Showing posts with label Twin Towers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Twin Towers. Show all posts

Saturday, September 11, 2021

September 11 : 3,000 Candlelights of My Memories of You



20th Anniversary of September 11 Suicide Attacks on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia on September 11, 2001.

3,000 Candle-lights

We Will Never Forget

Will you remember me on every 9/11?
Will you light a candle for me?
For without the light we cannot see
What mortal eyes have never seen.

No. Don't weep for me anymore
No. Don't pray for the dead.
For the dead do not need your prayers.

"What I had, I lost; what I saved, I spent; but what I gave, I have."
~ Mattie Terri Shackelford

We Will Never Forget
No! Never ever.
Though the scarlet memories may linger
Though the flowers may wither
But we will never forget
Until this world will be no more.

Nosotros nunca nos Olvidaremos

¿Recordará me usted en cada 9/11? ¿Encenderá usted una vela para mí? Para sin la luz nosotros no podemos ver Qué ojos de mortal nunca han visto.

No. no llora para mí ya No. no ora para el muerto. Para el muerto no necesita sus oraciones.

"Lo que tuve, perdí; lo que salvé, gasté; pero lo que dí, tengo." -Mattie Terri Shackelford

¡Nosotros nunca nos Olvidaremos no! Jamás. Aunque las memorias escarlatas pueden demorar Aunque las flores
pueden marchitar Pero nosotros nunca nos olvidaremos hasta que este mundo no será más.



Nobody spoke a word as the credits rolled on the screen. But I could hear muffled sounds of sobs near me. Lesleen held my right hand tightly until they turned on the lights and we silently left the hall. As we entered our car and sat down, I used my fingers to wipe away her tears. The last time I wept was at the burial of my mother 14 years ago. And I made up my mind never to weep again. I comforted her for a while before I inserted the key into the ignition and jiggled the steering wheel as I turned the key to start the car. I drove out of the parking lot of Main Street Cinema with the head of LesIeen on my shoulder. I was still thinking about the closing scene of the film.
Why should the director include the 19 suicide bombers in his memorial candle lights?
And he showed us their bereaved families also mourning them. Those bastards killed
2,974 innocent people in a day and more died later from the respiratory diseases caused by exposure to WTC dust. Over 40, 000 people, including 10,000 firefighters from Fire Department of New York (FDNY) were exposed to environmental toxins at Ground Zero. And two years later, Ms. Reeve died of mesothelioma. Firefighters Stephen Johnson, Walter Voight and Joseph Costello and EMTs Timothy Keller and Felix Hernandez have died from cancers linked to respiratory diseases. And the unrepentant Al Quaeda is still thinking of repeating the catastrophe. The hijackers don't deserve any memorial. The devils are already burning in hell.
I hissed and turned back from the direction of our home.
"Where are we going?" Lesleen asked.
"To Gound Zero."
"I am tired and I want to go to bed," she said plaintively.
"There is enough time to sleep. Don't worry. I will make sure that you don't have nightmares," I said.
"How?"
"You just relax until we return home," I replied and smiled.

At Ground Zero, we were not alone. A memorial ceremony was in progress and I could count over a 100 people milling around with candlelights. We joined them and a man wearing a brown hat stepped out from the crowd and handed us two white candles.
"You have got a lighter?" The elderly man asked.
"Yes. Thank you sir," I replied.
"But, do you know the real figure of those who died?" He asked us.
"2, 993," I replied.
He shook his head.
He handed me a piece of white paper and we read what was printed on it.

CONFIRMED DEAD: 2948 •
REPORTED DEAD: 24 •
REPORTED MISSING: 24 •
TOTAL: 2996

"But we believe that 3, 000 must have died," he said.
Lesleen and I nodded.
Minus those 19 devils, I said within me.
We lit our candles and joined the procession.








Sunday, September 11, 2011

We Will Never Forget: 10th Anniversary of September 11, 2001 Suicide Attacks



September 11, 2011, 10th Anniversary of September 11 Suicide Attacks on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.



We Will Never Forget

3,000 Candle-lights
Will you remember me on every 9/11?
Will you light a candle for me?
For without the light we cannot see
What mortal eyes have never seen.

