Fixing fence is the one of the hardest jobs on a ranch. I no longer live on a ranch, but I do know what hard work is. Fences are everyone's concern, but nowadays,the "hole" is always your neighbor's side not your own. It used to be that you would respect your neighbor and mend the fence together. If their cows got in your field, a simple phone call resolved the problem. You might even saddle up your own horse and help them gather them up. We need more people who are willing to roll their sleeves up and fix the fence regardless of who your neighbor is. There are people in this country who need to be reminded that a fence is like the way you should conduct your life. Your posts should be straight and neat. The wire needs to be stretched tight and your gate might be closed, but can still be easily opened. And most of all, we can all saddle up together and ride the range, it won't matter if you have an Appaloosa, Quarter Horse or Thoroughbred. The cows still have to be gathered, fences have to be fixed, and the range is a wide open space of opportunity for us all.

And Our Flag Was Still There on..... 9/11.

Posted Monday, September 10, 2012, at 8:24 AM

Over 2,000 people lost their lives on 9/11/2001. Their families, friends and co-workers will never forget their impact on their lives before and after 9/11.

I am only be able to list a few examples of the courage and heroism of those people here on this blog today. As I have said before, there is a special spirit that Americans have when the chips are down. We come together as a nation because we are all connected to each other by a bond that cannot be broken by war, disaster or terrorist acts.

My first example of courage is the story about "The Miracle of the 88th Floor". This is a brief recap of two men who gave more than what was required of them in order to save 77 lives that day.

Frank De Martini, a Construction Manager and Pablo Ortiz, a Construction Inspector for the North Tower of the World Trade Center coordinated an extraordinary rescue effort.

After evacuating their immediate office of approximately 50 people, including Frank's wife, these two men decided that they would check the remaining offices to ensure that no one else was present on that floor. As they were getting ready to join the others, they heard a banging coming from the next floor up.

The 89th floor had suffered enough structural damage that the doorway to the stairwell would not budge. Frank and Pablo with the help of another individual discerned that they could bypass the regular doorway by tearing down the drywall next to the frame. Those people were then free to make their way to safety.

It didn't end there for Frank and Pablo, they began to systematically go from floor to floor checking to see if anyone else needed rescuing. Not only did they save many lives, but inspired some of the survivors to go outside of their own selves to help others on that long terrifying journey down to the first floor.

A small community hospital which was literally 600 yards from the two towers within minutes of the first explosion. They were small in personnel, but mighty in organization with their own disaster response policy created in 1993 after the first WTC bombing.

Hundreds of first responders made their way to the site prior to the collapse of the Twin Towers and many lost their lives trying to save those who were injured.

Across the entire country, we found ourselves kneeling in prayer. Experienced rescue personnel from across the country didn't hesitate to begin their journey to the disaster site.

Donations began to pour in from businesses, people and organizations. People donated blood. Everyone began to move beyond themselves to a cause that was greater than themselves.

Eleven years later, our military is still fighting a war on terrorism. They have kept us safe with their own brave sacrifices. Recently, it was announced that over 2,000 men and women in our armed forces had lost their lives in Afghanistan. That number is nearly equal to those lost in Iraq.

Life has certainly changed since that Tuesday morning in September. Our nation briefly came together and then some of us "forgot" what was really important. America as a nation has become even more divided.

What matters now is that people are still giving their lives for this country to keep us safe and free. Their families wait anxiously for them to come home.

We are all Americans, "A Nation Under God." It should inspire us to be unselfish even in the prosperous times. To help our neighbor and our families without feeling as though we are owed something more than a simple thank-you.

It is important that our children and grandchildren are able to grow up as we did without being afraid of bombs or the evil designs of men.

Take a moment on this Tuesday to feel what every generation since the creation of this country has felt at some time or another. Blessed and Grateful.

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Very nice blog as always Bonnie. We are more divided as a nation. Sad but true. Perhaps the elections will turn some of that around. Time will tell.

-- Posted by OpinionMissy on Mon, Sep 10, 2012, at 9:19 AM
Great blog....so good

-- Posted by jessiemiller on Mon, Sep 10, 2012, at 9:54 AM
Thank you. I find it a shame that there wasn't any outrage by the main media for the death toll in Afghansitan like that there was for Iraq.

All the lives lost should matter.

-- Posted by KH Gal on Mon, Sep 10, 2012, at 2:54 PM
My son helped guard the twin towers and he is now in Afghanistan. I worried about his Dad when he was in Viet Nam, and back then I never dreamed I would have to go through this kind of worry again.

