It should have been a perfect day.
The sun shone down, a few fleecy clouds sailed across the sky, Americans from many states trudged down that steep hill toward the large tent erected for the family members and dignitaries, including Colin Powell and General Tommy Franks.

It Should have been a perfect day....

Although everyone could feel the power, the occasion was largely sullied by the ham handed handling of the memorial service by the park service.
What should have been all about remembering the bravery of 40 American heroes, became an example of why the government can't be trusted to run anything larger than a child's birthday party.

They have had Eight years to organize a memorial that happens once a year, and they failed miserably.

 To begin with, there's no Official memorial yet, since the families roundly rejeced the "official" design the government offered that eerily resembled the Crescent and Star of the muslim faith, which was twisted and distorted then used as a weapon against our very freedom, and a suitable (politically correct) replacement hasn't been designed yet.

 Because there's no Official memorial, the government refuses to put up signs pointing to the crash site. This task was taken up by private citizens, who erected home-made signs leading to the field.  As we got there following the "unofficial signs" we were greeted by an exasperated park ranger who was obviously tired of telling the 1000th person that day that parking in that area was for family members and dignitaries only.(Try planning things better then)  Public parking was accessible from the Other end of skyline road, which meant a 6 mile detour to make it to the other end of a half-mile long country lane.

 We finally arrived at the impromptu memorial that sprang up shortly after that fateful day, and continues to grow even 8 years later. More about that later.

 Because of the detour, the memorial service had already begun, so we hurried down the hill surrounded by Patriots who had come like us, to honor the fallen.
We weren't expecting VIP seats, but we did expect at least a little common courtesy for the 1000+ Americans who took time off on a Friday morning to be there.

 I guess that was asking too much.

To me it felt like we were medieval peasants forced to stand outside of the royal banquet in hopes of getting a few scraps of leftovers.

 It would have cost the park service maybe $50 to provide a couple loudspeakers Outside of the tent, so the American citizens who spent their own time and money to be there, could actually hear the memorial service. Of course, we all know the government doesn't really give a rats derriere about the Citizens of this country, and that memorial proved it to me in a substantive way.

 We couldn't see anything happening inside the tent, we could only see shadows moving in shadows. Occasionaly you could hear a scrap or two of whatever was being said by the speakers at the lectern. Yet, we stood there, still glad to be a part, albeit a Small part, of remembering the brave men and women who gave their lives to protect thousands more from dying as that plane smashed into the white house or capitol building.

 The only time we actually felt a part of the ceremony, was when they called the roll, and rang a bell for each name. This was because the bell was outside of the tent, so they turned up the volume so the bell ringers could hear the names. After that they turned it back down.

 By then I was too disgusted with the arrogance, that we quietly left the crowd, along with a lot of others, and trudged back up the hill to the "temporary memorial".

 That little patch of ground overlooking the crash site struck me more than the circus at the bottom of the hill ever could have.  Here there wasn't a government sanctioned event, or pre planned memorial.  In a space maybe 100 feet square were examples of how wonderful Human beings can be. Even after Eight years, every week at least 5000 people from all over the globe stand in that little patch of land, and many leave a little memento, or bring small offerings, some as simple as a prayer scratched onto a stone they picked up from the field.

There are privately funded monuments, from families, motorcycle clubs, veterans groups, and just individuals fom as far away as Guatemala and South Africa.
They ranged from small grave marker type stones, to large granite monuments.
It left me breathless, with tears streaming down my cheeks.

There were angels planted on stakes, each with the name of a passenger or crewmember, created by PA elementary school students.  A local sign shop donated benches, each carved with 2 names of the heroes. A large wooden cross donated by a local catholic school which people have adorned with small pins and such, each a heartfelt memento left to honor forty courageous indiviuals.

THAT should just become the Official memorial.

It means a million times more than any politically correct attempt any government funded architect could ever produce. That little patch of ground showed the True heartfelt outpouring of gratitude from Americans, and non Americans, who wanted in their own way to honor the fallen heroes.

 It filled my heart with pride that I share this land with people who refuse to go quietly into that good night, and instead stood up to fight against the forces of overwhelming hate. They laid down their own lives to save the lives of thousands of people they didn't even know.

It definitely gave me that little extra push on saturday to march a little prouder, and yell a little louder at the fools playing political games in the capitol building while our nation is in crisis.

Even though I left just livid at my inept government, the memory of standing on that Hallowed Ground where the heroes of flight 93 ended their fateful trip, still makes my eyes leak and my heart sing.

If only the government hadn't Screwed it up like everything else they touch.

 Click Here to see the slideshow of the memorial service and the temporary memorial!

As always, comments and criticism are always welcome.