Merry Christmas to all...

Here are the answers....

I thought these quotes were much harder, but you all did better than expected. Good work to those who played!

1. Welcome, my friends. Thirteen years it's been, and yet, here you stand as if it were only yesterday. I confess myself... disappointed. Not one of you tried to find me...

Lord Voldemort, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

2. I sense something; a presence I've not felt since...

Darth Vader, Star Wars

3. Going so soon? I wouldn't hear of it. Why my little party's just beginning.

Wicked Witch of the West, Wizard of Oz


4. I do wish we could chat longer, but... I'm having an old friend for dinner. Bye.

Hannible Lector, Silence of the Lambs


5. Now comes the part where I relieve you, the little people, of the burden of your failed and useless lives. But, as my plastic surgeon always said: if you gotta go, go with a smile.

The Joker, The Dark Knight (Crystal gets credit for her answer)


6. When they touch down, we'll blow the roof, they'll spend a month sifting through rubble, and by the time they figure out what went wrong, we'll be sitting on a beach, earning twenty percent.

Hans Gruber, Die Hard


7. And since you've been so good to poor old Granny, I'll share a secret with you. This is no ordinary apple. It's a magic wishing apple.

Queen, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs


8. I'm gonna kill you slow.

Freddy Kruger, Nightmare on Elm Street


9. No wire hangers, ever!

Joan Crawford, Mommy Dearest


10. Why is the greatest criminal mind of our time surrounding himself with total nincompoops?

Lex Luther, Superman

Crystal wins with 4 1/2 points (Snow White was correct, but it was the Queen, not the Witch), H gets 2 points ( can't give credit for agreeing), and Mo gets 1 point. Thanks for playing! The theme was 10 of the top vilians of all time!

Christmas facts you really don't need to know...

Children whose families celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas have a 97 percent higher chance of getting socks as a gift.

The Japanese term for Christmas, Kurisumasu Omedeto, can also be loosely translated as "Morning of the Greedy Children."

For the past decade, the Spanish-speaking Santa at the Del Amo mall in Torrance, CA, has been played by Erik Estrada.

Jesus was actually born on January 1, but Joseph and Mary moved the date back a week to get a government-approved tax deduction.

In Latvia, indoor Christmas trees were originally fake. Real trees started being used in 1923 when the factory making the fake ones burned down.

During the early 1970s, the Hasbro company attempted to build a "North Pole" toy factory at Point Barrow, Alaska. Construction was halted when feasibility studies predicted labor shortages.

After the Three Wise Men left, Joseph bartered the gold and frankincense for more practical gifts: a camel-ready infant seat and three hours of babysitting. He kept the myrrh because of its well-known ability to heal swaddlin

The most popular eggnog in Russia is not made from chicken eggs, but from caviar.

The tradition of kissing under the mistletoe originated in Germany in the 18th century when a person who was deathly allergic to mistletoe came in contact it and had to be revived by mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

The primary causes of death during the holidays are heart attacks and suicide caused by the arrival of credit-card bills.

The average height of a Christmas tree (5' 4") is exactly the same as the distance between Jesus's hands on the cross.

Red and green became official Christmas colors in 1939, when it was recognized that red marked-down price tags brought in green cash during the shopping season.

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was banned from the airwaves and bookstores from 1950-1956 because of its implied support for Communism.

Eggnog was created after its predecessors beefnog, hamnog and troutnog failed miserably.

Reindeer feces have been known to burn holes in roof shingles.

For nine years following the 1843 publication of "A Christmas Carol," Ebenezer was the most popular boys' name in Great Britain.

12 Days of Christmas

What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come outof the pear tree have to do with Christmas?

This week, I found out...

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.

-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.

-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.

-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.

-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.

-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy,Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.

-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.

-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.

-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

So there is your history for today. This knowledge was shared with me and I found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol.

You've Gotta Love Kids

Movie quotes...with a twist

Here is my next installment in the movie quote era. These are bound to be harder. Name the movie, the character who said it and if you can, solve the theme!

