Its been over a week now since our President told us that, after years of searching, Bin Laden had finally been killed. In his words, "Justice has been done".
I, actually, first learned of all of this via Facebook, of all places. Katie was gone for the night, helping a friend with a birth. I am glad I couldnt sleep, because this was one anouncement I wanted to hear live. Although alone, I found myself cheering. I found myself smiling. And then, I found myself crying.
The last 9 1/2+ years came rolling back to me, in one swoop. For those of you not aware, I lost both an Uncle and a Cousin on that Tuesday in September. Both at the WTC. The pain this loss caused cannot be described here, and is a little too personal, to be honest. Suffice it to say, though, that it was absolutely devastating in so many ways, to everyone in our family. Everyone dealt with in their own way.
Hearing the news last week brought it all back. And I wish I could shake the hands of everyone on that Seal Team, as well as President Obama. The animal was put down, where he should have been put long ago. I dont know if there is a heaven or hell, but if hell does exist, I hope he is roasting in it now.
And then, the inevitable happened. Both political parties started taking jabs at the other side. Pathetic. This was a victory for America, folks. Can we just take a moment and celebrate without such hatred for opposing view points? Is that really so much to ask? One side seems to wish that this scum was still alive until their guy took office, no matter how many might have died in the meantime. And people wonder why I consider myself independent; just look at the behavior of our two choices, and you will understand why.
But I digress...
In the days, weeks, and months that followed 9/11, I saved massive amounts of news clippings, magazines, internet articles that I printed, along with other things having to do with that time in our history. I saved them so that, one day, I can take them out and TRY to explain to Sam what happened. She was only 9 months old at the time of the attacks. But, someday, I wanted her to read about the heroes we lost that day, as well as the heroes who still walk amongst us. I wanted her to read all about Paul and Thomas. Not just because of the family connection, but because they were worth reading about and celebrating, along with everyone else who did what they had to do on that fateful day. All of these things have been saved in a box for years, and I open it from to time and look through it. But its been years since I have added to it. I took great pleasure this week in buying the latest Time and Newsweek, both of which covered the shooting of Bin Laden on their cover, and putting it in the box.
I know I can never fully explain to Sam why that day happened...how does one explain this to a child of any age? As I write this, I am 39 years old, and it doesnt make any sense to me, so how do I get a ten year to understand it? But I am glad that I can now tell her that the man responsible has been brought to justice. Sure, it took a while, but we got him. Thats all that matters. And yes, there are more bad guys out there. They will probably strike again. And we will get them, too.
To Thomas...I wish I had know you better. I heard and read so much of you after you were gone, it was definitely my loss. I hope that your wife was able to find happiness that was taken from her after too short a time together.
To Paul...Words cannot express how much your loss hit us. You were loved so much, by everyone. Your laughter and your sense of humor, especially, is what I remember best. It breaks my heart that Sam has had to grow up not knowing you. Although, she hears of you so often, she feels like she knows you as well as any of us. She even has a framed picture of you on her desk. Semper Fi...
The death of Bin Laden cannot bring our lost loved ones back. I know this. But its still nice to see that, every once in a while, justice is carried out as it should be.
-"Jack"
