I looked over the threads from Sept 11. Two things stick out for me: first, my nephew has never been able to speak about all he saw that morning. Bits and pieces but some things have to remain untouched. Second, the memory that the hospitals never filled with injured and were so packed with blood donors that they had to turn them away.

Compared to the losses suffered by so many others in so many different places in wars and disasters, the losses at the towers and the Pentagon were insignificant. But as Americans we lost our innocent sense of safety.The threats we hear about supposedly planned for tomorrow are unpleasantly real.

I remember back in the 80s when the brother of an Iranian friend told me (with more than a little superiority) that Americans were fools who didn't recognize that terrorists were plotting to attack them on their own soil. I remember looking at him as if he had three heads and saying "It will never happen here." He was right, at least about the terrorist plots. I still don't accept that we are fools.