Moving this week, so I apologize for lack of posts. Between trying to get everything set up for a seamless move, still maintain my raid schedule, bringing home projects for work, working on projects for the D&D game I’m getting ready to run in a week, making plans for The Great Blog Transition of ’09, and a whole mess of other things, I have officially:

• Missed out on NaNoWriMo this month.
• Missed starting the Uldu-Arms series of posts.
• Missed Friday Fiction.
• Found a hundred other things to do before my mother comes to visit this weekend IN THE MIDDLE OF MY MOVE.
• Realized that there is no way to get my couch out of my apartment without killing myself and at least two good friends.
• Lost (what was left of) my sanity.

So, another hiatus, close on the heels of the other one. I promise it won’t last as long.

On the bright side, I bought the Lil’ KT and Pandaren Monk. They gave me something to smile about for a bit.

I was debating whether or not to type this post. It’s a sore subject with a lot of people, and for others, it has been forgotten. There have been a few posts being tossed back and forth on other blogs about where you were when certain events/disasters were happening, and given that today is an “anniversary” of sorts, I thought I’d focus on just this one disaster, because no tragedy should ever be cast aside; in the media, maybe, but certainly not our hearts.

Tuesday. My day off. I was living in North Carolina, working for Federal Express as a courier at the time. I remember waking up, getting some breakfast and sitting down on the couch to turn the TV on, because there was a movie I wanted to watch.

When my phone rang, and I saw the number, I groaned; my boss was calling me from his personal cell phone. I wasn’t looking forward to having the discussion with him that would ultimately result in either my going to work for more overtime I didn’t want because I had been working split shifts and double shifts for the last three weeks, or telling my boss that I wouldn’t be in because I was out of town. I was tired.

“Hello?”

“Hey, bud, it’s T-Mac. You turned on the TV or radio yet today?”

“No, why?”

“Check out the news. There’s a problem.”

Wondering just what in the hell could be on the news that would be a problem for me, I turned on my television.

I saw the towers burning.

“Jesus, man, when did this happen?”

“The first plane hit about a half hour ago, the second plane maybe 15 minutes after the first. Listen, I just wanted to call and let you know that there may be some schedule changes for the next few days, depending on what happens with this. I’ll give you a ring back later this afternoon. You sit tight, and… uh… try to enjoy your day off.”

“…Right. Thanks, T.”

I sat, transfixed by the TV, utterly horrified at what I was seeing. I set my plate aside, food untouched, just shaking my head as I listened to the reports of the people jumping from the towers.

I watched the towers burn.

When the first tower fell, it was like the whole scene was shot in slow motion. I couldn’t watch it. I turned my head as 110 floors of concrete, steel, and glass crumbled to the ground.

When the second tower fell, I cried.

My boss finally called me back late that afternoon to tell me that FedEx had more or less shut down. All aircraft were grounded, so we had no work to do. I ended up at home for the next three days, unable to do little more than brood over this ridiculous waste of human life.

What a piece of work is [a] man.

Disrespectful.

Suspicious.

Intolerant.

Bigoted.

Hateful.

Are we so prejudiced in our ways that we can’t let others live the way they want to live? Are we so full of ourselves that we are convinced that our way is always the right way, and it’s our job to force people into that path?

We all may be different, with different races, creeds, religions, styles, and traditions… but above all of that, we are all human beings. We don’t all have to like each other. We don’t all have to agree. But we need to be respectful of each other, be tolerant of each other, because we alone among all of the creatures on this planet have the capability and the will to destroy this Earth we live on.

That’s a price too high to pay just to be rid of someone you don’t like.

Remember this day. Keep it as a lesson, one that teaches the consequences and results of hatred, intolerance, and misunderstandings.

In memoriam of the civilians who were taken before their time, and to the rescue workers who gave their lives trying to save them. You will never be forgotten.