-- Posted by MsMarylin on Mon, Sep 10, 2012, at 6:23 PM
Correction: Twin Towers > (Ground Zero)

-- Posted by MsMarylin on Mon, Sep 10, 2012, at 6:29 PM
Nice blog!! Sadly, too many people have turned back to the 9-10 americans. Everyone needs to return to the 9-12 americans or this country is in serious, serious trouble.

-- Posted by clam chowder on Tue, Sep 11, 2012, at 9:45 PM
Bittersweet to me means a kind of regret. Why do we wait for a tragedy to happen before we show our best sides?

Then again, most of us are never challenged with a disaster, attacks or personal tragedies.

And some of us seem to have more than our fair share.

These people were able to rise above their common selves and exhibit the courage and willingness to offer their own lives so that others might live. I include our military with this observation.

-- Posted by KH Gal on Wed, Sep 12, 2012, at 9:02 AM
I was giving you my interpretation of bittersweet. Biden doesn't have as deep a thought process as I do nor does he have the extensive vocabulary.

I bet his speechwriters despair of every making him sound eloquent.

-- Posted by KH Gal on Wed, Sep 12, 2012, at 11:33 AM
ever, not every.

-- Posted by KH Gal on Wed, Sep 12, 2012, at 11:34 AM
I hope your son stays safe in Afghanistan MsMarilyn.

-- Posted by Dave Thompson on Wed, Sep 12, 2012, at 2:52 PM
I imagine it might be bittersweet for those who survived:when so many around them perished. Sorry for the passing but grateful to be alive.

-- Posted by Dave Thompson on Wed, Sep 12, 2012, at 5:16 PM
I wasn't able to watch any of the 9/11 memorial services yesterday. I don't know if Frontline ran "102 Minutes That Changed America ". If anyone hasn't seen it yet, it really is something you must see. I carry it on my iPod. The only way to describe it is haunting.

-- Posted by Dave Thompson on Wed, Sep 12, 2012, at 5:57 PM
Dave I get it! I understand what Joe Biden met when he said "Bittersweet" I have had many of those Bittersweet days.

-- Posted by MsMarylin on Wed, Sep 12, 2012, at 9:06 PM
The 102 Minutes was a one of my inspirations for this blog.

What happened in Egypt and Libya was disgraceful. did you see them tearing up our flag? And how they treated that poor man. Someone needs to stand firm and now with this situation.

The mobs are getting bolder. They don't need an excuse to destroy things or kill people.

-- Posted by KH Gal on Thu, Sep 13, 2012, at 7:22 AM
Buckshot61, I'm not going there with this issue.

The 9/11 terrorist attacks were tragic and inexcusable.

The attack on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi was tragic and inexcusable.

Neither attack should be politicised, nor should they be used to pit one religion against the other.

When people kill each other for whatever reason, they're wrong in God's eyes.

-- Posted by Dave Thompson on Thu, Sep 13, 2012, at 8:07 AM
The violence in the world will never end.

I like to read Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address to put things in perspective.

Of course the circumstances surrounding Lincoln's 2nd Inauguration were different, and Lincoln is beautifully eloquent in addressing our mistreatment of one another.

Of course there is no sane reason why people would fly planes full of people into buildings or send rockets into our Embassy compound in Benghazi.

In Lincoln's Second, he contrasts the evil that men have done to others with the inaction of others to remedy that evil. In Lincoln's eyes, God doesn't approve of the first evil and depending on what action is taken to remedy the evil, he may not approve of the remedy either.

Even though Lincoln is an American President, I'd say the people who oppose what our nation stands for could learn from him as well.

-- Posted by Dave Thompson on Thu, Sep 13, 2012, at 8:30 AM
Mr. Thompson,

Abraham Lincoln understood the nature of man more than most. It weighed upon him heavily. He never backed down and had he lived, the Reconstruction would have been carried out more carefully and respectfully.

There is an evil out there raging war on our humanity. True leadership demands that you stand firm with other countries when they cross the line. That you expect them to stem the tide of madness that is filling the streets. And what we are prepared to do if this is not carried out within the hour.

Who will blink first?

-- Posted by KH Gal on Thu, Sep 13, 2012, at 11:11 AM
I understand you'd approve of the United States taking direct action to quell a civil uprising in a sovereign nation? I think such an action would have an adverse affect on the ability of the government of that nation to govern their citizens.

Further, such a policy would seem to other nations as an excuse for expansionism, much like when the USSR moved into Czechoslovakia in 1968.

-- Posted by Dave Thompson on Thu, Sep 13, 2012, at 11:52 AM
I didn't say that at all, I said that you had to provide leadership so that it was immediately understood of what the consquences would be for allowing mobs to attack US property and to murder American citizens.

