To understand why, how, where we come from.
To respect those who came before us.
To honor those who have fallen innocently.
To honor and respect those who fight for our freedom. So often we forget that most of us do not fight for our freedom. Realize this today.
To reflect on bad guys. To understand that it’s OK to be good. To give. To share. To make others lives better. Not just our own.
To realize that we are so very lucky and fortunate to live in the U.S. of A. We have it good. Not all nations, peoples, cultures, and societies have it like us.
To thank those who protect us.
To realize that fishing is a privilege. Not all who walk this earth get to enjoy nature and the outdoors and fellowship amongst anglers many of us do. Think about how lucky we are.
To tell those around you that you love them.
To remember those who have fallen before us including those on this hallowed American day. To honor them.
To teach those who come after us. To pass on the family traditions that we so love. To educate them about the outdoors, the correct behaviors, and to respect the land.
It is important to reflect on days like today. On days like this. To spend a moment with our thoughts. To remember to be kind, to care, to share, to honor, to reflect.
It is important for us to remember to pay it forward. To love our neighbor. To open doors for little old ladies. To say hello to a passer by. To smile.
It is important for us to accentuate the positive in life. To not be so critical. To not be so angry. To not be so pessimistic.
It is important to reflect on days like today. Hug your family, have dinner with them, enjoy them.
I just visited the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero. The most important part of my east coast swing. Moving. Awesome.
All these years later I have to wonder. What did it accomplish? The taking of all those lives, what did it accomplish? Are the bad guys any better off? Are they any closer to accomlishing a mission or goal than they were before. All the death and distruction for nothing as far as I can see. If anything it made things less pleasant for the bad guys. The one positive is that it brought us a little closer togather as a nation. What waist, what evil.
Mark,
Thank You for this post.
This should be published in papers around the county.
Well said Brother.
Meaningfull and moving
Your proud Father.
This one hits a nerve for me on the fishing front – let’s float this piece to the crooks of Northern Dynasty who want that Pebble Mine in Alaska.
A disaster in the making – short sighted, evil money hounds who’ll torch that pristine watershed and ecosystem with no concerns about the clean up.
I guided there – Morraine, Little Ku, Tazimina …. paradise in jeopardy. Had enough of the Superfund sites from mining companies who cash in and run? A sobering thought that makes me pause lately.
Agreed…. but we must not give up…..we still have the power of the vote and folks like these on our side…………………………………………………………………………………………………….https://educateinspirechange.org/nature/leonardo-dicaprio-foundation-surpasses-100-million-donated-to-global-environmental-efforts/?fbclid=IwAR1L0RzurkS9gMgmI1xYfypxtjqQC_SsfSO1_oJKnlURRVgih_2UV7zkLvU
Hitting a (fishing) nerve . . . what did IT (bringing the Towers down) accomplish? “Evil” people have been doing Evil things ALL of ManKind, so it should be no surprise when IT happens next, whatever shape it comes in! I’ve Served (Navy) under 4 Presidents (Reagan, Bush-1, Clinton, Bush-2 / 1983-2004). 9-11 was one of numerous “disasters” from “both sides” during my tenure sailing the seas for Uncle Sam. Unfortunately some have only recently come to light thanks to Freedom of Information Act requests. Non of these Presidents are “Blemish Free” and some of their Misguided Failures had and STILL have (in some instances) lasting effects on the lives of Millions of Human Beings (all across the Globe). 9-11 surely was a disaster that Could/Should have been prevented – what a waste of Humanity! Don’t get me started on Corruption in Politics & Corruption in Big Corporate America; they seem to go Hand in Hand too often. Nothing New Here, I’ve “seen it” throughout My Lifetime, as have Our Parents, and will continue for the foreseeable future. A Future, by the way, which there won’t be much left of (worth living in) at the rate Humanity Ignores our Self Destructive Tendencies.
Not talking “War Mongering” here, referring to things such as John’s reference and ALL the other ‘out of sight, out of mind’ things going on right in YOUR Very Own Backyards (so to speak). I have Little to No “hope” for the “savior solution,” it is beyond “our” ability, IMO. Mother Nature will have her way with HER Planet, and when she is done ridding her “skin” of the “itch” that is human kind, she will begin to heal herself. But hey, I don’t give a S***, right! I’ll be dead, who cares about “The Kids,” they’ll figure it out, right? Sure. I feel better already . . . lets go fishing . . . don’t we forget all our woes when we’re fishing? “God Bless ‘Merica” – so some prefer to say.
Just some cynicism mixed with a twist of sarcasm – shaken, not stirred. Hopefully “shaken” enough to “awaken” some into ACTION.
“It is important for us to accentuate the positive in life. To not be so critical. To not be so angry. To not be so pessimistic.”
I wonder, if just for a single day we could listen to what Marc says? Agree this should be published nationally.
Thank you for sharing this very encouraging truth with us. I hear you saying from start to finish, “be grateful and let your grateful heart inform your behavior”. Thanks for turning the remembrance of this horrible event into something positive.