Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Good Morning,
Tuesday was a day in hell for me and I am sure others. I don't know why but this terrorist attack brought back waves of almost forgotten memories of "Charlie" suicide attacks. I felt helpless, sick in my stomach, and very very angry. Thanks to my wife, my anger turned to trying to think what I could do to support this country.
I couldn't sleep Tuesday night, I just laid there reliving my past experiences but mostly wondering about the Americans trapped or dead in the rubble of the World Trade Center. What about their children, they leave for child care or school in the morning and some of them will never see their mother or father or, I'm sure, neither parent again. What about the child that has an arguement with their parents, storms out of their home and says "I hate you, I wish you were dead". I pray to God this didn't happen but you think of a lot of things lying in bed.
With all these thoughts and my wife's golden rule of making something positive out of something negative, I decided what I could do.
Oh, I'll give blood and I'll give money, but how do you give what you feel in your heart.
Wednesday morning I went to work and made sure everything was working, called in and took the rest of the day off.
I then took a United States flag, tied it to a makeshift staff and went to the interstate overpass near where I work. From sunup until 2pm I waved that flag and waved that flag. The response was tremendous, the overpass cuts through the center of town (Effingham, Illinois) and local people and people on the interstate honked, gave thumbs up, stopped and hugged me, and many just said thanks. My wife left work and joined me and supported me and said how proud she was of me (I didn't tell her I was going to do this). She asked how long I was going to do this and I said until I don't feel any emotion when someone honks. It never happened.
I was going to stay until sunset but with my extra layers of insulation I was becoming overheated.
I feel better today but just writing this and thinking of Tuesday makes it hard to type, I still have a lot of saddness built up inside me but this
helped.
I'm sorry this is so long but GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!
Thanks,
Cliff
Tuesday was a day in hell for me and I am sure others. I don't know why but this terrorist attack brought back waves of almost forgotten memories of "Charlie" suicide attacks. I felt helpless, sick in my stomach, and very very angry. Thanks to my wife, my anger turned to trying to think what I could do to support this country.
I couldn't sleep Tuesday night, I just laid there reliving my past experiences but mostly wondering about the Americans trapped or dead in the rubble of the World Trade Center. What about their children, they leave for child care or school in the morning and some of them will never see their mother or father or, I'm sure, neither parent again. What about the child that has an arguement with their parents, storms out of their home and says "I hate you, I wish you were dead". I pray to God this didn't happen but you think of a lot of things lying in bed.
With all these thoughts and my wife's golden rule of making something positive out of something negative, I decided what I could do.
Oh, I'll give blood and I'll give money, but how do you give what you feel in your heart.
Wednesday morning I went to work and made sure everything was working, called in and took the rest of the day off.
I then took a United States flag, tied it to a makeshift staff and went to the interstate overpass near where I work. From sunup until 2pm I waved that flag and waved that flag. The response was tremendous, the overpass cuts through the center of town (Effingham, Illinois) and local people and people on the interstate honked, gave thumbs up, stopped and hugged me, and many just said thanks. My wife left work and joined me and supported me and said how proud she was of me (I didn't tell her I was going to do this). She asked how long I was going to do this and I said until I don't feel any emotion when someone honks. It never happened.
I was going to stay until sunset but with my extra layers of insulation I was becoming overheated.
I feel better today but just writing this and thinking of Tuesday makes it hard to type, I still have a lot of saddness built up inside me but this
helped.
I'm sorry this is so long but GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!
Thanks,
Cliff
