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common to see planes stacked up waiting to land. Not this day. With all air traffic grounded, the skies were eerily silent. Not a plane in the sky and absolute silence. Never before had we experienced such an uncomfortable silence.

We had heard reports the President was airborne for safety and security. Rumors had him all over the country. Later in the afternoon, we were outside and saw a group of planes flying west to east. Who the heck is that? No airplanes were supposed to be flying. If the web researched timeline is correct, the President was in Nebraska at approximately 3:00 PM. It was our conclusion the planes we saw around 4 or 5 PM were Air Force One and the accompanying fighters heading towards Washington, DC.

In the weeks following the attacks, I was struck by the amount of pain suffered by my middle son. He was so distraught by the events that he created a Power Point presentation with 911 pictures and music. Here was a nine year old kid creating a complicated presentation using business software foreign to many adults. I didn't know he knew what Power Point was.

A few years ago, we had the opportunity to visit Ground Zero. Even with almost all remnants removed and some significant construction going on, nothing can prepare you for the feelings that overwhelm you when you visit that site. There are constant reminders of the destruction and loss of life. We were overcome with emotion while reading the names of the victims and visiting the various makeshift memorials. Our family of five was nearly speechless the entire time we were there. I think we were afraid our words would turn to tears, if we spoke of this atrocity. As morbid as it may seem, visiting this place of death brought us a greater sense of what transpired that fateful day and helped us appreciate our own existence.

After watching the movie, I decided to wander the Internet looking for 911 stories and came upon some interesting conspiracy theories. Like most government conspiracy theories, this one is quite controversial. The most compelling web site seems to be www.question911.com. While the videos address some possible political motives, most of the videos deal with scientific analysis. Of course, one has to believe the videos are genuine and unadulterated for the conspiracy theory to hold true. Unfortunately, we can't be certain the videos haven't been altered to benefit those who attempt to convince us of their theories. While we may never know the real truth, it is always good to question rather than blindly accept the conclusion of others.

Learn more about this author, Wolin Edwards.
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