September 11, 2001

 God bless our Military and first responders who, in my opinion, pay the price at the behest of deeply ingrained politicians in Washington who do NOT put American citizens first. Thirty (30) to forty-seven (47) years in office gives them the idea that American citizens are their 'chattels'. I pray that we teach our children and future generations to stand for liberty and for the Pledge of Allegiance with their hand on their heart.  I pray that we scrutinize and divest ourselves of life-long, 'out of touch with the American people', career politicians and their weighted staff, who write those pork-filled bills and are accustomed to high salaries and 'gifts' from Lobbyists. In plain English, nothing has changed in 20 years.

How many of our Vietnam veterans and younger Middle East veterans have suffered and/or died because of decisions made by long-term self-serving politicians in Washington?  While I'm only one American citizen, I thank our active and former service members for dedicating their lives to this great Nation.  

When you see people are illegally entering our borders, do you think about why they are coming?  They still see the United States of America as a bastion of Freedom ... as a "shining City on a Hill."

Please join me join today in praying for the families of those we have lost, first-responders, military, and American citizens.  Please take the time to read this complete blog.  Never again, should Americans or any people have to experience such horror.

Below was originally posted on September 11, 2019

While many of us remember the day well, there are people who scoff at that fateful day.  That day was not incidental, a 'SOMETHING' as our enemies would have us believe, and in my opinion, our enemies 'within.'  We must continue being wary and alert.  We must continue telling anyone who will listen, especially our high school age children who weren't even born at that time.

Now that I'm older, I don't have to remove my shoes. I don't get patted down. However, I must empty my carry-on of everything and anything that an evil person or persons might use to harm innocent people.  Yes, I'm a believer in "The Wall".  I'm a believer in being kind to others, but vigilant on keeping out those intent on harming us and those who hate our way of life ... out of our great land.  People who aren't happy here are free to leave.  It's time for our "mealy-mouthed, do nothing" leaders in Congress to put the safety of Americans first, or be voted out.  Remember, they've had 18 years and still quibble.  Your vote matters.

The following is a reprint of my post of Sept.11, 2010.

No American civilian should ever have to experience the events of 9/11 on American soil. And, my experience of that day is in no way comparable to the heartache of the families of the victims. The following is just my personal recollection of that day.

As my train pulled into Grand Central Station that morning, I heard some buzz from other commuters. But, it was none of my business so I just got off the train and walked the underground tunnel to the Forty-fifth Street exit. As I walked up Madison Avenue, I saw a throng of people standing around a bank looking at a TV. As I tried to see that they were looking at, somehow I got the message that something happened at the World Trade Center. I remember looking in that direction, seeing smoke, and trying to use my phone, and then, trying my Blackberry. No signal. I proceeded north to my office on 52nd St. When I arrived, I saw that I had a message from my daughter who worked near the World Trade Center. However, I could not reach her since I had no phone service.

I proceeded to work. A short while later, I heard that there was a TV in Personnel. So, I went to that floor to see what was going on. After a few minutes, I squeezed into the room. The scene was incredulous. I decided that for me the best thing was to go back to work. Young people on my floor were just milling around. We were the IT (computer) department. They either had IT friends in those World Trade buildings or, like me, had previously worked there themselves. I tried to work, but at the back of my mind were all the tens of thousands of commuters who literally poured out of the ground from the PATH (a train from New Jersey). What happened to all those people?  I later heard that a very smart female executive of the Port of Authority ordered the trains diverted to the mid-town area of New York City, saving many lives. Many, many times I had walked through the underground shopping Plaza and the passage ways under those buildings as a shortcut to save time. Since my commute was 2 ½ hours each way from upstate New York, I was always running to be on time at work. I thought of how I would take my lunch into one of the glassed-in areas of my building and look at the Towers. How magnificent they were. Of course, I was just looking at the lower floors. I thought the design was intriguing.

In November 2000, a co-worker and good friend gave me a job lead that resulted in my leaving the World Trade Center and moving to 52nd Street.

Later that morning, Sept. 11, 2001, I finally heard from my daughter who was with her co-workers at an apartment in lower Manhattan. When the second plane hit the South Tower, one of  my daughter's co-workers just took his whole department to his home. I advised my daughter to stay right where she was with her co-workers unless they were evacuated. Then, I was contacted by a great friend from Merrill Lynch inviting me to stay the night at her place since the City was in "lock-down."

