On September 11, 2001 I was walking through the house, trying to get out the door and off to work.  A news station played mindlessly in the background, providing noise in an otherwise quiet place.  But something caught my attention as I passed through the den.  The first plane had already struck the North Tower and the eyes of the country were glued to the scene.  I sat down on the couch, listening to the theories as to why and how and whom.  So when the second plane struck the South Tower, I watched in real time as the horror of what was happening dawned on the world.  Thirty-four minutes later, Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon.  And I dropped my head and begged God to make it stop before anyone else died.  It did, but only after the brave souls aboard Flight 93 sacrificed themselves so no one else would have to.

Now, seventeen years later, our country remembers those moments, each telling their own story of where they were, how they heard the news, what they did the rest of the day as reporters and anchors from news stations around the world broadcast continuously of the tragedies and their aftermath.  Each year, our country focuses on the loss of life and of innocence, replaying news footage that most of us can see with our eyes closed, while holding services to honor those who died in the attacks.  But often the courage and the kindness that rose in the midst of the chaos are overlooked.

Within minutes of the first attack, emergency personnel raced toward the scene, not knowing anything other than this was what they were trained to do.  If there were lives to be saved, they would be there in spite of any personal risk.  They paid dearly for their dedication.  Even if they survived, they would never be the same.

The passengers of Flight 93, upon realizing what was truly taking place, determined they would literally not go down without a fight.  As Tom Burnett said to his wife—his last words to his wife—“Don’t worry, we’re going to do something . . .” And they did.  They died trying, and we will never know how many lives they saved in the process.

There were heroes everywhere and people who went above and beyond what was asked of them in the hours and days that followed.  Search the Internet and see what the people of Lewisporte in Canada did for the thousands of airline passengers that were forced to land in Gander and then stranded for days.  Their generosity so blessed those travelers that they began a trust fund for the town, a fund that would offer college scholarships for their children, a fund that now stands at over two million dollars.  Those stories of kindness and generosity repeated themselves hundreds of times across Canada and the U.S. as planes were grounded, waiting until they could safely continue on their journey, displacing thousands in the interim.  But those blessings flowed in both directions, as noted by then Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien at the first anniversary of the attacks.  As he stood at the airport in Gander, he told those in attendance, “ 9/11 will live long in memory as a day of terror and grief.  But thanks to the countless acts of kindness and compassion done for those stranded visitors here in Gander and right across Canada, it will live forever in memory as a day of comfort and of healing. ”

The good that was done on September 11, 2001 far outweighs the evil committed by a few, but it is impossible to focus solely on the good when the evil was so overwhelming.  Nor should we.    For those of us with no direct connection to the events of that day, it is a memory that we revisit once a year, and in the course of that visit we have the chance to choose the direction of our focus.  There may be grief and tears as we recall the day, but afterwards our lives return to normal.  But for those who lost so much in so short a time, seeing the courage and the kindness as well as the evil is difficult at best and impossible at its worst.  There is never a moment when they don’t remember.  And there never will be.

The post Courage and Kindness appeared first on Shackelford Funeral Directors | Blog.