Trade Center as well as the Pentagon). Now when you think about the Americans who died in either plane or buildings...think about how many of those Americans may have been Muslims as well. 

If you don't know a Muslim, reach out and get to know one. You'll be surprised. After my experience in the Gulf War, I refused to come back from it and let hatred get the best of me. I ended up meeting a few not too long after and it was an enlightening experience. They even accepted me as a friend...and I'm Catholic. 

I'm not pointing finger, please don't get me wrong...I'm merely suggesting that if you are doing something wrong -- to please stand back, breathe and reassess (or re-evaluate) your intentions. If we're called to duty and we end up having to go to Afghanistan or wherever to fight a conventional war, that person next to you who will be willing to die for you may be Muslim. And trust me, he'll/she'll be willing to die for you because he's an American. 

Just please think about it. America is such a young country and already we've dealt with the extremist form of racism. This shit has got to end. 

Now to other things. I hope they find the motherfuckers that did this. And if we do get called to war and you end up with a rifle in your hands in the eve of combat, keep something in mind that I always kept in mind during my last few combat experiences... 

"...don't die for your country...make the enemy die for his..." 

I'm always ready for another fight. Unlike Panama, The Storm and Mogadishu, Somalia, this one's PERSONAL. Very Personal! 

Right now, let's take care of each other and let our Commander-In-Chief and the other tacticians along with our allies do what they need to do. We're Americans and we're a strong people living in a powerful nation. Let's take care of each other and focus our anger and aggressions on finding the REAL enemy. 

He's out there waiting...and we're here...ready to bite his fucking head off! 

Focus and be inspired, 
R.A. 



Almighty God, Father of mercies and giver of comfort: 
Deal graciously, we pray, with all who mourn; that, casting all their care on you, they may know the consolation of your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
(The Book of Common Prayer)



REAL TO REEL 
Making Sense of Armageddon 

By MOJO 

Soon to be published on http://www.newtekpro.com/

On Tuesday, September 11, Marc Tinkler left his home on Chambers street and began the short walk to work, just a few blocks from the World Trade Center. He noticed several people pointing and looking up, so he turned around and saw it - Tower One, just hit by a commercial airliner, was on fire. As he and the other pedestrians all looked on in horror, barely having enough time to comprehend what was happening, a second jet seemed to appear from nowhere and slammed itself into Tower Two. This collision created an even larger hole than its predecessor and sent up a ball of flame so massive it would engulf the entire upper third of the building. Even from three blocks away, Marc felt the heat from the explosion and was almost knocked to the ground. "It was unreal," he told me later that day. "I felt like I was watching a scene from [the movie] Armageddon." 

Marc wasn't the only one to compare the experience of what he saw to something straight out of Hollywood. As I watched the coverage all day on CNN and took calls from friends and family in Manhattan (where I spent most of my adult life just a few scant miles from the Trade Center), everyone from eye witnesses to Peter Jennings drew the same parallels: it looked like Armageddon or Independence Day or something you would only expect to see as a special effect - how could it possibly be real? 

So traumatic was this event that several people I spoke to were upset by the number of times they heard the media compare the video footage to a movie. They felt this somehow diminished the importance of what happened and that all these pop culture references were an insult to an all too real tragedy. 

To try an make sense of all this, I asked Christo Franklin (M.A., Clinical Psychology) if he could shed some light on why so many people immediately reached for the Hollywood analogy. "To understand something we haven't seen before, we have to relate it to something we already know," he explained. In order to survive, human being must be able to adapt to, and make sense of, their surroundings. We also feel more comfortable with the known than the unknown and when we see something as terrible as a plane smash into the World Trade Center, within seconds we begin to look for a way to cope. Many people described these images on the news as 'unreal,' which is exactly what they were - something none of us have ever experienced in reality. So, by likening this disaster to images we have seen in a movie, we make the unreel seem real - we find something within our domain of experience to help us transition from the unknown to the known. 

In other words it was a perfectly normal, and even healthy, response to an extraordinarily difficult situation. 
Another point I raised with Christo was an action I had taken mere minutes after I first started watching the coverage: I began video taping everything. My initial thought was that an event of such magnitude and historical importance (not to mention that it was all happening in my hometown) was something I might want to keep a record of. What disturbed me, however, was soon after the first tower collapsed, I found myself thinking, "man, this is great reference footage!" I saw all the explosions and smoke and debris falling as an excellent tool to help me recreate these things in LightWave. After all, every time I see a disaster show on TV or a DVD labeled "The World's Greatest Explosions," I grab it up to use as reference for my work. And so here I was, watching the best footage ever! Having it on tape would be great. 
Almost simultaneously, I began thinking it was heartless and sick to even contemplate exploiting such a terrible disaster this way while it was happening. At the risk of being presumptuous, later on it also crossed my mind that perhaps many of you were thinking along the same lines, so I asked Christo what this thought process said about people like us. It surprised me to discover that, far from being a callous reaction, this was yet another, normal coping mechanism. 
"It's universal that we have an emotional response," he told me. "As we grasp for context to help us cope with the situation, what vantage point we choose depends on our background. What perspective we take has a lot to do with what makes us comfortable." He explained that viewing the Trade Center scenes as reference footage was a way of altering the experience from an emotional to an intellectual one, thus allowing me to take a step back and achieve the emotional distance I needed to deal with it. 

In addition, Christo went on to reveal that this way of thinking was also an exceptionally positive one, since, without even realizing it, I was taking a horrible, meaningless situation and immediately finding a useful purpose for it. The act of taping the footage for future reference also meant that I had adopted the healthy attitude that these terrible events would eventually pass and that things would return to normal. "Believe it or not," Christo concluded, "popping that tape in the VCR was an act of hope." 



Al I am so proud of you, your words were strong and very well thought out.... Just to let some of you know Laura & I have heard from some of our colleagues in NY! Our host company has finally gotten through on Email to us . However the phones are still down. But we can breathe. They're alive fine & well.

Jaye we are praying with you, one of our silent partners on this list has posted on her board, she is missing a fire fighter & friend, Our prayers are with you. Maya & Al we're praying for your friend as well. Maya's & our silent partners friends are Firemen....

I'll be back with a couple mails I have received from our counterparts at Drum TV and a counterpart of Al's....

Hugs Fer now
Rob.
September 14, 2001




BY ROGER EBERT

If there is to be a memorial, let it not be of stone and steel. Fly no flag above it, for it is not the possession of a nation but a sorrow shared with the world.

Let it be a green field, with trees and flowers. Let there be paths that wind through the shade. Put out park benches where old people can sun in the summertime, and a pond where children can skate in the winter.

Beneath this field will lie entombed forever some of the victims of September 11. It is not where they thought to end their lives. Like the sailors of the battleship Arizona, they rest where they fell.

Let this field stretch from one end of the destruction to the other. Let this open space among the towers mark the emptiness in our hearts. But do not make it a sad place. Give it no name. Let people think of it as the green field. Every living thing that is planted there will show faith in the future.

Let students take a corner of the field and plant a crop there. Perhaps corn, our native grain. Let the harvest be shared all over the world, with friends and enemies, because that is the teaching of our religions, and we must show that we practice them. Let the harvest show that life prevails over death, and let the gifts show that we love our neighbors.

Do not build again on this place. No building can stand there. No building, no statue, no column, no arch, no symbol, no name, no date, no statement. Just the comfort of the earth we share, to remind us that we share it.

Copyright © Chicago Sun-Times Inc.



Thank you. I am pleased that Al is taking the view that you cannot blame a whole race, or a religion for the actions of a few sick individuals. 

This atrocity has hit all of us, I have friends who waited in fear for news of loved ones who had been working in the WTC... fortunately, all safe this time though the British Government estimates around 500 to 1000 Brits may have lost their lives on Tuesday. 

We are all in this together, every country that believes in freedom and democracy is standing side by side ready to take whatever action is necessary to bring these individuals to justice. 

I do not want a war - I pray there will not be a war for war solves nothing and should only be a last resort - but I want to see justice done for those innocent people who were slaughtered needlessly. 

