Memory of attack still feels like yesterday

Today marks the 23rd anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, which claimed nearly 3,000 everyday American lives. And life as we knew it was changed forever. In those 23 years, I’ve gone through U.S. airport security lines where armed soldiers stood guard. I’ve been subjected to searches of my body and my belongings.

The horror of Sept. 11, 2001, should not be reduced to rhetoric or symbolism. Those horrific images, both print and electronic, should be kept fresh in all of our minds. Those who died were real people, with real families, who were murdered by terrorists. And those are real people wearing the uniform of our armed forces, still fighting for freedom on foreign soil this very moment.

In addition to the heroic first responders who lost their lives Sept. 11, 2001, the flight crews of American Airlines Flights 11 and 77, and United Airlines Flights 175 and 93, spent their final moments comforting and protecting their passengers during the hijackings. Thirty-three pilots and flight attendants died that day.

Our youngest daughter had been a flight attendant for not quite a year in 2001 and as the stunning news unfolded that morning we held our breath until we were able to contact her. When air traffic resumed four days later I boarded a plane in Spokane for LAX, where I met her for a hug and a quick visit as she went back to work in the air. I flew right back home that afternoon. It was my personal act of defiance against the terrorists and needing to see for myself she was safe. Sarah continues to fly today and I continue to harbor a bit of fear in the back of my mind that the unthinkable could happen again in this country.

It’s my heartfelt hope that we as American citizens never forget the attacks, both the horror and the heroics. Those who were too young to remember or who were born in the years after Sept. 11, 2001, should study that historic event that shaped who we are and how we live today.

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In those first months after Sept. 11, 2001, two songs resonated. Alan Jackson’s “Where Were You?” and Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” are iconic post- 9/11 anthems worth another listen today.

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Happy birthday today to Jim Pierce, Hannah Epstein, Cameron Epstein, Cyndie Brubaker, Jeremy Siegler, Kelly Hanson, Mark Compton, Patty Roberson, Lily Hollibaugh and Darrell Dlouhy. Tomorrow, Rose Backs, Nelson Gourley, Tiegan Horton, Nancy Adam,Walter Cole, Norman Oss and Polly Gava raise a glass to another year. Shelley Cornelius, Mike Pearce, Larry Riley, Janell Mollett, Kelly Sheffield, Ryan Bartlett, Thomas Vigil, Mary Langenberg, Stormy Purcell, Ray Harwood, Lori Turchik, Laura Fierro, JulieAnn Sparrowgrove, Cher Rhoads, Nicole Hamilton, Gina Davis and Debbie Margraff have lucky Friday the 13th birthdays. On Saturday, Leslie Orth, Connie Glass, Tammy Rubino, Diane Lemas, Wayne Dust and Anna DeTar will celebrate. Pat Near, Claudia Brennan, Brad Medlock, Jerry Deitz, Jean Wright, Shannon Englander, Kathie Colosimo, Angie Purcell, Liese Razzeto and Nick McDonald take another trip around the sun Sunday. On Monday, Jeff Thompson, Courtney Hurt, James Hoialman, Charlotte Morehouse and Terrie Lynn Gonzales will eat cake. Steve Widmyer, Betsy Martin, Jeff Crandall, Harmony Conley, Connie Evans, Russ Giles, Marq Riffe and Lynda Wright share Sept. 17 birthdays.

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Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email at rkthor52@aol.com.