Run Luau Run

I went out this morning for a run.  I set out to run 9.11 miles in memory of those who will never run again.  As my run developed, I decided to stop at every mile for a brief moment of silence to think of those that lost their lives and to slow my overall pace down to 9:11 per mile.  It was a beautiful morning, not a cloud in the sky – much like that fateful day 10 years ago.

In the end, I hit it right on the nose, 9.11 miles, 1:23:43 for an overall pace of 9:11.

***

During one of my moments of silence, I thought of the City of New York, the people that live, work, and love there.

I thought of my sister.  She is one of those people that has worked and lived in New York for almost half of her life.  As I thought of her, I remember something she described to me not too long after that horrific day.  She described what she called the Rings of 9/11 – the layers of people who were affected by the acts of those evil men.

We all know of the 3,000 lives that were lost that day.  But what of the rest of us?  Everybody in this country was affected by the events of 9/11, but the truth is, the closer one was to Ground Zero, she believed, the more traumatic the event was.  There are exceptions to be sure, but for the most part, I have to agree with her.

***

So today, as we honor those that lost their lives 10 years ago, each in our own way, maybe we should all take a moment to check in on those whom we love and were not too far from the epicenter.  I will be thinking of all of my friends who still live there, but today, I think I will call my sister.

Who will you call or reach out to?