There will be no randomness tomorrow. Take the time you'd normally use to read my brilliant witticisms to reflect. I hope you'll not only remember the 3000 people from all nations, all walks of life, that were killed one year ago. I hope you'll also think about the Afghanis that have been killed over the last year in the fighting there. I hope you'll think about the Arab-Americans whose lives have been unalterably changed by the resentment and bias they've had to face. I hope you'll think about the Iraqi citizens who, it appears, are about to face another round of warfare. Can you imagine being an Iraqi in your middle thirties? They've never known anything but war. But I digress...

I'm sure you'll also think about where you were one year ago. I know I will never forget that day. I had very recently quit my job in Atlanta with an eye to move to the NYC area. I was on the phone with M. with Good Morning America on in the background. Weird. I literally never watch that show. As it was ending (9:00) I'll never forget Diane Sawyer saying "We're not sure what has happened but apparently there is a fire in the upper floors of the World Trade Center. We'll keep you posted as we know more." I told M. and she wasn't too concerned. I wasn't, either. We hung up and about three minutes later we were back on the phone. I'll never forget the feeling in the pit of my stomach as I saw the second plane hit on live television. We spent at least the next three hours on the phone only broken up for short bits while she checked on her friends and family. One of her cousins was supposed to be in one of the towers for a business meeting. He didn't have enough cash to park in the garage there so he turned around and went to park in one of the nearby surface lots. As he was walking from the lot to the WTC the first plane hit. He probably would have been fine, his meeting was on like the fourth floor, but there were a few panicked moments nonetheless.

I'll also never forget the first time I came to the city after 9/11. As I mentioned the other day, it was the second week in October and I was interviewing for jobs. The whole city was still virtually silent. I'll never forget taking the train. You could have heard a pin drop except for one guy laughing on his cell phone. The guy sitting next to me shook his head and said to me "My best friend died and this joker thinks it's just another day." And the smell. I can't describe it. It was almost gruesome and it, along with dust, blanketed the whole city. I still get choked up thinking about the line of firefighters in their dress uniforms that I passed on the street near St. Patrick's. So many images associated with that one short trip that I'll surely always remember.

I actually stopped communicating with two friends after 9/11. Two people in Atlanta who were so self-absorbed that when I asked them if they wanted to come with me to a candlelight vigil actually replied "Nah. We're really tired. I think we're going to stay in and watch a movie. Something other than all that New York stuff on television." That was on Wednesday night...

Our "elected" leader has chosen to call this Patriots' Day. To me that's way too much chest-beating. It's almost jingoistic. I don't think there's really a need for national pride on this day. I just think there's a need to reflect. So that's what I'm going to do. Reflect.