Photo: Ben Shafer/SXC

• Fly your flag at half staff. If you have a flag on your home, putting it at half staff is a nice gesture and is a request of the Patriot Day Presidential Proclamation. (The proclamation also asks Americans to observe a moment of silence.)
• Give some support to your local rescue worker crew. Give a donation for better equipment or just write a note thanking them for their service.
• Volunteer at a place that helps others in need. Homeless shelters, food banks, etc.
• Plant something beautiful. I’m thinking it would be nice to start a small garden in a spot visible from the road that you add one plant to each year on Patriot Day. White and red mums and blue dwarf Plumbago would create a beautiful, patriotic display for years to come.

Do you have any Patriot Day ideas?

Post from: Blisstree

Patriot Day Ideas

I still remember like it was yesterday… I was in room 435 with the patient in A bed when the patient on the other side of the curtain screamed, “Oh my God, we are under attack”. I remember turning to see what the hell was going on, and everything just sort of going into slow motion. A few other doctors, nurses and visitors had peeked their heads in as well as we watched a God awful scene on the television set.

The hair on my arms was standing straight up, my stomach was turning, I felt shear horror and I had tears rolling down my face. I had no clue, nor did the rest of the world, what was actually happening in front of my eyes. And just when I thought it couldn’t get any scarier… the second plane flew clear through the second World Trade building.

As we regrouped and had a small briefing at the hospital, as we were only 40 miles from our Nation’s capitol , all I could think was, “I just want to hold my daughter”. At the time our eldest was about 10 months old and my husband was working from home 2 days a week. He was at home with her on September the 11th, 2001. And I was 35 miles away… though it seemed like 100’s.

Then we heard all kinds of reports, “there were 5 planes missing, no 3 planes missing, and one is headed right for D.C.” Horror was the feeling. Once again, we were only about a half an hour from D.C. and could get overflow or be needed to assist in any way we could. It was the unknown…

Being on a cardiac critical care floor, we had to keep focus and keep on with our duties. Just imagine the fear that these patients with wires coming out of their chests that were serving as temporary pacemakers and the very ill, frail patients that could not walk if their lives depended on it felt. It was so damn scary.

I can remember looking around and seeing grown men with tears running down their faces and looks of hopelessness and fear. I can remember looking around at my fellow nurses, physicians and surgeons and thinking, “he looks like “them”, could he be part of this terror”?

I will never forget all the men, women and children that lost their lives that day, September 11th, 2001 to terrorists with nothing but rage, anger and hate inside of them. And I thank my lucky stars everyday that there are men and women out there that put their lives on the line to protect our freedoms while their families await their safe returns. I hope that today, everyone takes a moment to reflect on what exactly took place that day in New York. I am so proud to live in the United States of America and do not take my freedom for granted. I have taught my kids why we wear our red, white and blue on this day and to always remember we live in the land of the free. God Bless the United States of America…

Post from: Blisstree

9/11- I will never forget what happened…