Like so many people, all kinds of thoughts continue to run through our minds as we work through the tragedy of September 11. We move from fear to anger to depression and back to fear and anger again and we try to make sense out of the senseless. The only solace has been the courageous stories of the families, and the outstanding leadership of our elected officials at every level who have more than met the challenge of getting us all through this and working toward a more lasting, secure peace.

We applaud our President and national leaders for their clear, controlled and committed approach, which is the only way, we believe, of addressing this real and continued threat to our peace and safety.

We applaud our local officials who recognized the need for people to come together in this time of tragedy to pray and reflect on our strength as a nation.

We applaud the presence of so many American flags flying on every street and every home, but wonder why so many American’s didn’t have flags to fly in the first place.

We thank the families of the victims whose courage is so inspiring and whose stories provide the basis for our commitment to securing a safer world for ourselves and our children.

The victims have paid the ultimate price to awaken our nation to the threat of terrorism, and their deaths undoubtedly will save many more lives in the future. Small consolation, we agree, to the husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters left alone and left behind, but so much for us, their beneficiaries to remember.