No. Don't weep for me anymore
No. Don't pray for the dead.
For the dead do not need your prayers.

"What I had, I lost; what I saved, I spent; but what I gave, I have."
~ Mattie Terri Shackelford



We Will Never Forget
No! Never ever.
Though the scarlet memories may linger
Though the flowers may wither
But we will never forget
Until this world will be no more.

Nosotros nunca nos Olvidaremos

¿Recordará me usted en cada 9/11? ¿Encenderá usted una vela para mí? Para sin la luz nosotros no podemos ver Qué ojos de mortal nunca han visto.

No. no llora para mí ya No. no ora para el muerto. Para el muerto no necesita sus oraciones.

"Lo que tuve, perdí; lo que salvé, gasté; pero lo que dí, tengo." -Mattie Terri Shackelford

¡Nosotros nunca nos Olvidaremos no! Jamás. Aunque las memorias escarlatas pueden demorar Aunque las flores
pueden marchitar Pero nosotros nunca nos olvidaremos hasta que este mundo no será más.

Nobody spoke a word as the credits rolled on the screen. But I could hear muffled sounds of sobs near me. Lesleen held my right hand tightly until they turned on the lights and we silently left the hall. As we entered our car and sat down, I used my fingers to wipe away her tears. The last time I wept was at the burial of my mother 14 years ago. And I made up my mind never to weep again. I comforted her for a while before I inserted the key into the ignition and jiggled the steering wheel as I turned the key to start the car. I drove out of the parking lot of Main Street Cinema with the head of LesIeen on my shoulder. I was still thinking about the closing scene of the film.

Why should the director include the 19 suicide bombers in his memorial candle lights?
And he showed us their bereaved families also mourning them. Those bastards killed
2,974 innocent people in a day and more died later from the respiratory diseases caused by exposure to WTC dust. Over 40, 000 people, including 10,000 firefighters from Fire Department of New York (FDNY) were exposed to environmental toxins at Ground Zero. And two years later, Ms. Reeve died of mesothelioma. Firefighters Stephen Johnson, Walter Voight and Joseph Costello and EMTs Timothy Keller and Felix Hernandez have died from cancers linked to respiratory diseases. And the unrepentant Al Quaeda is still thinking of repeating the catastrophe. The hijackers don't deserve any memorial. The devils are already burning in hell.
I hissed and turned back from the direction of our home.
"Where are we going?" Lesleen asked.
"To Gound Zero."
"I am tired and I want to go to bed," she said plaintively.
"There is enough time to sleep. Don't worry. I will make sure that you don't have nightmares," I said.
"How?"
"You just relax until we return home," I replied and smiled.

At Ground Zero, we were not alone. A memorial ceremony was in progress and I could count over a 100 people milling around with candlelights. We joined them and a man wearing a brown hat stepped out from the crowd and handed us two white candles.
"You have got a lighter?" The elderly man asked.
"Yes. Thank you sir," I replied.
"But, do you know the real figure of those who died?" He asked us.
"2, 993," I replied.
He shook his head.
He handed me a piece of white paper and we read what was printed on it.

CONFIRMED DEAD: 2948 •
REPORTED DEAD: 24 •
REPORTED MISSING: 24 •
TOTAL: 2996

"But we believe that 3, 000 must have died," he said.
Lesleen and I nodded.
Minus those 19 devils, I said within me.
We lit our candles and joined the procession.


N.B:

I wrote 3,000 Candlelights within an hour on this board, and all the names mentioned are real.

Lesleen is a wonderful young lady I care about who lives in New York and I appreciate her a lot.

I wrote this especially in memory of our dearly departed of 9/11.
Lest we forget, Nigerians were among those killed on that fateful day.

The poem We Will Never Forget is from my book, Scarlet Tears of London.




Friday, September 2, 2011

Americans' Thoughts on Terrorism Over the Last 10 Years



The following report is very important and should be shared without bias.



