r u l y

This month at Ruly we have been discussing emergency preparedness in connection with National Preparedness Month.

While I didn’t get to discuss every topic and idea I had in mind and got a bit off-schedule at the end of the month (as we are enjoying visiting family), I have at least made forward progress in my emergency preparedness. I already have some ideas in mind for future posts.

Emergency preparedness is such a huge subject that no one can have it all done at once. It is a topic we should all revisit periodically to review and refresh our knowledge. I hope reading the posts this month at Ruly have helped you to do that for yourself.

In brief, this month:

We looked at three weaknesses in our current emergency preparedness efforts generally.

Ruth commented:

“Do you prepare for everything all the time? Seems a bit over the top to me…..maybe I’ll regret typing that one day!”

I gave 3 quick ways to improve your emergency preparedness:

• Quick Emergency Preparedness Tip #1: Sign Up for Facebook or Twitter Updates from FEMA and Your Local Emergency Authority
• Quick Emergency Preparedness Tip #2: Identify the Types of Emergencies You Need to Prepare For – Curiously, seconds after writing that Flood was a “Very Unlikely” event for my situation, the entire DC area was deluged with rain, causing extensive flooding.
• Quick Emergency Preparedness Tip #3: ICE Your Cell Phone – Ruth added a great comment to this post that after the word ICE add a number showing the order you want your ICE contacts called.  So, for example, the contact to be called first should be ICE1, the second contact, ICE2, etc.  I am waiting for “Be my ICE1″ to show up on a candy valentine heart.

I shared my memories of 9/11/01 in Washington.

Suze Orman reminded us that the chief financial lesson of 9/11 is that we all should remember to update our will and trust documents.

Ruly Ruth provided a great form to organize information for families, where an emergency is really any situation where parents cannot care for their children.

I showed you what it is like trying to go shopping for emergency supplies when a predictable disaster like a hurricane is just about to strike.

We also looked at two recent news stories showing how emergency drills and emergency training saves lives.

Mary commented:

“EVERYONE should become CPR and First Aid certified and recertify every couple of years. There is nothing worse than coming across someone in need and not knowing how to use those precious moments to help them. Trust me, I know from personal experience watching a young boy pass away. Because of this tragedy, I promised myself I would never be helpless to helping others again. As the old survivalists say, ‘Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.’”

We discussed the visual-spatial thinking advantage in emergency situations.

I reviewed some of the latest earthquake advice and gave some tips for organizing stuff in earthquake-prone spaces.

We also discussed the importance of planning for mental recovery after an emergency has passed.

Also, if you are new to Ruly and wondering why I didn’t discuss water and food storage, it’s because we did that last year! If you want to read last year’s emergency preparedness posts, they are below:

• Emergency Water Storage
• Emergency Water Storage – Implementation!
• 20 Emergency Preparedness Foods You Can Find at the Grocery Store
• Emergency Food Supply Planning continued. . . Male Versus Female Nutritional Needs
• Veteran’s Day Salute: The MRE
• Emergency Food Storage Update: 6 Dinner Options
• Emergency Food Storage Update: 6 Lunch Options
• Emergency Food Storage Update: 4 Breakfasts and 6 Snacks
• Sample Emergency Food Plans for Men, Women and Children

Finally, I wanted to share a few references to organizing in recent news stories this month.

First, a theory for organizing motivation in an article about eyebrow tweezing in The New York Times fashion column.

“When your hormones are out of whack, you want . . . order. You want everything to look clean. I think that’s because of the chaos that’s going on in your body.”

–Meredith Madron, makeup artist and eyebrow specialist, quoted in Kayleen Schaefer’s “For Shapely Brows, Put Down the Tweezers,” The New York Times, September 21, 2011.

Somewhat related to hormonal organizing, I shared a link on my Facebook page to Sandra Tsing Loh’s latest article in Atlantic Magazine about menopause. She had this great quote:

“And now that Aunt Carol’s hormonal cloud is finally wearing off, it’s not a tragedy, or an abnormality, or her going crazy—it just means she can rejoin the rest of the human race: she can be the same selfish, non-nurturing, non-bonding type of person everyone else is.”

–Sandra Tsing Loh, “The Bitch is Back,” Atlantic Magazine, October 2011.

Lorraine commented on Facebook:

“I can relate to this!!”

Is it possible to be too organized? Facebook users may think so. The recent uproar over changes to Facebook’s user interface that is supposed to organize your data to make it easier to use prompted this comment:

“This is another example of improving something until it is unusable.”

