10 years ago...

The day was pretty much like any other day in early September. Warm sun coming up later in the morning than the day before, with mist in the air causing a haze along the ground. Dew in the spiderwebs and a cold, light breeze - the cold, light breeze mixed with warming sunshine that makes me love Fall. We were driving to church with the radio on, but it wasn't the same popular music that's always on in the early Sunday mornings. Clips of interviews were on the radio, about 8.30 am, clips of frantic people muttering, cursing, screaming in reaction to a similar day 10 years ago. You can't help but feel something in your heart as you then hear the interviews of people from that day. My heart aches for the families left behind, and the mental anguish of those who worked so hard to save other people that day emotionally eclipsed by the guilt of survival. It's been 10 years, and people are still suffering.


I saw on TV on Sunday live video from the new memorial in New York City. It's a beautiful memorial and truly evokes memory of the day's events in anyone who saw footage from that day. It's a long way from that day 10 years ago, and our country has been struggling since. Struggling in a war against elusive and ruthless terrorism. While a long, costly and controversial struggle, it hasn't been by chance that attack plans have failed since then. And we've been struggling against the economic downturn from the shock of that September day. In this recession which leaves so many hungry and homeless, people are begging for help and leadership. But what was said a few years after the event about the day bringing our nation together in support of patriotism and countrymen has only become more true since then. Don't let the sacrifices of those people 10 years ago until now be in vain. Remember and respect their sacrifice and become engaged in your government and your nation.

USS New York

This is a pretty cool little info tidbit that I had never heard about before. People has starkly different opinions on the issue, but I think it's a great sign of the resolve of the American spirit. It isn't about religion or George W. like many opinionated crazies want you to believe, but about finding a proper symbolism of the determination of the people who were cut by that day and still bear the scars.

One qualm I do have about it though was the use of the name "New York" throughout the history of the US Navy and the sundry mini-disasters that have befallen the name. I definitely wouldn't name something the "Titanic", and the stigma surrounding the USS New York isn't nearly as bad, but my choice might've been a bit different. I guess you run out of good names after a while.

"My Empire of Dirt"

Today I finished one of my Christmas books, from Amanda's parents, "My Empire of Dirt" by Manny Howard. If you recall, it was this past summer when I blogged about seeing his book review on the Colbert Report. While, of course, some of you don't think it advisable to take book recommendations from the great Colbert, this one in particular interested me for a few reasons.

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1) Manny Howard tried to raise his own food in Brooklyn, New York. As a person involved in agriculture, I wanted to see what his experiences turned out like; his interview indicated that they were diverse, expensive and challenging.

2) Manny talked in his interview about how underpaid farmers truly are. While I'm sure there is a journalist's exaggeration stored up in there as well, he had a point that I wish more people understood. Farmers are subsidized so that the public doesn't have to pay as much for their food as they should have to, and people today just don't realize how much that is. People go on and on about subsidies and how they are protecting farmers, but the truth is that these same subsidies protect the people as much or more than they protect the farmers. And in this current market, food prices will go up; be prepared for it.

3) In his interview, he exhibited a unique sense of humor that I imagined would be equally entertaining in his book.

So let me tell you about my thoughts on this book after reading it...

Manny Howard is as easily distracted in his book as he is on camera. The very definition of ADD, this book is not good for someone who has trouble keeping track of weaving plot lines or conversational asides. If I could do one thing for this book, I would at least keep it strictly chronological in the real-life recounting of his activities on the farm. His division by topics is good but I like to see the whole-picture of timing as well and sometimes that falls by the wayside. His book is also laced with a bit of foul language, but frankly that doesn't bother me because in today's cultural context, it just goes to accurately show the extremity of emotional experiences he and his counterparts went through during his farming experiment.

Slight criticisms aside, I loved this book. It is fun to read a book and almost watch a man go through the same harsh learning experiences and realities that many inexperienced urbanites (myself included at one time) go through during an introduction to agrarian lifestyle. His opinion on locavorism is also refreshing and realistic. Not only that but he does a really good job of jumping right into the necessary mentality and struggling through his labor, approaching even the repulsive tasks of slaughter and manure management as requirements for a true agricultural experience. The fact that all of this happens in Brooklyn makes the story that much more hilarious and I enjoyed his inclusions of funny asides related to this as well. This book was a great and easy read.

Falling

Falling always seems be the most amazing type of accident to survive. The forces of gravity pulling you into an acceleration to your death is pretty terrible to imagine. I can think of a few images in my head that will always be there, scarred, burned into my mind. So to lighten up your day, here's some stories of people who fell, and lived to tell about it. Feel free to share your own in the comments.

I'll start with the story that inspired this blog for me - a baby that fell in Paris and was luckily caught by a passing doctor. Apparently she bounced on the awning above him and his boy had spotted her falling so he was in the right place to catch her afterward.

Of course, there are links to links to links in articles such as these so you can follow keywords and read about lots of people who have fallen, but some of whom weren't quite as lucky (just a warning). Then there is the guy who was window cleaning and fell 47 stories. The hard work of many medical staff led to his ability to function again and one day reach out and touch his nurse's face. I can't imagine being the wife who then told him she was his wife and he should be touching her, not the nurse's face. Couldn't she just be glad he was using his arm?

Speaking of crazy, I saved the best for last. I had to look this up because I've seen it before but it belonged in this group, so here again is the story of the man in Russia who jumped out the window. Once landed 5 stories down, he returned to his place just to find out how angry his wife was. So he jumped again. Really? The second time his wife made him go to the hospital.