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FIVE YEARS LATER: 9/11

As I sit here this morning, listening to a roll call of names of people who lost their lives in New York City five years ago this morning, I can't help but think back to the fateful day that permanently etched the numbers 911 into our world in a different, sadder way.  Perhaps a website devoted to news and thoughts on the world of professional wrestling isn't the best place to write this, but it seems completely wrong to go about my day of gathering information and researching stories without writing about what's truly on my mind, so bear with me.

On September 11, 2001 I was getting dressed to go to a chiropractor's office in Manhattan because in the wake of a car crash that nearly killed me, I had been dealing with a number of physical problems including a dull pain in my lower back and kidneys.  As I got dressed that morning, I put on the news and like the rest of the world, I was shocked and taken aback.  I continued to get dressed, wondering how a commuter plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. 

  Minutes later, like the rest of the world, I realized that it wasn't a commuter plane.  It was the start, the sad, cold start of a whole new way of living for the entire world. 

It was also the end of happiness for a lot of people who deserved far better, as well as their families.  It's amazing even today to think back and think of how massive, how devastating it was.  It's almost impossible to live in or around NYC and not have known someone who lost their job, was hurt, or lost their life that day.  It's even more impossible to not personally know someone who lost someone. 

In a world unto itself, my hometown never seemed like such a small world.  In the days that followed, I heard from friends that had moved across the country, friends that I met in my travels and friends that I only knew from their online screen names.  Everyone was checking on me and my family.  

It was the same for everyone else around the world, if you knew someone in NYC, chances are you were calling, texting, emailing, trying to make sure everything was OK in their corner of the world.  Even if you hadn't spoken to someone in years, you wanted that relief that person was OK.  

In a moment that was the darkest for our country, everyone did what they could to console, to help, to listen, and to mourn.   There was never a stronger day in our lifetimes and in many ways, our world would be a lot better if we remembered that day and tried to act towards each other the way we did that day, every day, for no reason beyond it's the right thing to do and we'd want someone to do that for us, just because.

George Carlin once said, "We can send a man to the moon, but we can't walk across the street to meet our neighbor."  That day five years ago, everyone forgot about egos, about grudges, about anger, and only cared about their concerns for someone else.  It seems so simple, and yet, it's often forgotten to the mundane grind of daily life.  Perhaps that's a lesson that should be remembered and learned from.  I don't know. 

If you have someone you care about, call them today.  If you have someone you are angry at, forgive them and move on.  If you have someone you miss, send them an email.  If you have someone you haven't thought of in a while, think of them, whether they are with us today or not.  9/11 proved, all too grim, that life is far too short.  Embrace it and live it, enjoy it, don't squander it.  Don't forget those who add to your happiness and appreciate them, all of them, because you never know when you might find out they are gone forever. 

Beyond that, don't forget those who are less fortunate and those who lost their lives five years ago today.  Think of those who have lost those close to them, and wish them strength.  It's the least you, I, and everyone else reading this, can do.

Mike Johnson