It'll be OK

Tomorrow is September 11. Some might call 9/11/2001 the worst tragedy ever. Sheila was a friend to me when I had very little positive in my life. She smiled at me every day, a way to tell me things would be OK.

I rode 280-miles Sept. 9-11, 2002 from Ground Zero in NYC to the Pentagon. A memorial ride for all the victims. A healing for many. Even for me it was medicinal. A bitter pill you don't want to swallow for the good it will do. I was finally able to let go. But, even now, I can't get on my bike without thinking of that ride. Somehow, I don't mind.

I still have the photo and the poem I carried on that journey. One day, they will be left at the Pentagon Memorial. Hopefully, along with that, I will leave the memories of the smoke rising in the sky. The panic and sadness I felt as I sat in my office 16 miles away knowing a friend had died. That we were under attack by an unknown enemy I couldn't face. Perhaps even the acrid smell in the air will go away. Perhaps it won't.

I've often thought about my first experience walking the Vietnam memorial. It's very small compared to other memorial's in Washington, but those that know what I'm talking about, know it's one of the most powerful things you can experience. 50,000+ names adorn that wall. It pales in comparison to the memory wall I saw at the Ground Zero site. Throat aching and tears filling my eyes, all I could do was look. I never felt so powerless in my life.

Tomorrow, if you have a flag, please fly it. Fly it for all the people that were lost, for all those that lost friends, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, uncles, and partners. Fly it for pride in America. But most of all please fly it for yourself. Because things will be OK.