One other point: If the cause of those who perpetrated this was so JUST, then why are they not taking responsibility for their actions? Why are they silent? 

Best wishes 

Sandra 
(Tarlan) 



My Fan Fiction: 
http://www.chaelyndra.com/tarlan/index.html 
That about says it all. I'm thankful that Al wasn't in NYC for this.
The picture is from someone in England who belongs to one of the email groups I belong to has made this sign of unity...it's great...and the words are so poignant (worldwide unity was also said by the same person in an email). The world is uncertain right now, but our love for each other is there...and our thoughts and prayers with the lives lost is there, too. Love and prayers, C.

Thanx Al, I truly meant what I said your words spoke with such conviction & power. I warned our whole list as a well as a couple boards that they will need tissues as they read your rant. My father had friends in the Pentagon, I fear they are no longer with us on this plane of existence. I have not the courage to call my father and ask.
I wish the best for Maya & yourself. Waiting for word sucks, patience is not my strongest suit. I wanted you& Maya to know your both in our prayers and if there is anything we can do, don't hesitate to scream rant or whatever. I am watching local news, and have seen this morning that Arab Americans have taken quite a beating because of their racial & religious backgrounds. It saddens me sickens me, don't these people realize this is how all this SHIT started in the first place. A simple word of HATE. Turned into millions of life's taken destroyed & forever lost until we reach their planes of existence. Who knows maybe the next Rant can be about Racism. Its definitely something I think Sucks. Ok this is winded & I have tons to do, wanted you to know I am here for you & your lovelies in heart & spirit. 
God Blesss you & your family. 
Hugs & PEACE 
Robin



From an old friend and colleague of Al's:

Hi Everyone

Please forgive me for doing a mass email. First, I wanted to thank everyone who was so wonderful in checking on me after the blast. It was touching and appreciated and you'll never know what it meant to hear from friends. 
Secondly, for those of you who are going through what I'm going through - the loss of family/friends at the Pentagon and WTC, I'm so sorry. As you well know, word's can not express the sadness. Finally, I want to apologize but if you've called or emailed me and haven't heard back, I'm trying to deal with losing my best friend here and I just can't do it right now. What I've learned in the end is this (and forgive me, those who know this already). Chantal called the office to say she was almost done setting up for the computer expo (the 4 of them were on the 106th floor of tower 1 for a ONE DAY computer trade show) and she'd leave in 10 minutes and see everyone in an hour. The plane hit at 845 am. at 920 Raj called Peter, the CEO, to say they'd all been thrown to the floor from the explosion but they were going to the stairwell to evacuate. At 925 Garth sent an email from his blackberry that the stairs were filled with smoke and they couldn't get off the floor. Liz, a woman from California whose brother Jim was also at the trade show, had AT&T trace Jim's cell phone activity. All cell phone companies send out signals every 10 minutes to verify a phone is active. At 1023 his phone was active which means he hadn't been crushed or burned. At 1033 there was no response. The building collapsed at 1030. For all of those who have been calling to check on my progress on Chantal , thanks. She wasn't admitted to any hospital, she wasn't among the unidentified patients at Columbia Presbyterian and so I've faced the fact that she's gone.
I thank you for your concern, your offers of help, and your love. Please forgive me for not returning emails or answering my phone for the next few days as I just need to get away from it.

I love you all
Carole



Wow Albert, I'm impressed.

All the comments regarding the events of 9-11 are well spoken. I pray to God that there will never be anything like this ever again in my lifetime. I am so proud to say that I was born and raised in New York, even if it was forty miles north of the "City". I have such a great respect for all New Yorkers who have banded together in this time of need. I sit here in California feeling so helpless as I watch the TV and feel even more guilty over feeling sorry for myself as I watch all of our jobs being cancelled and wonder if I will have enough money to pay my rent. This should not even have entered my mind, with all the heartache that is going on in the country.

I am glad to hear that my nephew and sister-in-law spent yesterday making hundreds of sandwiches to send down to the rescue workers. I am sad to learn that my niece who attends Boston University has to watch the FBI secure the hotel that is across from where she lives and that she has to comfort many of her friends at school who have lost both parents.

I spent two days worrying about my family and friends in New York, I know that is nothing compared to those who have no answers at all, I just heard from the last of them and everyone is safe. I do spend a lot of time crying for my friend of twenty years and her husband. Their son was on the second plane out of Boston that hit the trade center. I can not even imagine what that is like for them to watch the videos of that plane hitting the tower and knowing their son was on it. I just can't even think about that horror or what those people went through on the planes and in the buildings. There are no words to comfort these people.

My heart goes out to all who have lost a loved one and to all those firemen, policeman, etc. who have not given up on rescuing anyone who may still be alive. I am so proud to be an American and I know that this country will make it despite the hardships and changes in our lives that may come about because of this. I feel that most of the world is behind us and those bastards that did this will pay. I do have a concern that the wrong people will be unfairly blamed and so hope that this will not happen.

As soon as I sign off here, I am going to dig out my photos of the New York skyline and have one enlarged. I'm just not sure yet if the sight of the towers will remind me of what a great country I live in or what a horrific world this can be.

Jill Johnson



Thank you to all that responded to my "STOP!! READ!!" Letter. Here are some responses as well as some new information. 
Mary, 

It's all too true about how such a tragedy can trigger blind hatred. The recent events along with the public's reaction has made me think about Nazism in Germany, as well as the Japanese internment in the US during W.W.II. The unfortunate part of all of this is that it is a natural reaction. Since this heinous attack was initiated by a particular race, our reaction is to assume that this race is now an enemy. This stems from feelings of outrage, grief, and helplessness. Those of us who are not Arabs or Muslims, feel especially threatened. The hijackers lived in the US along with the rest of us. I'm sure that their neighbors never could have imagined what these men were planning. The bottom line is that these men were part of a small group of half-crazed extremists. They do not represent all Arabs or all Muslims. It's up to us to keep this in mind. 

Y. 

Mary, 

Very well put and I could not agree with you more. Where I work is like the United Nations and I personally have a number of close friends that are from Iran and other countries like El Salvador and all over the world. I would give my life protecting these people as they are fellow Americans and great people. 

It's unfortunate but their are a lot of ignorant people in the world and many reside here in the US. They are not culturally diverse and live in their own little ignorant world. This is also why other countries look down upon Americans when we travel to their countries and expect them to speak English and don't attempt to learn their language. 

It's sad when you listen to the radio and here all the ignorance that call into the stations to voice their narrow minded opinions about how we should drop the bomb on Afghanistan and some say drop it on all Arab nations. Two wrongs don't make a right. How dare they kill innocent people but then it's OK for us to do it in retaliation. Anyway I could go on forever. We need to ban together as American and not let them change this country and restore it to the great nation it was before this Disaster happened our the terrorist have succeeded in their goals. 

MWD- 



We Should Invade Them And Take Their Country 

On Sept. 11, 2001, a group of evil people committed a series of horrible crimes by murdering thousands of innocent people when they crashed planes into buildings in New York City and Washington, DC 

Now, it our turn to respond. Once it has been determined which country aided these terrorists, it is our moral obligation, to the memory of all who were killed and to the future safety of our great country, to punish these countries severely by attacking them with all the weapons and military mite we have. We need to demonstrate a show of force that will frightened most terrorists from attacking us again. We need to have that type of image in the world. This will greatly minimize terrorists attacks in the future against us. No more Mr. Nice Guy. In the past, when our country has been attacked, we would go to war and once the war was over, because Americans have very big hearts, we would help rebuild those countries that had attacked us. We need to do it differently from now on. Once we win the war that we are about to enter, we need to execute all the terrorists and all who aided the terrorists, then we should take over their country. Much the same way that Hawaii and Alaska belong to the United States, from now on any country that attacks the United States, should be conquered and then we take over the country permanently. To the victor go the spoils. In most countries, the average man or woman doesn't have much say in political matters. Once we take over a country, we should govern the country fairly but anyone who rises up against us, once we have taken over, should be executed immediately. If any of these countries have valuable natural resources, such as oil, then that is icing on the cake for us. After World War II, we help rebuild Japan and then we walked away. Never Again ... we should never help rebuild any country that attacks us and then walk away. By example, we should send a message worldwide that if you attack the United States of America, we will respond with a tremendous amount of force, beat you into the ground, execute your leaders and then take over your country. Terrorists are criminals and most criminals usually view anyone who is generous and caring as being weak. Our new policy of taking over invading countries will clarify that although we are a country of generous and caring people, we are not weak. 