Being in Computer Security, I decided, since I had no phone, to try sending emails to get messages to my children. I thank the good Lord for the “Information Highway.” Being able to contact my family in an event such as this is why I feel so strongly that there should be no Government interference with the Internet. I emailed friends in San Diego requesting that they contact my family. My children thought I still worked in the World Trade Center. Exactly where I worked was not one of their concerns. I didn’t know my son’s work e-mail address, but decided to create the addresses in different ways. Surely, one of the emails would get through. Not knowing was going to happen next, I wrote to my son that his sister and I were OK. I gave him the address and phone number for the apartment where she was staying. Then, I gave him the phone number of the friend with whom I would be staying. Without being melodramatic, I thought this might be the last communication we could possibly have. It brings me to tears when I think of it.

Around noon, I went to the bank to get money since I couldn’t get home that night. The sea of people walking, shoulder to shoulder, north out of the City on both sidewalks of Park Avenue was at least five people deep. It was an amazing, yet fearful sight.

Around 1pm, my daughter, accompanied by a co-worker, walked the 30 blocks to be with me. Her hair was covered in ash. I got her in our “locked-down” building. When we reached my office, the phone rang. It was my son in Los Angeles. My daughter, wide-eyed and in shock, told him what happened....her words just spilling out. I tried to calm her down. Her only response to me was, “You weren’t there.”

Then, my daughter told me we just had to get out of the City. She kept pressing. As far as I knew, we couldn't go anywhere. I decided to leave and walk to Grand Central to see if any trains were moving. I never in my lifetime had been prepared for what I saw.

As we walked the now eerily empty Park Avenue south to the train station, we were met with men with megaphones ordering us where to go. We walked a sidewalk cordoned off with safety tape into what seemed like the only open entrance. Other than the sea of people in the great expanse of the center of the building, I don’t remember much except that my mind kept reeling, thinking that something else could happen at any moment. Before long, we were on a train leaving the City.

That evening, watching TV, I saw the real events I knew nothing about because I tried to work that day. I realized that I, being the kind of employee I was, would have returned to my desk in one of those buildings when the “All Clear” announcement was given.

My daughter and I were now safe, but what about those people who died. What about their families? Even today, my heart goes out to them

I realize that this is a sharp contrast to my usually light-hearted and hopefully informative blog. I will always remember my daughter walking 30 blocks to my uptown office, covered in ash from those collapsed buildings….wide-eyed and in shock, having seen death and destruction not many American civilians have ever seen. And, as I said in the beginning of this writing, no American citizen should ever have to experience the events of 9/11 on American soil and no one should ever forget.

Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog. 

  The Book of Micah by Catherine Hall (Amazon.com) 

Perhaps by Catherine Hall (Amazon.com)

Milestone Surprise Mystery Trip (Part 2)

The drive from the entrance of the Park to the Visitors Center at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon seemed like 40 miles.  When I checked the distance for this posting, the distance was actually 43.6 miles. Wow!

Last year, we read that there was an opportunity for senior citizens to purchase a lifetime pass to The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands for $10.  I purchased it because I do love visiting the Cabrillo National Monument.  From its vantage point, you can photograph the City of San Diego and  the beautiful views of the San Diego Bay and Pacific Ocean. When we arrived at the entrance to the Grand Canyon, I was able to use my pass.

On our drive, we saw a herd of about 75 to 100 bison traversing the beautiful landscape. The ladies oohed and aahed over the babies.

 
After our 43.6 mile drive, we came to the Grand Canyon Lodge at the North Rim. The views were amazing. We milled through the gift shop and proceeded to have lunch at the Lodge. The restaurant had large picture windows so we could enjoy some of the views before we ventured outside.

After we were finished with lunch, we started to look around. The views were amazing. In the lodge, I spotted a floor model radio from the 1930s. It looked just like the one that my parents kept in the basement. As a 10 or 11 year old, I would sit next to it, turning the dial to listen to ham radio operators and ship-to-shore conversations. While this radio was just a piece of memorabilia at the Lodge, it was quite a 'blast from the past' for me.

Then we went to the veranda to see the views. As my eyes took in the depth and breadth of the Canyon, I felt so grateful to behold this awesome sight.

             

At my daughter's request, I refrained from climbing down the steps, shown at the left.

 As you can see, the Grand Canyon seems overwhelming. Everywhere you turned, there was another aspect to the view. I now understand why my friends were so impressed and why tourists flock there, staying in the surrounding cabins.There were people sitting on the veranda, just taking it all in. I've read that only 10% of the Grand Canyon visitors go to the North Rim. It's certainly worth seeing.

