"It Must Be A New York Thing"

(A quick note:  I've provided a word for today, however it may not work.  My fault, I forgot to give the words to Jake before he left for Nashville; my apologies to all.)

(Today's word will be in red and bold.)


Despite the novel I wrote for the post about my trip to New York, I realize that I left out a funny story; so that will be today's post.

While waiting for the subway to go to Staten Island, I kept hearing this faint, "beep, beep, beep".  I couldn't figure out where it was coming from, and neither could Patty.  At one point she suggested it was my cell phone.  I was sure it wasn't, since my phone wasn't on; I even pulled it out of my pocket to show her.

We get on the train, and we still hear the "beep, beep, beep".  It's faint, but just loud enough to be annoying.  I'd already checked my phone, so I knew that wasn't the source.  Patty's phone wasn't the culprit either.

At Staten Island, we don't hear the sound anymore, at least for a little bit; then it starts up again.  At this point I've come to the conclusion that it must be a "New York" thing; like a security system or something.  Thankfully it didn't last too long, and we didn't hear it the rest of the day.

Don't think anymore about it, since we didn't hear it anymore.  Then Wednesday, we get to the airport, and we start hearing "beep, beep, beep", again.  Same as before, faint but loud enough to be annoying.  By that time my curiosity had taken over; so the next airport personnel I saw, I asked about the sound.

The first thing the woman says is, "it's your cell phone".  I say no, because I'd checked the day before, and it wasn't on when I'd heard the sound.  She insists that it is, and says she knows it is, because her phone has the same alarm.  I was STILL positive it wasn't my phone though, since I've never set the alarm on it.

In the meantime the sound has stopped, but started up a minute later.  The woman says, "yeah, it's your phone".  I pull my phone out of my pocket, and guess what?

Not only is my stupid phone on, it's happily beeping away; even louder now that it's been released from the confines of my pocket!  Talk about embarassing!  ACK!!!

What's worse, I have NO idea how the alarm got set in the first place; I know I didn't do it.  Even worse than that; I had no idea how to get it to stop going off!  Seriously, I checked my phone, got to the clock setting and still had no idea how to make it stop coming on at the same time every day!

Lucky for me, Josh understands this stuff.  He took my phone and in less than five minutes he had the alarm turned off, hallelujah!

As you can tell, I use my phone a lot...NOT!  And I don't think I'll be getting another one any time soon; I mean, if I can't figure out this phone, heaven forbid what would happen if I had a smartphone!  That's all I need, a phone that's smarter than me!  

Eleven Years Ago

(Today's word is in the post just below this one.)


Eleven years ago the world was a much different place.

Eleven years ago people could go to the airport, just to watch planes land and take off.  They could just go to the airport, park, go inside, pick somewhere to sit down and watch planes as long as they wanted.

Eleven years ago family and friends could take people to the airport and go all the way to the terminal gates with them to say goodbye; or be waiting at those same gates to pick them up when they arrived.

Eleven years ago the only lines at the airport were people checking in, then lining up to board their flights.

Eleven years ago today all of this, and more was changed forever.  Eleven years ago today the U.S. was sucker-punched by terrorists plotting America's defeat.

Eleven years ago those terrorists hijacked a plane in New York, commanding it be flown into the World Trade Center.  While people were still reeling, wondering how this accident could have happened, another jet hit the second tower. At that moment it was clear neither of these plane crashes had been accidents.

Eleven years ago today, two jets crashing into the twin towers was only the beginning of the horror of that day.

Eleven years ago people watched TV live as the second plane hit the towers.  Then came reports that a plane had hit the Pentagon; but that wasn't the end of the chaos.

Eleven years ago today, United Flight 93 went down in a Pennsylvania field.  Did it have any connection with the other plane crashes that day?  As it turns out, yes, it did.  The difference with Flight 93 was, passengers took things into their own hands.  They knew they were in trouble,  they knew they were probably going to die; yet, rather than let the hijackers win, those passengers fought back, causing the plane to go down in that field, rather than hit it's intended target, which would have meant even more death and destruction.

Eleven years ago America's confidence was rattled; our country had been shaken to it's core.  We may not have been blinded by our own innocence; though in a sense, any innocence we did have was stripped away that day.

Eleven years ago terrorists learned, while they could attack us, shake and wound us, they couldn't break us. As a country we stood up and fought back.

