Live today like there's no tomorrow
I was fortunate to be part of our local Sept. 11 observance Wednesday on Main Street, Luverne.
It was the most fitting, appropriate, reverent way I could imagine to observe the anniversary of an event that changed our nation.
There were no politicians campaigning under the guise of a Sept. 11 speech, there were no media rehashing and replaying the events of the day, there were no collections taken for yet another 9-11 fund.
It was simply a united effort by many local citizens to send a powerful message. I can't speak for everyone, but the message I heard in that long moment of silence is that we haven't forgotten, and our hearts still ache for the victims and their families.
When the somber notes of "Taps," rang in the ears of downtown participants, a lump formed in my throat to think what the day must mean to those still mourning.
The song ended, and we in Luverne parted hands and returned to our daily lives.
Meanwhile, loved ones of the victims return to their daily nightmares. Children are still going to sleep without goodnight kisses from their daddies, new brides are still getting used to being widows, and the scenarios of grieving souls are endless.
Their loss will last a lifetime. It didn't end with the cleanup of Ground Zero and it didn't end with a one-year anniversary observance.
All the media interviews, all the countless documentary films and all the memorial ceremonies won't change that.
Such is war.
So how does a country begin to pay respects amid all this heartache?
Just the way Luverne did Wednesday. By pausing to remember and by sending a collective prayer with each toll of a church bell...for the victims, for the leaders of our country, for the servicemen and women at war and for peace around the world.
Then, when it's all said and done, it's best to do what we did Wednesday: return to the task of living Ñ not the living we did prior to 9-11-01, but living with renewed purpose.
If we take to heart anything from the media interviews with families of victims, we need to heed their advice to live each day as if it were our last.
In essence: love more, stress less and generally simplify our lives so that what remains has meaning.
If the United States of America emerges from 9-11 in this condition, the war will already have been won.