It's been six years since September 11, 2001. Obviously, that's a day no one will forget, and everyone (who is old enough) will remember where they were that terrible day.
That day always reminds me what a backwards world this can be at times. The U.S.A. is a country founded on the principle of freedom of religion. We tolerate just about anyone's personal beliefs, yet we are attacked not by another country, but a radical religion that could live here peacefully if they so chose. If you really believe you need to scare and threaten people into following your religion, there's a clue that something is just not adding up.
My prayers are with the families of those who perished on 9/11/01.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
War Puts Everything in Perspective
Sunday morning, I was happy about Georgia Tech having beat Notre Dame in football on Saturday.
Monday morning, my wife read an e-mail from our church prayer chain saying that a young man that had graduated from our daughter's high school in 2005 had been killed in Iraq on Saturday.
On Saturday, I was thinking that a good day was when Georgia Tech wins a football game, and a bad one was when they lose. No, a bad, terrible, awful day is when the Military Police come to your home to tell you your child has been killed.
Here is the Department of Defense News Release No. 1079-07:
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Spc. Christopher G. Patton, 21, of Lawrenceville, Ga., died Sept. 1 in Baghdad, Iraq, in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
The circumstances surrounding the death are under investigation.
I understand that he was on a routine patrol and was shot. I guess that is considered "a non-combat related incident" by the DoD. Sounds like combat to me.
Chris' brother traveled with my daughter and their German class this past June. I don't know his parents personally, but I understand that although they are understandably grief-stricken, they have said that they have a "clean" grief because their son knew they loved him, and he died doing something that he loved and believed in.
How thankful we should be for these brave men and women that have the conviction to stand for freedom in hostile parts of the world. I'm not going to argue whether or not we should be in this war today - I'll leave that for another day. There's no argument that war is a terrible thing.
God bless the family of Spc. Christopher G. Patton, 21, of Lawrenceville, Ga. Thanks to him and all of our brave soldiers for fighting and sacrificing for freedom. Thanks to their families also for their sacrifices.
Monday morning, my wife read an e-mail from our church prayer chain saying that a young man that had graduated from our daughter's high school in 2005 had been killed in Iraq on Saturday.
On Saturday, I was thinking that a good day was when Georgia Tech wins a football game, and a bad one was when they lose. No, a bad, terrible, awful day is when the Military Police come to your home to tell you your child has been killed.
Here is the Department of Defense News Release No. 1079-07:
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Spc. Christopher G. Patton, 21, of Lawrenceville, Ga., died Sept. 1 in Baghdad, Iraq, in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
The circumstances surrounding the death are under investigation.
I understand that he was on a routine patrol and was shot. I guess that is considered "a non-combat related incident" by the DoD. Sounds like combat to me.
Chris' brother traveled with my daughter and their German class this past June. I don't know his parents personally, but I understand that although they are understandably grief-stricken, they have said that they have a "clean" grief because their son knew they loved him, and he died doing something that he loved and believed in.
How thankful we should be for these brave men and women that have the conviction to stand for freedom in hostile parts of the world. I'm not going to argue whether or not we should be in this war today - I'll leave that for another day. There's no argument that war is a terrible thing.
God bless the family of Spc. Christopher G. Patton, 21, of Lawrenceville, Ga. Thanks to him and all of our brave soldiers for fighting and sacrificing for freedom. Thanks to their families also for their sacrifices.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
YELLOW!!! JACKETS!!!
I got up at 5AM Saturday to go watch my daughter's cross country team run at Berry College in Rome. They all ran hard and represented Central Gwinnett well. We left Rome at 1PM and arrived at my in-law's lake house at 3:20 PM, just in time for kickoff of GT-ND.
It took Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis nine months to choose his starting quarterback for the Fighting Irish, and then it took him less than thirty minutes watching his quarterback struggle against the Yellow Jackets to decide he had made the wrong choice, on their way to the 33-3 final. The most promising quarterback for Notre Dame turned out to be freshman Jimmy Clausen, although he had the benefit of facing Tech's second string defense after the outcome had been decided. Congratulations to the Yellow Jackets for their great victory over the Irish. You may have seen it on NBC (the Notre Dame Broadcasting Company). I think it was late in the second quarter when the announcers finally had to admit that Notre Dame was being outplayed.
My friend Robert and his wife traveled to South Bend to watch the game. When Tech scored to take a 26-3 lead, I sent Robert a text message that said "Turn out the lights, the party's over". Robert wrote back "the party is just beginning". I know they had a great time. Robert told me on the phone shortly before the game that the Notre Dame fans were pretty mouthy on the way in. I'm sure is was a lot quieter on the way out.
UGA beat Oklahoma State 35-14. I hope UGA and Tech are both 10-0 when they meet in late November. Then of course, you know who I'll be pulling for.
How about that Appalachian State team taking out #5 Michigan in Ann Arbor? I have a feeling that the few stores in Boone, NC will be restocking their beer supply this week after seeing it quite depleted Saturday night. That was the first time EVER that a 1-AA team beat a ranked 1-A team. I think other 1-A teams may think twice about scheduling a twice-defending 1-AA national champion for their home opener. Congrats to the Mountaineers and everyone associated with Appalachian State.
It took Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis nine months to choose his starting quarterback for the Fighting Irish, and then it took him less than thirty minutes watching his quarterback struggle against the Yellow Jackets to decide he had made the wrong choice, on their way to the 33-3 final. The most promising quarterback for Notre Dame turned out to be freshman Jimmy Clausen, although he had the benefit of facing Tech's second string defense after the outcome had been decided. Congratulations to the Yellow Jackets for their great victory over the Irish. You may have seen it on NBC (the Notre Dame Broadcasting Company). I think it was late in the second quarter when the announcers finally had to admit that Notre Dame was being outplayed.
My friend Robert and his wife traveled to South Bend to watch the game. When Tech scored to take a 26-3 lead, I sent Robert a text message that said "Turn out the lights, the party's over". Robert wrote back "the party is just beginning". I know they had a great time. Robert told me on the phone shortly before the game that the Notre Dame fans were pretty mouthy on the way in. I'm sure is was a lot quieter on the way out.
UGA beat Oklahoma State 35-14. I hope UGA and Tech are both 10-0 when they meet in late November. Then of course, you know who I'll be pulling for.
How about that Appalachian State team taking out #5 Michigan in Ann Arbor? I have a feeling that the few stores in Boone, NC will be restocking their beer supply this week after seeing it quite depleted Saturday night. That was the first time EVER that a 1-AA team beat a ranked 1-A team. I think other 1-A teams may think twice about scheduling a twice-defending 1-AA national champion for their home opener. Congrats to the Mountaineers and everyone associated with Appalachian State.
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