Bill Hooey 
Motivational Speaker 
Writer/Producer Hollywood CA 



FYI... 

We CAN help America TODAY No doubt you have heard dire predictions about the financial devastation hat will occur when the US stock market reopens. This will be a second devastating attack on America if we allow it to happen. We DON'T have to allow it to happen. Here's what YOU can do to help prevent it...When the markets reopen, in a show of support and solidarity, BUY at least one share of stock in a US company. Open your minds to imagine what a SLAP in the face of terrorism it would be if the American markets actually RISE instead of PLUNGE when they reopen! Can you think of a STRONGER message we could send to those who would seek to destroy our way of life? WHEN THE US MARKETS REOPEN, BUY AT LEAST ONE SHARE OF STOCK IN A US COMPANY. If you DON'T own stock and don't have a stock account, look at the bottom of this e-mail for information about how you can do it quickly and easily and cheaply. This e-mail is sponsored by no one, so if you also have a suggestion for people without stock accounts, please add that information before you forward this e-mail. We do NOT have to be the VICTIMS of the US stock market like we were the victims of four hijacked planes. WE are at the controls of our stock market and WE can determine its course. WHEN THE US MARKETS REOPEN, BUY AT LEAST ONE SHARE OF STOCK IN A US COMPANY. This e-mail is started by an average citizen just like you. WE can create an unbelievably POSITIVE revolution by participating wholeheartedly in this movement to support the US economy. If we all participate in a massive stock sell off, then we are BOWING to terrorism. We do NOT have to do that. We have a choice. People by the hundreds of thousands are lining up to donate one pint of blood. Think of the effect we can have if we line up in the same way to "donate" to the American economy! For very little money you can DO something to show would-be terrorists that they will NOT win. If you are willing to dismiss this because you are "just one person," then look at the footage that's being replayed constantly on the TV and consider the tremendous impact that just a dozen people had on our world yesterday. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Take part in this revolution and forward this e-mail to everyone on your mailing list. We can reverse the tide of the financial carnage throughout the world just by doing that. Do you want to show support for America? Then show support for American companies. WHEN THE US MARKETS REOPEN, BUY AT LEAST ONE SHARE OF STOCK IN A U.S COMPANY. Imagine the headlines we will read when we all make this happen... "US Financial Victory -- Of the People, By the People, and For the People." Respond with STRENGTH instead of FEAR when the US Markets open. In that way, and ONLY in that way, WE win! Thank you in advance for your participation. We SHALL overcome! Peace, A US Citizen Fighting Back IF YOU DON'T HAVE A STOCK ACCOUNT NOW AND WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS SHOW OF SUPPORT FOR THE US AND WORLD ECONOMY: ONE resource is a company called "Frame-a-stock," which allows you to purchase a single share of stock for as little as $18.00 and without having to open up any kind of trading account. 
You can contact them at:http://www.frameastock.com/shares.html 



From my Little sister........ 

Hi, all. I have never sent a mass E-mail, but I feel like I need to do it right now, so here it is: 

Most of you know that I have had sort of an inexplicable passion for New York City for almost as long as I can remember. It was a dream come true when I first visited (a few short months after the World Trade Center bombing in 1993), and an even BIGGER dream come true when I picked up and moved here in December of 1997. Manhattan has always given me such a sense of elation. The city itself seems to breathe and have a pulse of its own. After a stressful day at work, I sometimes travel into Manhattan (AKA "the city") and stand smack in the middle of Times Square. This actually relaxes me! I feel like just as much a New Yorker as someone who was born and raised here. I love everything about Manhattan...the good, the bad, and the scary. 

I traveled into the city this morning for an appointment, and I came out of the subway station at Lexington and 53rd Street to find a city I no longer knew. Appropriately enough, it was raining and gloomy. The magnificent energy that makes this city incomparable was completely gone. It seemed to be just a gray mass filled with people meandering around like zombies. I myself almost got hit by a van crossing 51st Street, not paying attention, after a failed attempt to find solace at St. Patrick's cathedral which was surrounded by police officers. 

Later this evening, I met some friends for Not-so-happy hour and some food, taking in my purse my favorite candle and some matches, so I could light it at 7pm with (hopefully) many other Americans. I sat at dinner with my friends, whom I realized I do NOT keep in touch with nearly enough, and as it neared 7:00, I kept looking outside the restaurant to see if anyone was outside with candles. I was fully prepared to go it alone, but curious nonetheless. I went out at 7pm, and the entire street was lined with people holding their lit candles. People who walked by without candles ducked quickly into stores to buy them, and joined the rest of us. People talked to each other, shared stories...this is NOT en everyday occurrence in New York, as some of you may know. When I finally left for the night, around 8:30, there were still some people outside with candles, and many stores and restaurants had innumerable numbers of candles in front of their establishments. Countless numbers of people were wearing shirts with the American flag on them, bandanas with the American flag on them. People said "Hi" to me as if they were old friends (again, this NEVER happens here). I have never in my entire life felt such a sense of unity. Not even in my sorority days in college. It's just a shame it took such a horrible, tragic event for this humanitarian attitude to come out up here. 

And, my final thought: When I got off the subway (yes, I am still taking it. NO ONE is scaring me out of taking my subway), I was walking to my apartment and I looked up and saw a very peaceful commercial jet flying through a beautiful dark blue sky. I don't know for sure, but I have a feeling it contained passengers who had been stranded for four days...and they were going home. 

I hope in this horrible time you all find something positive to focus on. 

I love you all, 
Jen 

Thank you again @--{--{--- 

Peace & Love, 
Mary L. Carter 
Actress / Pro. Model / Certified P. T. 
http://www.MaryLCarter.com/ 



Hello Al,

Thank you for the info on your current Al's Rants article. I just read it and I must say that your lines basically reflect my thoughts on this horror. I have a close friend who lives near Rochester, NY (right south of Lake Ontario). I was very worried about her, her parents and her NYC college buddy who I know. I called her this week not knowing what was expecting me. Luckily, all of her relatives and friends are alright and nobody was involved in the mess. It was a very emotional conversation and it tore my hear to feel how horrified and scared she is. Since you live in LA, I sincerely hope that none of your dear ones was on one of the Kamikaze flights!

It is not going to undo anything that has happened, but it might be a comfort for you to know that the overall mood in Germany came very close to what you describe in your Al's Rants article. Many people here have close friends or relatives in the States so many are affected themselves.

I heard about it at work (it was about 3 pm our time when the horror happened) and switched on the TV as soon as I came home from work. My mum, getting up after her afternoon nap, was wondering why I was, untypically, watching TV at this time of the day. She had no idea. Tears were also welling up in my eyes as well as I told her about the incredible disaster. From that moment on, she spend the rest of the evening watching the news. In the course of this past week, all events down to local town festivals that usually take place at this time of the year were cancelled. People laid wreaths, lit candles, there have been several minute's silence asked for by the government of Germany and the European Union etc. So please be assured that the Germans are deeply sympathic over the current situation.

Everything else I have to say on this topic is written below. I just wrote up these lines and will include them in all my emails I'll send in the coming week.

Take care,
Dorit



In these days, my thoughts are with the those who have lost people dear to them during the horrifying attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon - but also with those who happened to be late for work, out of town, or otherwise absent that morning and thus were not harmed when the atrocious acts happened. What might be their thoughts and feelings now? 

