On this sad day in history, we are all filled with images of the horrors of 9-11. Yet, we are a resilient people and we are proud Americans and we have gone forward. In much of our everyday lives through the decades, we have shown who we are as a people and some symbols of our pride and patriotism are the flag and the map of the U.S.A. Here in a rare and exclusive photo to my website, courtesy Terry Tolas, I bring you the map of the USA that we saw daily when watching American Bandstand back in the 1950s. There are not a lot of pictures of that map. Terry Tolas visited the studio and the show and has kindly shared this picture that she saved through the decades which shows lovely AB Regular Pat Molittieri with Terry in front of that map of our country. May our pride in our country and memories of better days come to mind and replace the images of the horrors of that day when our country was attacked in 2001. We will never forget where we were and what we were doing on 9-11-2001; another of those days that will live in infamy. I was not yet retired in 2001, so I was preparing to leave for work and make that 17-mile daily drive in to down-town Los Angeles, when my husband who was already retired, came down the stairs and said to me "turn on the TV; all hell is breaking loose." I was not prepared for the enormity of what I saw as I flipped on the TV switch. I did go in to work, as all my other co-workers did, but we were all in shock and we all have to admit to being scared. People were wondering if L.A. would be a target that day, as were other large and vulnerable cities. No one was resting easy and especially those of us working in high rise buildings, which I did. We were located on Wilshire Boulevard in downtown and it gave us all pause for thought. The busy heart surgeons I worked for got word to the office manager that we should all be allowed to go home. I think most companies did the same thing, as the freeways were packed with exiting workers. I am sure we all have a memory of how we first found out what was happening and how we and others reacted. Most of us thought immediately of all those people who were suffering and dying and if we had been there, our first thought would have been to see what help we could be to the many injured and the many looking for their loved ones. We proud Americans did go forward, as we do as a nation, and now we are 11 years out from such a tragedy. Isn't that hard to believe that it was eleven years ago! It's also hard for me to believe that over 50 years ago, I was watching American Bandstand on a small B&W TV set and nothing serious in my mind--no tragedies yet to color my world with shades of gray and make me know that life was not as safe as I thought it was. We were young and happy and all of life was ahead of us. We grew up and as adults now, we know our lives are fleeting, so let's live each day to the fullest and be glad we are here and thankful for those who help make that possible. Each of us should take some moments of silence to reflect today on how lucky we the living are.
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