–David Jay Crispin commenting on Vince Horiuchi’s Salt Lake Tribune article, “Facebook fans express their disgust with changes,” September 21, 2011.

Hoping you had a wonderful September! Please check back next week for October’s organizing theme!

HACKBERRY, La. – 2nd Lt. Angela K. Fry hugs her cousin Stephanie G. East, of Hackberry, La., after East and other family members were rescued from flood waters by the Louisiana Army National Guard after Hurricane Ike. Fry knew her family was there, but lost phone contact with them before discovering the Guard had brought them ashore to safety. The Eros, La., resident is a member of the 528th Engineer Battalion, 225th Engineer Brigade in Monroe, La. (U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Rebekah L. Malone, 225th Engineer Brigade Unit Public Affairs Representative). From the Flickr Creative Commons.

Every time you go through an emergency situation, you learn a little bit more about survival tactics, physical and mental.

After the recent back-to-back earthquake and hurricane events, I learned that after the initial danger of a disaster has passed, you need to take a moment to relax, to celebrate life, to appreciate that things could have been worse, to recognize that you are fine and to realize that people are tough and that life goes on. You can’t just go from emergency situation back to “normal” without passing through this transitional state for at least a brief moment.

After the earthquake and aftershocks, it took several days of normalcy to remember that the earth isn’t always going to shake violently at unexpected times and that this only happens once in a while (hopefully!). Some things that helped me cope after the earthquake:

1) Check-ins from family and friends. About an hour after the earthquake, I received a nice phone call from a neighbor who just wanted to check that we were OK. Later, phone calls poured in from family members as well. It’s a simple but meaningful gesture that helps you realize that you are safe and that there are many people out there who care. The act of repeating your situation over and over again sometimes can desensitize you to the situation and help you start to view it more objectively as well.

2) Stress Management. While it is true that the east coast earthquake was relatively insignificant in terms of physical damage, it definitely caused a lot of stress. Sometimes you need to take a moment to acknowledge that you are stressed out, afraid or overwhelmed and process what happened rather than pretend that it all was no big deal.

3) Humor. Humor is a complex coping tool. At the right moment, it is incredibly helpful but at the wrong moment, it trivializes the situation and can be offensive. Once you have calmed down, the use of humor is very healing. It was so helpful to read hilarious Facebook messages from friends who had been in the earthquake and who can forget the famous lawn chair photo.

Many of the same coping mechanisms applied to our hurricane recovery. However, the biggest help was that after the hurricane, we had a sunny, beautiful day. It was such a relief to see good weather and sunshine to signal that the danger had passed.

The human mind is tough but it works overtime in disaster situations. Taking a moment for rest and relaxation is important. It is also important to recognize that others you work with or depend upon may need this stress relief time for themselves. If you are an employer, for example, give your employees some time off to go home, hug their loved ones and recover before asking them to get back to work.

How do you destress after a traumatic event like an emergency situation? Please share in the comments.

"Office after the Tokyo earthquake, March 11, 2011." Photo by hawken king. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

When the recent Virginia earthquake occurred, we were caught unprepared.  As I mentioned earlier, from my vantage point inside the house in a room with the curtains drawn, I did not actually identify it as an earthquake at the time, thought it was a freak tornado or hurricane and headed to the basement!

After this experience, I wanted to review my earthquake preparedness knowledge.  I grew up in the earthquake-prone state of Utah and the knowledge I remembered was to get in a doorway or under a desk or other sturdy object.  It turns out this is sort-of correct.  Based on current information from ready.gov, here are a few pointers we should remember about earthquakes.

#1: Running Outside May Not Be the Best Strategy

Our greatest risk of death during an earthquake is generally not from structures collapsing but from falling debris.  However, perhaps with images from Haiti fresh in mind, many people in the east coast quake felt that the best thing to do was to run outside!  My visual-spatial husband explained to me that in Haiti most buildings collapsed because of the way they are inexpensively constructed with cinderblocks and heavy, concrete roofs.  When a roof is heavier than the walls of a structure, it will tend to collapse.  For modern U.S. construction, this rarely happens.  We can note that in Japan’s 9.0 earthquake, there were very few reports of building collapses and in the east coast earthquake, even the historic homes from the 1800’s survived the quake with minimal damage.

“The greatest danger exists directly outside buildings, at exits and alongside exterior walls.   Many of the 120 fatalities from the 1933 Long Beach earthquake occurred when people ran outside of buildings only to be killed by falling debris from collapsing walls.”

