Flight 93 National Memorial - July 1

July 1
Sometimes you see something that just stops you. You need to tuck it away and give it time.

Emma and I were half way through our cross continent tour of North America. We were traveling in our RV from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to Cuyahoga National Park in Ohio.

It was a grey day as we drove through the green meadows and farmland of eastern Pennsylvania. We saw an opportunity to visit another National Memorial so took the side roads to get there.

The Field

Ground Zero

The Heroes

I knew the facts. How the plane passengers rallied and stopped the hijackers from attacking the White House. However, I've never been good at anticipating emotion and this place packed a wallop.

The paved walkway parallels the empty field . As I walk down the long path I thought about the ordinary people who were suddenly faces with an extraordinaire life and death situation. How they bravely met the challenge to themselves and the nation.

On this quiet grey day it was deserted except for one little bird singing on the monument.
It was the bird that got me.

He was fearlessly belting out his song with every fibre of his being. His little body vibrated with the effort. Yet you could barely hear a note as the song was so high pitched that it went beyond human hearing.

Grasshopper Sparrow

It seemed a fitting tribute to the heroes that rested here.