2 Sep 2011 10:00 Africa/Lagos


USA TODAY/Gallup Poll Looks at Americans' Thoughts on Terrorism Over the Last 10 Years

PR Newswire

MCLEAN, Va., Sept. 2, 2011

MCLEAN, Va., Sept. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In the final week leading up to the tenth anniversary of 9/11 and the events that changed America ten years ago, USA TODAY and Gallup have conducted an exclusive poll looking at Americans' thoughts on terrorism and how they've changed over the last decade.

USA TODAY/Gallup poll results show:

* The proportion of Americans who say the government should take steps to protect its citizens against terrorism, even if it means violating civil liberties, has dropped almost in half since the days after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. In January 2002, 47% of Americans said they were willing to have the government violate some of their basic civil liberties in order to prevent more acts of terrorism. Asked the same question last month, only 25% answered the same way.


* In a striking contrast with the national mood 10 years ago, fewer Americans now think that "the Muslim world considers itself at war with the U.S.'' In March 2002, 71% agreed with that statement. Nine months later that number had dropped to 60%, and today it's down to 51%.


* Faith in the government's anti-terrorism capacity has dropped. Asked less than a week after 9/11 how much confidence they had in the government to protect citizens from terrorist attacks, 41% of respondents said "a great deal.'' By March 2002, 24% agreed with that assessment. Now, only 22% do.


* Who's winning the war on terrorism? Not much has changed in how Americans answer that question. A month after the 9/11 attacks, 42% said the U.S. and its allies were winning, and by the following January that rose to 66%. By April 2002, the percentage of Americans who felt their nation was winning the terror war fell into the minority. They have constituted a majority only three times since -- twice immediately after the Iraq invasion in early 2003 and once in January 2004, after Saddam Hussein's capture. In June 2007, the last time until this year that USA TODAY and Gallup asked who was winning, only 29% said the U.S. was winning. Asked the same question last month, respondents agreeing that the U.S. and its allies were winning the terror war had climbed back to 42% -- the same as 10 years ago.


* People seem less worried about the imminent likelihood of a terrorist attack today. Only 38% consider one somewhat or very likely "over the next several weeks,'' compared to 66% ten days after 9/11. A series of mysterious anthrax attacks, which eventually killed five people, drove that up to 85% the following month. In the 18 times the question has been asked since late 2003, the highest "likely" response was May 2 this year, one day after Bin Laden was killed. The highest ever was the 85% in the anthrax attack period.


The USA TODAY/Gallup poll was taken a month before the 10th anniversary of the attacks. Full poll results are in today's edition of USA TODAY and online at usatoday.com.

USA TODAY is a multi-platform news and information media company. Founded in 1982, USA TODAY's mission is to serve as a forum for better understanding and unity to help make the USA truly one nation. Today, through its newspaper, website and mobile platforms, USA TODAY connects readers and engages the national conversation. USA TODAY, the nation's number one newspaper in print circulation with an average of more than 1.8 million daily, and USATODAY.com, an award-winning newspaper website launched in 1995, reach a combined 5.4 million readers daily. USA TODAY is a leader in mobile applications with more than nine million downloads on mobile devices. The USA TODAY brand also includes USA TODAY Education and USA TODAY Sports Weekly. USA TODAY is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI).

SOURCE USA TODAY
NOTE TO EDITORS: USA TODAY reporters are available for interviews. Please contact Elga Maye at emaye@usatoday.com or 703-854-5292 or Heidi Zimmerman at hzimmerman@usatoday.com or 703-854-5304.

CONTACT: Heidi Zimmerman, Director/Communications, +1-703-854-5304, hzimmerman@usatoday.com

Web Site: http://www.usatoday.com

Top News

10th Anniversary of 9/11

Aflac Survey Finds 77 Percent of Workers Would Leave Their Current Position to Become an Independent Entrepreneur

Rentrak Announces the Impact of Hurricane Irene on Movie Viewing Across Box Office, Home Entertainment and On-Demand Usage

Hurricane Season

Labor Day 2011

Teal Group Analyst to Forecast World Aircraft Market Will Grow From $125.8 Billion This Year to $191.3 Billion in 2020

Patterson-UTI Reports Drilling Activity for August 2011

IBM Forecast: Fall Looking Bright for Apparel Retailers

August U.S. Retail Sales

U.S. Auto Sales in August