I'm so grateful to the planners of this wonderful surprise. It was on my 'bucket list.' So, check ...  Now, I'll just adjust my listing to add the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

After a long day, we were happy to return to The Kanab El Pueblo Townhome and just relax. I highly recommend this Airbnb. As I said on my previous post, this townhome was well equipped with everything you'd need, but after this amazing afternoon, we ordered in.

We chose the Peekaboo Canyon Woodfired Kitchen. My daughter had to drive over to pick up our order, but it was a short distance. The pizzas we chose to share were "Peekaboo Pear" and "Fuhgeddaboudit" with the "Scarlett" salad.  My son-in-law chose the lattkes. We, ladies, ordered cheese cake as well. The food as very good. After everyone retired for the night, I saw the three pieces of cheese cake, each with different toppings in the refrigerator. We had eaten so well, we forgot about the cake.Well, as my eldest daughter worked on a paper for college, I was able to eat a half of one piece of the cheesecake. I also highly recommend this restaurant in Kanab, Utah.

On the fourth and last day of our trip, we returned to Las Vegas to eat at the Bacchanal Buffet in Caesars Palace. The restaurant was very crowded with many on line waiting their turn to dine. The buffet was very large, with many food choices.  I enjoyed the lobster tails and a few items that caught my eye. The desert area was brimming with enticing selections.

While the family went to the Forum for the car, my daughter gave me some more money to use in the slots. Lost that. As we waited, we then played some singles. Lo and behold, I started to win a few dollars. Had no time to even turn the ticket in. The family had arrived at Caesars to take us home.

With a full day, we headed back to San Diego.  My wonderful 'Birthday Mystery Trip' will be remembered for long time, at least until my next big birthday, when who knows where I will go. Seriously, I had a wonderful time ... something I never expected and will always treasure.

Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog. 

Please feel free to share a comment

  The Book of Micah by Catherine Hall (on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle) 

Perhaps by Catherine Hall (on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle)

Milestone Surprise Mystery Trip

My youngest daughter gave me a poem.

You're ## now, an adventure awaits!
So pack you bags and don't be late
Pickup time is 7:30
Your laundry's done, so nothing's dirty!

You'll need a hat, and sunscreen too
A swimsuit, shorts and walking shoes
Don't forget to bring something pretty,
Expect a lively night out in a city!

Be prepared for some time in the car
It may be short or it may be far
Your camera is needed for things you might see
But don't pack your money, your coffee's on me!

With four days to play, there's lots to do.
Maybe we'll hit a bucket list item or two.
Remember now, this is a birthday surprise
So, don't ask questions and don't ask why!

## is big - it's time to celebrate!
Let's go have some fun.  It's gonna be great!

On an early San Diego Thursday morning, a black van pulled up with my daughter's husband at the wheel and the family within.  They added my suitcase to theirs in the back of the van and off we went.  We stopped for coffee and snacks at Starbucks, a usual practice for every long drive we take. We drove up the (Route) '15' for hours, but I was advised to refrain from any questions, so I kept them to myself.  As we reached Barstow, CA, I had strong suspicions.  We were going to Las Vegas!  I kept this observation to myself as I had been advised in the poem.

After getting settled in an MGM Timeshare, my daughter and granddaughter had to go to get something from the van.  My son-in-law, grandson and I waited and waited.  Now we were all getting hungry.  Finally, they returned.  My daughter told me that she had decided I should have my own room.  So, she took me to another floor, with my granddaughter toting my suitcase.  As she opened the door, we felt an actual 'Whooosh' as the curtains on the balcony flew open.  Thinking I would be alone in the suite, I rushed to the bathroom to check that no one was in the room ... suspicious me.  I always check a hotel room when I stay alone.  The bathroom was fine, but as I passed the closet I opened it to find a suitcase and a cane.  I called to my daughter who had already reached the balcony, "There's someone already in this room.  There's a suitcase and a cane in the closet. They made a mistake."  My daughter, ignoring my protestations, said, "Mom, come look at the view."  I reluctantly joined her, went out on the balcony and there stood my eldest daughter from New York ... another big surprise.  The ladies had driven to the airport to pick her up ... thus, our long wait.  Still a wonderful surprise.

Now, we could go to dinner.  We had hoped to try the Wicked Spoon in the Cosmopolitan on the strip.  But, we didn't have enough time to enjoy the buffet and see the show my New York daughter had planned.  So we ate in a nearby restaurant, a type of supper club.  Then, on to the WOW show at Circus, Circus. Very enjoyable. 

