Comments on: 9/11: Flashbacks from behaving poorly at the World Trade Center http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/09/11/911-flashbacks-from-my-bad-behavior-at-the-world-trade-center/ Advice at the intersection of work and life Wed, 17 Mar 2010 05:30:03 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: Elm Clark http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/09/11/911-flashbacks-from-my-bad-behavior-at-the-world-trade-center/comment-page-1/#comment-222412 Elm Clark Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:42:54 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/?p=3415#comment-222412 I was watching the twin towers fall from the UK and I still remember how traumatizing it was...just watching it on Tv. I can't imagine what it would have been like standing right THERE next to it as it fell! I was watching the twin towers fall from the UK and I still remember how traumatizing it was…just watching it on Tv. I can't imagine what it would have been like standing right THERE next to it as it fell!

]]> By: sal http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/09/11/911-flashbacks-from-my-bad-behavior-at-the-world-trade-center/comment-page-1/#comment-218220 sal Sat, 16 Jan 2010 15:50:00 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/?p=3415#comment-218220 If the frequency of her 9/11 posts bothers you, stop reading the blog. It's that simple. There is no need to get nasty and unhinged. If the frequency of her 9/11 posts bothers you, stop reading the blog. It's that simple. There is no need to get nasty and unhinged.

]]> By: Kathryn Binau http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/09/11/911-flashbacks-from-my-bad-behavior-at-the-world-trade-center/comment-page-1/#comment-206364 Kathryn Binau Sat, 03 Oct 2009 16:25:59 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/?p=3415#comment-206364 you captured so many of my same thoughts - i was not in New York but i was on a plane flying out of Washington DC and my husband was in Washington D.C. at a meeting. Generally i don't think about it but on the anniversary, i find myself paralyzed for most of the morning. maybe it is post traumatic stress- maybe not but i know that my husband and i changed our entire lives as a result of that day. we left the washington area and moved to the midwest. i no longer feel scared for my family and for myself but it takes very little to bring me back to that moment. you captured so many of my same thoughts – i was not in New York but i was on a plane flying out of Washington DC and my husband was in Washington D.C. at a meeting. Generally i don't think about it but on the anniversary, i find myself paralyzed for most of the morning. maybe it is post traumatic stress- maybe not but i know that my husband and i changed our entire lives as a result of that day. we left the washington area and moved to the midwest. i no longer feel scared for my family and for myself but it takes very little to bring me back to that moment.

]]> By: Gloria http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/09/11/911-flashbacks-from-my-bad-behavior-at-the-world-trade-center/comment-page-1/#comment-203306 Gloria Fri, 25 Sep 2009 22:41:28 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/?p=3415#comment-203306 Thank you for this candid post. Watching lives unfold, and Become, what,as Paul Coelho conveys in The Alchemist, as our own Personal Legends, is truly one of the greatest blessings of all. I have 3 teenage children, and I marvel each and every day at what they reveal to me;of who they are, who they aren't,and who their trying to avoid becoming. I marvel at myself and my husband as we grow and change in this tumultuous time, trying to become the parents we'd want to have if we were them. I marvel each day at what my dog and cat have to teach me; about themselves, about me and about just how much more alike we are than different. As I send kids off to college now, I marvel at what more I'll become, at how our marriage will grow and change as our roles change, and I'll try to do it all with faith. The unknown, and the known, can be tricky little buggers to navigate, but in the end, Life is still a mystery, and although I wasn't ever a Nancy Drew Fan, I do like to see what the Master Weaver has up it's infinite sleeve, and I'll marvel at it as it unfolds, because, that's My own Personal Legend, and the universe is conspiring to create it, after all,uniquely for me. The least I can do is embrace it. Thank you for this candid post. Watching lives unfold, and Become, what,as Paul Coelho conveys in The Alchemist, as our own Personal Legends, is truly one of the greatest blessings of all.

I have 3 teenage children, and I marvel each and every day at what they reveal to me;of who they are, who they aren't,and who their trying to avoid becoming. I marvel at myself and my husband as we grow and change in this tumultuous time, trying to become the parents we'd want to have if we were them. I marvel each day at what my dog and cat have to teach me; about themselves, about me and about just how much more alike we are than different.

As I send kids off to college now, I marvel at what more I'll become, at how our marriage will grow and change as our roles change, and I'll try to do it all with faith. The unknown, and the known, can be tricky little buggers to navigate, but in the end, Life is still a mystery, and although I wasn't ever a Nancy Drew Fan, I do like to see what the Master Weaver has up it's infinite sleeve, and I'll marvel at it as it unfolds, because, that's My own Personal Legend, and the universe is conspiring to create it, after all,uniquely for me. The least I can do is embrace it.

]]> By: Agnese http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/09/11/911-flashbacks-from-my-bad-behavior-at-the-world-trade-center/comment-page-1/#comment-202299 Agnese Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:33:22 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/?p=3415#comment-202299 Thank you! Thank you!

]]> By: Juliana http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/09/11/911-flashbacks-from-my-bad-behavior-at-the-world-trade-center/comment-page-1/#comment-200843 Juliana Fri, 18 Sep 2009 07:48:02 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/?p=3415#comment-200843 > Mostly, I don’t think about 9/11 anymore. Then why do you keep writing about it all the time? STFU! By the way, I don't for a minute believe you were there. If you could, you'd try to convince people you were at the Kennedy assassination too. You just love attention, no matter how much you have to lie to get it. > Mostly, I don’t think about 9/11 anymore.

Then why do you keep writing about it all the time? STFU!

By the way, I don't for a minute believe you were there. If you could, you'd try to convince people you were at the Kennedy assassination too. You just love attention, no matter how much you have to lie to get it.

