911: A Day to Remember, Recognize & Reflect

Country singer Alan Jackson asked in his song, "Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day?" Sometimes when I think about it, that day in 2001 seems very near. How about you? When you remember 9/11/2001, what comes to your mind? I suppose most of us, if not all of us, will ever forget where we were that day, and in that very moment, when we learned of the tragedy that made its mark on Americans here at home and around the world.  It's now one of those memorable days. Like the day you got your first job or your child was born or you told her you loved her for the first time. That memorable but without the happiness, hope and joy. That memorable, but with a bitter twist of fate.

911 is a day to remember the fallen, recognize that we need to stay alert to keep this from happening again, and to reflect on what's come out of the ashes. On that day, a guy named Adam was working at the World Financial Center. He says that his office was on the 24th floor just across the street from the Towers. When the first plane hit, he felt it, and ran to the window to see what had happened. Looking down onto the parking lot, he saw a few things on fire and his first thought was a car bomb (just like it was in 1993). When he looked up that's when he realized it was one of the Towers. "It looked like 10 stories were burning. The fire seemed to crawl around the tower. The winds were so high it caused the smoke to spin in a large swirl." Adam could not believe what he was seeing. And, at that point, didn't know what had happened. Within another minute, the phone was ringing. Family members were calling to see if he and his coworkers were all right.

Do you remember that moment? When just after the first plane crashed, how it felt? I remember I was at my desk listening to the radio and I thought, oh no, how tragic. Thinking it was a horrendous accident. One of my coworkers was telling some of the others in the office that a plane had crashed into one of the Towers. And in what seemed like no time at all, another plane crashed into the second tower. Now, I was thinking, that was no accident. But they were 'our' planes, passenger planes, and I just couldn't wrap my mind around the situation. And I had no idea what it meant or how much worse it would get.

When the second plane hit, Adam says, "It felt like a big earthquake. I stumbled with the hit. People started yelling. One man in my office saw the plane go in and screamed it was another plane. We ran to the window." Later he would find out that people on the street could feel the heat of the fireball. Adam's manager yelled for everyone to get out. Now! Adam did what I can imagine I would do. He grabbed his bag, palm pilot and juice and headed for the stairs. For me, it would have been my phone and my purse.

When he reached the street he saw people carrying an odd assortment of things. There was a crowd starring up at the burning Towers. Adam looked up to see the fire climbing up, down and around the Towers. As people in the crowd cried out, Adam looked up to see people falling to their deaths. Some were jumping. "I wish I could say there was only one," says Adam. "It got worse as the fire spread." By this time Adam had called his family and left messages. It was amazing. As we, all the way in North Carolina, watched the events unfold, we did the same thing. It was like nothing else mattered except our family and friends.

Adam said, "I then came upon a guy with a telescope aimed at one of the towers. The picture I will never forget. At about the 60-70th floors, people were hanging out windows trying to get air. They were literally holding onto the side of the building waving t-shirts to get someone's attention. I couldn't watch any longer. I kept walking, and about 10 minutes later I was about a half mile away and talking with someone and we heard this sound that can only be described as a thundering crack. I then saw what I thought was just a chunk of the World Trade Center. It was actually the whole tower. I couldn't believe it."

As a nation, we watched as the tower collapsed. And as a nation, we felt our hearts break. I know mine did. I remember watching on television as the people began running, just running to get away. It seemed that a wall of dust, smoke and ash rolled out and overtook them. People were covered in ash; you couldn't see the differences in skin color, hair color, clothes. It was like they were all separate part of one whole, and indeed they were, just like we are, separate parts of the human race. And my heart went out to these people, my people, my America.  

Now, for me, when it all started happening, back when I was sitting at my desk, listening to my radio, it was unnerving. It was scary. And I can't imagine how much more those folks in New York (and those who had friends and family there) must have been feeling. And then something happened, right here in North Carolina, that I'll never forget. Our manager came through our department. He asked us to gather around and his words brought a measure of comfort to us.

Now, these 11 years later, I don't remember his exact words but I do remember the impact. He talked with us in such a way that we knew that he was feeling the same way we were. We also knew he was concerned about us. And that's when I realized that even if you work for a large corporation, you can be surrounded by people that really care. I think we all felt that, even as our world was turning upside down.  Like me, you may have heard Alan Jackson's song and maybe the lyrics spoke to you as they did, and still do, to me:
Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day? 
Did you call up your mother and tell her you loved her? 
Did you dust off that Bible at home? 
Did you go to a church and hold hands with some strangers?
Did you stand in line and give your own blood?
Did you just stay home and cling tight to your family,
Thank God you had somebody to love? 

When I hear that song now, it still brings tears to my eyes. And I remember those who sacrificed so much to save others, the emergency personnel, the victims who left their families to go to work that day and never came home, the families who still live with their loss even to this day. Lives that were forever changed. And I think of this man whom I've never met but only read about, Adam.  

After walking home, he roller-bladed from his apartment five miles to his parents' home. "It was so quiet," he says, "Thousands of people were just walking home from everywhere, the silence was deafening. I even tried to give blood at four different locations, but they were overloaded with volunteers." The next day, after a 5 1/2 hour wait, Adam gave blood.