The next morning, we left the timeshare and returned to the Wicked Spoon and enjoyed a wonderful buffet.  We returned to Circus Circus where the children rode the Roller Coaster and spent some time in the arcade.  After wondering through some Casinos and making them rich with the money supplied to me, we headed out again.  A quick stop at In-N-Out Burger as we left Las Vegas was just right.

Fredonia Arizona

We drove for the longest time.  As the sun dipped, we drove through enormous canyons of rock.  My granddaughter was the navigator.  I watched out the window and saw a small road sign, "Entering Utah" Then a short while later, I'd see a sign, "Entering Arizona."  This happened several times.  Now, where were we really going?  Finally, we drove through a town called Kanab, Utah.  Life!!!

  














As our navigator directed, we arrived at our airbnb, The Kanab El Pueblo Townhome. I was able to glimpse at some huge red hills, or perhaps, mesas.  The two-story 3 bedroom airbnb was lovely and proved to be very inviting and comfortable.  The townhouse was fully equipped with everything you would need, including cable access.  We were able to sign in to Netflix and watch a Jim Gaffigan comedy show later that evening.

As my New York daughter worked on her college paper, I found a small library in the upper hall.  One of the books was about the Lusitania.  I took it downstairs to read.  My grand-uncle worked on that ship that sailed the route to the United States and then, back to England.  During the return trip, the ship was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine off the coast of Ireland. That same night, my grandmother became concerned about her brother.  Early the same morning my grandmother sent my mother to town to request a Catholic Mass for my Grand-uncle Bartholomew.  Two days later he arrived at my mother's kitchen door.


Early Saturday morning, I met my youngest daughter in the kitchen.  She asked, "Mom, do you want to know what we have planned for the day?"  I responded, "Yes."  By that time, the other daughter was standing there with her phone.  They told me that we were going to the Grand Canyon, which was on my bucket list.  To catch the utter surprise on my face, my daughter took a photo of me half-awake.  I told her, "Don't show that to anyone."  No matter how old you get, you still have some pride.

Well, soon we were on our way to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  They told me that they chose the North Rim because it was a shorter drive.  The drive took about an hour and a half to the entrance.

We drove a long way into the park to get to the Visitors Center.  The views there were so awesome, I will have to post them in the next blog.  This was a great vacation, with two more days to come, as you will see in my next post.

Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog. 

Please feel free to share a comment

  The Book of Micah by Catherine Hall (on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle) 

Perhaps by Catherine Hall (on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle)

A Window into my Life

I recently attended a evangelistic program at my Church, designed to lead you to know Jesus (Christ).  Everyone seemed to enjoy it.  There are a few other very good programs that bring a person closer to God, but I believe they all fall a little short....whether from caution or theology, I don't know.  Since there is nothing theologically incorrect in the presentations, I think caution steps in and seems to stymie a better result.

Faith is simple.  Faith in a person comes from knowing a person.  As you grow in a relationship, you learn who will let you down and who will be 'there for you.'  It's been my experience that God is always 'there for you.'

I am a life-long practicing Roman Catholic.  By the time we had four children, I realized that it was my responsibility to teach my children about my faith.  But the more I thought about it, I realized that my faith in God was more between myself and Him, not necessarily caused by attending church.  In growing up, I attended Mass, devotions, and weekly Benediction.  As a young adult, I attended daily mass during my lunch hour from work.  But, it never lead me to believe that I could have a personal relationship with Jesus.  It never lead me to believe that God loved me.  It never lead me to believe that the Holy Spirit could be active in my life.  By the time, I reached my 30's, I had grown disillusioned.  Now what was I going to give to my children.

Of course I continued attending Mass, because I was taught it was a sin to skip it.  In reading Scripture, I would learn that the Church serves a purpose.  Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV) says "And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds. Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another...."   So, there was wisdom in that rule.

About two years later, I picked up a book titled, "Catholic Charismatics."  As I read the accounts of healing and answered prayers, I was intrigued.  I never experienced such powerful results to my prayers.  I read the book over and over for four months.  The pages were dog-eared.  Now I was very curious. On the other hand, I was wary because I certainly wasn't interested in involving myself with a group that wasn't approved by the Church.

