Remembering to say Thank You
by Terri Watkins
Everything is a little different this year. That is something we are all at least trying to get used to. The places we would go and the things we would do sometimes seem out of reach. But it is also the time of year when we remember. It is the anniversary of 9-11. The day we felt a little less safe. It is training for the National Memorial Marathon, The Run to Remember.
I am curious what we are remembering. What I remember is a state and a nation that stood together. We call it the Oklahoma Standard. Where I heard it for the first time was when the search and rescue teams across the country were leaving. Governor Keating met them to shake their hand and tell them thank you. One of the crew members showed the Governor a dollar saying it was his Oklahoma dollar. He had it when he came here and he has the same dollar when he left. He wanted for nothing while he was here. We banded together to insure that the Oklahomans and those from around the world who came to help felt that they were appreciated and respected.
I worry in the latest atmosphere if we have forgotten that. We can disagree, we can discuss but we must work together.
I have personally seen people yell and curse at nurses, doctors, teachers and even grocery store workers. They have been threatened. They have been assaulted. These people that have shown up to help. To be there for us. It may be the owner or staff at a local restaurant or store that simply showed up to make a living and put themselves in danger to be there for us.
We are better than this. We have shown the world what and who we are and we won their admiration and their praise. I vow to do better with those whom I disagree and to remember what our parents told us, thank you goes a lot further than a threat or anger.