–Ready.gov: Earthquakes

#2: Watch Out for Brick and Stone

Most people know to avoid glass and windows during an earthquake but the same applies to brick and stone.  Brick and stone don’t seem to handle earthquakes quite as well as wood.  In the Fredericksburg area, during the recent quake, most damage was to brick structures like chimneys.  Washington National Cathedral in DC saw several of the decorative stone carvings on one of its towers fall.  In my neighborhood, for example, we definitely felt our wood-framed house shake like it was in a washing machine during the earthquake but we saw pretty much zero damage (so far).  We don’t recall anything falling over or falling off of shelves.  A neighbor one block away in a brick house saw her dining room chairs fall over and some pictures fall off the wall.

During an earthquake you need to be alert for any overhead stone or brick structures and avoid them.  Stay away from the fireplace, or, if outside, the chimney.  After an earthquake, inspect your chimney for damage to the bricks and mortar, preferably hiring a professional to do this.  This was a helpful flier from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management on chimney inspection.

Here is the post-earthquake inspection process for the Washington Monument.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

#3: Stay Away from Tall, Heavy or Hazardous Stuff That Falls

Inside a building, probably our greatest risk during an earthquake is that we will be crushed by our stuff.  A heavy bookcase, curio cabinet or entertainment center could fall over and crush us.  Heavy mirrors, light fixtures or framed objects could fall off the wall and crush or injure us.  If you live in an earthquake prone region you should probably avoid putting heavy or hazardous objects overhead.  If you use tall shelves for storage, make sure you bolt them to the wall.    If you can, use ground-level storage solutions instead.

Earthquake Storage Tip: If you have tall bookcases like this one, make sure they are bolted to the wall and consider moving heavy objects to the bottom shelves.

Earthquake Storage Tip: If you have the space, consider floor cabinets, storage benches and other close-to-the-ground storage. Put small, lightweight objects on the walls.

#4: The new mantra is “Drop to the Ground, Take Cover and Hold On”

I have to say this mantra doesn’t entirely make sense to me.  If you happen to be standing or sitting right near a heavy, sturdy object that you can get under when the earthquake hits, you are lucky.  Most of us could be next to a window or a heavy bookcase.  In that case, the mantra might be “Take a quick look around (and up!), avoid the biggest dangers, run/crawl to the safest nearby spot, then drop to the ground, take cover and hold on.”  Also, the “Hold On” portion is confusing.  Sometimes there is nothing to hold on to!  But I suppose you could reinterpret this to be a mental “Hold on! It will be over soon!”

There are many other tips at ready.gov for earthquake preparedness that I encourage you to read.  From an organizing perspective, the biggest lesson is to be thoughtful about our stuff and where we put it.  Take a moment in the spaces you most frequently inhabit and:

Look up.  What is overhead that could fall?

Look around.  Is there anything heavy like a bookcase that could tip over?  Could you reorganize these spaces so they are more sturdy with the heavier objects on the bottom shelves?

Look for glass, brick or stone.  Where could you go to avoid these areas?

What sturdy furniture could you duck under?  Is there a load-bearing doorframe could you stand under?

As you are organizing your spaces, keep these ideas in mind so that hopefully you have at least one minimally safe zone in each room.

What do you think of the new earthquake guidance?  Does it answer or raise more questions for you?  Please share in the comments.

During the recent earthquake and hurricane, I got a lesson in thinking styles comparing my response to these disasters to that of my husband, a classic visual-spatial thinker.  It just goes to show that even after 14 years of marriage, you can still learn something new about your spouse!

I have come to the realization that in an emergency, I am generally a panicker and am not capable of doing much thinking.  My best bet for survival is to default to a memorized, practiced instruction or follow instruction from a knowledgeable source.  Most people are probably similar.

My husband, in contrast, falls in the category of people Amanda Ripley described in her book The Unthinkable, (that I reviewed in March) that “see very little risk in most threats” and are well-suited to survival situations.  Two examples show this ability.

When the recent earthquake struck my husband’s office building, he paused for a moment to survey what was happening, made a conscious analysis that this was an earthquake and made a quick calculation of its severity based on the impact it was having on objects around him.  He determined that the earthquake was not going to cause major damage, sheltered in an appropriate spot in the building and soon after the earthquake was over was back to work!