A New Yorker friend of mine was working 2 miles away from the WTC at this moment. Three years ago, he showed me around NYC. We also visited the WTC observation deck then. It was a 10-year old dream coming true for me back then. Not for a second I would have thought this would be the first and forever last time I would see these majestic towers. I can not believe that they are gone forever now. During my visit there, I had the chance to get an idea of their incredible height and gigantic overall size. On 11 September, it was not a family home being destroyed - it was two over 1,200 ft high buildings crumbling to a heap of rubble of ten thousands of tons. The terrorists could just as well have committed these acts just when the two of us were enjoying the unique view over NY pretty much exactly 3 years earlier, namely at 9:30 am on 24 August 1998. I am painfully realising that we would have lost our lives just as those who were visiting the observation deck around 8:45 on 11 September 2001.

So we should all stop thinking "it won't happen to me, and it won't happen here"! We should all be aware that it can happen anywhere and anytime! 

A colleague's 24-year old German friend who proudly started working for Deutsche Bank in the WTC only months ago is still being missed.




Al & Maya....

Thanks for this, I will take a look. There was something in the paper a couple of days ago which I find eerie, I hope you don't mind but I have attached it with this mail as I wondering what you think about it. They say it is a face of Osama Bin Laden I am finding this very distressing.

I am glad to hear that your NY friends are ok ~ there was a picture of a firefighter going up the WTC stairwell on the front of yesterdays paper, he had a determined but frightened look on his face & people had thought that he lost his life, in today's paper he is said to be safe & well.

Take care both of you & Tina & Kyle too
A big *HUG* to you all

With love
Dawn & Donna xxxxx
September 15, 2001




JOURNAL 
The Day Before Tuesday
By FRANK RICH

Being human, you first think of those you love. Then, if you are lucky enough to find them safe, you grieve for those who are lost — their faces still smiling out expectantly from downtown's new quilt of mass death, the vast patchwork of fliers headlined MISSING.

Then you grieve for the city whose once indelible profile was mutilated, just like that, on one beautiful September morning. 

After that you think of your country, and another kind of shock sets in. Something has been lost there too, but not all of what's gone may be a cause for mourning.

We live in a different America today than we did only the day before Tuesday. Yes, as it's incanted hourly, we have lost our untroubled freedom of movement that we consider a birthright. We have lost our illusion of impregnability. But beneath those visceral imperatives an entire culture has been transformed. This week's nightmare, it's now clear, has awakened us from a frivolous if not decadent decadelong dream, even as it dumps us into an uncertain future we had never bargained for.

The dream was simple — that we could have it all without having to pay any price, and that national suffering of almost any kind could be domesticated into an experience of virtual terror akin to a theme park ride. The first part of that dream had already started to collapse with the fall of the stock market, the rise in unemployment and the evaporation of the surplus, well before terrorists achieved the literal annihilation of the most commanding edifice of American capitalism. 

But the dream's second part was still going strong right until Tuesday. The previously planned cover that People magazine scrapped that afternoon to make way for the thousands dead was yet another story about shark attacks. Never mind that the rate of shark attacks has been routine this year, and that sharks are a statistically minuscule cause of mortality at any time. (There have been at most two deaths in any year since 1990.) The great shark scare of 2001 — already speeding to the dustbin of history, along with such other summer ephemera as Gary Condit, Robert Blake and Lizzie Grubman — was typical of an age in which we inflated troublesome but passing crises into catastrophes that provided the illusion of a national test of character, or some kind of moral equivalent of war, but in fact were for most of us merely invitations to indulge in cost-free hyperventilation. 

From the rampaging fears over school shootings following Columbine (at a time when U.S. juvenile homicide rates were falling to a 33- year low) to the protracted bellicosity surrounding Elián González to the California blackout that didn't happen at the start of this summer, we've been looking for a Pearl Harbor. But always a Pearl Harbor of few casualties — always a Pearl Harbor that could readily be brought to "closure."

In our pop culture, this same impulse for vicarious, finite warfare could be seen in the rise of TV reality programs like "Survivor," "Fear Factor" and "Lost" in which we thrill to the spectacle of contestants competing in war games — always with the understanding that no one is really going to get hurt in a prime- time slice of "reality" that must move the sponsors' products. On the day before Tuesday, after all, "survival," "fear" and "lost" had different meanings than they did the day after. 

Our desire for vicarious battle, the one commodity a stock market bubble couldn't buy, also explains the fetishization of World War II. This week everyone has been comparing Tuesday's events to Pearl Harbor, but only two months ago Pearl Harbor had been sanitized as "Pearl Harbor." In that Hollywood version of the attack, seen by countless teenagers who may now have to fight an actual war, the enemy seems polite, the violence looks like the digitalized carnage of video games, and a harrowing American defeat gets an upbeat "victory" coda that minimizes and vastly shortens the ensuing years of hardship, loss and heroism that were required for the Allies to win a war. 

At the high end of what I suspect is the now- defunct World War II craze is HBO's brand new series, "Band of Brothers," whose relentlessly publicized premiere preceded this week's tragedy. "There was a time when the world asked ordinary men to do extraordinary things," went the ad copy, which took pains to remind us that the miniseries was "based on the true story." In a way, the pitch enshrines the complacency of the day before Tuesday, with its assumption that the prospect of civilians having to make any kind of extraordinary effort for a national good was as far in the past as the knights of the Round Table. 

That fat, daydreaming America is gone now, way gone — as spent as the tax-rebate checks, as forgotten as the 2000 campaign's debate over prescription-drug plans, as bankrupt as our dot-com fantasies of instant millions, as vaporized as the faith that high-tech surveillance and weaponry would keep us safe. The America that saw Disney's "Pearl Harbor" is as far removed from the America that was attacked on Tuesday as the America that listened to Orson Welles's "War of the Worlds" was from the America attacked at Pearl Harbor. "Instead of the next big thing being some new technological innovation or medical breakthrough," wrote David Rieff of our post-Tuesday nation in The Los Angeles Times this week, "the next big thing is likely to be fear."

For the America that is gone, the America that could have it all and feel no pain beyond that on cable TV, George W. Bush was the perfect president. We could have a big tax cut (or at least some of us could) along with increases in spending for better schools and defense — and all without having to dip into the Social Security stash. We could lick our energy crisis — does anyone still remember the energy crisis? — while still guzzling gas. Faith-based institutions would take care of the poor and unfortunate. No serviceman would have to spend any more time in harm's way than Mr. Bush (or most political leaders of his generation, regardless of party) did during Vietnam.

Since Tuesday, there has been a towering leader in view — Rudolph Giuliani — and, in a lucid and rational Colin Powell, potentially another. The big-three network anchors have upheld pre-Drudge journalistic standards, offering reportage rather than blather and rumor, doing their part to steady a country that still gathers at the tube, not the computer screen, at a time like this. In all this we've been blessed, for there were 48 hours during which the president was scarcely visible or articulate. 

The country is rooting for Mr. Bush, as it must. We need him to become the president of the America we have now. This means in part a U- turn in style — more face time with his fellow citizens, less scripted rhetoric from the alliterative phrasemakers who stick pretty words in his mouth (as they did Tuesday night) that sound as if they were written by the same glib stylists who gave him "home to the heartland" and "communities of character." 

But style is the easy part. What's more pressing are changes in content. Many of his administration's previous policies are either irrelevant or contrary to a war-bound nation's interests. Education and tax cuts are no longer our top priority. The unilateralism the administration has practiced in walking away from the Kyoto accord on global warming and the ABM treaty is anathema to the building of an international coalition to fight a war. Decisions that are "the most profound of our time" (as his handlers described his stem-cell verdict) can no longer be dragged out with weeks of self-aggrandizing spin.

But most of all, Mr. Bush will have to prepare the nation for something many living Americans, him included, have never had to muster — sacrifice. In his pronouncements thus far, the president has expressed sorrow and vowed to "whip" evil, but surely he will soon have to prepare Americans to give up far more in wartime than curbside check-in at the airport. Anyone who lives in New York has seen this week how many Americans are prepared to do this. That's the example our mayor and governor set, and it's the example thousands of New Yorkers have followed with open hearts. 

