small things...

102 Minutes that changed America

I watched the video with the above title over the weekend. When the attack on the World Trade Center occured I was glued to the television like most people.  As the hours/days role on and the terror and sadness became overwhelming and soul-damaging...I turned away from the coverage.  No longer able to stomach the news I stopped watching.  Those of us not in NYC were affected by the attacks, but, removed from it, I think I never fully understood what it could have been like to be there. 

This film is the 102 minutes following the first impact of the plane all taken by people who were there, on the street, in their homes, running from the towers, who in their shock (or for their jobs) were compelled to record what they were seeing.  You see from a first-person perspective.  It is difficult to watch, and for those of you who lived it may be too much to bear.  But for the rest of us I think it is important to see.  There were things I saw that I didn't realize took place...or if I once knew, had since forgotten. 

It's terrifying, it's heartbreaking...and you should watch it.  Check the History Channel to find out when it's playing in your area.

Change

My bed faces east.  Or rather, I face east, while laying in bed.  There may be times in the night when I face west, but upon waking...I face east.  This means that I awake every morning and the first thing I see is water.  Lately it's been the sun coming up over the lake that wakes me.  The moment the sun is level with my face and shines it's warmth in through my window - I typically wake up.  This morning I slept in a bit.  The weather had changed.  The air 25 degrees cooler then 2 days ago, the sun lost behind clouds.  Today I woke up from a cool breeze swirling around my shoulders.  It was this change that woke me this morning.

There are other changes happening, as well.  Megan and I are wondering what our mom would have thought about Sarah Palin.  She is a firecracker for sure.  She is a change for sure.  She is not who I want and I cringed at many things she said in her speech...I cringed because I knew she was speaking the words that others were craving.  My feet are firmly planted, and I am captivated by what is happening in American politics.  Everyone is looking for change.  And change appears to be coming. But whose vision of change will manifest? 

It's amazing to me how different we all are.  How differently we think, how differently we believe.  What is important to me is waste to you.  Yet we all want change.

If I am to believe that the universe, or god, or who/whatever listens to my intentions/prayers and answers accordingly then I have this advice to share with you.

Be careful, and specific, in what you wish for.