When we were preparing our home for Hurricane Irene, I nervously insisted my husband pull in all furniture and loose objects off the patio, (having recently read an article that if the windows in your home get broken in high winds, it can destabilize the walls of your house and cause it to fall down).  My husband explained that he had left a few items out when he was putting things away because they did not have enough surface area to be picked up by the 30 mph winds expected.  We then had an interesting discussion about how we see objects generally.  While I see them in a sort of one dimensional way, as just stuff that can be moved about in various ways, he sees them in a very three dimensional way, as objects that interact with their environment according to inherent properties of motion and utility.

This intense rationality under stress is unusual and valuable.  If you have this ability, consider volunteering to be trained for emergency response initiatives, or at least shout some directions to the rest of us when we are panicked and incapacitated!   While we recently discussed how visual-spatial thinking can pose challenges in certain situations, like the school environment, emergency preparedness is one situation where it is a definite advantage.

Are you a visual-spatial thinker?  Please share in the comments.

If you need a reminder of why it is worth the time to practice emergency drills, please view the CNN video below of a school bus fire and evacuation. A school bus in Iowa caught fire on the first day of the school year with 16 middle school students aboard. Thanks to the school bus evacuation drills the children have been practicing since kindergarten and some quick thinking by two brothers who opened up the rear emergency exits, every single one of the students escaped completely unharmed. When you see the video showing how quickly the fire spread and the damage to the bus, this is an amazing example of how emergency preparedness saves lives.

Another reminder comes from this Salt Lake Tribune story about a high school football athlete who collapsed on the field during practice due to a previously unknown heart condition.  Doctors believe that were it not for his rescuers restarting his heart with a defibrillator, he probably would have died.  When you read the article, you realize that there was a lot more to this rescue effort than just the defibrillator machine.

1.  All the coaches were required to have CPR training and they had just completed a refresher training recently.

2.  One of the coaches knew how to use an AED, perhaps receiving training from his employer on this.

3.  Someone ran to call 911 immediately.

4.  One of his teammates found his cell phone and called his mom immediately.  Perhaps he had her listed as the ICE contact?  This thoughtful act may not have directly contributed to saving his friend’s life but certainly made things easier for his concerned family.

All of this happened within less than 5 minutes!   Perhaps someone took charge and was telling people what to do but it sounds like many of these people were acting on their own initiative.  They quickly assessed the situation and knew what to do.

You can imagine that when it came time to do the work for these emergency drills–the school bus evacuation, the CPR training, etc. people were probably grumbling a bit about “We don’t have time for this.” or “We have never needed to use this.”  but look at the dividends their investments paid!  I also think of Rick Rescorla, the employee profiled in Amanda Ripley’s Unthinkable book, who forced all the Morgan Stanley employees to practice emergency evacuation in their World Trade Center offices.  Nearly everyone in this office got out safely on 9/11, sadly except for Rescorla himself.

Is there some training or knowledge you could use a refresher on?  For me it is definitely CPR/choking/first aid training–especially for children.  A little Googling shows that you can get that training online for not much money.  I will be signing up.

When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping! The Costco scene 24 hours before Hurricane Irene.

Some people are not convinced that it is necessary to stock up on key supplies and keep them on hand in case of emergency.  Sometimes I feel the same way.  Why should we keep all this “stuff” on hand that takes up space and could potentially spoil/wear out before we can use it?

24 hours before Hurricane Irene made landfall on the east coast, I went shopping to supplement our emergency supplies.

Shopping under these conditions taught me a few important lessons about panic and shortages.

So, let’s go shopping!  First, we need some water.  After a hot summer, our water supply was a bit depleted, since we kept raiding it when we needed a bottle for the car, a picnic or during exercise.

At Costco, an employee running a forklift indicated that normally pallets of water are stacked to the ceiling. Here was all that was left one day ahead of the hurricane.

Costco's water supply 24 hours before Hurricane Irene. Normally this area is stacked floor to ceiling with water. This was all that was left.

Sure, there was some water.  All of the standard sized, 16 oz. individual bottles, however, were taken.  All that was left were the really huge and the really tiny bottles as well as some cases of Pellegrino water.

We picked up a few bottles as well as some foods that did not require cooking or refrigeration, such as trail mix, peanut butter and beef jerky.  Interestingly, there was plenty of food to be had.  We also picked up some AA and AAA batteries for the small flashlights we had on hand.

We stopped by Wal-Mart for some emergency supplies we didn’t want to buy In huge quantities (disposable diapers)  and for some supplies Costco didn’t have.

First, we checked the water supply which was also depleted.

Wal-Mart's water supply 24 hours before Hurricane Irene. These shelves are normally packed.

There were a few sad bottles of Perrier and about 10 mini bottles of Nestle water. “Honey, they came for it this morning,” the employee stocking shelves informed me.

