Remember September 11, 2001

Tip #186 - Remember The Terrorist Acts of September 11, 2001. I had a post planned on Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) but decided I would do a follow-up post to yesterday’s post of learning how to fish in light of September 11. What does being frugal or doing things yourself have to do with the horrific acts of September 11? Well, actually, it has a lot to do with it. On that fateful day, when fire fighters, police officers, and countless other civilians risked (and some lost) their lives to save others, they used skills that they took the time to learn before the atrocity happened. Who knows how many people’s lives were saved because nurses or people who took the time to learn first aid in advance of that day were there to help?

We don’t know when the next terrorist strike will happen. And we don’t know where it will happen. But one thing I am certain of is that it WILL happen. It might not come by plane into public or government buildings. But it might come by car, by train, by individuals, rockets, or who knows what else? What if that terrorist act takes place near your city? Will you be able to help out? Will others be able to help you? What can we do to prepare for a horrific event?

Well, again, being self-sufficient is the first step. In times of disaster when grocery stores may be closed, those of us who know how to grow our own food will be the ones in better shape than those who don’t. Those of us who can give first-aid care will be in a better position than those that can’t. Those of us who can fix things will be in better shape than those that don’t know how to do so. The benefits of learning how to do things yourself such as knowing how to fish are too numerous to count.

I am grateful not only to those individuals who have jobs that help the public everyday but also to those others who used their wonderful skills to aid victims, counsel them, provide for them in others’ time of need. What will you be able to do if disaster strikes your area one day?

In Real Life (IRL) – September 11, 2001 is a day that is etched in everyone’s memory in the USA. We can all say where we were and what we were doing when we realized what was going on. As a resident of the DC metropolitan area who was pregnant with my first child on that fateful day, I felt very vulnerable to the events that were going on around me. Although I was lucky because my child was with me rather than across the river in another state while I was working in suburban Maryland. Still, whether I would get home, how I would get home, and where else the acts were going to take place were very real and scary. I, like many others, would have had to depend on others’ kindness, generosity, and skills to help me if something had taken place right near where I lived or worked.

I think it is my duty to learn some skills that cannot only benefit my family or friends but society at large – skills like learning CPR, first-aid, and the Heimlich maneuver. One never knows when those skills will be needed. Learning basic medical skills, cooking skills, growing skills, mechanical skills, and basic survival skills can benefit us all. Let us all take some time out of our busy lives to learn some of them. The lives that benefit may be strangers’ but they also may be your own.

A heartfelt thank you to those of you out there who helped save lives on September 11, 2001. And a prayer for the many of you who are suffering even more today than on every other day of the year because you lost a family member or friend to the acts of some vicious individuals. I especially remember my neighbors three doors up from me in Broomall, Pennsylvania who lost their son when his young life was cut short on September 11, 2001 while he was working in the World Trade Center that day. You are not forgotten.

There are commemorations all over the world and on the Internet today remembering the events of September 11. If after reading some of them or having your own personal rememberence you want to read some lighter fare, check out Frugal Fridays for some more frugal tips.