1. Welcome, my friends. Thirteen years it's been, and yet, here you stand as if it were only yesterday. I confess myself... disappointed. Not one of you tried to find me...

2. I sense something; a presence I've not felt since...

3. Going so soon? I wouldn't hear of it. Why my little party's just beginning.

4. I do wish we could chat longer, but... I'm having an old friend for dinner. Bye.

5. Now comes the part where I relieve you, the little people, of the burden of your failed and useless lives. But, as my plastic surgeon always said: if you gotta go, go with a smile.

6. When they touch down, we'll blow the roof, they'll spend a month sifting through rubble, and by the time they figure out what went wrong, we'll be sitting on a beach, earning twenty percent.

7. And since you've been so good to poor old Granny, I'll share a secret with you. This is no ordinary apple. It's a magic wishing apple.

8. I'm gonna kill you slow.

9. No wire hangers, ever!

10. Why is the greatest criminal mind of our time surrounding himself with total nincompoops?

Laws you need to know...

Law of Mechanical Repair: After your hands become coated with grease,your nose will begin to itch and you'll have to pee.

Law of Gravity: Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the leastaccessible corner.

Law of Probability: The probability of being watched is directlyproportional to the stupidity of your act.

Law of Random Numbers: If you dial a wrong number, you never get abusy signal and someone always answers.

Law of the Alibi: If you tell the boss you were late for work becauseyou had a flat tire, the very next morning you will have a flat tire.

Variation Law: If you change lines (or traffic lanes), the one youwere in will always move faster than the one you are in now (worksevery time).

Law of the Bath: When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone rings.

Law of Close Encounters: The probability of meeting someone you knowincreases dramatically when you are with someone you don't want to beseen with.

Law of the Result: When you try to prove to someone that a machinewon't work, it will.

Law of Biomechanics: The severity of the itch is inverselyproportional to the reach.

Law of the Theater: At any event, the people whose seats are furthestfrom the aisle arrive last.

The Starbucks Law: As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee,your boss will ask you to do something which will last until thecoffee is cold.

Murphy's Law of Lockers: If there are only two people in a lockerroom, they will have adjacent lockers.

Law of Physical Surfaces: The chances of an open-faced jelly sandwichlanding face down on a floor covering are directly correlated to thenewness and cost of the carpet/rug.

Law of Logical Argument: Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.

Brown's Law of Physical Appearance: If the shoe fits, it's ugly.

Oliver's Law of Public Speaking: A closed mouth gathers no feet.

Wilson 's Law of Commercial Marketing Strategy: As soon as you find aproduct that you really like, they will stop making it.

Doctors' Law: If you don't feel well, make an appointment to go to the doctor, by the time you get there you'll feel better. Don't make anappointment and you'll stay sick.

The Man Rules

At last a guy has taken the time to write this all down. Finally , the guys' side of the story. We always hear " the rules"From the female side. Now here are the rules from the male side.
These are our rules! Please note.. these are all numbered "1 " ON PURPOSE!

1. Men are NOT mind readers.

1. Learn to work the toilet seat.You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

1. Sunday sports It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides.Let it be.

1. Crying is blackmail.

1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work!Strong hints do not work!Obvious hints do not work! Just say it!

1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do.Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments
become Null and void after 7 Days.

1. If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us.

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.

1. You can either ask us to do somethingOr tell us how you want it done. Not both.If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

1. Whenever possible, Please say whatever you have to say during commercials.

1. Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings.Peach, for example, is a fruit,
not A color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

1. If it itches, it will be scratched.We do that.

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," We will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.

1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, Expect an answer you don't want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine... Really .

1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics
as baseball or golf.

1. You have enough clothes.

1. You have too many shoes.

1. I am in shape. Round IS a shape!

Thank you for reading this.Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight; But did you know
men really don't mind that? It's like camping.

How many lights do you see?

