Today is The Little Kid’s birthday!   She is sporting a new skateboard and various other things.   She is happily listening to Michael Jackson (or letting ME listen to Michael Jackson while she tests out the skateboard). 

We fired up the webcam so Ian could share in the gift-opening fun.     This is the last time that we should have to do any of this by remote!  (yay!)

Later, we are meeting 5 or 6 of her friends at a local pottery shop, where they will decorate a mug or photo frame and have it fired in a kiln for them.      Several of the girls have mentioned how much they are looking forward to it.  

Last night, I decorated cupcakes.    I think they turned out well.   I used to play with decorating cakes.   I would like to take a professional class sometime.   I think it would be fun.

from Todd Harrison, who was in one of the Towers in the WTC on September 11, 2001.

Clara Victorine Hinds was a talented seamstress at Windows on the World.   She’d been sewing most of her life and was able to sew a wedding dress at age 14.

She met her husband, Hubert, in Trinidad, married and moved to Queens, NY, to start and raise their family.

Clara had a positive outlook on life and appreciated the beauty around her.  Her husband described their 31 years of marriage as “heaven on earth”.  She was the cheerleader for her children at their sporting events.

Sadly, at age 52, Mrs. Hinds was lost in the terrorist attack of the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

Eight years later, it is still difficult to believe the loss of life on that day.    Each year, I write a memorial for a least one of the deceased, and remember the moments of that day in disbelief.    There are many turning points in the course of human history.   This was one of the most poignant.

According to Wikipedia:  “Aside from the approximately 2,669 United States casualties, 329 foreign nationals (excluding the nineteen perpetrators) also perished in the attacks. By far the country with the largest loss of life was the United Kingdom, with 67 deaths (excluding the overseas territory of Bermuda). India had 41, South Korea had 28 and Canada and Japan had 24 each. Colombia had seventeen and Jamaica, Mexico and the Philippines had sixteen each. Australia and Germany had eleven each, while Italy had ten.”

The world changed that day.

Since then, many across the world have perished in the name of humanity and freedom.   God bless them all.

Project 2996

Darryl Taylor, 52, was a skilled percussionist, making a living as a computer analyst at General Telecom.    Mr. Taylor had recently changed careers, having obtained a bachelor’s degree in engineering 4 years before.

Mr. Taylor had a passion for latin and jazz music and played in a band on Staten Island called Cocoa Suave.    He enjoyed playing timbales, congas, bongos and Bata drums.

One of the members of the band was quoted as saying, “After Darryl’s passing, anytime I hear a Latin percussionist and I hear a Latin band performing, it always touches me because I know that Darryl was one of the best.”

General Telecom‘s office had changed location to the 83rd floor of Tower 1 a year before 9-11-01.    Darryl Taylor is among the missing victims of the WTC attacks.

I was able to listen to his name being read at the 2009 memorial in New York City.

Rest in Peace.

William Tieste was an executive Vice President for Cantor Fitzgerald, working on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center. Aside from his work, Bill enjoyed family time with his wife and two sons.   He coached little league.   He loved celebrating Thanksgiving because it included 4 of his favorite things:  family, friends, food and football. Bill was 52 years old when he perished in the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center.

Read more about William Tieste.

Sleep well.

Our visa paperwork is in London.   This is a huge step forward.   From here, Ian and I will be completing paperwork, he will be given an interview at the London Embassy, a medical checkup at the embassy-approved medical doctors, and off he’ll go.

History has shown this process to take about 60 days to complete.   Seems like loads more time to wait, really, but in order to get through this, I have to get the word “wait” out of my vocabulary.

What I can be doing is cleaning out my closet, so Ian has a place to put his things.    TLK’s birthday is coming soon, and we’ve just finished shopping for that.   The party is next weekend.    Halloween… I cannot believe Halloween will be here shortly.  In some ways, the year is flying by.   But, in many respects, it seems to be dragging, as well.

The good news is that Ian will likely be here sometime in November.    We have a small wedding ceremony to plan and then we’re off to do more paperwork, acclimate him to driving on the wrong side of the road, getting ID’s and other various things.   But at least we’ll be together.