I remember exactly where I was..........

I am sure I am no the only American that remembers exactly where and what I was doing when I first heard of the plane hitting the first of both Twin Towers in New York City, what is hard to imagine is that day is now six years later. A war that in the beginning everyone was behind, a war now that I am not sure has made so much difference. We had a President that everyone believed in at the time and now no one believes--a promise for a safer world, but is it.

What I know for certain is we lost so many lives not only on that day six years ago--- but the amount of life we have lost in service men and woman in the war that has followed. A tribute to lives lost at the Pentagon, that is being built at the cost of the families of the victims--A VALID fact pointed out today by Oprah Winfrey herself. We should be appalled, the President in disgrace that not only do these families loose someone they love dearly but that we make them pay again to remember them---SHAMEFUL! We have learned very little it seems, and where has our hearts and feeling gone. We as Americans are some of the biggest hearted caring people on the planet but when we turn over our dollars--where does it all go? Misused, as we have learned for the trillions of dollars we gave after 9/11, misused and misdirected after Katrina-----SHAMEFUL! And do we take the time to reflect on those events, and those lives, I really wonder.


On a different train of thought with the High Holidays just a few short days away, I wanted to let you in on that Jim and I baked a Sweet Honey cake, the traditional kind made by Jews every where. This wouldn't be such a big deal but it is our first time doing this together as a couple and my first time making this style of cake since I lost my beloved Micheal nearly 20 years from AIDS.

I shared with Jim that for the brief period I was with my Micheal that he would make this cake for the High Holidays and very special occasions like my birthday or even his. In all honesty I hadn't even eaten that style of cake till last year when a Jewish lady in our "Chaplain" classes asked what kind of cake I wanted on my birthday as the class landed on my actual Birthday. I gave it a lot of thought and said Sweet Honey Cake, and when she did it brought back some very wonderful and yes even some painful memories--but isn't that what makes all human in the first place, the wonderful and the painful and last night while it was baking and filling the kitchen with that wonderful aroma I was again reminded how wonderfully blessed I am.

Charlie