Back in September we remembered the 20th anniversary of the events of 9/11 (as it’s now known). I’m sure you all remember them well enough. This was the day that four passenger jets were hijacked: two crashing into the Twin Towers, one into the Pentagon Building and one crashing in a field in Pennsylvania. Well over 3,000 people died that day. This was the day that many, many things changed: The United States had been attacked on our soil! Most of us had never experienced this kind of attack and really didn’t know what to feel. We all knew that terrorism was present and much more common in other countries, not in America! Because of this day, the way we do things has changed: we now walk-through scanning devices to enter concerts, sporting events, and most forms of travel. Our carry-on bags are scanned and checked: we cannot carry a container with more than four ounces of liquid. Just yesterday, they took Laura’s jelly on her way home from Asheville. Small pocket-knives and finger-nail clippers are confiscated if we forget them in our bag. In no small way we were given a wake-up call: something quite significant has happened. All would be different from now on.

We had been given a wake-up call.