Today, as our town remembered, as the emergency personnel turned on their sirens this morning in honor, in remembrance, of 911, I stood on the sidewalk, listening, a lone tear running down my cheek. And I wasn't alone. Alongside were my coworkers. And we remembered.

Where were you when the world stopped turning? Where are you now? I hope you're in a place where you're not alone. Where you are a real and vital part of this human race, separate yet standing together. Just as the motto on our Nation's Great Seal says: E Pluribus Unum: Out of many, one.

USA. Standing together.

Jean

Read Adam's account in his own words here. 

Making a BIG Difference, One Step at a Time

It never goes away. But what if 'it' could?

'It' is Juvenile Diabetes. And it affects millions of people every day. People like Rachel. As a baby, she was sick a lot. Her parents didn't know what to do. Tests were run. Nothing showed up. No one knew why she wasn't eating or walking anymore. Finally, her dad reached out to an uncle in the medical field who asked the right questions. A urine test was done and, at only 14 months old, Rachel was diagnosed with T1D or Type 1 diabetes. T1D is an autoimmune disease that comes on suddenly and can strike children or adults at any age. If you or someone you know has diabetes, you know it requires watching your diet carefully and testing your blood sugar 6 times or more a day.

While the disease is unfortunate, the diagnosis came just in time for Rachel. Without it, and immediate treatment, little Rachel would have died. Today, she is a beautiful 12 year old who loves life but she does admit, "Living with diabetes is hard at times. I've had to miss out on some stuff with my friends--like sleepovers, and sometimes it's hard to always be careful of what I eat. It is hard to participate in sports sometimes because you have to keep checking your blood-sugar and get snacks so you don't go low. I have to go to the nurse 3 times a day at school which makes is hard to keep on top of what is going on. I have good friends and brothers that watch out for me and make sure I am doing okay. I love having my pump--it is so much better than when I had to take shots. I am grateful for all that I CAN do, but I look forward to the day we have a cure."

Here's the deal: JDRF, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, is searching for a cure. Rachel hopes to see that happen in her lifetime. I'd like to be a part of making that happen. And I'd like for you to join me.
This year, I'm not asking for a lot. I know many of us have felt the crunch of the current economy. I'm only asking if you would donate $1. If everyone will do just that, we, as a collective group, can make a BIG difference. Click here to donate now.

On October 6, 2012 I will be walking for the cure in Elon, North Carolina. I am part of the LabCorp Walkers team, a group of individuals, just like you, that care enough to make a BIG difference, one step at a time.
As the leader of the type 1 diabetes community, JDRF unifies global efforts to cure, treat and prevent T1D. I feel pretty good about that and that's why I have supported them for the past 10 years.

If you would like to read more of Rachel's story and others like her, click here. And if you cannot offer monetary support at this time (or even if you can), I'd like to ask a personal favor: how about saying a prayer, right now, for those suffering from diabetes? You CAN make a difference!

Thank you for your support!
God bless,
Jean Bailey Robor

Something Is At Work Here

Fate?
Coincidence?
Or maybe something more.
In my home, we use natural gas for our heating unit and water heater. So, one summer day a few weeks ago, when there was no hot water, my first thought was Oh no! Cold showers! My second thought was I hope I don't have to replace the water heater. Besides, it didn't seem like that long ago, maybe a few years, since this water heater was purchased. Surely, they last longer than that.

I called the gas company to come and check it. Now, you might have guessed that I would first check it out a bit myself. But, no. After all, that thing is down in the creepy basement and, frankly, that basement with its dark corners and crawl spaces, creeps me out. (Hence, it's 'creepy.') So, let someone who's getting paid to creep around down there check it out. (Some days I'm such a girl.)

The guy from the gas company came over and simply re-lit the pilot light. Voila! Hot water! He took a look around and couldn't figure out why the pilot light had gone out. Everything seemed to be working just fine. And this is where fate, coincidence or something more comes in.

I had followed him down to the basement. (It's never as creepy when someone else is with you and in broad daylight.) We talked about the water heater and then he voiced another concern. "I think you need to have a heating & air technician check out your furnace there." The furnace is the heating unit that I refer to as the big, green monster. It's a big green metal box-like thing that's been in the house longer than I have. So when he pointed out the soot on the side and voiced his concern, I took heed. I called Steve who regularly services it each year. And, every year, he's a little surprised that the old thing is still alive and kicking.

When he came out to check it, this is what he found, minus the technician lingo: the big, green monster had to go. Not only that, but it was emitting carbon monoxide. Steve told us that meant, if we had turned it on, sure it would have heated the house, but we might have died in our sleep. The whole family.

The thought of my family members at risk, in our home, which should be a safe haven, was sobering.

Now, I don't know why the pilot light went out on the water heater. I don't know why the man from the gas company just happened to notice the soot on the heating unit. All I know is that this series of events may have saved not just my life, but all our lives.

There's no doubt. Something is at work here.

Some people will call it fate.
Some may call it a series of coincidences.
Forever, I'll call it a God thing.

It's true: Romans 8:28 says, "All things work together for good to them that love God..." In the beginning, having cold water was a minor frustration. (At least until I stepped into the cold shower, then major frustration!) Thinking of buying a new water heater was a bit more frustrating. In the end, replacing the heating unit, despite the inconvience and financial burden, was a blessing.

In my heart, there is no doubt.
It's a God thing.

Keeping the faith,
Jean