Sharing My Story

Being a Baby Boomer the historic question most often
poised is where were you when President John F. Kennedy
was assasinated in November 1963? For the Generation Y
the question could be where were you on 9-11-2001?

For me I was in the small west Texas town of Crosbyton
around 30 miles east of Lubbock. Crosbyton is the county
seat of Crosby County, one of the cotton producing and cattle
ranching counties in the flat and semi arid Texas panhandle.
I had the privilege of working with Mr. Joe Taylor who is an
accomplished field paleontologist and fossil preparator
(also an excellent all around artist). Joe owes and operates
the Mt. Blanco Fossil Museum on Main Street in Crosbyton
his home town. For two years I worked as one of his
assistants and actually lived in the upstairs apartment
in the museum.

On the morning of September 11, 2001 I was watching one
of the morning news shows on television getting dressed for
the coming day in the office. The news program cut in with
an unusual happening at the world Trade Center. It showed
an airplane ramming into the side of one of the Trade Center
Buildings. The original announcement was that it was a small
light plane and only later did we find out that it was a large
jet passenger liner. My initial reactions was that it was very
bizarre for such an “accident” to happen (as was speculated by
the TV announcers). Another reaction was that this was horrible
for the people in the plane but would have little affect on the
building beyond the immediate damage area. How wrong I was
and I’m sure many others felt the same way.

I walked down stairs from the apartment to the museum
offices and found Betty Ruth (BR) already at work. BR is a
wonderful, Godly, vivacious lady in her sixties who helped
with office duties at the time. I warned BR that what I was
about to tell her was the truth and that I was not kidding. I
explained to her about the plane crashing into the World Trade
Center and the fire and smoke that belched forward from the
damaged building. She was startled and surprised as I was.
As the morning progressed a second plane unbelievable hit
the other tower and still later both towers came crashing down.
Then the reports of the plane smashing into the Pentagon
and still another airliner going down in western Pennsylvania.

The very idea that these building would collapse by being struck
by an airplane seemed incomprehensible but it did happen.
Even though the terrorists had caused other grievous damage
this one was on U.S. mainland soil in he heart of the nation’s
financial nerve center. This was the Pearl Harbor of the 21st
Century and a wake up call that these Islamofascists needed
to be taken seriously. They were bent on the destruction
not only of Israel and Jews worldwide but also of the
United States and Western civilization.

I think it is important for Americans to remember this day
and realize that we are in a war with a very determined
and fanatical enemy. If we want to preserve our freedoms
and way of life we must emerge victorous from this conflict.
Otherwise we could be entering a new dark age much
worse than that experienced a thousand years ago.

May God have mercy on us.