On Friday the 13th day of November, 2015, the city of Paris was hit by multiple, deadly terrorist attacks. Like September 11, 2001 in New York City—or “9/11″[3]—the attacks and those who died will live on in the world’s consciousness. They were tragic, horrific events similar those that have occurred in other cities and countries during recent years.
Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, in what is now the State of Hawaii, was struck on the morning of December 7, 1941, which led to the United States’ entry into World War II—”a date which will live in infamy,” in the words of Franklin D. Roosevelt.[4]
For non-New Yorkers, the city was cold and overwhelming for most Americans before 9/11. Even for those who could afford it, and traveled there for business, it was still uninviting. After 9/11, most Americans embraced it and the heroic rescuers who went to the twin towers of the World Trade Center, trying to save lives. Many of them perished.
“Windows on the World” restaurant, at the top of the North Tower, had spectacular views of the city; and one’s ears popped riding the elevator to its 107th floor.[5] It is gone now, but New York City remains the financial capital of the world. Similarly, the lovely city of Paris will survive and flourish even more after the attacks, for it has taken its place in the hearts of people around the world.
There are thousands of stories to be told by the survivors and other witnesses, and by those who came to their aid. Perhaps they are best exemplified in the interview conducted by CNN’s Anderson Cooper with Isobel Bowdery and Amaury Baudoin, which is short and should be watched in its entirety:
In a wonderful and loving sense, all of us became Parisians, just like all of us became New Yorkers.
Also, it must never be forgotten that Islam has approximately 1.8 billion followers, only a pittance of whom are terrorists. It would be wrong to discriminate against the majority, or ostracize them. They have suffered too, for the acts of the radicals.
Please remember the words of Love, and the emotions expressed by both Isobel Bowdery and Amaury Baudoin . . .
© 2015, Timothy D. Naegele
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[1] Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass). He and his firm, Timothy D. Naegele & Associates, specialize in Banking and Financial Institutions Law, Internet Law, Litigation and other matters (see www.naegele.com and http://www.naegele.com/documents/TimothyD.NaegeleResume.pdf). He has an undergraduate degree in economics from UCLA, as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal. Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., www.naegele.com/whats_new.html#articles), and can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com; see also Google search: Timothy D. Naegele
[2] Note: This article is an expansion of earlier comments at this blog. See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/07/01/global-chaos-and-helter-skelter/#comment-7819 (“A Friday The 13th Paris Survivor’s Tale”)
[3] See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks (“September 11 attacks”)
[4] See, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor (“Attack on Pearl Harbor”)
[5] See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_on_the_World (“Windows on the World”)
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