United 93

I'm not sure how I feel about that movie being made. I know that it was made with the cooperation of the victims' families, but something about it bothers me, knowing that it's not fictional.

With the exception of the first plane that crashed, I watched everything that happened on tv September 11th, as live as it was broadcast. Just like millions of other people did. I cried all day. I wish I hadn't watched the video crews that were recording in the lobby of the World Trade Center before it collapsed, hearing bodies hitting the roof of the building. I still haven't gotten that sound out of my head.

Maybe it would be easier to distance myself from that particular crash, if I hadn't ever met anyone who was on the flight. But I had, about a year before, when I was in New Jersey setting up an inventory system on our warehouse computers at Crafts ala Cart.

It was kind of cute, the way Patti and Jana referred to Jeremy, before I met him. "Did you meet the really cute guy down the hall??? Oh my gosh, he is SO hot! But he is SO married and such a wonderful husband. His wife is SO lucky." Don't forget to put the Joisey accent in there. :) I came home speaking with that accent myself. It confused a lot of people, me included.

It wasn't like I got to know him or anything - I was only introduced to him and the fellow he worked with, and that was it. He really was one of those nice guys that's really great to be friends with.

Not that I had to personally deal with what happened to him, but my friends did, and that affected me.

Seems like there was something else I really wanted to say, but it slipped my mind. I'll come back and edit if I remember.

We had a NASTY hail and windstorm this evening. The hail came first - it sounded like someone was throwing large rocks at the windows. They were the size of golf balls! Then I went out under my carport to look at the sheer volume of hail on the ground, and the wind hit.

Those killer straight-line winds that they say can kill even though they're "not a tornado".... I mean they came from out of NOWHERE! The pear tree in my front yard bent double when the wind hit, and my neighbor's patio umbrella went flying. I'll be surprised if the pole didn't go through something when it stopped a few houses down. When the tree folded over, my thought was of that gigantic, brittle, 50 year old pecan tree hanging over the house and the carport, and I ran in the house immediately. Then the rain hit, and the whole world turned grey. My yard flooded, and later when I went out, I noticed that my neighborhood is kinda messed up. Torn up trees and leaves everywhere.

I'm SO glad it wasn't a tornado. I'm also glad that my 30 foot tall pear tree was limber enough to bend without snapping in half. But it was creepy seeing it come at my suddenly like that.

I'm worried that I'm going to find a hail-beaten, drowned baby bird in my backyard tomorrow. :( When I went out to unsuccessfully mow the yard, I saw it moving. It had obviously fallen out of the nest too soon. The nest which momma bird has ripped down my soffit to build...

There was a snake worrying that poor little bird. I don't think the snake was big enough to eat the bird, but it was just too creepy. The snake slithered away when I brought the lawn mower within about 10 feet to look. I guess he didn't like the vibrations. Fine with me.

I'm about to hoe away lots of snake habitat in my yard. I'm sure they won't mind living under the shed, but I don't like it a bit when even a garter snake startles me. I think that's how most snake injuries occur. People hurt themselves trying to get away from snakes. You have to understand, though, that the garter snakes in my yard would make any snake collector very proud. They're HUGE! Three feet long and big enough around that I could barely get my fingers around them... not that I'd try.