Lou Alvarez…back in the day! Oh, you don’t know who Lou is! Well, let’s review.
You see, once upon a time there was this place called the Twin Towers, New York City. The towers stood tall and proud. Thousands of people worked in the towers and many thousands more coming and going through these buildings doing commerce. One day, September 11, 2001, bad guys, let’s call them terrorists, entered domestic airlines, took over the planes and flew them into those two towers. They were killed. Also killed were each and every other innocent, uninvolved person on each of the planes. Also killed were each and every person among the airline crews. Also killed were thousand of persons that happened to have again, innocently found themselves inside those buildings when they were struck and taken to the ground.
Because of that event, that attack against American, we sent our military and intelligence men and women to Afghanistan in search of those persons involved and responsible. Many of those persons we sent, did not come home. Many came home profoundly damaged or impacted by their time in Afghanistan, in the form of death, loss of limbs and other body injury, and many were mentally injured. So, the families of those persons were also injured because of the attack.
And now we have Lou Alvarez, and to be fair, many other persons that come with the title, First Responders, to include Firefighters, Police, and medical personnel, that have died and are dying. They are dying from injuries suffered while responding to and working in the search and recovery at the Twin Towers site.
This is Lou Alvarez days before his passing, while appearing before officials in Washington. Lou was testifying on behalf of his medical needs and those of his fellow suffering First Responders. Like him at that time, they continue to die. They continue to suffer…and they, like him, continue to need financial and medical support that Washington is failed to adequately provide.
I say all this because we as a country have forgotten. We have forgotten what happened on September 11. We have forgotten what happened in the days, weeks, months and years since that date. We have forgotten people like Lou Alvarez, who are still alive but suffering. We have allowed our political leaders…and be completely clear about this…Democrats and Republicans, have been allowed to forget and neglect.
Shame on them, shame on us! God Bless Lou Alvarez, God Bless all those that have already died. God Bless those now suffering and in need. God Bless those families directly impacted by all the various things involved in that fateful day.
We read today, 1 July 2019, between Washington and the Media squabbling over what President Donald Trump has done, is doing, maybe did…our politicians are still considering funding the needs of those First Responders. Considering! Really! Taking time to do so! Really! So let me get this straight…politician sleep in their multi million dollar homes in Washington or their home states, they eat quality meals made by nice people in nice restaurants or at home by their kitchen staff. The ride around in tax payer funded cars. They travel first class in airlines (I saw that photo of Bernie Sanders, and I have been on a flight with Nancy Pelosi) being served by attentive flight crews. While such people as Lou Alvarez suffer and die.
Shame. Somebody needs to say something to our politicians, whom we employ by our vote and taxes. Hey people, put the gold plated fork down, get out of that first class seat, tell your tax payer paid driver to take you to the office, pass the founding bill, and search our other areas of neglect that involve these sick and dying heros.
A little angry? Yeah!