Perrier and Pellegrino . . . all that was left at Wal-Mart.

How about a flashlight?  We discovered that none of our big flashlights were working and all we had were some tiny keychain flashlights my husband acquired at business conferences.  As we turned down the sporting goods aisle here is what we found.

Flashlight, anyone? Not here!

Every single flashlight and lantern was gone!  All of the lantern, C and D batteries were gone too.  All that was left were a few AAs.

We headed home knowing that we had enough to survive for a week in case the power was out for an extended period but that we would likely have certain inconveniences, such as fighting over the small flashlights.  If we didn’t have our stockpiled supply, we would have been quite stressed at this point.

In the end, Hurricane Irene was kind to us and blew through with some light rain and mild but constant winds.  We didn’t need any of our emergency supplies but we know we were lucky.

If you can maintain a minimal level of preparedness at all times, you will be far more ready than if you wait to buy before a disaster strikes.   We still haven’t purchased a large working flashlight yet so this reminder is as much for me as you!

If a disaster hit today that knocked out power or water for a period of time, what emergency supplies would you wish you had?  Please share in the comments.

Today’s tip is an old one but a good one.  Add to your cell phone contacts an entry called “ICE” which stands for “In Case of Emergency.”  Add in the number you want someone to call if (heaven forbid) someone discovers your unconscious body and wants to notify your loved ones.   It’s like having a really short emergency contact list . . . on speed-dial.

In my own phone, I have two ICE entries.

ICE–Husband

ICE–Parents

I figure my rescuer would like some context as to who they are speaking with.

The legend is that ICE-ing cell phones was a technique recommended by a 9/11 rescuer who kept finding cell phones on victims but had no idea who to call to notify about the situation.

There is only one downside I have found when you ICE your cell phone.  If you have your ICE contact in the phone twice, once as the ICE contact and again by first and last name, then the phone can get a little confused.  When my husband calls me on my cell phone, for example, it generally says, “[Name] or 1 other calling” but it can also say “ICE or 1 other calling.”  Still, at least I know who is calling!

Since a cell phone is an item most people routinely carry around all the time, it is a great spot to institute a little emergency preparedness and it takes just a second to do.

"Washington, D.C. The arrival in Washington of Hugh Massman, his wife and their infant son. Hugh Massman is a second class petty officer in the navy, a student at the Naval Air Station, in the last month of training before sea duty.Lynn Massman giving instructions to the volunteer worker at the nursery in the United Nations service center who will take care of her eight-weeks-old baby for the day." (1943) Photo by Esther Bubley. From the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

***Military families often live a vagabond existence– moving frequently from place to place and having to form new connections and friendships constantly.  Fortunately, the military (and the military spouses themselves) have organized numerous support networks to help families with all of these transitions.  This month, Ruly Ruth shares some of the emergency planning lessons she has learned as a military spouse.***

Mom down! Dad Down! Probably the worst possible cry ever! We are the ones on the front lines of the family life.  We know where and when our kids go to school, soccer, music, where their doctor is, what kind of pet food to buy, how often to feed, and if there are daily meds for the kids.  I can’t imagine being unconscious God forbid! And I’m sure that goes for many of you!

An amazing Commanding Officer’s wife Susan Berry, wife of Navy Capt Don Berry, created the Family Emergency Form below. EVERYONE–please print it out and fill it out!  It points out we should all get a medical power of attorney!! Give a copy to your local best friend, keep a copy in a sealed envelope with you–and tell someone where it is in an emergency. This information could save a ton of time in a worst-case scenario, so at least the kids and pets can have a normalized life even during a crisis! Update it quarterly since for most of us that’s when lessons change for our kids.

• Family Emergency Form (Word)
• Family Emergency Form (.pdf)

Thank you, and Semper Prepared! (I’m off to fill mine out right now!)

-Ruly Ruth

This week, Suze Orman reflected on 9/11 on her show and indicated that one of the financial legacies of 9/11 is to remember how important it is to have an updated will, living revocable trust and other key documents. Watch below for more from Suze.

If you don’t have a will and trust, Suze is giving you FREE access to her multistate will and trust generator until midnight tonight. Just go to her website at this link and enter the password CNBC.

"9.11 IW8" Photo by Julia Moss. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

This past Sunday was the 10-year anniversary of the horrific day we now remember as 9/11.  I have been reading with interest the many “Where were you on 9/11?” Facebook posts and blog entries and thought I would share my own.