Here is a picture of our Christmas tree. Camera phone pictures never capture the real essence, and this is no exception. Our tree is incredible! It all starts with the lights. My wife, goes a little nuts when it comes to the lights on the tree! She is fanatical! Not just with the number of lights, but with how they go on the tree. We do have an artificial tree, due to family allergies, but the lights go on every year and come off every year. No two years are alike. This year, it took two sessions and a break in between to get them just right. It took most of Saturday to get them up. Most of Saturday! This year she came up with a new idea for the twinkle lights. First, we had to wrap the twinkle lights onto about 10' of garland. That was my job. After I managed to wrap a string of 100 lights around the garland, H then wrapped the garland around the trunk of the tree from the bottom of the tree to the top. This gives the effect of the twinkle lights coming from the inside of the tree. Keep in mind that it was painfully slow to get the garland just right around the trunk. The first try was not good enough. I am not sure on how many attempts it took, but it took a few. Here is her new nickname when it comes to tree lights: Monica Geller. For those of you that ever watched Friends, or still do, this is in reference to Monica's compulsiveness to be perfect. So, my "Monica", spent the better part of a complete day just arranging the lights on our tree! Don't get me wrong, I am glad she is willing to do this and our tree looks fantastic. It took about 30 minutes for me and the girls to put up the rest of the ornaments on the tree. This includes the time it took H to re-hang most of the ornaments that I hung, because I apparently do not hang them correctly. Although we lost count of how many lights are on the tree, I can safely estimate more than 700. H actually asked if I thought she was a little compulsive about her lights. My response: You Think???

Let the season begin

Stupid Doorknob Cover !!!

Thanksgiving is over and the official Christmas season is upon us. For the first time is a long time, H was not part of Black Friday. She says she is OK not being one of too many hitting the stores before the sun rose, but I think she missed the action! We got to drive up north to visit MoMo on Friday with the Lee's. It had snowed and we had the best day playing and working with our friends. I even was crowned King Wizard! This day really kicked off the season for our family. Our tree is up and decorated and some of the house decorations have been put up. One of the decorations in particular is the doorknob cover pictured above. We have put it up every year since I can remember. It is always on a doorknob in the hallway that gets the most traffic. From the time it is placed on the doorknob, we spend all of efforts trying not to knock it off. But it is only a matter of time before you forget it is there and walk too close and knock it off.

When Billy was a kid, this used to drive him crazy! He was usually the one who would knock it down, then I would be next. It would always be followed by "STUPID DOORKNOB COVER !" Once you declared that you had knocked it over, you could then kick it down the rest of the hallway, chase after it, and put it back on for the next victim. At one point, I think H had to sew one of the eyes back on. This year it took Kyra a day to be the first one to knock it off. The second picture is the doorknob cover after Kyra knocked it off! Yep, let the season begin !

Here are the Answers !

1. You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
The Princess Bride
2. I've been stabbed, shot, poisoned, frozen, hung, electrocuted, and burned.
Groundhog Day
3. Stay in school and use your brain. Be a doctor, be a lawyer, carry a leather briefcase. Forget about sports as a profession. Sports make ya grunt and smell. See, be a thinker, not a stinker.
Rocky
4. Three dimes, a hundred dollar bill and 87 ones.
Big
5. You can't ask for advice about the woman you're trying to hose FROM the woman you're trying to hose!
Tin Cup
6. It feels out there. I mean, it's a major rush. I mean, it feels radical in kind of a tubular sort of way, but most of all, it feels out there.
Bull Durham
7. They gave me candy and called me their light.
Dangerous Minds
8. Yeah, and we're not gonna fall for a banana in the tailpipe.
Beverly Hill Cop
9. Me? I'm scared of everything. I'm scared of what I saw, I'm scared of what I did, of who I am, and most of all I'm scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I'm with you.
Dirty Dancing
10. You can take the girl out of the honky tonk, but you can't take the honky tonk out of the girl.
Sweet Home Alabama

Jumping on the bandwagon

Everybody seems to be enjoying the quotes from our favorite movies, so here is my addition to the game...good luck!

