9-11. Do you remember what you were doing this day 25 years ago? If you’re like most of people old enough to have been aware at that time know exactly what transpired that morning. I may have shared my story with you more than once previously, but I’m going to do it again anyway.

I was working for PGE at the Portland World Trade Center at the time. Diane was also working in the Portland area and our morning routine was to have the news on while we prepared for our 1-hour trip to work.

When the video of the first impact on the WTC in New York came on we, and the world, watched the horrific devastation in silence. It was difficult to see it happening because things like this don’t happen in America, right? It was painful, sad, and terrifying as we watched the South Tower collapse

The newscast showed the strike over and over to ensure no one missed it. A look at the clock revealed that we’d better get on the road to work because things on our side of the world hadn’t changed. It was business as usual.

The Portland WTC conference rooms on my floor had multiple TVs running when I got to work, each one tuned to a local channel. Many people walked in and out of the one I occupied to see what was going on. Many of use stayed in the conference room and waited for the steps for resolution to fall into place knowing it would be a slow process.

As we watched, the 2nd plane crashed into the North Tower, then stared in disbelief as it, too, crumbled to the ground in a heap of rubble.

Knowing what went on in both towers after each strike humbles most people. All those brave people who saved so many lives, then lost their own. It was devastating.

The rest of that day was very quiet and I don’t think a lot of routine work was accomplished. The news reported on this event all day long and everyone made visits to the conference room multiple times to see if things had magically changed.

We finished our day and went home wondering what was going to happen next.

Now, here we are 25 years later and the terrorists are still very busy. Most of the activity is located outside the USA, but we’re still the target.

As we remember this atrocity, I wish you peace. We should forgive and move on, but we shouldn’t forget what can happen in the blink of an eye.

Please keep those who serve in the military in your thoughts and prayers. They put their lives on the line every day.

Yes! Saturday football is back and both the Beavers and Ducks play today. Life is good, all things considered. Oregon State plays University of Houston at 0930, and U of O plays Boise State at 1230.

I got up semi early so I could walk Max and be home for the start of the 0930 game. Semi early was around 0700 so I could eat breakfast. My daily routine is for me to eat my Jimmy Dean breakfast while Max wanders around the back yard on his tether. During this time, I leave the patio door open so Lucy and Louis can wander in and out at their leisure. They’ve become fond of their trips around the back yard. I’m not totally sure where they actually go because of the bushes that surround the house. They have lots of hiding places.

Because of the foliage, It’s easy for them to remain invisible when I try to make sure they are back inside before I leave for the walkabout with Max. A search of the house didn’t reveal either of them so i decided to just leave and take off. I always stick my head out and call for them but doing that doesn’t ever reveal a response, but I feel it’s necessary just in case they decide to acknowledge my superior position in our relationships.

Neither one came to me after the call, which I expected, so I locked the patio door and we headed North on Shore Drive. That was Max’s choice. I let him choose the direction at each corner. This morning his choices wound up with us taking a record breaking morning walk of 1.8 miles. I have to admit, that during the latter moments of this walk i vetoed some of his choices, and made command decisions about how long he was allowed to stand still smelling something that got his attention.

When we got home, Lucy showed up at the patio door seeking asylum but there was no Louis. Lucy plowed her way through the door, pushing Max out of the way while she growled and hissed at him until she was safely inside. I checked outside a few minutes later and found Louis running for the door. It was obvious that he was ready to regain the safety of his house.

With the exception of the temporarily missing cats, my morning went as planned. I even had time to clean up the dishes prior to the game, bt I didn’t do that. Instead, I plopped down in my chair for a bit, then was quickly trapped in place by Max and Louis.

I’ll let you know about the games later, if I remember.

Jennie called me a couple of days ago and invited me to lunch at Burgerville. Gilligan’s was working and she insisted that we take advantage of her employee 50% discount. That’s a pretty good deal because there were 6 of us. I made a mistake on my order because I failed to to get my customary chocolate malt instead of a soda. I drank the soda before I realized what I had done, so ordered one to take away before leaving the premises.

Here’s Jennie being a busy Mom.

On the way out of the facility, a young man appeared behind the door and asked for money to eat because he was out of food stamps and he was hungry. I handed him the malt and went to the car. I didn’t need the malt anyway. Later, I chastised myself for giving him the malt instead of taking him inside for a proper meal. Maybe I’ll run into him again.

Since the patio door is properly guarded, I feel confident that I can kick back and take a nap. See you later.

Yes, I’m still here.

Jeff and Gilligan came to get me for a trip to the Columbia Theater to see “Coyote vs. ACME” . While walking Max down there, I noticed that the movie was premiering at our humble little theater. Being a fan of Wiley, I thought it would be a fun movie to watch. But I don’t go too movies alone. For me, that’s not normal, or fun. I would have been just fine waiting for it to appear on one of the many movie channels I watch.

I’ve gone to other movies with Jennie & Daniel, but it’s been a while and I do not remember which movie it was.. That doesn’t matter because going with family makes it way more fun for me.

Going to see Wiley was excellent, and I got popcorn. It was a live action film that was full of fun stuff. You should all go see it.

A couple days after the movie date, I was walking Max downtown and discovered a wall painting on the back of the theater that I’ve never seen before. I can only believe that it was added to support the movie.

What do you think?

Front of theater …

Back of theater …

Here’s me just to give you a little perspective …

There is no name on the painting so I have no idea who did it. I do, however, know of a artsy store on the main street that displays amazing paintings by the owners.

No that I see this photo it’s evident that I need to shave. Also, it was raining the entire time we walked down there.

Love the rain.