I firmly believe that if it’s a person’s time to leave this planet, nothing can hold that person back. I also believe that if it’s NOT time for the soul to go on to other work, nothing and nobody can force a death to happen. That said, there still is no way to know when it’s time.
On this day, besides remembering with deep respect the people (particularly the firefighters) who gave their lives, I like to think about all the people who missed the bus, didn’t make the train, had a sick child and needed to stay home from work. People who missed their flight. People who quit their job the day before. All the people who would, should have been in those buildings, but who, for a higher reason that we do not, cannot understand, were not there.
I’ve experienced the death of a close friend only twice in my life. And I was with my parents when they each died. Those four times were not events that affected you, however. Still, I know that, if you are of a certain age, you and I share a few deaths that hit everyone in this country and maybe even around the world. People older than I will recall exactly where they were when they learned that Pearl Harbor had been attacked. Maybe you do, or perhaps you’ll remember only the last of these four dates:
- 11/22/1963 - I was a junior in high school, home sick for the first time that year. My mother called me from work and told me the president had been shot. I turned on the television and watched for the entire day, alternating between all three channels.
- 4/4/1968 - Living in Vermont. Unwilling to believe that MLK was gone.
- 6/6/1968 - RFK’s assassination felt like a gut-kick. Twice in two months.
- 9/11/2001 I was babysitting my 1-year-old granddaughter that day at my daughter’s house.
Where were you for each of these events?
BEEattitude for Day #598:
Blessed are those who do the job they’re meant to do, and who love the work they do, for the honey they produce shall be sweet indeed.
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