Though polls show that we overwhelmingly support the idea of going to war, they don't indicate whether we understand that idea. The killers who attacked us on Tuesday had an all too ruthless eye for appraising how little we knew on Monday. We have no choice now but, as a horror- struck Hamlet said after being visited by the ghost, to "wipe away all trivial fond records" from the table of memory, and hope that our learning curve will be steep. 



Dear friends:

I was supposed to fly today on the 4:30 PM American Airlines flight from LAX to JFK. But tonight I find myself stuck in LA with an incredible range of emotions over what has happened on the island where I work and live in New York City. My wife and I spent the first hours of the day -- after being awakened by phone calls from our parents at 6:40am PT -- trying to contact our daughter at school in New York and our friend JoAnn who works near the World Trade Center. 
I called JoAnn at her office. As someone picked up, the first tower imploded, and the person answering the phone screamed and ran out, leaving me no clue as to whether or not she or JoAnn would live.

It was a sick, horrible, frightening day.

On December 27, 1985, I found myself caught in the middle of a terrorist incident at the Vienna airport -- which left 30 people dead, both there and at the Rome airport. (The machine-gunning of passengers in each city was timed to occur at the same moment.)

I do not feel like discussing that event tonight because it still brings up too much despair and confusion as to how and why I got to live. A fluke, a mistake, a few feet on the tarmac, and I am still here, there but for the grace of. 




Safe. Secure. I'm an American, living in America. I like my illusions. I walk through a metal detector, I put my carry-ons through an x-ray machine, and I know all will be well.

Here's a short list of my experiences lately with airport security:

* At the Newark Airport, the plane is late at boarding everyone. The counter can't find my seat. So I am told to just "go ahead and get on" -- Without a ticket! 

* At Detroit Metro Airport, I don't want to put the lunch I just bought at the deli through the x-ray machine so, as I pass through the metal detector, I hand the sack to the guard through the space between the detector and the x-ray machine. I tell him "It's just a sandwich." He believes me and doesn't bother to check. The sack has gone through neither security device.

* At LaGuardia in New York, I check a piece of luggage, but decide to catch a later plane. The first plane leaves without me, but with my bag -- no one knowing what is in it.

* Back in Detroit, I take my time getting off the commuter plane. By the time I have come down its stairs, the bus that takes the passengers to the terminal has left -- without me. I am alone on the tarmac, free to wander wherever I want. So I do. Eventually, I flag down a pickup truck and an airplane mechanic gives me a ride the rest of the way to the terminal.

* I have brought knives, razors; and once, my traveling companion brought a hammer and chisel. No one stopped us.

Of course, I have gotten away with all of this because the airlines consider my safety SO important, they pay rent-a-cops $5.75 an hour to make sure the bad guys don't get on my plane. That is what my life is worth -- less than the cost of an oil change.

Too harsh, you say? Well, chew on this: a first-year pilot on American Eagle (the commuter arm of American Airlines) receives around $15,000 a year in annual pay.

That's right -- $15,000 for the person who has your life in his hands. Until recently, Continental Express paid a little over $13,000 a year. There was one guy, an American Eagle pilot, who had four kids so he went down to the welfare office and applied for food stamps -- and he was eligible!

Someone on welfare is flying my plane? Is this for real? Yes, it is.

So spare me the talk about all the precautions the airlines and the FAA is taking. They, like all businesses, are concerned about one thing -- the bottom line and the profit margin.

Four teams of 3-5 people were all able to penetrate airport security on the same morning at 3 different airports and pull off this heinous act? My only response is -- that's all?

Well, the pundits are in full diarrhea mode, gushing on about the "terrorist threat" and today's scariest dude on planet earth -- Osama bin Laden. Hey, who knows, maybe he did it. But, something just doesn't add up.

Am I being asked to believe that this guy who sleeps in a tent in a desert has been training pilots to fly our most modern, sophisticated jumbo jets with such pinpoint accuracy that they are able to hit these three targets without anyone wondering why these planes were so far off path?

Or am I being asked to believe that there were four religious/political fanatics who JUST HAPPENED to be skilled airline pilots who JUST HAPPENED to want to kill themselves today?

Maybe you can find one jumbo jet pilot willing to die for the cause -- but FOUR? Ok, maybe you can -- I don't know.

What I do know is that all day long I have heard everything about this bin Laden guy except this one fact -- WE created the monster known as Osama bin Laden!

Where did he go to terrorist school? At the CIA!

Don't take my word for it -- I saw a piece on MSNBC last year that laid it all out. When the Soviet Union occupied Afghanistan, the CIA trained him and his buddies in how to commits acts of terrorism against the Soviet forces. It worked! The Soviets turned and ran. Bin Laden was grateful for what we taught him and thought it might be fun to use those same techniques against us.

We abhor terrorism -- unless we're the ones doing the terrorizing.

We paid and trained and armed a group of terrorists in Nicaragua in the 1980s who killed over 30,000 civilians. That was OUR work. You and me. Thirty-thousand murdered civilians and who the hell even remembers!

We fund a lot of oppressive regimes that have killed a lot of innocent people, and we never let the human suffering THAT causes to interrupt our day one single bit.

We have orphaned so many children, tens of thousands around the world, with our taxpayer-funded terrorism (in Chile, in Vietnam, in Gaza, in Salvador) that I suppose we shouldn't be too surprised when those orphans grow up and are a little whacked in the head from the horror we have helped cause.

Yet, our recent domestic terrorism bombings have not been conducted by a guy from the desert but rather by our own citizens: a couple of ex-military guys who hated the federal government.

From the first minutes of today's events, I never heard that possibility suggested. Why is that?

Maybe it's because the A-rabs are much better foils. A key ingredient in getting Americans whipped into a frenzy against a new enemy is the all-important race card. It's much easier to get us to hate when the object of our hatred doesn't look like us.

Congressmen and Senators spent the day calling for more money for the military; one Senator on CNN even said he didn't want to hear any more talk about more money for education or health care -- we should have only one priority: our self-defense.

Will we ever get to the point that we realize we will be more secure when the rest of the world isn't living in poverty so we can have nice running shoes?

In just 8 months, Bush gets the whole world back to hating us again. He withdraws from the Kyoto agreement, walks us out of the Durban conference on racism, insists on restarting the arms race -- you name it, and Baby Bush has blown it all.

The Senators and Congressmen tonight broke out in a spontaneous version of "God Bless America." They're not a bad group of singers!

Yes, God, please do bless us.

Many families have been devastated tonight. This just is not right. They did not deserve to die. If someone did this to get back at Bush, then they did so by killing thousands of people who DID NOT VOTE for him! Boston, New York, DC, and the planes' destination of California -- these were places that voted AGAINST Bush!

Why kill them? Why kill anyone? Such insanity.

Let's mourn, let's grieve, and when it's appropriate let's examine our contribution to the unsafe world we live in.

It doesn't have to be like this.

Yours,

Michael Moore



An email from a wife updating on her fireman husband in NYC...

Hello All, 
Did not hear from Tommy last night and figured he just fell asleep from exhaustion. Turns out that the team worked a double shift. They are now switching from the day shift to the night shift beginning today. He will report later on today at 5pm, working a 7pm to 7am shift. His hand is ok. Got it dug and cleaned out real good by one of their docs. Had MRE's for dinner last night at 11pm. Thankfully, had a hot breakfast today: eggs, sausage, toast,... . 

Uniforms and gear getting thrashed and stinky. They wash down before loading on the buses with a decon solution. Getting fresh socks/underwear courtesy of Hanes, which donated barrels of stuff. Shirts and things like that are coming from donations so they are of all colors/sorts/sizes. 

Yesterday, the team worked about 8 hours on "the pile", in the basement of the towers, three stories below ground. The objective here is to tunnel through the concrete to get to the underground subway system. Their hope is to get into the subway and find survivors awaiting them. I guess there was a train moving through when the towers came down. Teams are doing this same thing from different directions. Recovered 5 DB's and a lot of parts. They put them into bags and take them up. Dogs are depressed so they put a fireman into a hole and let the dogs find them. They get bones and get to play ball. That seems to be working. Dogs had live hits yesterday but proved fruitless. Tommy is the tunnel rat, clearing a path for all. 