1. You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

2. I've been stabbed, shot, poisoned, frozen, hung, electrocuted, and burned.

3. Stay in school and use your brain. Be a doctor, be a lawyer, carry a leather briefcase. Forget about sports as a profession. Sports make ya grunt and smell. See, be a thinker, not a stinker.

4. Three dimes, a hundred dollar bill and 87 ones.

5. You can't ask for advice about the woman you're trying to hose FROM the woman you're trying to hose!

6. It feels out there. I mean, it's a major rush. I mean, it feels radical in kind of a tubular sort of way, but most of all, it feels out there.

7. They gave me candy and called me their light.

8. Yeah, and we're not gonna fall for a banana in the tailpipe.

9. Me? I'm scared of everything. I'm scared of what I saw, I'm scared of what I did, of who I am, and most of all I'm scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I'm with you.

10. You can take the girl out of the honky tonk, but you can't take the honky tonk out of the girl.

The Greatest Day Ever !!!

Today is Helena's Birthday! Everybody sing her the birthday song !!

Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Hche, Happy Birthday to you !!!

On This Day...

Events:


1863 - American Civil War: U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the military cemetery ceremony at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

1946 - Afghanistan, Iceland and Sweden join the United Nations.

1959 - The Ford Motor Company announces the discontinuation of the unpopular Edsel.

1967- The establishment of TVB, the first wireless commercial television station in Hong Kong.

1971- American Helena Jo Kokaliares is born in Barstow, California.

1977- Egyptian President Anwar Sadt becomes the first Arab leader to officially visit Israel, when he meets Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and speaks before the Knesset in Jerusalem, seeking a permanent peace settlement.

1985 - Cold War: In Geneva, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev meet for the first time.

1997 - In Des Moines, Iowa, Bobbi McCaughey gives birth to septuplets in the second known case where all seven babies were born alive. They would go on to become the first set of septuplets to survive infancy, with all seven alive in 2008.


Births:

1905 - Tommy Dorsey, American bandleader (d. 1956)

1917- Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India (d. 1984)

1933 - Larry King, American TV personality

1936 - Dick Cavett, American talk show host

1938 - Ted Turner, American businessman

1941 - Dan Haggerty, American actor

1942 - Calvin Klein, American clothing designer

1959 - Allison Janney, American actress

1961 - Meg Ryan, American actress

1962 - Jodie Foster, American actress

1966 - Jason Scott Lee, American actor

1971- Helena Kokaliares, 1st perfect woman

1973 - Billy Currington, American singer and songwriter

1977 - Kerri Strug, American gymnast


Holidays and Observances

Mali - Liberation Day
Puerto Rico - Discovery of Puerto Rico (1493)
United States - Equal Opportunity Day
Brazil - Flag Day
Norway - The Liberation of the Sai People of the coast
United Arab Emirates- Pilgrimage
Trinidad and Tobago - International Men's Day
Feast of the Prophet Obadiah (Greek Orthodox Church)
World - World Toilet Day
India - International Men's Day




HAPPY DAY !!!!

Pictures to make you smile

Yummy !

This reminds me of Tasha !

Superman can fly!

This is going to leave a mark!

Lost his head...nope !

Tag, you are it !

Boys !

Girls !

I'll have the frogs legs...

All this just for a drink?

Cant...Go...On....

Another cat hater!

What a grip!

If I would have known life was this hard...

