Today was a rainy afternoon on Delmarva, so I spent part of the day inside browsing the “Beast of the East” bike show being held here this weekend. At the show I came across a tribute to the fallen of 9-11 that I’d never really thought about but is well done. An organization called “America’s 9/11 Foundation” is raising funds by raffling off this bike. (I’d place the picture online but it would blow my formatting to smithereens – I take my digital photos in 1600×1200 format and crop things like my SotW pictures to 450 pixels wide to maintain the proper widths. And I pictured the bike separately and with the whole display area, there’s two links.)
This raffle will be one fundraiser that the organization does in order to provide scholarship money for family members of active or disabled EMS/firefighters/police officers along with other support services for first responders. The other main fundraiser is “America’s 9/11 Ride“, which will have its sixth installment this August. It’s a police-escorted motorcycle ride to all three of the 9/11 sites: the Pentagon, Shanksville, PA where Flight 93 crashed, and Ground Zero in New York City, where the tribute bike will be raffled off.
It’s a good thing that there are people who don’t forget that we’re just a few years removed from the worst terrorist act to hit our shores. While it only took about 3 1/2 years to finish the last enemy who hit us in a comparable sneak attack, this war promises to be much longer as we face an enemy that is fueled by a passion to achieve the afterlife in a blaze of homicidal glory. To many who get their information on current affairs from the TV news or the newspapers, it’s our side who’s to blame for inciting these “freedom fighters” who struck the Twin Towers. Some even feel it was a government-backed plot.
Tomorrow is the final day of “Beast of the East” so if you want to take a look at the bike for yourself, I encourage you to come to Salisbury and do so. As you can see from the post below, the city of Salisbury can use the extra tourism dollars that our fickle weather washed away.
