"Murphy was an optimist!"
18 years after 9/11…a generation raised in fear September 11, 2019 8:45 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : HistoryThis morning I looked into the clear sky and noticed only a single contrail of one plane. That’s the closest I have seen the sky to plane free since 9/11 and 9/12 of 2001. The quiet of the world as everyone stayed home with their loved ones and no planes flew (technically one flew with an antivenom but I digress) was unsettling. No noise of trains, cars, trucks, planes, or helicopters. No squealing children in the streets or yards. It seemed as if even the animals took the days off. An eerie silence and calm reigned those two days. There was a peace hidden among the terror.
The goal of terrorism is to bring about societal change through violent means. We should have lived 9/12 as we lived 9/10. Instead, we reacted in fear. We have now raised a generation in fear. Kick a dog every day and what happens to that dog? Raise kids in fear, surrounded by cameras and security theater and ask if there is not a correlation to acts such as school shootings. As the generation who has never known a pre-9/11 United States joins the ranks of our lawyers, legislatures, and politicians, how will that fear be manifested in our laws and the impact upon our freedoms?
9/11 was horrific. I still feel the emotions of that day in my chest. It was on a level similar to the emotions that raced through me as I witnessed the Challenge disaster. I will never dishonor the valiant people who gave such sacrifice on that day and those which followed. I will always pay reverence to those lost in the attacks.
I will also never forget that our society was forever changed. The terrorists won.
add a commentToday September 8, 2019 11:47 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily LifeToday I am doing:
- Client programming and website maintenance
- Balancing my books
- Renegotiating my cable/internet plan
- Cleaning my basement
- Some yard work
- Preparing for a Scout ceremony
- Preparing a couple of meals for the week
State of me September 8, 2019 11:41 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily LifeI used to really enjoy social media. Don’t get me wrong, I still do. I overshare often. Of course, what I share is not the complete me. It’s a little keyhole peek into my life. I want to return to more online publishing, podcasting, and video work.
I still hold a fulltime job. That takes much of my time. On top of that, I freelance when I can find work. My goal is to do enough freelance work to consider it a second fulltime job. Of course, I’m volunteering with a scout troop. That is practically a fulltime job at the moment. I would like to think that if we can double the size of the troop that the level of effort will actually drop. Sounds antithetical but a larger troop gives more adult volunteers to delegate work, work which right now I feel compelled to take on.
Let’s talk about the online publishing, podcasting, and video work. I keep putting it off because I don’t want to just ramble, I’d like to have a topic that genuinely interests people. This blog is a stream of consciousness dumping group so it will always be all over the board. My past podcasts were similar. But now, I’d like a bit more focus. But I’m a bit all over the board in my personal life. Perhaps the podcast could be interviewing people I encounter in my day to day life. The focus could be their stories. Hmmm. Time to ponder.
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