9/11 Memorial - Six Years Later

I sit out here in the wonderful 69 degree weather with the clouds hanging gloomily overhead. It's the coolest day Arkansas has seen in several months, especially during the unrelenting summer we are barely escaping from.

I'm a little chilly, but I'm afraid if I go inside or slip on a jacket, the refreshing cool air will think I'm being ungrateful and will blow away to somewhere else.

So here I sit.

The breeze whips around my face and in the distance I hear the steady chimes of the grandfather clock somewhere else on my college campus. It rings out strongly, with a voice of victory, proud to remind its hearers once more how time quickly passes away from us.

Somehow, it reminds me in a flash what happened only six years ago. It forcefully takes me back to that indention in time -- where I was, who I was with, what I was thinking.

It's funny how even after so many years those old emotions never really die or fade away.

I guess that's my memorial -- to remember those who gave their lives, lost their lives, had to glue and piece their lives back together.

In this way, I am forever indebted to serve my country and to pay my deepest repects not only in thought and in prayer, but in hopes and in dreams to carry on the legacy of the American spirit.