HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANSLEY!!!!!!!

As all of you know, today is a big day in US history. My niece Ansley (Doubting Teri’s middle daughter) turns 10 today. So, we will have a quick 10 things about Ansley...

1. I remember Brent and Doubting Teri couldn’t make it to our Labor Day Weekend gathering in 2000 because Ansley was due any day now. So, The Girlfriend and I took care of Leah over the weekend. That included walking her around the parking lot outside of a restaurant while everyone else was inside eating. Interesting fact... that restaurant was one of the first things I saw after the Great Truck Wreck of 2004.

2. Ansley is the 3 grandchild of Mom and Dad (Nana & Da to her), the second child of Brent and Doubting Teri (Dad & Mom to her), and the 1st child in our family tree born in the 2000’s.

3. World leaders attended the Millennium Summit at the UN Headquarters around the time Ansley was born.

4. Windows Me was released just a few days after she was born.

5. The 2000 Summer Olympics open up in Sydney, Australia.

6. The H.L. Hunley was raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor just a month before Ansley was born.

7. The Wife gave Ansley the middle name “Grace”. Brent and Doubting Teri gave her a different middle name.

8. The Top 3 Movies of 2000 were: Mission: Impossible II, Gladiator, and Cast Away.

9. The Top 5 Songs of 2000 were: Music (by Madonna), Oops!... I Did it Again (by Britney Spears), Beautiful Day (by U2), Rock DJ (by Robbie Williams), and It’s My Life (by Bon Jovi).

10. She turned one on September 11, 2001.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANSLEY “GRACE”! I LOVE YOU!



Now on to the other thing September 11 is known for. I can remember hearing people talk about certain events (for my Mom, it’s when President Kennedy was assassinated... for my friend KC, it’s when Pearl Harbor was bombed) and saying they remember exactly where they were when the event happened. It’s not that I didn’t believe these people... it’s just I couldn’t understand what they were talking about. I mean, I have trouble remembering something that happened two days ago... much less years and years ago. Then came September 11, 2001. Now I understand. Today marks the 9th anniversary of that day. I assume the History Channel will be focused on this event as it has been in previous years. I remember it like it just happened. I was about a month into my second senior year at Winthrop University, living in an apartment at Mallard Point with Jeremy and Thomas. I got up and headed to my Tuesday morning class, just like always. Back then, I would usually listen to John Boy & Billy on the radio as I headed to class but on this day I was listening to a Bon Jovi CD (on one of those portable CD players that you had to connect to the car via a cassette tape that had a wire running from it to the CD player). I got to my class (a Business Writing class) and sat down. A couple minutes later a guy in our class walks in and says that he heard that two planes collided in New York City around the World Trade Center. It seemed, at the time, like it was two small planes... and while it was sad to hear, it wasn’t earth shattering news. After class I was walking out to meet/hangout with The Girlfriend. I had a break between my first class and my afternoon class (with The Girlfriend) so I liked to have lunch with her on those days. Rumors were starting to pick up about what was going on, so we headed back to her place for lunch (which I don’t think we ever ate that day) and to watch the news. We sat and watched as smoke poured out of the windows of the towers. By then, I believe, one of the towers had already fallen. As we were watching the news live, the second tower came down. At first, I thought maybe they were showing a replay of the first one... but then I realized it was the second one. I must admit to being a bit naïve that day because I was thinking at the time well surely everyone had evacuated from the building by then. Have you ever tried walking down 80 flights of stairs (or even 30 flights, for that matter)? Me either. It did hit, pretty quick, that even if everyone else had gotten out... there were still all the firefighters/policemen/EMS people who had been running in. I remember we sat there kind of stunned just watching TV. I remember having this numb feeling for a while (days/weeks?) after that and just wanting to sit and watch the news. We finally had to get up and go to our afternoon class because Winthrop (at least back then) wouldn’t cancel a class for anything. I remember just going through the motions in my afternoon classes... waiting for a chance to get back in front of the TV to watch the news. Back then I was working as a Manager Trainee at Rack Room Shoes in Carolina Place Mall (in Pineville, NC). I was scheduled to work that night, but I got a call from Peggy (my boss) telling me not to worry about coming in. She said she was pretty sure they were going to close the mall early, but even if they didn’t, nobody was there. Because of my class schedule, I worked almost every night and most of the time on the weekends... so this gave me a rare night off to spend with The Girlfriend. We went to Ryan’s for dinner. Her dad called me on my cell phone because he hadn’t been able to reach her. I remember sitting there thinking, "Hey, today is Ansley's first birthday... I've got to give her a call". I remember this was perhaps the longest period of time in my life when I just didn’t feel like laughing. I remember walking around campus and noticing how quiet it was. Winthrop is close enough to Charlotte that there are almost always planes in the sky... but not that day. Even the roads were light... it seemed everyone was staying home watching TV. I think the mall was closed for a couple of days (though I could be mistaken). I do remember going back to work and the place being like a ghost town for the first week or two. I mean, there was NOBODY in the mall. NOBODY. Nobody shopping. Nobody “just looking”. Nobody out walking around. Even the shoplifters were staying home. It was very strange. I remember me, Peggy, and Maureen (my friend from Long Island who was a part-time worker at our store, who has since passed away) would just stand there and talk. Every now and then we’d walk around the store and clean/straighten up... but with no customers there wasn’t much to clean. I do remember standing in the back corner of the store straightening up some shoe boxes when I heard Leaving on a Jet Plane (Leaving on a jet plane, don’t know when I’ll be back again) being played and thinking, “Hmmm.... I don’t think this is the best time to be playing a song like this”. As time went on, things started to get back to “normal”. We had work and classes and The Girlfriend was busy planning “our” wedding. At some point I started laughing again. Before long sports picked back up and the little things that we learned weren’t really all that important started to become important again. Next thing you know, one... two... nine years have gone by and here we are. Since then, I’ve lost two grandmothers and gained two daughters. I’m sure this event hit some people harder than it did me. Some for obvious reasons, some maybe not. Others, perhaps, were not hit as hard (I don’t want to point fingers here, but I have a nephew who was born in June 2002... you do the math). Make sure you checkout the History Channel off and on today in between football games. The programming they have on 9/11 is just incredible. Some of the programs have “home video” type footage that really gives a great perspective on how things were that day. Some of it is hard to watch. Most of it will probably bring tears to your eyes (it did mine), but all of it is worth watching.

