OT:USAMA BIN LADEN IS CONFIRMED DEAD

Usama Bin Laden is confirmed DEAD. Killed in Pakistan by American troops. Waiting for President Obama to speak, it's 11:30 on May 1, 2011. Historical date to remember like 9/11/01.THINK of how Bin Laden has changed OUR lives in many ways, flown lately? purchased gas lately? lost a loved one in wars from Bin Ladens orders? the USS Cole bombing? the Ft.Hood deaths? money spent on buildng and maintaining GITMO? visiting any National buildings in our OWN country?
Add your own ideas on how this monster affected your individual life. Think about how this cost of war has impacted YOU directly. Gives me the chills. For all who died on 9/11, their families, their friends, the Rescue people living now with horrible diseases from exposure to the Towers coming down, the nightmare of PTSD for those who stood on the streets of NYC, Washington DC at the Pentagon, and the hole in the ground at Shanksville, PA....thank you Tod Beemer and the others who decided to kill themselves by "lets roll" and downing their plane.
Beware the aftermath of this event, what havoc will the Taliban and the radicals Muslims bring to us? God Bless America. Protect our military, our policeman, OUR people. People are dancing in the streets of Washington right now, Kinetic Group Action, rejoying in finding some closure after 10 yrs.

 Justice has been served. God Bless America. We also have been watching all the news .
My honey man went down to his VFW Post. He was upset because the post had just closed
before he got there. I know where we will be tomorrow. Flags flying high.
9-11 brought our small Tri-Community together. We have never forgotten. And will not forget
all that serve this Great Nation. 

HI Monica,
   I did not think they would ever find him. I'm glad they did. I'm glad no Americans were hurt. Thanks for posting.   Mag  
  

America is a proud place to be right  now.  But we must remember this is not over.  His second in command is still running loose and we must be aware of possible retaliation.  But, all in all

GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!

Monica, well said!!!! George I so agree with you. I just can't understand the mentality of not valueing human life. He used a woman as a shield??? Some hero. Ok I could go on forever, but I won't.
Nan

Monica,

I woke to this news on my radio this morning and all the memories of that day flooded my mind and I am still processing it. . . 

For 8 years I worked in 1 WTC and in 1993 when the first bombing took place, I was home as I worked 2nd shift and I watched as my friends and co-workers exited and thought that is no transformer fire, 2 hours later it was announced that indeed it was a bomb, those buildings were never the same afterwards and in my heart, I always knew that the terrorists would one day come back to finish the job. . . in 1996 I got a job in midtown, near Rockefeller Center and St. Patrick's Cathedral. . .

On September 11, a beautiful fall day in NY, I got up caught my express bus into Mahattan, I had my walkman on and was reading a Stephen Koontz book, we were on the approach to the midtown tunnel that connects Queens to Mahattan and during rush hour it can take a half an hour or more to get to and through it, I heard the radio announcer say that a plane had just hit the WTC and I say out loud, WTH and looked downtown from my vantage point on the bus and there was all this black smoke coming from one of the buildings and I remember thinking that it was too clear a day for this to be an accident, on the bus, traveling through the tunnel you can't get reception on a walkman, but when we came out the other side, the announcer stated that either debris from the plane or yet another plane had gone into the other building, my thoughts turned to the fact that I am on 34th Street in Mahattan and approaching the area where yet another NY landmark exists, The Empire State Building, I thought, well it could be that's next, but nothing I can do, I stayed on the bus and prayed for all those affected and thought about all the people I had worked with for those 8 years and hoped that due to the hour of the morning, that they were all ok.  When I reached my destination, I got off the bus and just looked at the faces of people, faces that reflected my own feelings, feelings of shock, bewilderment and it was a sense of surrealness that I never dreamed I would experience in my lifetime.  There were those who were coming up from the subway, people who were unaware of what was going on above them, and seeing their faces change when they got an understanding of things.  When I got to my building, security was at the door and asking for id.  I went upstairs to my work station and pulled out the 5 inch b/w television I kept in my desk for those nights I was there working overtime and a group of us stood around my desk watching and listening as our country was under attack.  My, now, exhusband was calling me and telling me to come home, to which I responded, that if I had wings and could fly I would, but the fact was that all roads, trains, buses into and out of Manhattan were closed as of that point and I told him I was safest where I was.  It was a short time later that photos of the Pentagon were on the screen and I remember saying, boy did we get caught with our pants down and feeling as though for this to happen, we were really quite vulnerable.  It was not much later that as me and a former co-worker from that time when I worked in the WTC, an attorney I worked with at our old firm and I looked in utter disbelief, as the first of the twin towers fell.  I could not cry, I could only gasp and half an hour later the other building came down, utter disbelief does not even come close to how I felt.  A group of us went downstairs, I had not eaten breakfast and I decided I needed a cup of coffee and a cigarette (as I still smoked then) and when I got downstairs we talked among ourselves and decided that as soon as we got the go ahead, we would walk over the 59th Street bridge which was about three quarters of a mile and walk over it into Queens.  We went upstairs to find that the Mayor had opened up the bridges for people to leave orderly from the City and a group of us began the walk.  The streets were clogged with cars, people, sirens were all you heard and voices of those who were expressing their fears and concerns for the many affected and what else might lie ahead. . .  I remember as I crossed that bridge on September 11, hearing a loud engine of a plane and because the air space had been closed and we thought the worse, some screamed with fear, while others allayed our fears when they said, it was our Air Force Jet Planes.  I cried at that point, full of sadness, wondering if my old friends were safe, wondering if the future of my children and grandchildren would be affected by what happened that day.  I walked about 4 miles to where my car was parked, as the night before it had broken down and I had dropped it off not 2 miles from where I crossed that bridge.  I could not get hold of anyone, as cell phones were basically useless, which is a reason why to this day, I have a landline, when I finally got a hold of someone, it was my sister from another mother,  Jeanne, who had been frantically trying to get a hold of me, as she had forgotten I no longer worked in the WTC.  I also had a call from my daughter, who had gone into labor and prayed that because she was early, that they would be able to stop her from having the baby, as I remember thinking I did not want my grandchild's birthday associated with such a dark day.  I made it to Jeanne's house and watched as they replayed over and over again the footage of what had happened.  Jeanne was worried about her exhusband, her children's dad, as he is a NYC firefighter.  Eventually, I went to pick my mother up from her dialysis center, where she was learning to give herself home dialysis, she was very upset.   That night I learned that my partner at my cousin's wedding, William Lum, was missing, he worked for Marsh Mclellan, he was a really nice guy, six months later they identified a part of him, he was at the point of impact of the first plane, if any were lucky that day of those who perished, it was those who never knew what was coming. . .  Because they attacked those buildings at the hour they did, there were many less casualties then there could have been, as many of the businesses were those that had hours of 9:30 to 5:30.  When I worked there, I would arrive at 8:40 in the morning, we had a cafeteria and I would have breakfast and go to my desk by 9:20, in other words, I would have been at work already, had I still worked there.  One of my co-workers a very sweet woman, Rose Mary Smith, was a switchboard/receptionist, she never made it out, they found her, along with a firefighter and police officer, they made it down, but not out. . .  A cousin of mine, who has twin boys, that were about 2 then, was planning on having WLS and her doctor had called the Friday before to tell her that she needed to get a gallbladder scan and her appointment was made for the morning of September 11th, that saved her life, she worked at a company on the 105th floor and her hours were 8 to 4, she lost many friends that day.  Another one of my friends, has not been the same since, as she was coming up out of the subway and witnessed people who jumped from the buildings.

