Life is Strange and Wonderful! A Tribute!

Friends, as many of you know, today is 9-11, the anniversary which changed the complacent way we Americans view the world.
I saw a Tribute to the victims of 9-11, this morning on the news. I was thinking about it when doing my morning chores, and it occurred to me that a Tribute to the Survivors is in order.
But let me tell it how it happened.
This morning while out in the green house watering the things that need to be hand watered I saw this, and it made me stop and think. I've never had a hummer perch on my Red, White and Blue stained glass art before. It struck me as symbolic, of the resilience of our country.

Then I saw this towering banana had started to bloom. Which reminded me of the twin towers.

But something was wrong with the bloom which had seemed to appear overnight. The stalk appears to be broken.

There were only a few bananas in a cluster and it was just starting to bloom. I left the green house to take care of something and a moment later I heard a crash. Upon returning to the green house I saw this.

Talk about symbolic echoes from the past!
The banana symbolizing life and constant rebirth, crashing down like the Twin Towers and the planes that crashed in the Pentagon building and the heroes who crashed the last plane intended to strike that day.
I have to admit I got goosebumps!
This is the end of the banana which flipped as it fell.

That's pretty cool SW!

When it fell it knocked off a small ceramic bird from it's perch. And it blocked my path.

Just wait weegy, the best is yet to come!
As I looked at my fruit, fallen in it's first bloom it reminded me of all those who died. Not only during 9-11, but also the first responders, all of the volunteers, the sheer guts of New Yorkers, and of course our own warriors who are giving their lives today to keep this from happening in our country again.
I wept for those left behind.

Ooops, ok, I was talking about the hummer! Ok, keep em coming!

No big deal weegy, the hummer was just the appetizer. Here comes the main course!
As I turned to leave with sadness in my heart I saw a movement at the entrance to the gh.
The world went quiet for a moment.

A butterfly in my green house? And not just any butterfly but a Giant North American Swallowtail. Today of all days? And it made me stop and give thanks for the Giant hearts of Americans who help each other in times of trouble.

As it fluttered around the top of the green house it reminded me of the survivors, and how they have had to go on with their lives. How so much good has come out of a tragedy. I was struck by the beauty of the butterfly and had to admire it.
Then the B.fly lighted on one of my four O'Clocks and had to note that even as battered as this butterfly is, it shows how something so fragile and beautiful can still live and thrive in a hostile world.
This butterfly has obviously escaped attack by birds more than once. Which made me think of how we as Americans, keep going no matter what, if we are attacked we keep on, keeping on.
Once again very symbolic, for the survivors! I remember and I will never forget that sad and horrible day. But like this B.fly we are resilient and will go on.
Please accept this tribute with an open heart, that those who were lost are not forgotten.
Walk in Beauty!
SingingWolf

Yes, that was a terrrible, terrible day none of us will ever forget!
When my co-workers first told me about it that day, I did not believe them. I insisted they were making it up to try and shock me.........

Sadly, my oldest son and I watched in disbelief when we saw the second plane crash into the Twin Towers that morning on the news.
It seemed as if the whole world was in mourning. I was struck with how quiet it was. There weren't any planes flying, and people were in such shock. I think most people were glued to their tv's. I was.
Where were you that day when you found out?
WIB!
SW

DH found out about it as he was reading the morning news on his computer and called to me in the other room. We stood with our arms around each other and watched as the second plane hit and then as the towers came down. I watched it all again today - I think everyone should watch it, including high school students. We have to remember how bad it was and how close we became afterward. Complacency is a dangerous thing.

Darn it, forgot to say: Beautiful post, SW. I like the way you connected things and that first photo is a stunner.

This message was edited Sep 11, 2009 3:43 PM

I just had to tell the story the way it happened, and the way I saw that all of life is connected.
WIB!
SW

What a wonderful story, SW, I got goosebumps reading your words.
Thank you.

Thanks for sharing your photos and your spirit with us!

I was alone in the car with the radio on, driving early, in the dark to HQT in San Diego for seminars. When I got there, I was very angry and vocal about them not cancelling the seminars for that day. No, no,no....life does not go on the same as usual on this day!

I was at play group with the girls and I would say more than half the women there with their kids being muslim just faded towards the door thinking that we would hurt them because of what was happening we assured them that a few bad people do not make a country but can brake it that is why they came to canada because their home country is broken it is not their fault with the millions of people that live in the middle east its hard to believe but they figure that its only about 10,000 that are causing all these problems it is always very hard to fight a war in a foreign land I hope this is over soon so our boys and girls can come home we have lost to many of them already

I love your story SW. Complacent is a good word. I was working in downtown Chicago that morning and saw it happen on the TV above the restaurant bar. Our city was evacuated as well.

