Miss Ann Says

Tag: September 11

• Random Updates

  Posted at 2:17 pm by missannsays, on September 10, 2015

  In April  of 2013  I submitted a mediation to The Upper Room for possible publication. Tomorrow it is the September 11th reading. It has been published in their September – October 2015 devotional booklet. They graciously asked me to submit a blog for tomorrow as well. The meditation will be available tomorrow at http://devotional.upperroom.org/ and the blog at http://devotional.upperroom.org/blog.

   

  I am speaking at Norwin Church of the Nazarene on Sunday September 13 at 10:40am. 110 Clay Pike
  North Huntingdon, PA 15642.

   

  

   

  My story “Unexpected Blessings” is in Chicken Soup for the Soul Volunteering & Giving Back. My friend Sonia Agron also has a story in the same book.

   

  Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments | Tagged September 11, speaking, writing

• teaching children about September 11, 2001

  Posted at 10:50 pm by missannsays, on September 9, 2015

  Through my volunteer work with the 9/11 Tribute Center I have had the amazing opportunity to share my story and story of September 11, 2001 with the next generation. I have spoken to school groups while sitting on the floor in gallery 5 of the Tribute Center or via the internet to classrooms in  another state or standing in a classroom in New York or New Jersey. Each time I am struck with what an awesome responsibility it is  to tell the facts and person to person history of the day that changed the world. As the 14th anniversary approaches I have included a list of resources that you may find helpful in teaching the children in your life about that tragic day.

  9/11 Tribute Center has resources for parents and teachers – http://tributewtc.org/education/resources/for-parents

  National September 11th Museum also has resources – https://www.911memorial.org/youth-and-families

  Below are some books that appropriate for children. Please read the suggested ages in the book reviews on Amazon before reading a particular book to a child. The first six listed here are appropriate for elementary aged children. The other books are appropriate for older children. Please monitor what information your teens are finding online and don’t forgot to engage in real conversation with your teens about the events of that day. 

   

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  
  

  Related posts –

  https://missannsays.com/2014/02/05/but-why/

  https://missannsays.com/2012/02/18/respect-in-the-real-world-part-2/

   

  Posted in books, kid stuff, September 11 | 2 Comments | Tagged 9/11 Tribute Center, National September 11 Museum, September 11, telling the next generation

• Posted at 2:38 pm by missannsays, on September 7, 2015

  At the first anniversary there was a sense of needing to do the “right” thing, the appropriate thing, the expected thing. I am so grateful to a friend who said “do what you want to do” and we did. Meghan and I traveled to Quincy, MA to be with Emily who had just started her freshmen year of college. We attended chapel on campus, then drove down to the waterfront and sat and talked about Daddy (Bruce), we prayed, we cried and we wrote in our “things we would have told you” book – a recap of the year. Later, we ventured into Boston for lunch. I remember we stumbled upon numerous television crews at Nathaniel Hall and not knowing if we should laugh or cry, we kept our distance. We wanted to just be a mom and her daughters missing their dad/husband not 9/11 family members. There was something surreal about the day as there has been something surreal about so many days.

  As the years have passed the advice of that friend “to do what you want to do” has proven to be excellent advice. Some years I have taken part in local ceremonies in Greenwood Lake or Rochelle Park or attended unique opportunities like ringing the bell at the NASDAQ or the concert at the Beacon Theatre.  I don’t venture to the National September 11 Memorial ceremony because I don’t think I can take on the grief of all those people. We don’t always write in the “things we would have told you” book anymore. We aren’t necessarily physically together because one daughter lives in Seattle and the other in PA.

  This Friday will mark the 14th anniversary. I haven’t decided what I want to do this year. This year is a tricky year because my one daughter has now lived 14 years with her dad and 14 years without him and that breaks my heart. It seems harder this year because I have so many Tribute Center friends and I carry their stories as well. A few things that were true on the first anniversary are true on the 14th. I will talk to my daughters and I will tell them how very proud their Dad would be of them and I will remind them that he loved them so much. I will ask them to remember to pray for the other families, and the Squad 41 firefighters.  I will thank God for His faithfulness, my family and friends. And we will wish that we were just a mom and daughters missing their dad/husband who died in the line of duty and not 9/11 family members because a personal loss in the midst of a national tragedy adds so many layers.

   

  

  Memorial at TRCC, Milan, NY

  

  

  FDNY Memorial, NYC

  
  

  

  

  

  Memorial at Greenwood Lake, NY

  
  

  

  National September 11 Memorial

  

  

  last column bearing Squad 41 where they found Bruce’s body.

  
  

  

  Rochelle Park, NJ Memorial

  

  Albany,NY

  

  
  
  Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments | Tagged 9/11 Tribute Center, family, friendship, little things, September 11 Read On →

• a new landscape

  Posted at 3:29 pm by missannsays, on July 25, 2015

  Today is a tricky day.(https://missannsays.com/2013/01/18/tricky-days/). Today would have been my husband’s 62nd birthday but it has been 13 years since he celebrated a birthday here on earth (https://missannsays.com/2012/09/10/r-bruce-van-hine/). Actually I surprised myself with a “good cry” this morning. The wondrous birth of my first grandchild back in April has made today harder than it has been in the past. Each year the number of things that Bruce has missed increases. I am grateful for the years we had and I am grateful for the life I have today but…

  C.S. Lewis says “Grief is like a long valley, a winding valley where any bend may reveal a totally new landscape.” My life is a totally new landscape now.  And in many ways that isn’t a bad thing but it is a different thing.  Happy Birthday, Bruce. See you again…

  

  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged family, little things, September 11

• Appalachian Trail and Me

  Posted at 2:49 pm by missannsays, on July 18, 2015

  

  The Appalachian Trail and I have an interesting relationship. I am not a hiker. I have no desire to hike anywhere let alone the “A.T.” I will admit I enjoyed Bill Bryson’s book “A Walk in the Woods”. It was one of my husband’s favorite books.  My husband was a hiker and he enjoyed hiking the “A.T.”. Through the years I have played a role in making sure his car was where it needed to be so when he finished a day hike he could get home. Other times I dropped him off and at a set time picked him up. I have fed “through hikers” he brought home and welcomed strangers to take a shower and sleep in their tent in our yard. I purchased gallon zip lock bags so he could leave Bibles on the trail. And a few years ago I donated his trail guides to the National September 11 Museum and in June the Museum put his trail guide on display. Yesterday I had a telephone call from a Museum staff person telling me they had written a blog about Bruce’s story.

  https://www.911memorial.org/blog/new-view-firefighter%E2%80%99s-appalachian-trail-guidebook

   

   

  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged Appalachian Trail, Bill Bryson, family, little things, National September 11 Museum, September 11

• channeling Corrie ten Boom

  Posted at 7:46 pm by missannsays, on June 15, 2015

  

  Last week I was privileged to share my September 11 story with a group of fifth graders in North Carolina. I was sitting in front of a laptop in the 9/11 Tribute Center conference room and they were sitting on the floor of their music room in their public school in North Carolina.  Just that experience alone is amazing. I mean think about I was in New York City and they were in North Carolina and we could see and hear each other in real time.  As I thought about it I realized that is only a few steps away from "beam me up, Scottie" Okay, it is probably many steps away from "beam me up Scottie" but it is still cool. This wasn't the first time I had participated in distance learning but it was the first time I was struck with wonder about the whole experience.

  The session started with Sarah, one of Tribute's educators, explaining the timeline of September 11, 2001 and showing the children age appropriate photos. Sarah introduced me. I commented to the students if we were together I would have sit on the floor, too but I have to have my head by the computer so I am sitting on a chair.  I proceeded to share my story after which the children were invited to ask questions. Little hands waved in the air and the teacher called on a child by name and then graciously repeated the question so Sarah or I could answer it. After 4 or 5 questions and answers, the teacher called on a child who we will call Kevin. Sarah and I could tell Kevin was speaking but we couldn't make out any of what he was saying. The teacher thanked Kevin and then turned towards the computer and asked us how we would respond. "We couldn't hear him."

  The teacher invited Kevin to come and stand in front of computer and repeat what he had said.  Kevin – "Thank you for telling us your story. I am sorry your husband died. You said you believe in God. I believe in God. My Dad is a pastor of a church. I don't know what I would do if my Dad died. I don't know what I would think about God."  In that moment I was totally humbled by the opportunity that had been placed before me. I paused and remembered the words of Corrie ten Boom and decided that I needed to share those words with Kevin. "Kevin, since you have told me that you believe in God I am going to speak to you as a fellow believer. I am going to tell you what I used to tell my daughters. Is that okay?" He nodded his head yes. "Kevin, if you go to the amusement park with your dad when does he give you the ticket for the roller coaster. He doesn't give you the ticket the week before, right?" Kevin nodded his head no. "He doesn't give it to you until you need it. Until you are ready to go on the roller coaster. If he gave to you too early you could lose it." Kevin nods his head yes. "Well, it is the same with God. He gives us what we need when we need it. Kevin, God can be trusted. We aren't always happy about how things turn out but I can guarantee you God will give you what you need when you need it. He will give you peace. He will help you through" Kevin – "Thank you." Me – "Thank you Kevin"

  To give credit where credit is due:

  Father sat down on the edge of the narrow bed. "Corrie," he began gently, "when you and I go to Amsterdam-when do I give you your ticket?"  I sniffed a few times, considering this.  "Why, just before we get on the train."  "Exactly. And our wise Father in heaven knows when we're going to need things, too. Don't run out ahead of Him, Corrie. When the time comes that some of us will have to die, you will look into your heart and find the strength you need-just in time.”
  ― Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place

   

  ** photo is from a publicity shoot 9/11 Tribute Center did a few years ago to promote education classes. Very few schools in the USA teach about September 11, 2001. 😦

  Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments | Tagged 9/11 Tribute Center, Corrie ten Boom, following Jesus, kid stuff, September 11, telling the next generation

• April 19 – then and now

  Posted at 8:00 am by missannsays, on April 19, 2015

  Today marks the 20th anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing. My prayers and thoughts are with the family members, victims, fire responders, all who have always known whether it is the first, seventh, thirteenth or twentieth time April 19 has been the date on the calendar since that terrible day in 1995. My prayers are also with those who served on the jury for the trial of the accused bomber. This has to be difficult day for so many.

  Twenty years ago I was in England with my two daughters and my British born mum for a two-week vacation to introduce my girls to the “mother country” of their Nanny. We were fortunate to have family to stay with and who were also willingly to drive us hither and fro through the British Countryside. We had already visited the sights of London – toured  the Tower, heard Big Ben chime twelve as we came out of the underground, visited the stables to see the Queens horses, shopped for English sweets and souvenirs. We had taken the train to Oxford to see the universities and where I was born. On Easter Sunday we had gone to Windsor Castle and had a glimpse of the Queen Mother leaving church.

  

  

  

  
  

  On Wednesday April 19 we had visited Hampton Court and my daughters had participated in the “Jeweled Egg Hunt”, a scavenger hunt designed to make historical places a little more interesting to a 7 and 10-year-old. Upon returning to Auntie Mirrey’s house while enjoying a cup of tea there was breaking news report on the television of a bombing in Oklahoma City. My dad is from Oklahoma. Oklahoma was far away but not foreign to us. I had lived on the campus of the University of Oklahoma as a little girl. I remember trying to listen to the information and at the same time shielding my daughters from the news. A telephone call “home” would give more information but the sense of disbelief would remain. Sadness for those who were lost, sadness for innocence lost, sadness for lives changed, sadness for my country being bombed.

  On that day twenty years ago I didn’t know that 6.5 years later I would become a member of a select group of people those who have experienced a personal loss  in the midst of a national tragedy. I didn’t realize that I would be able to understand in ways I wish I didn’t know what it is like to have a nation remember the anniversary of your loved ones death.  I pray that no one else ever has that distinction.

  Posted in memories | 0 Comments | Tagged family, prayer, September 11, travel

• faith and hope…

  Posted at 12:29 pm by missannsays, on April 3, 2015

  

  It has taken years to sort through the significance if there is any of being notified on Easter Sunday that Bruce’s body had been identified.  The FDNY didn’t officially come until  Easter Monday night but the Easter Sunday telephone call told the news. A middle of the night telephone call 10 days before had  informed me that he was found. That same telephone call stated it could take up to 6 weeks to identify him so I hadn’t told my girls.  Why Easter Sunday?? Why on the day when the story was about no body was I telling my daughters their daddy’s body had been found. We never expected there to be a body. This was out of the blue. This was a wound being ripped open. This was a difficult time. This made no sense…

  At the time (April 2002) something in me knew there was something significant  but I couldn’t verbalize it or even think it through but there was a sense that I was missing something. Years past and slowly or maybe it was actually suddenly, it clicked. Whether Bruce’s body was found or not, my hope in eternity is based on the belief that there was no body on Easter Sunday. My hope that I will see my husband again is based on “nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness.” So Bruce’s body being identified on Easter Sunday was a reminder that Jesus is my hope and my salvation. Jesus was Bruce’s hope and salvation.

  “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

  My prayer this Easter weekend is for the families of September 11, of the Malaysian airliner, of the Great East Japan tsunami, for all families  who have never had any human remains identified that they may know faith, hope and love.  

  ^“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

  1 Corinthians 13:13

   

  Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments | Tagged family, following Jesus, September 11

• time & treasures

  Posted at 5:08 pm by missannsays, on January 27, 2015

  Due to recent weather events in my part of the world, my original plans for the past few days have been canceled – no district wide children’s Bible quiz on Saturday, no tours for the 9/11 Tribute Center or ladies small group on Monday and no teaching ballet this afternoon. I see that type of change in plans as having extra time. Laundry, cleaning, answering emails, finishing books for book club all fit into my regular schedule. So when extra time presents itself I try to think of something I don’t think I have time to do and get it done or I fall into the “binge watching” trap.