Scary thing happened yesterday. Next to them is a concrete wall that separates the parking garage from the basement. In the garage were 2 searchers from Indiana. They were using saws when they think some gasoline caught fire, creating a flash over, burning them. (2nd degree) They were able to crawl out. The 2 or 3 guys supporting them on the surface were also burned. Tommy felt the boom and also felt "wind" on his face. The guys below waited a moment to be sure it wasn't the towers coming down and then headed outside. When they surfaced, all they saw was guys running from the pile. 

Their team was surface supported from NYC Ladder 40 and Rescue 2 yesterday. These are "big guys" says Tommy and don't do the underground stuff. They really wouldn't fit. These are the guys you see on the bucket brigade. They clear a space and Tommy goes in. It is sad to note that NYC's entire 70 member USAR team was lost in the towers. That is why the first couple of days you only saw NYC guys digging the pile. They wanted to be the ones to find their brothers. But now they are tired and overwhelmed, so the other teams are now working the towers. 

Tommy reports good weather. 

Tommy also reports that his polypropylene is doing its job. Other guys have old style thermals which don't do much except keep you wet and cold. He is washing everything daily and is getting tired of being so smelly. 

Emotionally, he says he is fine, keeping pretty mellow. Other guys are starting to have flared tempers, yelling and such. Everyone is frustrated that they haven't found survivors yet. God willing, they will have success soon. 

God Bless the men and women and canines out there doing what they do best. And thank you for your kind words, prayers, and support. 
More later, 
Cheryl 



I AM THE FLAG OF THE 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

I am the flag of the United States of America. 
My name is Old Glory. 
I fly atop the world's tallest buildings. 
I stand watch in America's halls of justice. 
I fly majestically over institutions of learning. 
I stand guard with power in the world. 
Look up and see me. 

I stand for peace, honor, truth and justice. 
I stand for freedom. 
I am confident. 
I am arrogant. 
I am proud. 

When I am flown with my fellow banners, 
my head is a little higher, 
my colors a little truer. 

I bow to no one! 
I am recognized all over the world. 
I am worshipped - I am saluted. 
I am loved - I am revered. 
I am respected -- and I am feared. 

I have fought in every battle of every war 
for more then 200 years. 
I was flown at Valley Forge, Gettysburg, 
Shiloh and Appomattox. 
I was there at San Juan Hill, 
the trenches of France, 
in the Argonne Forest, Anzio, Rome 
and the beaches of Normandy, Guam, Okinawa. 
The people of Korea, Vietnam and Kuwait 
know me as a banner of freedom. 
I was there. 
I led my troops, 
I was dirty, battleworn and tired, 
but my soldiers cheered me 
And I was proud. 
I have been burned, torn and trampled 
on the streets of countries I have helped set free. 
It does not hurt, for I am invincible. 

I have slipped the bonds of Earth 
and stood watch over the uncharted frontiers of space 
from my vantage point on the moon. 
I have borne silent witness 
to all of America's finest hours. 
But my finest hours are yet to come. 

When I am torn into strips and used as bandages 
for my wounded comrades on the battlefield, 
When I am flown at half-mast to honor my countryman, 
when I lie in the trembling arms of a grieving parent 
at the grave of their fallen son or daughter, 
or in the arms of a child or spouse who will have to go on 
without one who gave their life in a national disaster 
to save the life of another, as so many did at the Pentagon 
or the World Trade Center Towers on 9/11/01. 

MY NAME IS OLD GLORY, 
LONG MAY I WAVE. 
Very well said, and sadly too true. 




My son-in-law works on the FORTY-FIFTH floor of the Prudential Center in Boston. Imagine how we all feel each day he goes to work? One can't help think that we might never see him again. Could Boston be next on the "hit" list? Or perhaps LA? Or Chicago?

It's the first time I've ever felt afraid in my own country. Feelings of rage, frustration, and sadness overwhelm me to the point of tears and all I want to do is hit someone until they feel as badly as I do.

So much sadness, so much grief, for what, for who? These fanatics MUST be stopped...NOW.

I want to know why...WHY...this was allowed to happen. Our gov't KNEW that at least two of these bastards were actually training on planes in this country for the past TWO years. WHY weren't they at least questioned?!

And being from just outside of Boston, I'm ashamed that it was "my" airport that allowed these terrorists to board those two planes and wreak mayhem on so many innocent people.



Courtesy of the Edward Albert Fan Club
From Edward Albert: "You don't have to be dead to be a hero..." (G.S. Patton) In the year 2000, Americans voted plain-speaking Gen. George S. Patton their favorite general...over everyone from George Washington to Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, et al. In 1969, at the age of 19, I was lucky enough to work with George C. Scott in the definitive portrayal of his career over a period of many months and several countries on the definitive film version of Patton's WWII career. Having survived a few revolutions and coup d'etats myself, I am profoundly aware of the value and contributions of the unsung heroes, the everyday heroes, the quiet men and women who step up every single day. You, you, and you. We see them now, every hour of every day on every channel. Faces on the faceless...the plumber with his tools waiting patiently until his abilities are needed. The housewife or househusband taking the children to school then passing out water to the thirsty. The singer in the cathedral lifting all our voices, all our hearts, all our hopes. Even those who do nothing but care in their hearts and wish they had some contribution to make. The simple act of caring is heroic. Some days it is a heroic act just to refuse the paralysis of fear and straighten up and step into another day. My 95-year-old father pulled 'his' Marines out of the water at Tarawa under a withering triple crossfire, having four boats shot out from under him, refusing a direct order to retreat, and returning again and again and again and again until he had every single man back to the hospital ship. Yet that heroism pales in the face of his ferocious optimism as he battles to maintain his dignity while I button his shirt today. In times of life crisis, whether wild fires or smoldering stress, the first thing I do is go back to basics...am I eating right, am I getting enough sleep, am I getting some physical and mental exercise everyday. Sometimes you have to be selfish to be selfless. Then I start looking into my fears. Courage is just fear, plus prayers, plus understanding. Fear is the only true enemy, born of ignorance and the parent of anger and hate. On a level of simple personal survival, understanding and forgiveness are crucial...whether in an intimate personal relationship or on a global level. As a lifelong warrior, I still remember my first lesson in combat...get your opponent angry, and he will defeat himself. Let us begin by doing our best to do our best, every single time, no matter what, forever. That is a truly heroic goal. Yesterday, someone wrote 'God Bless the Everyday Hero' in the dust of my car's rear window. Like a kiss from one beloved, it will wear off before I wash it off. God bless us everyone. 



Dear Friends, 
The following was sent to me by my friend Tamim Ansary. Tamim is an Afghani-American writer. He is also one of the most brilliant people I know in this life. When he writes, I read. When he talks, I listen. 
Here is his take on Afghanistan and the whole mess we are in. 
-Gary T. 

Dear Gary and whoever else is on this email thread: 

I've been hearing a lot of talk about "bombing Afghanistan back to the Stone Age." Ronn Owens, on KGO Talk Radio today, allowed that this would mean killing innocent people, people who had nothing to do with this atrocity, but "we're at war, we have to accept collateral damage. What else can we do?" Minutes later I heard some TV pundit discussing whether we "have the belly to do what must be done." 

And I thought about the issues being raised especially hard because I am from Afghanistan, and even though I've lived here for 35 years I've never lost track of what's going on there. So I want to tell anyone who will listen how it all looks from where I'm standing. 

I speak as one who hates the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden. There is no doubt in my mind that these people were responsible for the atrocity in New York. I agree that something must be done about those monsters. 

