Remember The Human Family

Today marks the anniversary of the bold and inhumane attacks on both Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and an attempt on the White House. This day has gone down in infamy as an act of open war on innocent civilians. It is a day that must never be forgotten.
Earlier I wrote about the need to never forget, and of the importance of defending freedom, etc.. And while my thoughts about these things have not changed, I feel compelled to go in a different direction.
We donated blood this afternoon. The goal was set at 2,993 pints - the number of lives lost because of that fateful day eight years ago. I don't know if they reached the goal or not, but there was a crowd that kept the phlebotomists hopping the entire time we were there. I am proud to be part of a nation that reaches out to serve their fellow beings, even when they are strangers.
There was a young firefighter there who had donated bone marrow to a boy in the Dominican Republic, which saved the child from cancer. He was recruiting others to put their names on the registry because it is difficult to find a match, even within the family. (And by the way, if you are a match and you agree to donate, your transportation and expenses are paid).
I was wearing a sticker that said, "Be nice to me. I donated blood", when I went into the grocery store with $33 to buy a few veggies and some cans of chili. I picked up a bit more than that, knowing it would be close at the cash register. My total came to $33.95. I was ready to return one of the cans of chili, when the cashier took a dollar out of her pocket and paid my overage. She said with a big smile on her face that she wanted to thank me for donating blood because she couldn't, and then she added, "After all, it says to be nice to you, doesn't it?"
While it's easy to focus on social ills and what's wrong with the nation, I still want to believe that most people want to do good, that their hearts are large and generous. Even if this is not altogether true in spite of our differences, we are still the Human Family. This , I believe, is the most important thing we can remember, and not only on September 11th.