Could've Been Much Worse

I was really tired this evening. On my way home from the long day of co-op I kept noticing that my car was handling strangely. It felt like my tires might be low. I made a mental note to self, tell Travis about the tires, whenever I actually get to see him again.
Low and behold Travis was home and awake when I got here. We were talking about a funeral that a lot of people we know had gone to of a teenage girl that pulled out of a gas station parking lot and was plowed into by a truck, losing her life. I also informed Travis of two fatalities in the accident that kept him from getting home on Saturday night. These two things reminded me about my tires.
Travis said he'd "check them later". I said I would check the tire pressure before taking Kendra to work in the morning - which made him decide to go out and check them right away. He came back in to get me and had me put my hand along the inside edge of my driver's rear tire - you could put your hand INSIDE the large gap in the tire and feel a bunch of steel wires sticking through.
He asked me how fast I had been going. I said "oh 70 - 75". He just walked away from me shaking his head saying, "oh my God".
I was bummed about the prospect of having to buy a tire - but I guess it could've been much much worse.

Sad Anniversary

Can I be a little controversial? I know how tragic the loss was on September 11th, 2001. It was a terrible day that none of us will soon forget - of unbelievable proportions. I know we should continue with reverence and love to remember those that are lost. For those who had loved ones that lost their lives on that day, how could they ever forget? What I wonder at is the tributes that seem to be turning into an annual funeral, and how healthy it is for people to have this event as an emotional axis for their lives. Instead of a memorial, it has become a yearly mass scab removal. I wonder how healing will ever take place for these families that make the pilgrimage to Ground Zero every year.
I have never had a loss quite as shocking as the loss of loved ones at the hands of terrorists. I am not sure if there is maybe a piece that I am missing experientially to be able to fully identify with what these who have been left behind need - perhaps an annual opportunity to gather together with others who experienced the same loss and grieve together is a very important part of that healing. I lost my grandparents 16 years ago when I was pregnant with my oldest daughter - both very suddenly and 3 days apart. I miss them. Sometimes it makes me cry and sometimes I want to talk about them and remember their lives, but I know that it would finish me off if we had to relive their funeral every year on the anniversary of their deaths. In my heart I memorialize them. They live on in me and I will never forget, but in order to continue to live, my life could not be engulfed by their deaths.
I am concerned that these families will get stuck where evil touched their lives, and that the lives of those who were lost that day will pale in comparison to how they died.