Here and there, memories remind us of past events, family and friends – things we have done and things we wish that we could have done.

Today, it is poignant and coincidental, that those in and around New York City are thinking more of their counterparts in Florida as they remember events and memories of 9/11 in NYC, Washington DC and a little town called Shanksville – southeast of Pittsburgh and south west of Altoona – a town most of the country had never heard of before that day in 2001.

While different in nature – quite literally – we remember and we reflect.

There isn’t much we can do to forget – nor should we…

Yet, all eyes are southward – after images of floodwaters as high as highway signs in Houston just 2 weeks ago – we are all thinking of our neighbors in Florida.

Are they safe?

Is the storm subsiding and losing power?

Do they have power, food and water?

We have planned and known about this storm called Irma with some advance warning, something that the country did not have in 2001. Still, we could not plan enough.

Countless people at this point are impacted – their lives changed forever. Rebuild is what we must do. Looking back is essential so that we can look onward to the future – combining the old and the new and making it better than it was before.

We wish of course that it had never happened. What would life be like today? How changed are we from these events? How different will lives be in Florida – or Houston? We don’t know and nor will we for several days, weeks and months – years even if you ask New Orleans, NYC and Americans from all over the country .  How could we plan for this? We can’t; however, we can all come together and help recover as that is the only thing that we can do.

~ Dawn aka Hat Girl