Day of Peace
Greetings and salutations from the sand, sun and surf of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and the great island of Nantucket! Great to be with you and yours on this Friday morning, the sixth day of May, 2011, and it is a bright and beautiful one out here in the little seaside village of Osterville, with little in the way of wind, lots of sun and plenty in the way of green grass, flowering trees, such as the pear tree, and the seasonal flowers that are coming out en masse, taking over the sometimes perceived dreariness of winter and replacing it with Hope Springs Eternal, represented by the magnificence of the flowers, representing every color in the rainbow, that cover this little sand bar created 11,500 years ago by the Last Great Ice Age. Yesterday, President Barack Obama, left Washington D.C. early in the morning, flew to New York City, downtown Manhattan and visited the sight of the “9/11″ attacks of September 11, 2001. He first met with the Midtown Fire House, “the Pride of Midtown”, on the corner of 48th street and 8th Avenue in Manhattan, where he was treated to a firehouse lunch, and was greeted by a fine group of firemen, New York’s finest, who listened while Obama thanked them for their service in a humble and genuine way, as he was also shown the plaques that carried the names of an entire battalion from that station, who lost their lives on that fateful day, sending chills down anyone’s spine. He then met with New York’s other finest, the New York City Police Department, and gave a short, but heartfelt speech saying, “that although in normal times we may disagree politically, when America is attacked, we stand together as a nation, one American family.” Paraphrased a little bit, but the point was well received and comprehended by the men in blue. Finally, Obama headed out to “ground zero” itself, to the huge footprints of the once giant buildings that towered over New York City, only a little less than ten years ago, landmarks that were in every movie from “Sleepless in Seattle”, to well, take your pick. Those 110 story twin towers, towers I frequented many times, having dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in the world, a restaurant aptly named, “Windows on the World”, that sat at the very top of one of the towers, are now gone, just like the nightmare that was the “decade of danger”, the decade that was all consumed with “the war on terror”. A pear tree, named the “survivor tree”, as it was the only living thing, or non-living for that matter, that survived that amazing calamity, for it was nursed back to health and then replanted at the memorial site that will be open in September for the tenth anniversary of said terror attack, yes, that now blooming and beautiful pear tree was the spot where Obama placed a white wreath that noted the end of an era, the end of a chapter in this nation’s history, an end to fear and violence, and the hopeful remembrance of those who lost their lives on that day, a day that was reserved, as the President along with thousands of people, recognized a moment of silence on that day, that will forever be a day of PEACE. Whatever you have to say about our great President, today may not be the day to say it, for, I should think, your hypocrisy can only go so far. This country MUST finally turn that page and begin the task of not only finishing the new “Freedom Tower” that will replace the late, great “Twin Towers”, but rebuilding the reason we fight for Liberty, Freedom and “the American Way” to begin with, coming together on a realistic budget that will not hurt our most vulnerable citizens, for that is not, as the President said, “who we are”, no, we must find common solutions to very large issues and come together quickly, for the time is nigh, and there is “no time for fussing and fighting my friends”–our problems are man made, and thus, can be solved by man, and must be, for everyone has a stake in this, not just America, the world does as well, for we are now, and forever will be, a global community, where we must look out for one another, in the name of humanity and in the name of LOVE. Have a great day and week end folks and May GOD be with the people of the south, who now, after the devastating tornadoes, face the flooding that is mind boggling to wrap your head around. PRESERVE THE WILDERNESS! Peace~M
