Rant #2,490: America

Today is Patriots Day, where we honor those who perished, and those who were the first responders to the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorists attacks.

So many of us seem to have forgotten that day--or at least put it out of our minds--and some of our young people--many of whom weren't even born when the tragedies occurred--look at it as ancient history.

But that horrid day weaves in and out of our current environment, our current problems, and yes, our current solutions, too.

And yes, my father had a story to tell about that day, a story that proved that there is a God in heaven, who was acting in his behalf when what happened happened.

As he told the story, he was at work that day, a day that started out like any other.

He woke up a 4 a.m. or thereabouts, got dressed, and did what he had to do to get ready for just another workday.

He was still young and strong that day--he would turn 70 on November 30 of that year, so he was doing exactly what he had been doing for all the years and years prior to this day.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

He took his cab, drove it into Manhattan, and started his workday, picking up passengers here and there for some relatively short jaunts around the city.

At sometime before or around 8:15 a.m., or so a fare took him to the World Trade Center, where he dropped off the passenger and immediately picked up another one, who wanted to go to a destination in Harlem.

That fare saved his life.

He drove that passenger to his destination, and at approximately 8:46 a.m. or so, he could see through the car windows that the World Trade Center was being hit by aircraft, and also through those windows, he could see that life would change forever in our country.

My father tried to get home, but it was a nearly impossible task that day.

Manhattan had pretty much gone on lockdown, and there was nowhere to go but to go into New Jersey and try to do an end around back to New York and to Long Island.

Cellphones were still in their infancy back then, and my father did not have one to call my mother about his whereabouts ... and even if he had one, as many who tried to do the same thing soon found out, cellphone service was extremely limited or non-existent throughout that day due to the rubble and carnage that ensued.

So throughout the day, my father simply tried to get back home, but we had no idea where he was, or even if he was safe.

He maneuvered the cab through New Jersey, and sometime around 8 p.m., he finally arrived home, so it took him approximately 11 hours or so for him to get back to Long Island and back home.

It must have been a harrowing day for him, as it was for all of us. But to be so far away from home, and finding his way back in increments, must have been incredible.

And that fare to Harlem ... that gentleman was my father's guardian angel for sure.

As we look back at that day, and I, personally, look back at my father's life, that was a signature day for both him and humanity.

We discovered that, if we didn't already know this yet, that human beings can be the most vicious and violent creatures on earth to justify whatever path they choose to take.

But human beings can also be accommodating, they can also be peaceful, and they can also go about their jobs with the utmost of respect and reserve and resolve to do the best job they can do.

We saw all of that on what we now call 9-11, or 9/11, whatever you prefer.

And on this day, we look back on the good, the bad and the ugly, and I do mean the very good, the very bad, and the very ugly.

We must never forget what happened that day, and work to never let it happen again.

I know that my father was only a minuscule piece of the puzzle that happened that day, but his drive and determination to find a way to get home was demonstrated by not only him, but millions of others on that dreadful day.

It once again proved that family comes first, whether it is your own personal brood or the family of humanity.

Family comes first, everything else comes in afterward.

So as we look back at the 19th anniversary of that tragic day, let's remember that though all of our differences, through all of our highs and lows and in-betweens, we are all part of a single family, the family of humanity and human kind, and that we can get through everything if we do it together as one.

Have a great weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday.