Remembering...

Hi All,

Today I was planning to do a cover reveal, but then I remembered what day it is, so I changed topics. The cover reveal can wait:)

I think each of us can all remember where we were and what we were doing 'the day the world stopped' on 9/11 12 years ago. I was between classes at university, working at my uncle's office as a receptionist and everyone was crowded around the computer screen staring with disbelief at the news images of the fallen twin towers. I remember the feeling of sadness and horror and utter shock I felt that day, as I'm sure you all can relate.

So, in honor of that day, today I want to talk about a particular everyday hero I know who happens to be my source for research for book two in my series-What A Girl Wants. Richard Hynes is a firefighter in St. John's, Newfoundland. We went to high school together, but since then we haven't had a lot of contact, except of course through Facebook...We comment on photos or status updates, but that was it until I started writing book two and asked him for help with my hero's character as a firefighter.

He more than helped. He sent videos, walked me through how they would deal with certain emergency situations and helped me keep my lingo accurate in the book. His help was very valuable and I am very grateful for it.

But, as I was doing revisions last night and looking at my notes from him and thinking about what today represents-I was overwhelmed when I realized the scenes he'd helped me create-while fictional for my purposes-were things he and many others faced as reality everyday. Running toward the danger to help others when most people are running away. It takes a very special person to do what they do.

Richard is a real hero. So, once again Thank You Richard Hynes for helping me with my research, but more importantly Thank You for the job you do without hesitation every day.

xo
Jen

Comments

  1. Richard and all first responders are heroes, Jen and thank you for your moving post today honoring this unforgettable day.

    September 11 makes me think about the time when someone burst in my office and said a plane had hit the World Trade Center. We gathered around a TV and watched CNN, horrified at the smoking gap in the skyscraper, imagining the lives lost on that aircraft and the people who'd been at work on that floor. Then we watched, stunned, as another plane slammed into the second building and we grappled with the fact that this wasn't an accident. That someone had premeditated such a violent act on innocent people. But our terror wasn't over as we started to hear reports of another hijacked plane that hit the pentagon. We felt under attack, vulnerable for the first time since Pearl Harbor.

    Then the unthinkable happened, as workers streamed down stairwells and heavily burdened firefighters struggled up, a cloud of dust rose and blotted out the screen. When it cleared, one of the towers had disappeared, taking all of the lives left inside with it. Thousands were lost in an instant, including some I knew worked there. I cried, we all cried, then cried harder still when the next tower fell and a plane filled with courageous souls deliberately crashed their plane headed for the White House into a Pennsylvania field.

    Sept. 11th is a day I'll never forget, as I know you haven't. My thoughts and prayers go out to all families who experienced loss today- but also to our country who lost its innocence. We are stronger now, and wiser as well.

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    1. Such a sad day. I always think about how we write HEA after putting our characters through horrible situations and sometimes it's hard to think about the real stories that don't end that way.

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  2. My thanks as well to Richard Hynes, and all the other selfless police, firefighters, medical personnel who are heroic every day. I can't imagine being that brave. The only comfort to be taken in 9/11 - except for their courage - is that God knew every one by name.

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  3. I agree. Muriel is a very wise woman. I know many, many brave firemen, and I teach many young men who are heading to Fire Science as their major. Often, they are a different breed - one that needs to be aped.

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  4. Jen, The anniversary is always such a sad reminder of the struggle between good and evil that goes on in this old world. The evil continues to take such a toll on our bravest and brightest. But thank heaven there are always good men and women standing ready to answer the call. Bless them one and all.

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  5. Navajos say that good is needed to keep evil in check and that both are part of the pattern. We each find our place within that pattern. The firemen and officers who responded - those, to me, are part of good, the ones who restore the balance so all may walk in beauty. They're as necessary as the air we breathe. And if you're Christian, like me, there's comfort in the words, "Greater love no man..."

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  6. In 2001 was I was a freelance magazine journalist and the week following 9/11 I was in a boardroom at my client's office. The office was near the Toronto Pearson airport and it was a low-rise, but as the president was talking, his back to the window, a plane appeared to be heading straight for us. (Of course it was only coming in for a landing.) I gradually ended up mostly under the table as he kept talking, looking at me (or my head) oddly. Hard to even conceive of what happened in NYC.

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    1. That would be unsettling to see for sure! My office is in a high rise building in downtown Edmonton and I was looking out my 17th floor window today, thinking how scary it must have been. Even re-watching the footage, it's still hard to believe it actually happened:(

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  7. Jennifer, what a wonderful post and reminder to remember the events of 9/11. At work, we paused this morning for a moment and each remembered where we were when it happened. Thank you to all who sacrifice themselves to save others.

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    1. Thanks Syndi! Taking a second to remember is the least we can do for the families who were affected most, so I think it's wonderful that you all did that.

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  8. On Sept. 11, 2001, I was at work in a city just outside of D.C. We had a T.V. in the lobby/waiting room and I remember walking into the room and seeing the first plane hit. Those of us watching were still trying to absorb what had just happened, when the second tower was hit...live on the news. One of the ladies waiting was a news reporter and she had to cancel her appointment and rush off. The rest of us watched in shock. I wanted so badly to get to my children who were in daycare. To this day my insides knot up and the emotions return. I'm forever grateful to all who sacrifice and go above and beyond to save lives and make life safe for all.

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  9. Wonderful post, Jen. Thinking of your friend and the brave job men and women like him do daily really puts things in perspective.

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