Remembering 9/11

 September 10, 2014

It was a beautiful evening last Saturday. My husband and I were taking our puppy, Seamus, for a walk in the neighborhood before the Michigan State football game. Our plans were to relax and watch the game after tiring Seamus out with a walk. We were talking, enjoying the moment when a hundred pounds of muscle came charging across the street, his target—our puppy. All I remember is these huge shoulders bearing down on Seamus and thinking it was going to kill him. Fortunately my husband had the leash and saw the dog coming towards us. He was able to pull Seamus away enough so that the dog wasn’t able to grab its initial target area.

Seamus was scared sh—less, literally. He was howling and crying and limping and there was blood. Four hours later, after a trip to the Small Animal Clinic at Michigan State, Seamus was pretty much himself again, despite the shaved patch and small wound on his shoulder. We had been lucky. Had I been walking Seamus by myself, chances are the outcome would have been different.

This incident was a reminder to me of how quickly life can change. One minute you are enjoying a quiet walk, the next you are cradling a scared puppy in your arms. An erratic driver hit Stephen King while he was walking, resulting in months of rehab and excruciating pain. Others have died, hit by a drunk driver or victims of drive-by shootings. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time can change your life in a minute. The families and friends of those killed on September 11, 2001, are all too aware of this.

Thirteen years and one prolonged war later, the world is no safer than it had been back then. We are fighting the same battles, only the names have changed. Bullies continue to come out of nowhere, attacking innocent lives. We’ve yet to learn the ways of peace.

My novel, Dreamweavers, is set in the years following the events of 9/11, primarily 2002 and 2003 and the start of the Iraq war. While not a dominant part of the story, it is present in the background throughout the story, driving the plot in places. In remembrance of 9/11, the kindle version of Dreamweavers will be available for free on Thursday, September 11. Join Kate Connors and her family members for a slice of life in an American family during the years following September 11, 2001.

To purchase click here.

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