But the Taliban and Ben Laden are not Afghanistan. They're not even the government of Afghanistan. The Taliban are a cult of ignorant psychotics who took over Afghanistan in 1997. Bin Laden is a political criminal with a plan. When you think Taliban, think Nazis. When you think Bin Laden, think Hitler. And when you think "the people of Afghanistan" think "the Jews in the concentration camps." It's not only that the Afghan people had nothing to do with this atrocity. They were the first victims of the perpetrators. They would exult if someone would come in there, take out the Taliban and clear out the rats nest of international thugs holed up in their country. 

Some say, why don't the Afghans rise up and overthrow the Taliban? The answer is, they're starved, exhausted, hurt, incapacitated, suffering. A few years ago, the United Nations estimated that there are 500,000 disabled orphans in Afghanistan--a country with no economy, no food. There are millions of widows. And the Taliban has been burying these widows alive in mass graves. The soil is littered with land mines, the farms were all destroyed by the Soviets. These are a few of the reasons why the Afghan people have not overthrown the Taliban. 

We come now to the question of bombing Afghanistan back to the Stone Age. Trouble is, that's been done. The Soviets took care of it already. Make the Afghans suffer? They're already suffering. Level their houses? Done. Turn their schools into piles of rubble? Done. Eradicate their hospitals? Done. Destroy their infrastructure? Cut them off from medicine and health care? Too late. Someone already did all that. 

New bombs would only stir the rubble of earlier bombs. Would they at least get the Taliban? Not likely. In today's Afghanistan, only the Taliban eat, only they have the means to move around. They'd slip away and hide. Maybe the bombs would get some of those disabled orphans, they don't move too fast, they don't even have wheelchairs. But flying over Kabul and dropping bombs wouldn't really be a strike against the criminals who did this horrific thing. Actually it would only be making common cause with the Taliban--by raping once again the people they've been raping all this time 

So what else is there? What can be done, then? Let me now speak with true fear and trembling. The only way to get Bin Laden is to go in there with ground troops. When people speak of "having the belly to do what needs to be done" they're thinking in terms of having the belly to kill as many as needed. Having the belly to overcome any moral qualms about killing innocent people. Let's pull our heads out of the sand. What's actually on the table is Americans dying. And not just because some Americans would die fighting their way through Afghanistan to Bin Laden's hideout. It's much bigger than that folks. Because to get any troops to Afghanistan, we'd have to go through Pakistan. Would they let us? Not likely. The conquest of Pakistan would have to be first. Will other Muslim nations just stand by? You see where I'm going. We're flirting with a world war between Islam and the West. 

And guess what: that's Bin Laden's program. That's exactly what he wants. That's why he did this. Read his speeches and statements. It's all right there. He really believes Islam would beat the west. It might seem ridiculous, but he figures if he can polarize the world into Islam and the West, he's got a billion soldiers. If the west wreaks a holocaust in those lands, that's a billion people with nothing left to lose, that's even better from Bin Laden's point of view. He's probably wrong, in the end the west would win, whatever that would mean, but the war would last for years and millions would die, not just theirs but ours. Who has the belly for that? Bin Laden does. Anyone else? 

Tamim Ansary 



From actor Robert Trebor (Hercules/Xena) 
Al,

Thank you for your concern and your thoughtful poignant "rant". Everyone I knew personally (I believe) in NYC is safe. I lived there for 14 years in Midtown....and my 39th floor apartment faced the Trade Towers and the Statue of Liberty....I could see them both from my living room.

We will recover from this....but we all will have to be more vigilant and put up with more inconveniences. I'm trying to get a few projects off the ground; it's all a matter of fundraising. But it's time to get back to work.

My best, Bob



WOW!!!!! AL

Those were some very touching words. I had tears in my eyes while reading your editorial. What a tragedy Al, its so scary but like you mentioned in your editorial justice will come. You now what, the good thing that came out of this is the unity in the world. How everyone is united there is no more barriers between us, no more colors we are all one. That's the only great thing that came out of this. Unfortunately it had to happen with this tragedy. We need to have faith, support our nation, and the people that are fighting for us, and once again stay united.

Well Al awesome editorial thank you for e-mailing me you editorial and the pics. as well. Take care of yourself and your family God Bless!!!!

MAGGIE



Hi Al,

Maya sent me a link to your site when you wrote the article on NYC... Very touching.. I am still in shock. My husband was stationed in the Pentagon for 8 years and we can't get a hold of some of our friends and his ex coworkers. 
Thank you, Sue



An article to focus the anger on an unknown enemy The barbarians will learn what America's all about By Leonard Pitts Jr. Syndicated columnist They pay me to tease shades of meaning from social and cultural issues, to provide words that help make sense of that which troubles the American soul. But in this moment of airless shock when hot tears sting disbelieving eyes, the only thing I can find to say, the only words that seem to fit, must be addressed to the unknown author of this suffering.

You monster. You beast. You unspeakable bastard. What lesson did you hope to 
teach us by your coward's attack on our World Trade Center, our Pentagon, us? What was it you hoped we would learn? Whatever it was, please know that you failed. Did you want us to respect your cause? You just damned your cause. Did you want to make us fear? You just steeled our resolve. Did you want to tear us apart? You just brought us together. Let me tell you about my people. We are a vast and quarrelsome family, a family rent by racial, cultural, political and class division, but a family nonetheless. We're frivolous, yes, capable of expending tremendous emotional energy on pop cultural minutiae, a singer's revealing dress, a ball team's misfortune, a cartoon mouse. We're wealthy, too, spoiled by the ready availability of trinkets and material goods, and maybe because of that, we walk through life with a certain sense of blithe entitlement. We are fundamentally decent, though - peace-loving and compassionate. We struggle to know the right thing and to do it. And we are, the overwhelming majority of us, people of faith, believers in a just and loving God. Some people - you, perhaps - think that any or all of this makes us weak. You're mistaken. We are not weak. Indeed, we are strong in ways that cannot be measured by arsenals. Yes, we're in pain now. We are in mourning and we are in shock. We're still grappling with the unreality of the awful thing you did, still working to make ourselves understand that this isn't a special effect from some Hollywood blockbuster, isn't the plot development from a Tom Clancy novel. Both in terms of the awful scope of its ambition and the probable final death toll, your attacks are likely to go down as the worst acts of terrorism in the history of the United States and, indeed, the history of the world. You've bloodied us as we have never been bloodied before. But there's a gulf of difference between making us bloody and making us fall. This is the lesson Japan was taught to its bitter sorrow the last time anyone hit us this hard, the last time anyone brought us such abrupt and monumental pain. When roused, we are righteous in our outrage, terrible in our force. When provoked by this level of barbarism, we will bear any suffering, pay any cost, go to any length, in the pursuit of justice. I tell you this without fear of contradiction. I know my people, as you, I think, do not. What I know reassures me. It also causes me to tremble with dread of the future. In days to come, there will be recrimination and accusation, fingers pointing to determine whose failure allowed this to happen and what can be done to prevent it from happening again. There will be heightened security, misguided talk of revoking basic freedoms. We'll go forward from this moment sobered, chastened, sad. But determined, too. Unimaginably determined. You see, there is steel beneath this velvet. That aspect of our character is seldom understood by people who don't know us well. On this day, the family's bickering is put on hold. As Americans we will weep, as Americans we will mourn, and as Americans, we will rise in defense of all that we cherish. Still, I keep wondering what it was you hoped to teach us. It occurs to me that maybe you just wanted us to know the depths of your hatred. If that's the case, consider the message received. And take this message in exchange: You don't know my people. You don't know what we're about. You don't know what you just started. But you're about to learn.




This was recited by our Los Angeles Fire Chief on Sunday's vigil... 
Dear Heavenly Father:

We are moved by the alarming news and crisis that our country is facing. This, the greatest nation, founded in the belief that "In God We Trust" & the "Land of the Free".

Please have mercy on those suffering, hurting and in fear, and give wisdom and strength to those who are assisting. May the forces of evil be broken by your power and may we humble before thee, our strength and refuge. Give wisdom to all our President & our leaders and bring your comforting peace through the power of your Holy Spirit. Help us here to reach to those that have been affected by this tragedy.