]]> By: Tryal http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/09/11/911-flashbacks-from-my-bad-behavior-at-the-world-trade-center/comment-page-1/#comment-200390 Tryal Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:58:10 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/?p=3415#comment-200390 Thanks for this post. I experienced something traumatic this spring. I hope that I find the benefit from this. I know that I'm trying to take care of myself and my family better since this tragedy. I'm especially trying to take better care of myself, which lends itself to taking better care of my family. This tragedy has caused me to reevaluate things and want to change certain things but I live in fear of making the wrong decisions. Thanks for this post. I experienced something traumatic this spring. I hope that I find the benefit from this. I know that I'm trying to take care of myself and my family better since this tragedy. I'm especially trying to take better care of myself, which lends itself to taking better care of my family.

This tragedy has caused me to reevaluate things and want to change certain things but I live in fear of making the wrong decisions.

]]> By: Brent Driver http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/09/11/911-flashbacks-from-my-bad-behavior-at-the-world-trade-center/comment-page-1/#comment-200073 Brent Driver Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:25:36 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/?p=3415#comment-200073 The occasion of 9/11 reminds us all that life is full of trials. The saying that "what doesn't kill us makes us stronger" is so very very true. Penelope could've folded like a blanket after her experience at the WTC and her life could've gone in a completely different direction...perhaps even have ended prematurely. However, her trials as a child perhaps gave her the strength and prepared her for that moment, just as 9/11 prepared her for the trials that came with having her own children and the end of her marriage. Many people end up blaming God, fate, others, etc. for their misfortune...and those people are usually never happy in life...ever. For the rest of us, there is always hope on the other side. If you can find the strength to get through whatever trials you are enduring right now (and we all have it within us...sometimes it takes asking for help to truly find that endurance), you will emerge on the other side even stronger...often able to help others with their own trials. This is the true joy of life. (James ch.1, vs. 2-18) The occasion of 9/11 reminds us all that life is full of trials. The saying that "what doesn't kill us makes us stronger" is so very very true. Penelope could've folded like a blanket after her experience at the WTC and her life could've gone in a completely different direction…perhaps even have ended prematurely. However, her trials as a child perhaps gave her the strength and prepared her for that moment, just as 9/11 prepared her for the trials that came with having her own children and the end of her marriage. Many people end up blaming God, fate, others, etc. for their misfortune…and those people are usually never happy in life…ever.

For the rest of us, there is always hope on the other side. If you can find the strength to get through whatever trials you are enduring right now (and we all have it within us…sometimes it takes asking for help to truly find that endurance), you will emerge on the other side even stronger…often able to help others with their own trials. This is the true joy of life. (James ch.1, vs. 2-18)

]]> By: Mark W. http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/09/11/911-flashbacks-from-my-bad-behavior-at-the-world-trade-center/comment-page-1/#comment-200021 Mark W. Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:46:20 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/?p=3415#comment-200021 Thank you for sharing your story of 9/11 and your journey since that time. I think the World Trade Center tragedy has helped you in many ways based on the content of this blog. However the help was not gentle or compassionate. It was abrupt, harsh, and required your survival skills to get through it. It's a long journey and what's important to monitor is the trend overall. I recently saw a video interview of a man who was in one of the towers and he managed to escape thanks to the help of a fireman. He used the words cowardice and selfishness to describe his character that day. My point is some people are more honest and forthcoming with their feelings and can better describe them and put them in their proper context with time as they are able to process them. There are so many experiences and feelings that we can't or won't talk about and yet we share many of those same things. I guess it's part of the human condition. I've also had my own "9/11" with a long journey. Many issues have been solved with still more on the table. Thankfully I am not perfect as I wouldn't have any problems to work on. :) My "9/11" has made me more grateful for many of the simple and small things in life. That's how I look at it and for which I am grateful. Thank you for sharing your story of 9/11 and your journey since that time. I think the World Trade Center tragedy has helped you in many ways based on the content of this blog. However the help was not gentle or compassionate. It was abrupt, harsh, and required your survival skills to get through it. It's a long journey and what's important to monitor is the trend overall.
I recently saw a video interview of a man who was in one of the towers and he managed to escape thanks to the help of a fireman. He used the words cowardice and selfishness to describe his character that day. My point is some people are more honest and forthcoming with their feelings and can better describe them and put them in their proper context with time as they are able to process them.
There are so many experiences and feelings that we can't or won't talk about and yet we share many of those same things. I guess it's part of the human condition. I've also had my own "9/11" with a long journey. Many issues have been solved with still more on the table. Thankfully I am not perfect as I wouldn't have any problems to work on. :) My "9/11" has made me more grateful for many of the simple and small things in life. That's how I look at it and for which I am grateful.

]]> By: Dale http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/09/11/911-flashbacks-from-my-bad-behavior-at-the-world-trade-center/comment-page-1/#comment-200006 Dale Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:56:29 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/?p=3415#comment-200006 @Eric Life doesn't have to be bleak. It's like anything else, it seems to cycle. But I believe we can make it more than a bland existence by living for more than ourselves. I know it's not in fashion today, but just remember the good feeling you get from doing something for others even if they don't know you did it for them. Now go after thst feeling by volunteering, giving of yourself, and or by simply being kind. It works, I know it does. Also, take time every day to make peace with yourself. That helps too. There is joy to be had, but we must work for it:) @Eric
Life doesn't have to be bleak. It's like anything else, it seems to cycle. But I believe we can make it more than a bland existence by living for more than ourselves. I know it's not in fashion today, but just remember the good feeling you get from doing something for others even if they don't know you did it for them.
Now go after thst feeling by volunteering, giving of yourself, and or by simply being kind. It works, I know it does. Also, take time every day to make peace with yourself. That helps too.
There is joy to be had, but we must work for it:)

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