No one could have ever imagined how much dust could rise up from 220 stories and 23 hundred slain. It covered our bodies as we ran from the sound and fury. It burned our eyes with tears as we sat stunned and mourning in front of our televisions down the street, down the highways, across rivers and oceans. It weighed us down until it brought us to our knees in fervent pleas to our Creator for mercy and help.
It irritated our lungs and made us cough, but it also burned courage into our hearts as we turned back to look and dig for fallen comrades, coworkers, friends...victims. It burned holes in our pockets and pocketbooks as we gave generously on behalf of those in need. It burned a renewed vigor to defend our buildings, our shores and, most of all, our people. It demanded that we find and stop those who caused it or allowed it.
We blew and brushed it from our flags and vowed to display them defiantly! We shook it from our lives and returned to work...remembering with pain all those who died and those who continued to suffer...but insolently, rebelliously determining to get on with life and living. We swept it from the streets in New York, Washington and every city in the country. We cleaned up the debris, rebuilt our nation's seat of defense and established a memorial for brave travelers who chose death in a field over more terror.
The dust still burns in our memories and it burns our eyes and still-mourning hearts. It still weighs us to our knees, asking our Savior to protect us and help us. It still burns courage, patriotism and determination inside us. Our flags still fly and so do our airplanes...planes that give us swift travel and planes that strike fear in our enemies.
The Pentagon is rebuilt and military minds inside it still have plans for former terrorists and anyone who wants to try again. They are not sleeping.
The towers are gone, but we are not. Our freedom is intact. Our way of life continues. Our economy is rebounding. Our businesses are renewing with zeal for free trade, honest work, honest pay, honest reporting, fair practices and policies...maybe not a former American dream...but the American way!
We still defy tyrants, help our neighbors, believe in our laws and government and trust in our God. We remember September 11 and we remember all those who died...victims and would-be rescuers. We know there are still terrorists out there...so is dust...so is God...and so are we.