Eleven years ago we lost things we can never have back; friends, loved ones, a life not filled with strict security measures designed to keep bad things from happening to people. Instead of standing back, wondering what to do, America showed it's strength by dusting itself off, banding together and working to rebuild what others had destroyed.

For these reasons, and many more, what happened eleven years ago today should never be forgotten.  Please take a moment today to reflect on the events of 9-11-2001, and be thankful for what you have in life, and remember those who lost their lives that fateful day.

"Tanked" on the Animal Planet Network

 (Today's word will be in red, and bold.)

I've mentioned in other posts how I don't watch TV much, especially reality shows.  I've since discovered though that I do watch more reality shows than I thought.  Shows about ghosts, hoarders, cakes; all of these are in the realm of reality TV.

Sometimes shows catch my attention, not because of their content, but for other reasons; sometimes it's as simple as a name.  That's the case with the show "Tanked".  Though I like fish and am fascinated by aquariums, "Tanked" probably wouldn't have been a show I'd have checked out, had it not been for the name WAYDE King.

"Wayde" is how my brother's name is spelled, and you rarely see that name with a "y" in it.  When I saw how King's name was spelled, I decided I had to check the show out; I've been hooked ever since.

Besides King, the main cast features Brett Raymer, Heather King, (Brett's sister and Wayde's wife), Brett and Heather's dad, Irwin Raymer, Robert "Robbie Redneck" Christlieb, and Agnes Wilczynski.
                                     
The family is originally from New York, but now live and work in Las Vegas, Nevada running their business, "Acrylic Tank Manufacturing".

From large and custom tanks built for people's homes, to displays in hotels, etc., there isn't a job too big or hard that these guys can't handle.

I think one of the things that I really like about the show is how much detail Wayde and Brett put in to every aspect of the aquariums they build.  One that really stood out to me was a tank that the crew built for a couple in Las Vegas.

The couple was originally from New York, and wanted an aquarium that would remind them of their old stomping grounds even while living in Nevada.

Brett found an old phone booth, and convinced the others that he could make it into something the couple would love and associate with New York.

Not only did Brett's idea work, the details continued right down to the types of fish that were to be put in the tank.  I don't remember the names of any of the fish, though what I do remember is why they were chosen.  There were several blue fish, to represent the police in New York, yellow ones to represent taxis, and red ones for fire trucks.  There were other fish, all representing something to do with New York.  The aquarium was then set up in front of a New York background, with a few other little details to round out the display.

It was those little details that kept me watching "Tanked".  It's those kind of little things *I* do when I'm creating something; finding all the little ways to tie things together and enhance it even more.

Of course, the aquariums are the real stars of "Tanked"; however, if the cast wasn't so fun to watch, the show wouldn't be as good as it is.

This is just one small aspect of the show "Tanked", seen Saturdays at 9pm on the Animal Planet channel.  If this has peaked your interest to see more of what the "Tanked" team creates, check out their page at, http://animal.discovery.com/tv/tanked/

There you can check the bios of the cast, see the many photos of Acrylic Tank Manufacturing's creations, and watch previous episodes of "Tanked".

Ten Years Ago Today

Some things that happen in a person's life stay with them forever; whether they were directly involved, or not. That's the way I am about 9/11. Even though it's been 10 years, it still feels like it was yesterday. All the emotions, thoughts, everything are as raw now as ten years ago today.

I can't imagine what it's like for those who were directly, or even indirectly involved with the events that day. How raw the feelings and memories must be for them, even now.

The same question is asked every year, "where were you, and what were you doing,when the planes hit the towers"?

I was on my way to work, on the MAX, listening to KUPL. Just three days prior I learned that this really pretty glass building in Portland is the World Trade Center. For some reason I hadn't known that. I'd just always thought of it as the building with the merry-go-round in it.


Ironically, the song, "Only In America" by Brooks & Dunn, finished playing just as Amy King,(the newscaster for KUPL at the time), came on the air saying that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. At the same time, the MAX train I was on had just rounded the corner, and I could see down to where Portland's World Trade Center is. My first thought when I heard Amy say that, and looked toward the Trade Center was, "no it didn't, it looks fine". My naivety showed through at that moment, because I didn't get past Portland having a World Trade Center. I realize now that there are World Trade Centers everywhere.

On that day though, I was confused, because I didn't see any plane that had crashed into the Portland World Trade Center. I couldn't even fathom how it could have happened, since the building isn't that tall, compared to ones around it.

