I put my flag out today.


♪*•.¸¸¸♥¸¸¸.•*♪

My sympathies to my fellow Americans; 911 should never have happened. May it never happen again.

(I was not born or raised in the USA and somehow do not have the patriotism burning in my bosom that I see in those born and raised here. I had not thought of putting out a flag today.)

Our thoughts are also with the families of the Canadians lost that day.

Last night in Edmonton we had a plane load of soldiers returning from Afghanistan. Two F-18 fighters escorted them home while the entire fleet of City Fire trucks and Ambulance lined the streets with every member saluting as the busses rolled by. It was a simple and very dignified way of showing our support for the incredible job these men and women are doing. It was also done to remember 9/11.

Thanks for starting this thread.

Peter - thank you for the reminder that this is not just an American tragedy but affected not only our neighbors to the North and South - but people all across the world. What a fitting tribute.

I'd like to share something a bit different today regarding this. An unusual reminder of 911 came to my inbox this morning . We have cousins that are young and adventurous that took a two year contract to teach English in Kuwait. Husband and wife team - and their blog and adventures both in Kuwait - and across the Middle East and Europe have been fascinating. They're both rather boheme and artistic and I love living through their eyes.

I got this email from Krysten this morning and was just really struck with how 9/11 impacts us no matter where we are - but how it has also impacted and changed our perceptions forever. For some Americans - it changed or hardened perceptions in a particularly prejudicial manner. But I am encouraged and inspired by this view from Kuwait on today of all days...may we ALL be so open-hearted...

Dear friends,
Today is September 11th. I was gently nudged awake at about four o'clock this morning by the Islamic call to prayer issuing forth from the Shiite mosque, just as it does every morning at precisely the same time with precisely the same droning, drawn out notes. It's strange how unstrangely integrated these sounds have become into our daily life here. Foreign has become quite familiar, really.

Although I spend a lot of time complaining about living in what often seems like a lifeless wasteland, the longer we are here, the more the benefits are running down and seeping into the cracks of my cynical crust.

Today, though I am tired and desperately clutching for the upcoming weekend, those benefits are especially apparent. Seven years ago, Islam and its followers became the deep, frightening darkness that shrouded my country. I never could have imagined that I would be living in an Islamic country, teaching Islamic children, adhering to Islamic ways of life (here, religion is truly inseparable from law), and appreciating Islamic traditions such a short time later. But it is wonderful what hidden things come into view when we broaden our perspectives. In our peripheral is revealed truth and beauty. We are reminded that people are just people and that most people are overwhelmingly good. So today, exhausted, enduring unfathomable heat and humidity and coated in a thin layer of desert dust, I am thankful.

I hope you are well and absorbing life in all its fullness,

Krysten