If you think Education is difficult, try being stupid

Pocket Taser Stun Gun, a great gift for the wife. A guy who purchased his lovely wife a pocket Taser for their anniversary submitted this: Last weekend I saw something at Larry's Pistol & Pawn Shop that sparked my interest.. The occasion was our 15th anniversary and I was looking for a little something extra for my wife Julie. What I came across was a 100,000-volt, pocket/purse-sized taser. The effects of the taser were supposed to be short lived, with no long-term adverse affect on your assailant, allowing her adequate time to retreat to safety.... WAY TOO COOL! Long story short, I bought the device and brought it home. I loaded two AAA batteries in the darn thing and pushed the button. Nothing! I was disappointed. I learned, however, that if I pushed the button AND pressed it against a metal surface at the same time; I'd get the blue arc of electricity darting back and forth between the prongs. AWESOME!!! Unfortunately, I have yet to explain to Julie what that burn spot is on the face of her microwave. Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking to myself that it couldn't be all that bad with only two triple-A batteries, right? There I sat in my recliner, my cat Gracie looking on intently (trusting little soul) while I was reading the directions and thinking that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh & blood moving target. I must admit I thought about zapping Gracie (for a fraction of a second) and thought better of it. She is such a sweet cat. But, if I was going to give this thing to my wife to protect herself against a mugger, I did want some assurance that it would work as advertised. Am I wrong? So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a tank top with my reading glasses perched delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, and taser in another. The directions said that a one-second burst would shock and disorient your assailant; a two-second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a major loss of bodily control; a three-second burst would purportedly make your assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water. Any burst longer than three seconds would be wasting the batteries. All the while I'm looking at this little device measuring about 5" long, less than 3/4 inch in circumference; pretty cute really and (loaded with two itsy, bitsy triple-A batteries) thinking to myself, 'no possible way!' What happened next is almost beyond description, but I'll do my best...? I'm sitting there alone, Gracie looking on with her head cocked to one side as to say, 'don't do it dipshit,' reasoning that a one second burst from such a tiny little ole thing couldn't hurt all that bad. I decided to give myself a one second burst just for heck of it. I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and . ..> HOLY MOTHER OF GOD . . . WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION . .. . WHAT THE HELL!!! I'm pretty sure Jessie Ventura ran in through the side door, picked me up in the recliner, then body slammed us both on the carpet, over and over and over again. I vaguely recall waking up on my side in the fetal position, with tears in my eyes, body soaking wet, both nipples on fire, testicles nowhere to be found, with my left arm tucked under my body in the oddest position, and tingling in my legs? The cat was making meowing sounds I had never heard before, clinging to a picture frame hanging above the fireplace, obviously in an attempt to avoid getting slammed by my body flopping all over the living room. Note: If you ever feel compelled to 'mug' yourself with a taser, one note of caution: there is no such thing as a one second burst when you zap yourself! You will not let go of that thing until it is dislodged from your hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor. A three second burst would be considered conservative? SON-OF-A-GUN, THAT HURT LIKE HELL!!! A minute or so later (I can't be sure, as time was a relative thing at that point), I collected my wits (what little I had left), sat up and surveyed the landscape. My bent reading glasses were on the mantel of the fireplace. The recliner was upside down and about 8 feet or so from where it originally was. My triceps, right thigh and both nipples were still twitching. My face felt like it had been shot up with Novocain, and my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs. I had no control over the drooling. Apparently I soiled myself, but was too numb to know for sure and my sense of smell was gone. I saw a faint smoke cloud above my head which I believe came from my hair. I'm still looking for my nuts and I'm offering a significant reward for their safe return!! P. S. My wife loved the gift, and now regularly threatens me with it! 'If you think Education is difficult, try being stupid.'

Favorite Cartoons

Did you ever wonder ?

Did you ever wonder why product sale prices end in a odd number?

Melville Stone was a self-made man, who worked his way up from newspaper carrier to publisher of the Chicago Daily News. When Stone first started his newspaper in 1875, the price was a penny. Circulation rose rapidly at first, then leveled off. Then sales started lagging. When Stone investigated why fewer people were buying his paper, he discovered the problem had nothing to do with its quality. Pennies were in short supply. Stone decided he had to do something.
First he traveled to the United States mint in Philadelphia and brought about the transfer of barrels of pennies to Chicago. The problem then became how to get the pennies into circulation. So Stone persuaded Chicago merchants to sponsor "odd-price sales," during which they would sell their merchandise for a penny under the regular price. The odd prices did the trick. People had pennies again, and Stone’s paper flourished. And that is why store items today cost "$8.99," or $12.99," instead of even dollar amounts.

