26.09.2001

A Letter from Jon:

Greetings from New Jersey,
  On September 11 at 8:48 am the joy went away. The day started about the same as any day does around here. I woke up, made the kids breakfast and Dorothea and I drove them to school. I saw one of my friends who works downtown and was surprised to see him at school after 8:00 as he was usually on the ferry by then and it's his wife who brings the little one along. We drove home, I finished the entire pot of coffee and went out to the gym where Dorothea told me that the radio said something about an accident at the trade center. For some reason our cable went out so I ran to another room where the satellite was hooked up and got CNN. It was there before my eyes the second plane crashed into tower #2 and all hell broke loose. The phone rang off the hook and everyone from my mother to the band as well as all of our friends called. Everyone was in shock and denial. We all hoped it was a mistake in the air traffic controllers systems but when the third plane hit Washington and the fourth was brought down near Pittsburgh we prepared for the worse. Richie was here with us and as I said before it was going to be just a usual day around here as he and I have been writing up a storm. I woke him up about 10:00 and told him the news, he tried to call California but had no luck, needless to say his family was concerned to say the least. We tried mobil phones and e-mails and finally got word through to Heather and he was fine and that we'd wait to see how the day progressed. No one could get away from the TV set and we hung on every word the news had to say.
  Now it's one week later and there was no school today. I finished the usual pot of coffee but it wasn't going to be a usual day. At 8:48 this morning on the local radio station there was a moment of silence followed by Ray Charles' version of America The Beautiful to commemorate the lives and loves lost in what is shaping up to be war. Our president has already told us to prepare for a long fight against a different kind of enemy. An enemy without borders, an enemy without a conscience. I for one am sad that the world has men like Osama Bin Laden in it. I remember being a kid, still in high school when I received a call from a recruiting agent who asked if € was ready to join up and defend my country. I remember telling him that if the Russians ever invade Asbury park you call me, I'll be ready to fight. It's twenty years later and I'm watching the phone. . . I hope that we get through this. I hope the loss of life is at a minimum. For all of us.
  And to any of you who lost someone in this tragedy I'm sorry. My prayers go out to you and your family. I do find I've been saying a lot of prayers lately. i hope someone is listening.
  I realize I'm rambling so in closing I want you to know I'm grateful for your support and your friendship through the years. It's been especially sweet sharing the last year together on Crush. We'll be doing a lot in the next year so be ready for some fun.
 Until then be safe,
 Keep The Faith,
 JBJ