They were trained to fight for their country and had traveled to foreign lands in her defense. They never suspected that the landmark they were so proud to park in front of, so representative of their beloved country, would someday disappear in a violent puff of smoke. (For a larger copy of the picture, please go to thecluster.com.)
Many American dreams are tinted gray - the steel and concrete structures of the urban jungle, the haze gray of a naval vessel, the silver gray of a jet, the smoke from the blaze that is a firefighter's enemy.
As children we dream of making it big in the big city, of joining the Navy to see the world, of flying the friendly skies, of slaying the dragon to save lives. It's America, and anyone can achieve the dream, we are told from birth.
Some of those children who actually made their dreams come true didn't see today's sunset.
By now the whole world knows that on September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four jets from American airports and drove three of them into vital U.S. facilities - the two tall towers in the JFK picture and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
Because the dreams of some big-city go-getters, fly guys and smoke eaters were crushed along with the spirit of America when the World Trade Center collapsed, the boys and girls who dreamed of seeing the world are instead showing their presence up and down the East Coast. No doubt the JFK is among them.
If this had happened five years ago, my husband would have been headed toward New York.
At that time, the JFK was homeported at the Mayport Naval Station, near Jacksonville, Florida. He was a damage controlman. That means he got to realize two of his dreams - being a firefighter and a sailor - at the same time.
I remember the absolute terror I felt when he called one day from a foreign port and assured me he was OK. I asked what he was talking about. "Didn't anyone tell you? It's been all over the news." I was staying at my grandparents' house, and my grandfather didn't turn over the remote to anyone, so I wasn't watching much TV at that point in my life. I persuaded my grandfather to change channels. Sure enough, there were pictures on CNN of the JFK, its haze gray exterior shrouded in smoke and flame. I still get sick to my stomach when I think of how many sailors could have died, and how it took them four days but they were able to put the fire out without exploding the ammunition in the next compartment.
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