he•ro [heer-oh] noun, plural –roes

If ever there was a day to contemplate "moving forward and "bettering oneself"... today is that day!

I'll never forget where I was in NYC ten years ago... how, I got a call from David at work around 9:00am, telling me he heard and saw the first plane hit on his way in... how, while we were talking on the phone together I saw on live TV the second plane hit and I had to tell him... how, while still on the phone with David, I watched my beloved towers fall... how far away I felt from him... how, David walked home from Grand Central Station to the East Village and all he saw were people covered in ash and blood... how, he and I got together with Leo and all we wanted to do was help in some way and we didn't know how... how the three of us went to Tompkins Square Park and there was a woman in a red bikini out sunbathing, while business people covered with ash were walking around her… how, we had tanks driving down our streets, as we lived in the red zone (below 14^th Street) and had to show ID every time we came or left our apartment… how the makeshift shrines of those looking for their loved ones sprang up all over the City… how, the Diner I was working in became a local haven for our neighbors to come to and simply hang out and watch the 2 TVs we set up on the counter, more to just connect with other human beings than to eat anything… how for days, there was not one car honking its horn or one person screaming at another… how, we were dazed and confused for days after… how the SMELL stayed in our nostrils for weeks and our memory forever… how much I cried for those we lost and for those who were missing.

David and I were extremely blessed, as we didn't directly know anyone trapped in the towers, planes or DC.  We watched in horror as events unfolded and tried to comfort all our friends who were so tragically torn apart by the chaos we were all going through. 

To this day... what still makes me cry were the Heroes that became apparent as the minutes, hours, days, weeks and years passed.  The little gestures of assistance from neighbors to the bold help given by the first responders.  I am always in awe... and at a loss for words.  I am so grateful to be an American and to rally behind the unsung Heroes from that day and the days that followed.  There really is very little to say here... except that I am humbled, inspired, grateful, proud and honored!!!

“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” Christopher Reeve quotes (American Actor, Film Director and Activist. 1952-2004)

“A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.”  Bob Dylan quotes (American folksinger, b.1941)

“Not the glittering weapon fights the fight, but rather the hero's heart.” Proverbs quote

“A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer.”    Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes (American Poet, Lecturer and Essayist, 1803-1882)

A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.
Joseph Campbell (American Author, 1904 – 1987)

“The hero draws inspiration from the virtue of his ancestors.”  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe quotes (German Playwright, Poet, Novelist and Dramatist. 1749-1832)

“Aspire rather to be a hero than merely appear one.”    (Spanish Philosopher and Writer, leading Spanish exponent of conceptism, 1601-1658)

“A boy doesn't have to go to war to be a hero; he can say he doesn't like pie when he sees there isn't enough to go around”  Edgar Watson Howe quotes (American Editor, Novelist and Essayist, He was known as the Sage of Potato Hill, 1853-1937)