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#214588 - 09/04/11 03:13 AM US Labor Day weekend - and 10 Years Since 9/11
Anne Holmes Administrator Offline
Boomer in Chief

Registered: 03/12/10
Posts: 3212
Loc: Illinois
Hi All,

Just wanted to wish everyone on the forum a great beginning to the last quarter of the year.

I am working on the intro for our monthly newsletter, Boomer Women's World, and I have pretty much decided I will be reflecting on the 10 years since 9/11. No matter where we were in the world when that happened, it has had an impact on us. Of course, the most immediate and direct impact was on those who died in the World Trade Towers, and their families. But I know it had a huge financial impact on me, living in the Midwest. More on that in my intro -- that issue will be published next week.

If you have any stories you'd like to share for that issue, either PM me, or post them here...

And for all of you reading this in the US, Happy Labor Day weekend! I hope you are finding some time to relax and reflect on the impact of your labor over the years...
_________________________
Boomer in Chief of Boomer Women Speak and the National Association of Baby Boomer Women.
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#214618 - 09/06/11 07:53 PM Re: US Labor Day weekend - and 10 Years Since 9/11 [Re: Anne Holmes]
Anne Holmes Administrator Offline
Boomer in Chief

Registered: 03/12/10
Posts: 3212
Loc: Illinois
Quote:
If you have any personal 9/11 stories you'd like to share for that issue, either PM me, or post them here...


Wow! NO ONE has replied to me on this. Does that mean no one read my message or you don't want to share your stories?

Just curious!

Anne
_________________________
Boomer in Chief of Boomer Women Speak and the National Association of Baby Boomer Women.
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#214628 - 09/07/11 02:29 PM Re: US Labor Day weekend - and 10 Years Since 9/11 [Re: Anne Holmes]
jabber Offline
Member

Registered: 02/17/05
Posts: 10032
Loc: New York State
I'm thinking this whole issue is too traumatic. Seeing people jumping from buildings about blew me away. The first thing I said to WB is, [where's our national security?] I couldn't believe it was happening. This is still an open wound. And I think it scares the beegeebies out of us. I had a granddaughter
flying overseas that very day; she avoided all that commotion by
mere minutes.

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#214630 - 09/07/11 03:29 PM Re: US Labor Day weekend - and 10 Years Since 9/11 [Re: jabber]
Mountain Ash Offline
Member

Registered: 12/30/05
Posts: 3027
Living in the UK did not mean we were removed from the sadness.
The world changed and with it the awareness that a force of badness can plan and scheme as we go about our daily tasks.

My thoughts are with those who lost so much.

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#214634 - 09/07/11 10:10 PM Re: US Labor Day weekend - and 10 Years Since 9/11 [Re: Mountain Ash]
Anne Holmes Administrator Offline
Boomer in Chief

Registered: 03/12/10
Posts: 3212
Loc: Illinois
Exactly. 3,000 lives were lost at the WTC as I recall, plus I just read recently that there are 3,000 children who lost a parent, as well. Not to mention that people all over the US -- and probably the world -- found their world's changed as well. Though very little is mentioned about those of us whose businesses were decimated - despite the fact we live in "the flyover zone" as opposed to in NYC.
_________________________
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#214636 - 09/08/11 08:11 AM Re: US Labor Day weekend - and 10 Years Since 9/11 [Re: Anne Holmes]
Mountain Ash Offline
Member

Registered: 12/30/05
Posts: 3027
The "fallout" from any act of wrongdoing is wide..and often forgotten..not due to anyone being harsh..The human can only absorb so much angst..and rather than get "case hardened" cope by not dwelling on the whole issue.
The other view is when a person cant move on and dwells on the act...forgetting the other things like business and investment..

whether a world event like September 11th or on another scale a ripple effect exists.

your business Anne...what was it ? I am sure hard work was involved.

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#214637 - 09/08/11 02:16 PM Re: US Labor Day weekend - and 10 Years Since 9/11 [Re: Mountain Ash]
jabber Offline
Member

Registered: 02/17/05
Posts: 10032
Loc: New York State
The heart aches 4 every life lost and 4 every family and/or business affected by 9/11 evildoing! It's unimaginable why people dwell on ruining other peoples' lives! May The Good Lord defend all innocence!

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#214640 - 09/08/11 04:54 PM Re: US Labor Day weekend - and 10 Years Since 9/11 [Re: Mountain Ash]
Anne Holmes Administrator Offline
Boomer in Chief

Registered: 03/12/10
Posts: 3212
Loc: Illinois
Quote:

your business Anne...what was it ? I am sure hard work was involved.


Hi Mountain Ash,

My business was a public relations and marketing firm that specialized in creating web sites for small to medium -sized businesses. I became a fairly large "small PR" firm - we had a staff of 14 and operated out of a 6,000 square foot building, which we had been planning to buy when our lease was up - in October.