Kinda like when your mother got her bluff in and you knew what would happen if you crossed the line.

We can sit and wring our hands or attend fundraisers. It should be that we stay home and do our jobs when things like this come up.

-- Posted by KH Gal on Thu, Sep 13, 2012, at 12:18 PM
Okay. Thanks for clarifying. So what do you believe the consequences should be for Libya?

-- Posted by Dave Thompson on Thu, Sep 13, 2012, at 12:58 PM
Obama is leaving for Las Vegas this afternoon.

When my husband worked on the looking glass, he told me it was like having the oval office up in the air and that was back in the 70's. With all our high tech these days I imagine he will never be out of touch...

Heck we even swore in LBJ on an air craft...

-- Posted by MsMarylin on Thu, Sep 13, 2012, at 1:08 PM
MsM

Being in touch and doing your job are two different things in my book. Kind of like texting and driving at the same time. This is far more important than a campaign fund-raiser. He is the President, not a candidate.

What do you think the perception of the world is when a president is too busy campaigning instead of staying in the office until the crisis has passed? or changing his plans to talk with one of our allies with all feathers are breaking loose in the Middle East?

Mr. Thompson, I don't know that the consquences for Libya should be. I do know that our citizens abroad deserve a better response than what we have gotten in the past couple days.

LBJ was on his way BACK to WAshington when he was sworn in. There is a difference there don't you think?

-- Posted by KH Gal on Thu, Sep 13, 2012, at 1:24 PM
Oh so typical answer coming from you KH Gal I just bet you have all the answers!

Here's a question for you, I'm not sure what you mean when you wrote this

"I do know that our citizens abroad deserve a better response than what we have gotten in the past couple days."

What did our citizens abroad get that they should of gotten a better response, and how would you have done it?

-- Posted by MsMarylin on Thu, Sep 13, 2012, at 2:01 PM
No, I do not have all the answers. Common Sense would tell you that the only way you can make a pack of mean dogs sit up and take notice is to fire a shot in the air. notice I said in the air.

A little more forceful than the paltry handful of words. I would be at the very least,Sitting there in my office looking Presidential. This was not business as usual in any sense of the word.

I don't think that our diplomats safety or any other citizen abroad should be compromised because someone would rather step out and make a brief speech and then go on to his regular schedule. Even Kennedy kept a close eye on the Cuban Crisis.

Let me ask you this. If the chatter was such that something was going to happen on 9/11. Would you be out partying or keeping a close eye on the situation? Given what has happened in the past? And it was obvious that someone was aware of it.

And don't give me junk about Bush, that is all said and done. This is Obama's baby to throw out with the bathwater. Let him take his licks too.

There should have been some type of military protection as soon as the rumbling started. The local guards and police were obviously in on it.

That is just my take and I don't expect anyone else to agree with me. Nor do I expect you to have all the answers either.

-- Posted by KH Gal on Thu, Sep 13, 2012, at 3:00 PM
Anyone know how many U.S Marines make up the security force at the embassy in Benghazi?

-- Posted by Dave Thompson on Thu, Sep 13, 2012, at 3:14 PM
I totally agree with you, KH gal. Before Sept. 11, Obama should have been on the phone with the Egyptian President saying that that President had better ensure that nothing happens at the American Embassy or the U.S. will retaliate and all foreign aid will be cut off. At least Romney looked and sounded Presidential and his remarks concerning this tragedy were right on the money.

-- Posted by Second Wind on Thu, Sep 13, 2012, at 5:50 PM
Sometimes we all have to put down our shiny toys and get serious. This was one of those times.

The real tragedy is that people lost their lives and this has made other mobs feeling emboldened to attack more US embassies.

-- Posted by KH Gal on Thu, Sep 13, 2012, at 6:02 PM
Hey Buckshot I have to agree with your first paragraph.

The movie is on youtube "Innocence of Muslims"

-- Posted by MsMarylin on Thu, Sep 13, 2012, at 8:50 PM
Dave -

Several reports from various international news feeds seem to agree that there were NO US Marines at the embassy prior to the attack. The security forces that were there consisted mostly of Lybian nationals. There have also been reports that our State Department had spent the past two months working on finalizing "details" for a US Security firm called Academi to take charge there. By all accounts, Academi is the former Blackwater security.

-- Posted by wh67 on Thu, Sep 13, 2012, at 9:35 PM
Thanks wh67. I did find something yesterday at globalsecurity.org regarding that question. I was surprised. I understand that not all State Deptartment diplomatic posts have a Marine Corps Security Detachment. Embassies do, but other smaller posts may not.

-- Posted by Dave Thompson on Fri, Sep 14, 2012, at 7:38 AM

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