September 11, 2001, was a horrible day for America.
I remember vividly. I was taking my youngest daughter to school, and the report about two planes ramming into the World Trade Center came over the car’s radio.
“Terrorists,” I muttered under my breath.
The word came out of its own accord. It hadn’t been determined who flew into the Towers yet, but that instinct rose up fast. Who else would do such a terrible thing?
I returned home, turned on the television, and those horrible videos of smoke and debris, people running with terror on their faces, skyscrapers falling behind him, the unutterable destruction….they rose up and planted themselves in our memories.
Another daughter called me, horrified, and we cried on the phone together. Never before had our nation been attacked like this. It was incredibly frightening. New York was so far away, but would our Mideastern city be targeted next?
In the days, months, and years that followed, patriotism soared, but Americans grieved, too. Deeply. Some prayed. Some served. Some donated money, food, time, or blood.
And some saddled horses.
While sitting in his office, Tim Myers, an Oklahoma cowboy, stared at a picture of Pawnee Bill, a Wild West showman. An unusual inspiration took hold of him and wouldn’t let go. He needed to fulfill a journey–and he needed to do it on horseback.
Tim and three cowboy friends set off on their journey on April 19, 2002, the anniversary of the Alfred P. Murrah Building bombing in Oklahoma City. They hoped to arrive at Ground Zero on the first anniversary of the attacks with a powerful mission to see the places ravaged by terrorism and to honor those who had been lost.
Ride 4 America had launched.
The 1,400 mile journey was not easy. Or fast. The cowboys wakened at 6 a.m., saddled their horses at 7 a.m., and were on the road by 8 a.m. Riding 4 mph for
seven hours, they covered 15-20 miles each day.
Grueling, to say the least.
They rode through rain–days and days of rain–long roads, unfamiliar country, all with the deep exhaustion that comes from riding so many miles in the saddle. They missed their homes, their jobs, their families.
The money they had hoped to raise didn’t come through, either. They needed $5,000 a month to be able to keep riding. The horses ate 100 lbs of feed every day. The scholarship fund they hoped to build for the children whose parents were killed in the Oklahoma City bombing and the September 11 attacks wasn’t as generous as they’d wanted.
But they were undeterred. They kept going, day after day. Each of them represented a terrorist attack: the Oklahoma City bombing, Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania, Flight 77 that hit the Pentagon, and flights 11 and 175 that destroyed the Twin Towers.
A riderless horse led the cowboys and represented our nation’s great loss of life. The saddle was decorated with a flag, a firefighter’s hard hat, police and firefighters’ badges, and a pair of firefighter boots in the stirrups.
Boy, if that wouldn’t make you weep, what would?
At last, they reached the Washington, D.C., area and held a simple ceremony near the Pentagon before they continued their way to New York City in time for the one-year anniversary at Ground Zero.
It’s been 25 years now. I’d like to think our country is stronger for its loss, and with only hours left before the 25th anniversary, may we always remember the lives taken. May we forever honor the brave. May we never take our freedoms for granted.
God bless America.
Do you remember where you were on September 11, 2001?
Is your community helping you remember that fateful day with ceremonies or other activities?
If you’re feeling patriotic and want some feel-good sweet romance that is all about love and country, check out our PETTICOATS & PATRIOTS SERIES!
She’s lived with his name for three years. He’s never known hers. Until they meet.
Jackie Sinclair is good at what she does–flying airplanes during the Korean War. But when she makes a mistake that will haunt her forever, she’s determined to build a new life of peace and freedom in Nebraska. Except she comes face-to-face with Beckett J. Archer, the soldier she had failed so terribly, and her hopes for a new future threaten to fall apart.
Beck has returned to heal at the one place that means more to him than anything else–his father’s ranch. The memories of war have left their mark, but the brave and beautiful woman who lands in his life–literally–stirs up feelings he never expects, especially when an old family legacy threatens to drive them apart.
As trouble closes in from every side, Beck and Jackie are drawn together by danger, duty, and a growing love neither of them can deny.