...but, many of us fear that so many others HAVE forgotten...
In the light of many things that have happened since the 9/11 attacks, we seem to have gotten comfortable again, even when the wolf is at the door. I remember hearing the news alerts on the way to work that morning- it was too unbelievable. We even had several incidents which happened here in Mobile after 9/11- evil was too close, knocking at our doors here. Sadly, only one of three incidents were reported on our local news, none in the national media that I am aware of. The one was of a person who was caught at the airport trying to rent a car, with nothing but the clothes he was wearing and a briefcase stuffed full of cash.
The other two came very close, personally; one of our marine industry dealers called us saying that three persons came in their office at lunch wanting to buy a boat for cash- any boat- but would not wait on the salesmen to return from their meal. The FBI was called, but the men could not be found. Another close friend worked at Ingalls shipbuilding facility, where the U.S.S. Cole had been brought in for repairs to its hull, after it was attacked and bombed in Yemen. He had originally drawn the plans for the Cole and was due to retire, but stayed on until the ship was finished; he passed away shortly thereafter, due to a brain tumor. He mentioned that they floated the ship two weeks early out of drydock and never mentioned it to the press, due to security reasons. The published date would have slightly preceded the date the aforementioned men tried to buy the boat. In comparing our notes, we both believed that these persons intended to try to "finish the job" on the Cole.
Another of my friends, whose father worked at a local chemical plant, mentioned that a large Ford sedan pulled up short of their security gate, filled with several individuals, two of which were taking pictures as fast as they could; their security force advanced on the car, which made a quick 180 and left, never to be found.
Needless to say, we found later that there were many, many "targets" up and down the Gulf Coast. Only due to vigilance on the part of law enforcement and other officials, we did not sustain any attacks locally.
I sometimes believe the media does not need to know many things, due to security reasons; I am thankful, however, for the media who report things in a correct manner and do not dramatize the news.
God bless our civil servants in all their capacities; God bless our soldiers; God bless those who perished in the attacks that day; and God bless America...may we NEVER forget.
Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)
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