God bless everyone

I was at Adrianna's (our friendly neighborhood laundromat) and it seemed strange that SpongeBob Squarepants was not on. Nor was Jimmy Neutron. Those are usually what's on when we do the laundry on weekends.

All the monitors were switched to NYC TV, and the people on TV were reading off names (like they do on graduation day). Then I remembered that today was September 11, a date that America will never forget.

While I was waiting for the dryer to finish, I looked around the laundromat and it surprised me that only one person was watching the screen. And the funny thing was, he was Filipino. The Americans were too busy talking on the phone or doing their laundry to even glance at the screen. The Filipino just kind of stood there, giving the TV his undivided attention. So I glanced up and started watching too.

I saw a huge mound of flowers and cards and a long line of people giving short messages to each and every victim of the attack. Messages of loving and missing. Of sadness and hapiness. Of bravery and courage. But the last thing they all said was, "God bless America."

And it was then that I felt goosebumps. I felt sad that after all these years, they still mourn for those that they lost. That they still can't let go. That they still can't go on.

It was at that moment that I decided to offer a short prayer for the victims of the attack and their families. And the last thing I said was, "God bless all of us."