The Great Bill Gates

Love him or hate him, he sure hits

the nail on the head with this! Bill

Gates recently gave a speech at a

High School about 11 things they did

not and will not learn in school. He

talks about how feel-good, politically

correct teachings created a

generation of kids with no concept of

reality and how this concept set them

up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2 : The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called i t opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents were n't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

Invention Quiz...Round Two

It started in the U.S. and has conquered the world. In some parts of the world it sells for three times the price of liquor. It was originally sold as a brain tonic, but was poorly received. What is the name of this drink product?

September 11, 2001

It's hard to believe that it has been 7 years since the attack. I think all of us reflect on those events fairly regularly. It still bothers me that we were so vulnerable. I can't imagine how anyone would be willing to do such a thing. How lost must you be to even imagine such a thing. I can remember waking up to my alarm that was set to play the radio when it went off. Hearing the news, being mostly asleep, it didn't register what had or was happening. I was cleaning carpets at the time. I drove into work, listening to the updates, getting sicker by the moment, not understanding why this was happening. We only got a couple of jobs done before my boss cancelled the days work and sent us home. I can remember sitting at home, watching in horror at the images on the TV. One plane, then two...three...four. When was it going to stop. It felt personal. There was nothing we all could do but wait. My first thought was my parents. At the time they lived in New York. I was immediately worried. This was irrational, they lived in upper state, nowhere near the city, but still I needed to call and make sure. I must have left 10 messages before they called back and let me know everything was OK. September 11 will always be remembered as a sad day in our history.

2,974 people died in the attacks. Another 24 are missing and presumed dead. Most of the people who died were civilians and represented over 90 different countries. The hijackers used box cutters to gain control of the planes and to kill anyone who tried to stop them. Think of that next time someone complains about how stringent the security is at the airports. They also had fake bombs to keep everyone at bay. 1,366 people died who were at or above the floors of impact in the North Tower. As many as 600 people were killed instantly or were trapped at or above the floors of impact in the South Tower. At least 200 people jumped to their deaths from the burning towers. A total of 411 emergency workers who responded to the scene died as they attempted to implement rescue and fire suppression efforts.





The Stock Market never opened for business and remained closed for a week. When it did open on September 17th, by weeks end, the Dow had dropped over 14%. US stocks lost 1.4 trillion in value. In New York City, there were approximately 430,000 lost job months and $2.8 billion in lost wages, which occurred in the three months following the 9/11 attacks. Approximately 18,000 small businesses were destroyed or displaced after the attacks. North American air space was closed for several days after the attacks. I can remember Helena making a comment about how she could never remember a more eerie time because when you looked up, you couldn't see any planes.


It makes me sad to think that the twin towers are gone. One of the best pictures my parents had was a picture they took once while in the city. Its a picture of the twin towers on a cloudy day. Its just beautiful. Friends of ours went on vacation this summer and accidentally stumbled on ground zero. They were trying not to visit it, but ended up taking a wrong turn. All of them were crying instantly and felt the grief all over again. On the day of the attacks, Giuliani proclaimed, "We will rebuild. We're going to come out of this stronger than before, politically stronger, economically stronger. " The rebuilding process continues today. It bothers me that it is taken this long. Sadly, the funds have been available and spent but for political reasons, little has been accomplished. On the sites of the totally destroyed buildings, one, 7 World Trade Center, has a new office tower which was completed in 2006. The Freedom Tower is currently under construction at the site and at 1,776 ft (541 m) upon completion in 2011, will become the one of the tallest buildings in North America. Three more towers are expected to be built between 2007 and 2012 on the site, and will be located one block east of where the original towers stood.



At the time, and I still think, that we should have rebuilt the two towers exactly as they were as quickly as possible. I think that would have the best way to show that you can bend America, but you can not break us.