The days following were strange ones for sure, our City (NYC) and the Country put aside most differences and worked towards brotherhood, for anyone with bad thoughts of NYC, let me tell you this, there was no chaos on that day, just wonderful, caring people, NYC natives are the best, we hustle, go about minding our business, but in cir****tances where assistance is needed, it is given, I saw the best there was to see.

I lived near Kennedy Airport, my Mom lived near Laguardia Airport, it was eerie not hearing planes for 2-1/2 days, it was so quiet I could hear the overhead trains from 6 blocks away and the traffic from the highway that was 6 blocks away in the other direction.  For months and I do mean months afterwards, there were funerals at St. Patrick's Catheral, as they honored those who serve without thought of their own safety.  I still grieve the losses of that day, that day was one of the nails in my Mother's coffin, she died one month later, my grandson, luckily was born on October 10th and I thank God that for whatever reason, I was not working on either of those occasions, but yet have felt guilty for having that feeling too. . .

You speak often enough of PTSD, I can tell you this, whenever I hear a siren, you can be sure it conjures up thoughts of 9/11. . .  I will never forget, we must never forget and we must know that danger, regardless of the fact that Osama Bin Laden's death, still is there, there are those who hate us because of what we represent, that is the sad truth.  Peace to all, may this world we live in, one day know it. . .

Thanks for letting me express my thoughts on that day that will not be forgotten.

Laureen

Laureen, I have no words. . . just know that you touched me deeply.

WOW, thank you for sharing these painful thoughts. Your accounting is vivid and strikes the heart and soul. WE need to remember incidents in our lives, good and bad. When I bend over and don't encounter rolls of fat, I remember being FAT. When I go to wipe my ass and don't contort, I remember being fat, when I hug my hubby so tight and close, I remember being fat. BAD then GOOD now
Today I remember the BAD and GOOD of 9/11 and 9/12 and how I and America felt one day later. Today I am imprinting into ME the events of this monster's death, how we found him, who went in, the corruption of Pakistan government, the dancing and joy in our streets, that are Youth's are not disconnected from our struggles like I thought, that they knew the Pledge of Allegiance to our flag, the words to our National Anthem, that they did not riot like hooligan, but cheered and hugged, that our President, a man I do not admire or have great respect for, had the courage to order the strike, that his speech to our nation was appropriate and moving, that our military and intelligence worked, and that so far today, we are safe.

The lessons are we do not have to like our leaders, but respect the jobs they do, jobs that are never easy, nor necessarily popular. 

I was not fond of Mayor Rudy Guliani, however, I respected that NYC was a better place because of him and that was before 9/11, he did not do what would make him popular with the people in many instances, however, he earned the respect and love of many for the way he handled the aftermath of 9/11; the other lesson here, for me, is that we are blessed to live in a country where we can have a choice to like or dislike our leaders, we have the power of the vote and I am glad I come from the pre-9/11 days, when life was simpler and we feared less. 

All praise to our military and those they worked closely with, they are the heart and soul of keeping us safe and for their bravery and selfless sacrafice I have a deep abiding respect!

Thanks for your words Laureen. What an experience you had...