9/11 Thoughts

I seldom veer from the topic of running, but today marks the 10th anniversary of a very important day in American history. I worked at the Pentagon twice. The first time from May 1962 to April 1965. I started there as a PFC in the Army and got promoted to SP4, Sergeant and then Staff Sergeant. I met my wife, Marilynn, in the Pentagon in 1965. She was working there after high school. I was assigned there again in 1979 as a Major and left in 1982 as a Lt. Colonel. So, I spent 6 years in that building and I knew it so well. In 1974-76, I was assigned to Heidelberg, Germany as a captain. One of my buddies and co-workers was Captain Tim Maude. I never saw Tim again and I retired from the Army in 1984. I found out after 9/11/01 that Tim had been promoted to Lt. General (3 stars) and was the senior military officer killed at the Pentagon on 9/11. Click here for his story.
A couple years ago, I was attended my 50th high school class reunion in Tyler, Texas. I was visiting with my classmate, William Allen. William became the Editor-in-Chief of the National Geographic Magazine and had recently retired. He was telling me that he was scheduled to be on the plane that hit the Pentagon. They were taking some kids, who had won a photo contest, on a trip. At the last minute, they were problems with the upcoming edition of the magazine, so William had to cancel and send an assistant in his place.
We lost a lot of great Americans on 9/11 and so many more since in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Back to running. I went out to the park late this morning and did a 6.9-mile solo run on the trails. My hamstrings tell me that I need to take a few days off. I still have time for some long runs before the marathon on October 9, so I may just do short runs the next few days.