9/11/2001
It was a Tuesday. I was a second-shift computer operator and help desk agent. Mrs. Appalachian Irishman was, and still is, a teacher (but add vice-principal now). On 9/30/1999, we had returned from five years of mission work in Russia. On 12/28/1999, my mother had become ill. She went home “to see Jesus” on 12/27/2000.
On 9/11/2001, my wife was already at work. I was still in bed in our still temporary apartment on the ridge behind the now former Knox Center Mall. I was awake, but not yet out of bed. Dad called me. Dad’s call is how I found out about what happened minutes before. The day unfolded. I went to work as usual. No one felt like working. We worked while focusing on the news. We talked to each other, vented, prayed, cursed, and promised justice. I am either glad or not that my mother had already gone home on 12/27/2000. At least she wasn’t here on 9/11/2001 to know the details.
Charlie Daniels, who went heavenward earlier this year, and his band encapsulated the spirit of this nation in the song “In America - The Charlie Daniels Band (Official Video),” Charlie Daniels (YouTube). Enjoy the music.
In 2003, before working my second-shift job, I also “went to work” daily, doing most of the inside trim (i.e., sanding, caulking, painting, etc.) on our current home. I worked from about 9 AM to 2 PM, before working my 3:30 to 11:30 PM second-shift job. Radio stations, to which I listened on my portable radio, often played the song “In America” back then. The song increased my efforts as I worked on our home. We did not pay anyone else to do the inside trim. We paid ourselves by doing it. Well, I did most of it.
Back then, we as a nation stood tall. This country had one of its finer moments. There was no division. We were united as one nation. We stood together. Furthermore, we were completely determined to see justice served.
9/11/2020
Nineteen years later, justice has been mostly served. Why do we still have troops in Afghanistan? Why are we still bothering with Iraq? In World War II, this once great nation and its allies defeated Nazi Germany and the Japanese Empire in less than four years! Do not the political leaders in this once-great nation know how to declare a proper war and win it relatively quickly? Obviously not.
On Friday, 9/11/2020, I worked from home. Mrs. Appalachian Irishman taught her students at school. Television and radio stations aired tributes to the memories of 9/11/2001. We remembered. I assume that most folks old enough to remember did.
On 9/11/2020, I still wonder why my employer can’t get its head out of its rear end long enough to set us up to work from home full-time. My employer promised this would be the case, starting on 9/1/2020. I knew that the incompetent lie would unfold. Now, my employer speculates about setting us up to work from home, effective on 10/1/2020. It had better happen; otherwise, I will retire from my current employment and find a better job that allows me to work from home. My “bionic” joints are tired of doing the same job at home or at the office, based on an ever-evolving schedule.
On 9/11/2020, I remembered every detail of 9/11/2001. I recalled the highlights of life from 9/11/2001 to 9/11/2020. One recollection: my father joined my mother at their heavenly home on 1/25/2008. Articles that I have written since then include more information.
Well, life, such as it is, goes on.
Sunday, 9/13/2020
I am finishing this article for publication today. My calendar tells me that today is Grandparents’ Day. That’s a new one. How long has this one been around? Well, my grandparents, Marion and Gertrude Ferrell and Aby and Lula Wood, were wonderful grandparents. They are everlastingly at home. I will see them again.
I am wondering why I woke up with a sore right shoulder. My left shoulder, right knee, and right foot have surgically installed metal. So, why does my right shoulder hurt?
I speculate that my ongoing recovery is going a little backward to go forward again. I’ve done this many times since 3/29/2016. In the last week or so, I have been taking steps without noticing much difference. My right footstep feels almost like my left footstep. Of course, my right foot has “talked to me” (i.e., sent shocks of pain) from my big toe through my arch and into the left side of my heel. The “conversation” has ricocheted into my right calf, right shin, and right knee.
At least tomorrow, Mrs. Appalachian Irishman and I have our usual every four-week chiropractic appointments. I think I can endure working from home tomorrow. Our chiropractor should enjoy my previous statement about my current and painful “whatevers,” as I call them. I plan to take my first hike of this season soon—but not today.
By the way, this week, I am scheduled to work from home tomorrow and Tuesday and at the office Wednesday through Friday. Why? Fed up, I may schedule my retirement, effective Thursday, 10/1/2020, if my current employer can’t get its head out of its rear end! I apologize for the crude way of stating that. Crudeness, apparently and unfortunately, has become the “new norm.” Dad, who was born on 9/17/1927, would understand!
Well, I’ll see you all again. Remember, comments come to me by email first to review before posting them. There is no instant gratification here. This web platform, however, is better than “Farcebook!” View counts indicate that I am catching up to “Farcebook!” I will overtake that social media platform in time!
Okay, that was a bit of Irish bragging. Still yet, I’m glad that you are dropping by to read for a while. May the Good Lord bless you in his service. I’m off to see if I can further unkink my right shoulder. Writing this article helped. Thanks for reading!
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