Finally, it became a quest I had to pursue.  I had to find these people, or at least, people like them.  I decided to speak with a young priest who visited our parish every five weeks.  On that Sunday, he was there, so I approached him after Mass.  He directed me to a group of people who met weekly to pray in a Catholic retreat house about 25 miles north of our town.  Logistically, it wasn't an easy endeavor.  We had four young children and one car.  My husband worked on the night shift, about 28 miles south of our home.  So to attend this prayer meeting, I drove my husband with the children to to Westchester to attend college, turned around and went home.About 4:00pm, I drove with my children to pick my husband up and take him to his second-shift job, and then, home again with the children.  I fed my children their supper and had a college student babysit while I went on my quest.  Before this, I never left my children with anyone who wasn't a relative.  I was a very protective mother, so this was a big step for me.  And it was quite a trek of a total of about 150 miles.

When I arrived at the retreat house, I was directed down a stone stairway and into what might have been a dining hall.  I think there were probably thirty or forty people praying.  Some were praying in a strange language but it had an 'aura' about it.  These people seemed to believe in God's willingness to involve Himself in their lives, to actually respond to a prayer, such as a request for healing.  They acted like nothing was impossible to God.  This blew my mind, so to speak.  I had a lot to think about.  After the meeting I drove the 50 or so miles to meet my husband after work and then another 28 miles home.

I took the same route weekly to attend this prayer meeting.  After a short while, I finally decided I had to get what these people had.  One of the people offered to pray with me and I cautiously accepted.  As a few people circled around me, they started praying.  I was impressed with the confidence they had in the Holy Spirit.

Within a few weeks, I bought a book written by an Evangelical Christian....don't remember the author's name.  In the book, he wrote about having to repent of your sins.  I didn't have a problem with that since I went to confession at Church on a regular basis.  But the thought of  'needing to repent' stayed with me. You see, even though I was a practicing Catholic, I didn't know I had to invite Jesus into my life.  So, after about four days, I got on my knees after the children were in bed, and told God I was sorry.  The peace that flooded my soul and body was indescribable. 

I read more and more books about this and continued attended these prayer meetings. I learned much about the Holy Spirit, the third person of the the Blessed Trinity.  When I received the sacrament of Confirmation at twelve years of age in my church, I was taught that I was now a soldier of Christ.  We were instructed about the fruits of the Spirit, such as wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.  But I don't ever remember learning about the word of wisdom or knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, gift of miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, personal prayer in tongues, interpretation of tongues spoken in a group.  Any of these are evident in a prayer meeting, as the Holy Spirit inspires it.  It was all totally new to me.  However, over the years, I've experienced some of these gifts, mostly for the benefit of others.  

A few weeks later, I received the gift of tongues.  I heard the 'prayer meeting' people praying for weeks, but I certainly wasn't going to do it on my own and possibly insult God.  So I never even tried.  Then one day, while washing dishes some syllables entered my mind.  I thought, "could that be it?" It was later confirmed by one of the leaders of the prayer group.  One of my friends stated that he thought that the gift of tongues was very useful when you just didn't know how to pray for a person or situation.  He said, "the Holy Spirit knows just what is needed."


One of my first prayer requests was for sweaters for my children.  We were saving for house, so we watched every penny.  That Saturday, we went to visit one of my sisters-in-law.  She gave us a bag of clothing her children had outgrown.  There in the bag, were four sweaters.  I was blown away.  Now you might think that my praying for sweaters was materialistic, but that's where I lived, in the real world.  I still do.

A few weeks later, my husband encountered black ice on the highway and veered off the road, just missing a ravine.  Thankfully, his injuries were minor, but our one car was gone.  As we sat on our couch, I could sense the worry my husband was not expressing and I quoted some scripture to him.  Just then, the phone rang.  The caller was my husbands eldest sister.  She heard from my mother-in-law about the accident and offered her 14 year old Volkswagen bug until we were able to get a new car.  When we got the car, we found out it had 214,000 miles on it. The VW worked for about seven weeks.  When we purchased a replacement vehicle for the old one, we returned her VW bug.  One week later the 14 year old car died on the side of the road.

Now, these answers to prayer might not mean much to anyone else, but to me at the time, they were the right answer.  Some answers are quick and right on point.  Others take a long time but they do come, even when I have forgotten.  I live in the real everyday world and need God's help.  I'm certainly not perfect....far from it.  The Bible says that 'all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.' (Romans 3:23 RSV)  Over the years, I've experienced the death of our youngest child* and heartbreak, but no matter how imperfect I am, or how many times I fail or fall, I just say, "Sorry"and get on with life. God has been with me throughout.

The Bible says "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.  (Revelations 3:20)

The decision is yours to make.

Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog. 
Please feel free to share a comment

  *  The Book of Micah by Catherine Hall (on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle) 

Perhaps by Catherine Hall (on Kindle)