This past weekend, I FINALLY got my truck dirty!! I’ve had a Hummer H3 since early spring and never really put it through its paces, until saturday. Brian Chase, who hosts “Upstate Onstage” and works fill in and weekends here at WBEE, is also a mechanic at Valley Cadillac/Hummer. He got me an invite to an event know as the “Hummer Happening” where a bunch of Hummer owners get together and try to destroy their trucks. Everyone had an absolute blast and made it thru in pretty good shape.

    Last night, Val and I were headed home after running some errands and we drove past a bridal store. “Hey honey, look, a dress shop” I said. She wanted to go in and shop. “Come with me!”  she said. A dress shop? No way…to girly for me. But after we spent a few minutes poking around it was actually kind of fun. I, of course, went for the dresses with the plunging neck lines. She went for plainer and simple. It didn’t take long for me to notice that I was the ONLY dude in the building. She didn’t buy anything and I’m glad, because I want to be surprised on our wedding day. I think she may have just been feeling me out for what I like. All I know is the dress she tried on made her look more beautiful than I’ve ever seen her before. She’ll look great no matter what dress she ends up in.  

     I remember it like it was yesterday. It was the first, and so far ONLY time, that I have ever been scared for my life. When everyone caught on to the fact we were under attack and the twin towers were a target and not simply an accident, my mind wandered to “what’s the next target?” If they could take out two of the biggest buildings on the planet and we didn’t even see it coming, who’s to say they weren’t sending planes into every city in the country? That fear was short lived, because anger took over pretty quickly. I was working evenings in those days and was asleep when the first plane hit. A friend called me and that’s when I found out what was happening. I then headed into work here at WBEE. I don’t know how any of us managed to open the mic without crying. Don’t get me wrong, we did cry, but somehow we managed to pass along information as it came our way and share concerns with listeners throughout the next few days. Bill Coffee, our morning show host at the time, was on vacation in Europe and couldn’t get home. There wasn’t a plane in the sky. It was so erie.

      I can’t help but think about our country during world war II. Did people back then feel that same fear every day that I felt seven years ago? Back in the early 90’s I had the honor of interviewing two Pearl Harbor survivors. I still get goosebumps when I think back to that conversation. I could have talked to those guys for hours. The fear of attack on a regular basis must have been staggering. There were Nazi subs off the Atlantic shore blowing up ships whenever the opportunity arose. Can you even imagine that happening today? I couldn’t, well, at least not until that fateful morning seven years ago. The sacrifice that every citizen made to get thru those days was nothing short of amazing. I’m not just talking military service, but rationing of gas and food, people being asked to hand over metal so bullets and weapons and planes could be made, the fact that you could only get staples like flour and butter by using rationing coupons. When you ran out, that was it, no more for you. When you drive thru most small towns you probably notice war memorials with names on them. Lots of names. Can you even fathom being in a small town like Caledonia and having dozens, if not hundreds, of people from your community killed in action? They truely were the greatest generation. They set an example that if we’re ever going to subdue terrorists and their deeds we need to follow in their footsteps and be strong, and more importantly united. We made it through those days, and we’ll make through these.