Submitted Tue, 25 Sep 2001 My first thought was, "Why are they making another movie so similar to 'Independence Day'? Have the great entertainers of the world run out of original ideas?" Then the reality of the situation hit, this was real, and the World Trade Center was on fire. Then as I sipped my coffee, wondering how could an airline be so off course, that before my disbelieving eyes, tower number 2 was hit by another airplane. There was no way that this could be an accident, it had to be deliberate. As the news progressed through the morning, the urge to go to my girls' schools and pick them up was stronger by the minute. Panic was beginning to set in as my husband had flown to Chicago the day before on business. I had tried in vain to contact him but there was no cell service. Then I heard that the Sears Tower and other places of business were being evacuated in Chicago. My God, what was happening? The thought foremost in my mind was to pack up and get back to Canada, to Barrie, my homeland, my safety, as quickly as possible. No way could this happen there. How naïve I was before September 11th. Of course it can happen in Canada, it happened in New York and Washington D.C. In my mind the Pentagon was one of the safest places in the world. Now it was destroyed. Is there a safe haven left in the world? That was one of the many things stolen from us on September 11th, our sense of security. Why did we ever leave Barrie in the first place? The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had many good times here and I feel somewhat patriotic to the American Flag, but Canada is my homeland, and that was never as clear to me as on September 11, 2001. I Am Canadian, a Newfoundlander in my heart, first, last and foremost. Wednesday morning the dust still hadn’t settled in New York or Washington, but the reality and the gravity of the situation had set in. Now I wanted to do something, but what could I do? I’m a Canadian, and for the moment I didn’t want too many people knowing that. News reporters were claiming the terrorist had come through the Canadian border. Colin Powell indicated that if there was tighter security as “some of the borders to the U.S. this may not of happened.” Canada was being blamed in a round-about way for the mass destruction. Then a call from home, a boyhood friend of my husband's, a man from Toronto, was working on the 101st floor of the WTC. Now it has hit home. The pictures on the TV suddenly became more frightening. Fleeting thoughts of blame to both the US and Canadian governments for not protecting the borders better. Was Canada at fault? Are the borders too lax? What about the Americans, they are the ones checking the ID’s coming through the border into the States, where was their blame? Didn’t these terrorists train in the American flight schools? Wasn’t it their fault? It is human nature to want to place blame for misconduct and no one wants to take the blame, at fault or not. Neither the USA nor Canada are to blame for what happened that morning, the terrorists are. All extracurricular activates were cancelled at the schools. No football games, no cheerleading practice, nothing. Everywhere you looked there were American Flags hanging from doorways in homes and businesses. Even I placed an American Flag at the end of every driveway in my neighborhood, 109 of them. (I am the president of our homeowners association, so I had the flags in my position from July the 4th.) I have hanging with pride, my Canadian Flag. Every night for the past 2 weeks there has been prayer meetings held in various churches, Proud American rallies in local parks and high school gymnasiums. All extracurricular activities have resumed, but with much tighter security. A high school football game will normally bring 3 to 4 thousand spectators to the stadiums. People, mostly students, would hang out in different areas or walk around in groups, talking to friends etc. Not anymore. All are asked to remain in their seats during the entire game. The only time you can leave is to use the washroom or to go to the concession stands. All purses and backpacks are searched upon entry. It is advised not to even bring them to the stadium. These security measures may be necessary, but they are frightening. Everywhere you went that first week conversation was the same. Most wanted land and air attacks immediately, striking at whatever, at the unknown. Somehow the sound of gunfire and exploding bombs will make things better. Fortunately that isn’t heard as much now as the support for the President and his aides. Where the country was so politically divided just a short two weeks ago, it now stands as one nation, under one government, united. No one knows where this is going to end, or when. My instincts tell me to give all I have up here and move back to Canada, where I can feel safe again. But do I abandon a country that I have called home for 4 years because the times are tough? I still have to work through that. God Bless American and God Save the Queen.   Submitted By: NULL