Thursday, September 11, 2014

September 11: Then What Happened, Somber Day, Remembering the Fallen

"Then what happened?" asked Wilbur.

Wilbur is asking a simple question of Charlotte.  He wants her to continue the story she's telling.  To go further, complete it to his satisfaction.


It would be a wonderful world if all stories ended well.  If the answer to the question "Then what happened?" was always "They lived happily ever after."  Life doesn't work that way.  Some stories end with love's first kiss and a cheering band of dwarfs.  Other stories end abruptly, violently.

Today is the thirteenth anniversary of the 9-11 attacks.  Moments of silence were observed.  Bells were rung.  Names were read.  And, I'm sure, young people thought of mothers or fathers who disappeared from their existences a little over a decade ago.  The stories are not happy.

I am grateful for my happy story tonight.  I will be traveling to a bookstore to listen to people read essays about nature.  I'll be driving along the shore of Lake Superior just as the sun is sinking out of the sky.  I'm going to say a little prayer for all the unhappy endings commemorated today.

And then what happened?

Saint Marty will go home, kiss his wife, and hug his kids.

Praying for happier endings

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