#NoogaStrong

They say there are days that you will remember forever. The day you get married, the days your children are born. The happy times that even when time wears away your ability to remember where you put your keys you will not forget. Then there are days when tragedy strikes and despite the horror you see, it is etched in your memory for all of your life this side of Heaven. September 11, 2001 is such a day. I can remember with outstanding detail what I was doing that morning when the first tower fell and for the rest of the day.

Thursday, July 16 will go down in history as the day the town I’ve lived in my entire life, Chattanooga changed forever.  The attack on the recruitment center and naval reserve isn’t anything like this city has seen before. When such things happen in a different state or halfway around the world you can distance yourself. When it occurs in your hometown it is just there.  The idea of safety and ‘that can’t happen here’ is shattered like glass. Pain, sorrow, and fear are all there and you have to feel them because there is no where else they can go. You can’t hide from them and that isn’t an easy thing to deal with. 

I can say that without a doubt I’ve never been as scared as I was Thursday. Fear does interesting things to the brain and my brain was no different. My train of thought went from I’ll bet my brother is down there with S.W.A.T. to Is my sister who works on Amnicola working today? The answer to both of those is yes.

 I grew up playing around on a fire truck and I blame that for my innate need to know exactly where every set of sirens I hear is going. My grandfather was a narcotics detective. My father was a firefighter until he retired ten years ago. My oldest brother is a firefighter and my other older brother is a policemen. I’m the first male in my family to choose a profession that isn’t first responder related.  I teach preschoolers currently. Just before we were put on lockdown I saw a policeman go by running hot which isn’t a strange sight. Within the next five minutes we were put on lockdown. That was the first time in going on eight years of being at MDO that has ever happened. Molding minds is a responsibility I take seriously and I’m honored that people trust me with their children.  However, for the first time in those almost eight years the protection of those minds became a reality.

I’m naturally protective though I’m not a large or even remotely intimidating person. I stand at 5’4” and weigh 115 lbs soaking wet. It took no time at all for my brain to jump to alright there are shots fired reports all over this city if something happens what am I going to do. I’m analytical in any situation and run through every scenario possible. I can respond at the drop of the hat if pressed but I prefer to have time to think. That is the reason this is hitting the internet now and not Thursday.  That is when the fear really took hold. I’m not big, I wasn’t armed and though I wasn’t the only adult present the latter detail just faded away because I’m a guy. We are hardwired to protect, we just are. Why do you think so many little boys love superheroes or men become first responders and soldiers? We were made to protect. I am no different. When push comes to shove I’m not made to stand there and watch. I suppose buried within me somewhere is a little of that DNA that sends one brother into fires and another to protect the streets from people who wish to do others harm like my father and grandfather before them.

Thankfully nothing happened, the work day ended and I went home.

The same cannot be said for Thomas Sullivan.

The same cannot be said for Skip Wells.

The same cannot be said for David Wyatt.

The same cannot be said for Carson Holmquist.

The same cannot be said for Randall Smith.

The same cannot be said for Dennis Pedigo Jr.

The first four are Marines who were murdered Thursday during the attack.  The fifth a Navy Sailor who succumbed to his injuries Saturday Morning. The last a Chattanooga Police Officer injured during the attack.  These are the men we pay tribute to who have memorials set up for them in two different locations. These are the men we honor for their sacrifice paid for our country.  Men who just went to work and didn’t get to come home like normal.

Two years ago I watched a nation rally around the city of Boston. Today I live in a city that the nation is rallying around.  We will rise up. We will come together. We will press on because that is exactly what such an act is supposed to keep us from doing.  We are #Noogastrong.