I kept listening to KUPL, with Lee Rogers, Jim E. Chonga, and Amy talking about what had happened. I heard them say it was New York, and finally understood. I also remember them emphasizing that there weren't a lot of clear details at that time, so they didn't want to say the plane crash was more than an accident. Then the second plane hit.

Even then, the Waking Crew stressed that despite what things appeared to be, until they had official word, they were cautioning listeners to not be overly alarmed. I kept thinking how good they were at their jobs, to stay so professional, in light of what was happening.

Throughout the day, I listened to the radio. KUPL had switched to, I think, CNN, and was broadcasting that live. For the most part, once the attacks were over, the broadcasters hashed, and rehashed all that had happened that morning. As new information came in, it was passed on to the public; but most of the day after awhile was just the same soundbites and interviews.

I kept my radio on all day, as there was no TV at work to see what was going on. For me, that was almost worse. As hard as the videos are to watch, hearing voices come out of the radio, talking about all the horrible things that had happened, and not having anything concrete to link them to was unnerving. Yet, I couldn't stop listening. For some reason, I felt that if I just kept listening, suddenly everything would make sense; it didn't, but I kept listening.

I also felt that, even though I wasn't there, I needed to hear someone on the radio say what I was thinking. There was a lot of talk about the buildings collapsing, all the paperwork, smoke, dust, everything filling the streets, etc.; yet no one was saying anything about the PEOPLE. I just kept thinking, "yes, this is REALLY bad, but they were just things, what about the people, why isn't anyone talking about the actual victims?

Finally, at some point during the day there was a soundbite of a woman who said EXACTLY what was going through my head, and how I was feeling. I have no idea who the woman was, she was just another disembodied soundbite, among the many that day; but she was MY soundbite. I latched on to it every time I heard it that day; for some reason it gave me comfort to know someone else out there felt the way I did.

Driving home from work that afternoon, I noticed something different about the traffic on I-205. At first I thought maybe I was imagining things, but eventually realized I really was seeing what I was seeing.

I-205 northbound can be a virtual parking lot most days. Add in a lot of merging traffic, and it can be hectic. On September 11, 2001 however, that wasn't happening. Instead of the usual, "try to cut someone off to get in front of them", and all, drivers were actually being courteous to each other. I remember seeing one car that I'd see almost every day on my way home. The person almost always cut someone off, just to be in front, didn't use their blinker, the whole nine yards. On that day though, this person actually not only used their blinker, they let people merge in front of them. The whole thing was kind of surreal, because so many people were actually being polite on the roadways.

Over the next few days I was either watching TV, or had my radio on, constantly searching for answers. Looking back, I don't know why I felt there had to be instant answers, I know life doesn't work that way; but I wanted them anyway. Ten years later I'm not really sure I have them even now.

I remember a couple days after the attacks, Aaron Tippin released a song, "Where the Stars and Stripes and Eagle Fly". Aaron said he'd had the song for awhile, and felt that it fit the current situation, so he released it. All proceeds from sales of the single went to help victims of the attacks.

In the grand scheme of things, I'm sure that fact is trivial; yet, it's one of the questions I still have in the back of my mind. Why, even though Aaron Tippin's song is still played on the radio, is it pretty much ignored in comparison to other 9/11 songs?

Granted, the three songs that come to mind, Alan Jackson's, "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning"; Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue"; and "Have You Forgotten", by Darryl Worley, are all powerful songs. All are deserving of recognition for their remembrance of 9/11.

Also, yes, Toby Keith, and I think Darryl Worley have gone overseas to play for the troops. However, in ten years I've never heard if any of the proceeds from these three songs has gone to help with the events of 9/11. Granted, they could have, and it didn't make the media; however, to me, I would like to know if any has.

Aaron Tippin has also made trips overseas, as well as contributing his song to 9/11; yet, as I stated earlier, his song goes pretty much unnoticed compared to Alan's, Toby's or Darryl's. I guess in the back of my mind there's this little part that's bothered by the fact that three people, even with all they've done good, are still making money off 9/11, from their songs. Yet, the one person who donated his song to the efforts is all but ignored.

I realize, this is a petty thing on my part; it is part of all the feelings I have about 9/11 though, so I'm sharing that as well.

Over all, people gather a lot of experiences during their lifetime; some good, some bad. What happened on 9/11 is something I hope no one ever has to experience again.