  On Saturday I organized paperwork I will need for my 2014 taxes. I shredded stuff I don’t need and filed the rest. With a sense of accomplishment I then binge watched most of the first season of Parenthood. Sunday was a regular day. On Monday I organized my address book which consisted of very old addresses of family and friends and lots of little return address labels that I had stored in the book. I tossed out most of the written pages and simply taped the labels in the book. Yes, I do have contacts on my phone and computer but I don’t need to carry all of those people around with me. 🙂  Then I watched a couple more episodes of Parenthood finishing season one and starting season two.

  On Monday evening I decided I should accomplish something else as I had extra time due to no ladies group. So I decided to clean out the small drawer in the cabinet that sits next to my favorite chair and has become the catch-all for this and that. Since it is a small drawer I always assume what I place in there well be safe because it won’t be swallowed up as it could be in a big drawer. I wasn’t surprised to see post-it notes, small pads of paper, rubber bands, paperclips, cleaning cloths for my computer, my amazon credit card and my checkbook. I was surprised by a few treasures:

  • a box of rose petals – a friend had collected the petals from the yellow rose that was placed in Bruce’s name  by the National September 11 Memorial on Veterans’ Day. Friendship is an amazing treasure.
  • a small metal kazoo – “a dad gift”. After September 11, my daughters and I purchased a gift for each other that would have been something Dad would have bought or something that reminded you of Dad. We continued that tradition for 10 Christmases and then decided to make it an optional Christmas tradition. Meghan had purchased the kazoos for Emily and I in 2013. Many years ago while on a long road trip from NY to KS a stop at Cracker Barrel had resulted in Bruce (Dad) buying kazoos for the girls. Thankfully it took a few miles for them to get the hang of it. Family and memories are treasures.
  • business card from Dith Pran – In 2005 (?) I had a telephone interview with a New York Times reporter and that reporter asked if a photographer could come to my home. A few days later a gentleman arrived at my home and began to take photos. In the course of the photo shoot, I realized that the photographer was Dith Pran, the man whose life the movie the Killing Fields is based on. We spoke of his passion to tell the next generation the story of the Killing Fields because one time was too many.  It was a totally surreal experience. There is a You tube video of his last words. Passion and purpose are another treasure.

  Extra time and random treasures have been a blessing the last few days. Tomorrow is back to real life if Mother Nature allows. 🙂

  I have to be honest I watched a few more episodes of Parenthood. Not sure why I never saw the show in real time. 🙂

  

  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged Christmas, friendship, little things, randomness, respect, September 11, television, telling the next generation

• My year in review. The ABCs of 2014.

  Posted at 11:01 am by missannsays, on December 31, 2014

  A is for arabesque. I taught one ballet class a week.

  B is for book clubs. I belonged to two.

  C is for children’s camp. I directed with the best team ever.

  D is for Dunkin Donuts. I drank a lot of coffee.

  E is for East of Eden. I enjoyed reading this John Steinbeck classic.

  F is for family and friends. Fun, food and fantastic stories.❤

  G is God. He is good.

  H is for home. I accomplished a few items on the “to do list”.

  I is for ice cream. Always a yummy treat.😋

  J is for Japan. Amazing second visit.

  K is for Kansas. Time spent with family.

  L is for library. My daughter completed her masters in library information science.

  M is for Minnesota. I spent ten days caring for my grand-nieces and nephews.

  N is for National September 11 Museum. It opened in May.

  O is for opportunities. I am blessed with many.

  P is for PA. My new secondary residence.

  Q is for quizzing. I teach in my local church and direct on the district.

  S is for speaking. I spoke at 4 events including one all-day conference with my daughter.

  T is for tea with Miss Carol. Always a treat.

  U is for United. The airline I usually use. Flew to San Antonio, Seattle and Minneapolis.

  V is for volunteering at Tribute Center. Lead and supported tours, spoke to school groups.

  W is for writing. I took a writing course and now I need to get busy!

  X is for eXcerise. I need to be more disciplined.😐

  Y is for year. Hard to believe another year has come and gone.

  Z is for zero. The number of regrets I have.

  In 2015- my goals are to read and write more, watch television less, enjoy simple times with family and friends and relish in being a grandma in the near future.😊

  Posted in books, daily life, memories | 2 Comments | Tagged Dunkin Donuts, family, friendship, little things, randomness, September 11, television, travel

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