Markings...

"Welcome"

"The clock"

"The one lone fountain"

"Peace Towers in the distance

"It really was just after 4 o'clock!"

" 911"

This past Sunday we decided to go for a motorcycle ride. The weather prediction sounded pretty solid and since we know we won't have too many nice days to go out for a ride we thought we would take advantage of this day.

Well, we made it to Killarney and stopped to fill up then turned around to go back home. The wind was horrendous and we weren't sure how much further we had to go and really wondered if this was worth it. We decided to give it another try and made another u-turn to continue our trek to the Peace Gardens. All the while I'm wondering 'Who's great idea was this again?'

The gusts of wind that threw us from one side of the road to the other made you feel so out of control. The wind would blew around Wes and take my breath away, so I had my head down most of the time, but not too far because then every motion would throw my head against Wes'. We couldn't use our microphones because the wind was howling at high pitched levels, so it was two and a half hours of solid wind noise. I was worried about how this would affect Wes, but he kept saying he was alright.

We finally drove past customs and into the Peace Gardens. We filled out the little envelope, slipped in the required ten dollars and put it into the black box since no one was working the booth.

I was pretty excited. Wes and I both had not been to the Peace Gardens since we were kids and could really not remember much except we both remembered seeing the clock. (Which was a bit of a disappointment as you can see by the photo).

Understandably we had decided to visit very late in the season so the fountains except for one had been cleaned out and shut down. The souvenir shops were closed and only a small handful of people walked quietly along the pathways. But, that was okay...it was peaceful and calming. I was glad for all the trees because they blocked out the awful wind. We walked hand in hand down the cemented walkway and through the wrought iron gate, closing it behind us. As we moved casually down we noticed a small alcove off to the side and walked a bit closer. There was a gravel path that led to a small display of the steel beams from the Twin Towers.

"These must be the beams they were talking about in the pamphlet" Wes spoke quietly because it just seemed to be that kind of moment. He walked around the display taking a closer look.

My eyes began to tear, "These are the beams" I I swallowed hard. I was surprised at how seeing this small pile of rubble could be so overwhelmingly touching. I wiped the tears as they slid from behind my sunglasses. My mind rolled back to the miraculous stories of survival that we heard those awful days following the attack and also the stories of tragedy, those who were not supposed to have been there that day. Fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, friends. A horrendous moment that stopped time for everyone that day and many days to follow.

I carefully stepped back listening to the quiet crunch of my boots on the gravel, we were both very subdued as we walked away.

We continued on our little tour, walking around the Peace Towers and even though they towered above us an amazing representation of the four corners of the earth, it couldn't compare with the small pile of rubble back in the little alcove behind us. We looped back around and walked through the iron gates once again, the steel latch falling into place with a soft 'click'. I took Wes' hand and we made our way through the rest of our short tour and then took a slow ride through the rest of the park on cycle.

On the way home my mind travelled back to that little spot that held those huge steel beams. They were markers, markers of tragedy, markers of survival, reminders of sick human nature and a reminder of a nation coming together. We all have our markers in our lives. Ours is tomorrow...September 23rd...one year since Wes' brain surgery...one year of survival...one year to treasure...one year of grace...one year of prayers...one

"They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the LORD had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day. " Joshua 4:8-10