Many of us remember the day John Kennedy was assasinated. Older generations remember the day Pearl Harbor was bombed. Now our children will remember the day that their innocence was taken away.

I travel in the air extensively but happened to be in a car when this tragedy occurred. Immediately my cell phone went off and my family was calling to see if I was in the air or on the ground. We felt so fortunate and somewhat guilty that this happened and we were safe. While I can't get home this week---it is a small inconvenience because I know that the chances are good I will get home. I have no one close who was involved, either in the rescue or in the actual horror--so I am grateful. It is completely amazing to me that anyone would have so much hate that they could do this to anyone--much less on this scale.

I worry about our country. While we make a good talk about doing something about this, I wonder how much we will be willing to accept if our lives are changed. If we have to go to some type of war and it impacts our daily lives, our financial means--if oil and gas costs more, if we have to limit our energy needs, our need to own/purchase more "things", will we support this? Too often, we speak but we don't want to do anything that moves us from our cushioned, well-adjusted lives.

My worry is that we will also lose more freedom and will accept that loss without thinking about it. We need to understand that having freedom often means that we will accept some risks.