I was in Washington on 9/11, in our apartment less than 5 miles from the White House.  My husband and I awoke that morning to our clock radio which was tuned to NPR.  The first voice we heard was then-host Bob Edwards informing us that they were interrupting their normal broadcast to convey news about planes that had crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.  We could hear in Bob Edwards’ voice that something was horribly wrong and we quickly rushed downstairs to turn on the TV.  It was hard to process what we were seeing.  We watched the news coverage, including the fall of the towers, and then got dressed so that we would be ready for who knew what.

After the attacks,

most people felt afraid,

some people felt angry

. . . but there was a third reaction too.

I can’t say I know anyone other than my husband who exhibited the third option—the coldly rational approach.  After watching the coverage for hours, my husband announced that while the events were truly awful, he would probably still have to work that day since none of the terror occurred anywhere near his office and it looked like the attack was over.  I didn’t want him to go but he insisted and headed off in the car.

I stayed glued to the TV and the radio and wondered what I should do.  Soon after my husband left, radio announcements indicated that bridges into DC were being closed.  I worried that I was now separated from my husband.  Meanwhile, my husband arrived at work only to find that the office was closing for the day and everyone was being sent home.  The cell phone network was completely overloaded so I had no idea he was on his way back.

My husband fought his way through heavy traffic back into the city.  Fortunately, there were still routes into and out of DC but traffic patterns were altered from normal.    My graduate school classes were canceled for the evening and we spent most of the day reassuring family members that we were all right.

The city was so quiet for the next several days.  The usual noise of traffic was gone, replaced instead by the sound of military jets streaming across the skies, day and night.

The next week, anthrax attacks began in the U.S. mail system and seemed particularly targeted at government officials in Washington.  The post office near our home was closed for decontamination.

One year later, the sniper attacks began.  Innocent people throughout the Washington area who were out taking a walk, pumping gas or exiting hardware stores were picked off and killed without warning.  At the time, no one knew that the anthrax and sniper attacks were unrelated terrorist events.  It seemed like one long siege.

I feared being outside in the open.  I feared riding the Metro.  I feared just about every aspect of life in Washington during that year and a half.  I don’t like remembering it.

110911-N-TT977-596 President Barack Obama lays a wreath at the Pentagon Memorial with First Lady Michelle Obama, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff honoring the 184 victims killed when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon during a terrorist hijacking ten years ago. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley/Released) From the Flickr Creative Commons.

There are some things about 9/11, however, that I don’t mind remembering.

During the height of the attacks, who can forget how eloquent then-Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani suddenly became.  He conveyed the perfect balance of emotion and strength in an incomprehensible situation.  We needed someone like that in that moment.  We needed someone to show us how to react.

Another person with just the right words was General Hugh Shelton, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  General Shelton appeared with the President at a speech on September 12.  General Shelton appeared to be about 7 feet tall and towered over everyone around him.  He looked confident in his military uniform and said in a strong voice:

“I will tell you up front, I have no intentions of discussing today what comes next, but make no mistake about it, your armed forces are ready.”

–Gen. Hugh Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

It was the first time since the attacks that I felt a little less afraid and that life as we knew it might not be coming to an end.  I needed to know that there were strong, brave people like General Shelton ready to defend our nation.

Finally, the 9/11 moment that impressed me the most was when I was sworn into the New York bar in January 2002.  I was sworn into the Third Department, which is the department assigned to everyone who does not reside in New York, including a huge number of lawyers from foreign countries.  We all descended on Albany, New York for the ceremony.  Albany is not like New York City.  It is a medium-sized city much like the capitals in most states.  The people were friendly with a small town sort of charm.

9/11 was still fresh on everyone’s minds and I was curious to see how Albany was going to react to such an international crowd.  To my great surprise, these New Yorkers could not have been more warm and welcoming to our diverse group.  The judge conducting the swearing in ceremony led us in heartfelt renditions of “God Bless America” and the national anthem.  He reiterated several times that he wanted us to know that we were all invited to practice in New York  and that no terrorist attack would stop New York from continuing to be a place where the world is welcome.  To hear this message from the heartland of New York at a time when the wounds were still so fresh was especially touching.  It was a lesson in understanding and fairness that I will never forget.

I have listened to several of the speeches from the 9/11 tributes this weekend and have been impressed by the eloquence conveyed and the beauty of the memorials that have been constructed.  I hope the grieving families find some peace in these venerated spaces and that we all use them as inspiration to continue to strive for a world where terrorism is completely unnecessary.

What do you remember most about 9/11?  Please share in the comments.