In the name of our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. AMEN


"It may seem presumptuous on my part, but I personally believe we need to think seriously whether a violent action is the right thing to do and in the greater interest of the nation and people in the long run. I believe violence will only increase the cycle of violence. But how do we deal with hatred and anger, which are often the root causes of such senseless violence?"

--His Holiness the Dalai Lama, in his recent letter to President Bush



Dear Friends,

In light of the tragic events that occurred last week, there is an ever-increasing need for us to know how to handle the emotional turbulence that is part of an experience of this magnitude. The unfathomable event that occurred last week had at its roots the emotion of anger. Unfortunately, this emotion of anger has been destructively used in further acts of violence domestically.

We've seen that anger has some very deep-seated roots in human development. Now, let's consider the effects of anger as well as its origins. For the sake of clarity, I'll begin talking about anger in its really extreme form. Most people don't reach this peak of anger very often, but for now, we'll focus on the effects of a no holds barred, fully developed outburst of anger.

For example, what do you look like when you're furiously angry? It varies from person to person. Some people turn red as blood rushes to their face. Other people lose their color. Their faces turn pale. When someone is described as livid, this is what's being described. Livid means gray and ashen.

Some people yell and scream when they're very angry. Others become quiet and sullen. Anger can cause you to stomp around the room, to throw things, to jump up and down, to physically hurt those you love, and to perform many other actions you later regret. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that anger is like an attack of insanity. It's literally a departure from our senses.

In fact, I think that's not even going far enough - because furious anger is a kind of temporary reversal of the evolutionary process, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Like a werewolf on the night of a full moon, a really angry person turns into a different kind of being - a being who suddenly sees the world in very simple terms. When a hungry shark sees a fish, it doesn't have any thoughts except to eat. When an angry person confronts the object of his anger, only the most primitive impulses occupy his brain. He's past the point of seeing things from more than one point of view. He just wants to wreak havoc on whomever or whatever has brought him to this point.

I believe that the universe as a whole and human beings in particular are evolving in a particular direction. The human race is moving toward enlightenment, toward greater understanding, toward unity with spirit - and I believe one of the great purposes of our lives is to further this process. Anger, quite simply, is a step in the wrong direction. Anger is a step backwards from enlightenment, a step backwards toward a survival-based mode of existence in which might is right and winning is everything.

Let me be a bit more specific about this, because I believe that it's a very important point. The ultimate goal of spiritual transformation is unity consciousness. A truly enlightened person recognizes the essential unity of himself or herself with other people and with the universe as a whole. The awareness of an enlightened person is on what he or she shares with other people.

Enlightenment moves us to help other people, even people who are strangers, while anger moves us to harm people, even those we love. The enlightened person recognizes the universe as his or her extended body. The direction of enlightenment is toward unity. The direction of anger is toward isolation. Enlightenment desires oneness, while anger promotes separation.

So, what do we do with this emotion of anger? In his book, "Nonviolent Communication", Marshall Rosenberg describes a simple process to enhance the chances of getting your needs met. Whenever your needs are not met and you become upset, first ask yourself, "What am I observing?" Separate your judgments and evaluation from your observations and you will be less likely to trigger defensiveness.

The second step is to identify what you are feeling. Develop a rich emotional vocabulary that does not make you a victim. Avoid words that require someone else to be there for you to experience your emotions, such as ignored, rejected, neglected, abandoned, or abused. You are empowered when you say you feel alarmed, annoyed, exhausted, frightened, lonely, outraged, or sad, but you give away your power when you use the vocabulary of the victim.

The third step is to determine what you actually need from the situation. If you cannot be clear on what your needs are, it's very unlikely that the other person is in a better position to figure it out.

The fourth step is to formulate a specific request. Ask for what you need as specifically as possible. People are much more likely to respond to a request than a demand.

Whether your request is met or not, ask yourself, what is the gift of this situation? What can you learn from this circumstance about yourself and life? What is the lesson that can raise you to a higher level of awareness? Find the gift, even if it is not the one you originally anticipated.

Make the commitment to communicate your needs consciously, and you will waste less energy in conflict. Accept your differences as a cause of celebration.

Lots of love,

Deepak 



Hi, Albert:

I finally had the opportunity to read your "Al's Rants." What a great piece you had written! I was in awe with your candid feelings and expressive summation. I am proud of you Albert. Outstanding job.

Take care.

Rosemary



A tribute to Dr. Suess

Every U down in Uville liked U.S. a lot,
But the Binch, who lived Far East of Uville, did
not.
The Binch hated U.S! the whole U.S. way!
Now don't ask me why, for nobody can say,
It could be his turban was screwed on too tight.
Or the sun from the desert had beaten too bright
But I think that the most likely reason of all
May have been that his heart was two sizes too
small.
But, Whatever the reason, his heart or his turban,
He stood facing Uville, the part that was urban.
"They're doing their business," he snarled from his 
perch.
"They're raising their families! They're going to
church!
They're leading the world, and their empire is
thriving,
I MUST keep the S's and U's from surviving!"
Tomorrow, he knew, all the U's and the S's,
Would put on their pants and their shirts and their 
dresses,
They'd go to their offices, playgrounds and schools,
And abide by their U and S values and rules,
And then they'd do something he liked least of all,
Every U down in U-ville, the tall and the small,
Would stand all united, each U and each S,
And they'd sing Uville's anthem, "God bless us! God 
bless!"
All around their Twin Towers of Uville, they'd
stand,
and their voices would drown every sound in the
land.
"I must stop that singing," Binch said with a smirk,
And he had an idea-an idea that might work!
The Binch stole some U airplanes in U morning hours,
And crashed them right into the Uville Twin Towers.
"They'll wake to disaster!" he snickered, so sour,
"And how can they sing when they can't find a
tower?"
The Binch cocked his ear as they woke from their 
sleeping,
All set to enjoy their U-wailing and weeping,
Instead he heard something that started quite low,
And it built up quite slow, but it started to grow-
And the Binch heard the most unpredictable thing...
And he couldn't believe it-they started to sing!
He stared down at U-ville, not trusting his eyes,
What he saw was a shocking, disgusting surprise!
Every U down in U-ville, the tall and the small,
Was singing! Without any towers at all!
He HADN'T stopped U-Ville from singing! It sung!
For down deep in the hearts of the old and the
young,
Those Twin Towers were standing, called Hope and
called 
Pride,
And you can't smash the towers we hold deep inside.
So we circle the sites where our heroes did fall,
With a hand in each hand of the tall and the small,
And we mourn for our losses while knowing we'll
cope,
For we still have inside that U-Pride and U-Hope.
For America means a bit more than tall towers,
It means more than wealth or political powers,
It's more than our enemies ever could guess,
So may God bless America! Bless us! God bless!



Dear Al,

I was so impressed with this section of your website. Although it brought tears to my eyes, I felt compelled to read every word. Some poignant, some angry, some sad, some relieved that their loved ones are safe, but these messages were also filled with compassion, common sense, and steely determination and resolve.

I have put a direct link to AL'S RANTS on the Perlman Pages, explaining what it contains, in addition to the link for your home page.

Thanks for sharing it.
Pat

The Perlman Pages
http://www.theperlmanpages.i12.com



Hello Al,

Sorry about the empty message, don't know what I did :-) Anyhow, I went to www.ez-entertainment.net like you suggested. Thank you for your heartfelt and loving words. The sheer scale and evil of what we all witnessed on September 11 was all so incomprehensible and surreal. There are no words to adequately express the loss and grief we all collectively felt, and will continue to feel for a long time to come.

And yet, while the world witnessed the very worst in humanity, I know that no matter how deep our pain, or difficult the obstacles in our path, we will find the strength as a nation not only to endure, but to overcome! For Almighty God has planted a power in the human heart that will not yield to darkness; a determined spirit that faces impossible situations with courage and love!

We are all parts of a greater whole, and together we mourn for our dead, and grief for their families loss. By opening our hearts to ourselves and to each other, we have the power to fill our world with love, peace, and light!

May God bless you and yours,

Susan