Know Your Medal of Honor Recipients:

Quartermaster Robert Anderson (US Navy) received his Medal of Honor for his actions during the Civil War. His citation reads:

Served on board the U.S.S. Crusader and the Keokuk during various actions of those vessels. Carrying out his duties skillfully while on board the U.S.S. Crusader, Q.M. Anderson, on all occasions, set forth the greatest intrepidity and devotion. During the attack on Charleston, while serving on board the U.S.S. Keokuk, Q.M. Anderson was stationed at the wheel when shot penetrated the house and, with the scattering of the iron, used his own body as a shield for his commanding officer.

Corporal Thomas Anderson (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on April 8, 1865 at Appomattox Station, Virginia. His citation reads:

Capture of Confederate flag.

Sergeant First Class Webster Anderson (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on October 15, 1967 in the Republic of Vietnam. His citation reads:

Sfc. Anderson (then S/Sgt.), distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving as chief of section in Battery A, against a hostile force. During the early morning hours Battery A's defensive position was attacked by a determined North Vietnamese Army infantry unit supported by heavy mortar, recoilless rifle, rocket propelled grenade and automatic weapon fire. The initial enemy onslaught breached the battery defensive perimeter. Sfc. Anderson, with complete disregard for his personal safety, mounted the exposed parapet of his howitzer position and became the mainstay of the defense of the battery position. Sfc. Anderson directed devastating direct howitzer fire on the assaulting enemy while providing rifle and grenade defensive fire against enemy soldiers attempting to overrun his gun section position. While protecting his crew and directing their fire against the enemy from his exposed position, 2 enemy grenades exploded at his feet knocking him down and severely wounding him in the legs. Despite the excruciating pain and though not able to stand, Sfc. Anderson valorously propped himself on the parapet and continued to direct howitzer fire upon the closing enemy and to encourage his men to fight on. Seeing an enemy grenade land within the gun pit near a wounded member of his gun crew, Sfc. Anderson heedless of his own safety, seized the grenade and attempted to throw it over the parapet to save his men. As the grenade was thrown from the position it exploded and Sfc. Anderson was again grievously wounded. Although only partially conscious and severely wounded, Sfc. Anderson refused medical evacuation and continued to encourage his men in the defense of the position. Sfc. Anderson by his inspirational leadership, professionalism, devotion to duty and complete disregard for his welfare was able to maintain the defense of his section position and to defeat a determined attack. Sfc. Anderson's gallantry and extraordinary heroism at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.