Day 185

You all know that today is the 5th anniversary of the September 11th, 2001. Such a horrible day in the history of this country. I have been listening this morning to the replay of the Howard Stern show from that day and it is crazy to hear all of the initial reactions of everyone, who they thought was responsible, all of the speculations and erroneous reports coming in and out of the news, and the callers reactions live from the streets of New York. It was amazing radio. You didn't know what to believe. What I took away from it was that here we are 5 years later and that day, we all figured we would have some swift response, catch Osama Bin Laden, and we would be changed forever. Well, we can say we are changed forever, that is for sure. But what has really changed? Anti-American sentiment is at an alltime high, George W. Bush is about as disliked as a president has ever been, and the economy is still not as good as we need it to be. Of all of the images we have seen in the days and years after the fact, the one I will never forget was in the controversial movie Fahrenheit 9/11 - W in that Florida classroom sitting there hearing that we were under attack and sitting there not knowing what to do for 8 minutes.

Everyone remembers where they were on 9-11. For those of you who don't know, Leah and I were on our honeymoon in Hawaii on that day. We had been there for 8 days and at that point, we were used to the time zone. We woke up and turned on the TV, which had been on ESPN from the night before. ESPN was showing ABC News and I said to Leah sort of flippantly "something must have happened;" little did we know what had occurred. By this time, it was 2 PM in New York, and everything had been done. We called our parents and found everyone we knew in New York was accounted for and safe; my cousins Jan and Debbie, and Leah's sister Jessica. Jessica's story is crazy. She had just moved to New York and starting her FIRST DAY at work, right across the street from the World Trade Center. Her building was NOT being evacuated after the first plane hit. She called her parents and told them they weren't evacuating. They didn't hear from her again for 4 hours or so. After the second plane hit, she left. Not knowing her new surroundings or anyone at her office, she began to walk for close to 45 minutes before somehow getting a cab with about 7 other people stuffed in.

We all know so many stories. We either lost people or know people who lost people. My experience was so different from everyone I know because I feel like I never went through it. Leah feels the same way. That is why we watch 9/11 shows and movies. We were asleep and had no clue what was going on. I know so many people who don't watch 9/11 coverage, the two 9/11 movies out this year, and I totally get it. My heart goes out to all of the families who lost loved ones in this unspeakable tragedy.

Onto other subjects:
-Leah, Mom, and I went down to the Browns opener yesterday down on the lake front. I have been going to games since I could walk, but something really struck me yesterday. I have to give credit to my buddy Bilsky on this as he brought this up to me a few weeks ago - Browns fans are a collection of drunken trash. We were waiting in this huge crowd to get into the stadium. We were engulfed by painted-faced, Orange and brown wearing, drunken, smoking losers screaming at the top of their lungs. I really loved the guy in front of me yelling "hurry this fucking line up! I've gotta take a shit!" Everyone was loaded. Of the 78,000 plus fans that pack the stadium every week - i'd say 55,000 are drunken morons.

-While we are on the subject of the Browns, they lost again yesterday 19-14 to the New Orleans Saints. Yes, the same Saints who went 3-13 last year. How many more years do we have to watch this crap? Fans shell out their hard earned cash every year and pack the stadium 78,000 strong. Every week the games sell out. Since the return in 1999, we have been subjected to bad football and worse organizational reign. Its one thing after another. We are now on the third regime in seven years. One bad draft choice after another. One bad QB after another. An Offensive line that has never been good and yesterday looked so bad, QB Charlie Frye was running for his life on every passing play. I will continue to support this team, but we all know it's not the same as it was in the days of Slaughter, Langhorne, Eddie Johnson, and "The Lord" himself - Bernie Kosar. In a league where parity is king and you can turn it around in a year or two, the fact that the Browns are the worst team in the NFL since 1999 while teams like Carolina, Jacksonville, and Atlanta continue to make the playoffs is appalling.

-Today my brother in law Scott starts his new job as a sous chef at a new Mediterranean restaurant opening in Scottsdale, Arizona. He has now left the Westin for this new opportunity which will be great for his career. On the downside, my half-prices massages at the Westin spa are now gone. Oh well - good luck my friend.

-On a sad note, Kevin Schaefer, who I grew up with, died of an apparent heart attack in his car at age 31. This is beyond sad - his wife is due with their first baby in November. Losing a parent is hard, but that has to be nothing worth than a parent losing a child, and so suddenly like that. Kevin was a good guy, a doctor, and family guy. This death hits me differently than many of the others of late. That could happen to any of us. He was in the same place in life as I am - about to start his family. It's is unbelievable. My condolences go out to the family.

Song of the Day: "What's Goin On" by Marvin Gaye