towards, not away

It's 9:06 am and around this time 12 years ago our nation came screeching to a halt as we were attacked.  In the days, weeks, months and years ahead, we grieved for those lost and those who were left behind.  My mind couldn't really wrap around what that day did, because I didn't lose a loved one.  I wasn't there for the carnage, the devastation.  I didn't stand in the ash, I wasn't there in that field.  I didn't pick up any pieces, I stood on the sidelines and watched in awe as others did.  As flags rose up high, as parents, spouses and children went on breathing, and living.  I watched, and I learned.

I learned that the America I loved wasn't just good, it was great.  I learned that there were men and women who ran, not walked, to sign up and serve our country.  Just as those firefighters ran towards those doomed buildings, not away.  Just as those men and women on flight 93 rose up against the terrorists and crashed their plane to the ground.  You see, to me, 9-11-01 is not an anniversary of what a group of people with a death wish did to bring down our country.  It is the day when we ran towards, not away.  Heroism.

TOWARDS.
Please forgive me I have no idea how to tell you who took this picture.
It was grouped with other pictures on heroism on 9-11.
I encourage you to google that too, as they are very, very touching.

So when I hear "9-11, never forget" - I won't.  I won't forget the loss, ever.  My heart will always hurt for what happened that day.  But I won't forget the lesson I learned either, in facing danger for the greater good.  I didn't read about it, I saw it.  And I'll never, ever forget it.