SW, I have goose bumps too! Great pics and such a wonderful connection to the 9-11 tragedy! It was about 4 p.m in Romania when the first plane hit the first tower and many of us here thought it was a movie, but we were in shock too when we realized it was all true... I had to go to mom's that day and I was just about to leave when this happened. It was very quiet on out streets in Bucharest too. I watched with mom what happened afterwards and we couldn't believe our eyes...I cried so much when I saw those people out the windows and when the towers crushed down...oh, that was terrible! I am crying now too, it was such a tragedy! Seven Romanians who were working in both towers died on that day too. I was mostly impressed by the plane which was detoured and crushed down in Pensylvania, if I remember correctly. Last night I watched Oliver Stone's movie and I was so impressed again with the courage of so many firemen and policemen who have lost their lives when searching for survivors.
This is such a wonderful tribute!
Adina

One of the rescue dogs from SD who worked on the 9/11 site died yesterday. Sorry I don't remember his name, but they said he would never quit when looking for a victim. So many heroes...

SingingWolf

It's so easy to take life, freedom -- or even a quiet, sunny day -- for granted, isn't it? How many gardens did that Swallowtail fly through before someone finally took notice that it is a tribute in itself to beauty from ashes? Tattered by the storms that crossed its path, it is perhaps no longer the glorious creature it once was ..... perhaps it is even better.

Thanks for sharing with us.

By the way, SW, what is that pretty ground cover you have between and around your stones?

Jules... You do have the gift of words like your Dad did. Very heartfelt story and how everything fit into what you were feeling and remembering about that day that we will never forget. We do get very complacent and too trusting of others in this country. I feel we have come a long way but with the open technology we have our young children aren't careful enough.
I was at work on 9-11and we had a tv in the upper office. We did get to watch some of the coverage and were shocked and saddened by what was happening. But as I said I was at work........ That evening the venue where I worked was having a Melissa Etheridge concert ....which she did cancel out of respect. However, we spent the entire rest of the day, after the initial news was out, covering phones. Constant ringing!... as concert goers called trying to find out if she was going to be there or how to get their money back. Five oclock didn't come quick enough that day.
I spent most of the night in front of the tv catching up with all that had happened and grieving for our country. That day changed all of us.
Thanks for your tribute SW.

I recall that I was sick that day. My mother didn't turn the TV on all day, because I was sleeping on the couch and she knew I needed the rest. It was a quiet, sunny day here in the Mid-South. That afternoon, someone called my mother to chat about "how horrible it was." We were clueless, of course, not having heard the dreadful news. There I was, quietly resting on the sofa on what seemed to be just another day ... oblivious to the horrors that would soon make this sprawling land we call the USA seem like a community of kindred souls.

Thank you all for your remembrances and thoughts. In this quiet moment, I weep for those who lost their lives, and remember the heroism of so many, and those who must go on without their loved ones. Yes, let us not forget.

Wonderful Job SW!!! I remember staring at the TV in disbelief when the second plane hit. I have traveled to other countries and think everyone should, just so they can appreciate how great this one is. I hear people complain about such petty things, things they think they deserve just because they're alive. I think that day opened up the eyes of a lot of people.

We had a colleague from Israel visiting at work that day. He said, "Now you know what it feels like." I was pretty annoyed with him, although I certainly understood where he was coming from.

Heartfelt tribute, Jules.

I was getting ready for work with the usual TV news as background noise. Suddenly the tenor of the news changed as the news broke. Lisa and I watched in disbelief as the second plane crashed into the second tower. I still cry every time that image creeps into my mind. We shouldn't have to be reminded to be patriotic, but this is certainly a good reminder of what it means. Thanks Singing Wolf.

Dear SW.....I so, so appreciate all you shared about your blessed experiences on 9/11/09. You are certainly open to what the Holy Spirit is showing you and I so appreciate you sharing this with us. Sometimes I also make these kind of connections in my daily life, but then alas I put them down by thinking " I'm just too much", so am reluctant to share them with anyone but my DH. I myself was working at Oak Grove Insitute in Murrieta at the exact time and could not believe what I heard. I will never forget the bond I felt with all Americans and the world at that moment. I'm unable to express all that on my heart. What a beautiful connection we share here on DG. I'm very, very grateful for all my dear new friends.
May God bless you all,
Sylvia

Thanks S.W. for making me smile this morning. Made my heart much lighter.