Business had grown due to our being an "AT&T Creative Alliance Partner," which meant that AT&T long lines sales reps recommended us to their clients to whom they wanted to sell internet hosting. We designed the web sites for these companies. And, because we were quite good at it, we normally were able to develop these design projects into long term relationships.

In other words, we were the outsourced web designers for about 50 companies, not only building sites but handling all the ongoing site maintenance for them.

(These days site maintenance is a lot easier, and most companies do it themselves. But back then, this was a very big "niche" business for us.)

We had cultivated our AT&T clients in 35 states and when 9/11 happened, life was very good: In fact, it was so good, a very large web design company was negotiating to buy us out, and we had $400,000 in signed contracts in hand for new work to be done in the next 6 months.

Within a month of 9/11 the buyout offer had been rescinded and all of those signed contracts had been canceled. The cancellations were through no fault of our own -- the cancellations happened because the businesses who had contracted with us became frightened by the events of 9/11 and opted to "hold off," "wait and see," etc.

Meanwhile we had staff to pay, bills to pay -- and only a small trickle of income coming in. We also had clients who expected us to continue to serve them.

It was a very scary time. And of course, no banks wanted to loan us money to cover our expenses.

Our accountant told us we really had only two choices:
(1) Close our doors and leave all our clients "in the lurch," work in process incomplete, etc.

OR he said,

(2) We could offer every employee whatever office furniture they needed - desk, chair, internet connection, computer -- and send them home to work.

Essentially, our accountant thought we could stay in business if we became a VIRTUAL company.

We chose the latter and we managed to stay afloat.

A few years later Steve and I were at the annual Public Relations Society of America's annual Counselor's Academy meeting. This is a meeting of owners of PR firms. We were invited there to speak on "going virtual." and another speaker surprised us at the opening of the convention when he calmly stated that "We know none of you here are from businesses which serve as outsourced IT or web design resources. Post 9/11, none of those businesses exist any more."

And apparently he was right - most of these sorts of businesses closed, nationwide. I was looking at a ZDNet blog yesterday, where a whole bunch of IT consultants who used to consult with small and large businesses, as we did, were sharing their 9/11 stories. There was a lot of reader response to this blog post -- and every one of the stories told of how their consulting businesses had closed post 9/11. (Here's a link to that story.

We stayed in business, but these days all but one of our staff are contract labor. We are still virtual. (And I love working from home.)

So how did 9/11 affect you?
I'm sure it did, in some way.

Remember, right after 9/11 there was a new sense of unity in the country. People were working together and trying to help each other.

Ten years later, we seem to have lost that. The bickering between political parties, for example, serves no purpose except to divide us and keep progress from being made...

I would sure love to regain that "all for one and one for all" mentality we developed right after 9/11.
_________________________
Boomer in Chief of Boomer Women Speak and the National Association of Baby Boomer Women.
www.nabbw.com
www.boomerwomenspeak.com
www.boomerlifestyle.com
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#214641 - 09/09/11 07:52 AM Re: US Labor Day weekend - and 10 Years Since 9/11 [Re: Anne Holmes]
Mountain Ash Offline
Member

Registered: 12/30/05
Posts: 3027
Much to think and absorb there Anne.It saddens me .

However you worked and adapted.Well done.But I am sure there would be a toll on your lives.All the best for the future.

There are several radio and TV programs her discussing the Sep.11th tragedy at present here in UK covering aspects of the event.I will watch and note well the impact.eg Children who lost a parent.I wonder if commerce will be mentioned.

That unity you describe prior to the event...and now some chaos.

WW2 created a Blitz spirit in UK which is often mentioned but oral testimony mentions how moral codes were broken...children evacuated ..marriages broken up..black market...rationing and then a new order in society.Some very good.A better health service etc..So perhaps some change will occur for you.

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#214645 - 09/09/11 07:17 PM Re: US Labor Day weekend - and 10 Years Since 9/11 [Re: Mountain Ash]
Anne Holmes Administrator Offline
Boomer in Chief

Registered: 03/12/10
Posts: 3212
Loc: Illinois
Thanks for your thoughts, Mountain Ash, changes have occurred for us, of course, in the past 10 years. We survived the challenges and I'm sure we came out better for them.

Earlier today I read a 9/11-focused post from one of our NABBW Associates, psychologist Judith Sherven, in which she said:
Quote:
Two days from now the United States will honor the 10th Anniversary of 9/11.

Will you?

Will you take the time to remember back - to where you were on that fatality-filled day?

Will you call up the emotions you felt when you first heard about what was happening?

Or will you do everything you can to ignore the day, ignore what your emotional experience was 10 years ago 9/11?

Because if your style is to ignore the painful experiences you've gone through you end up feeling like your emotional baggage is a curse, a heavy weight you can never get out from under.

But when you use your emotional experiences to honor what it means to be human - and to be human in this far from perfect human experience...

Then you honor yourself, your loved ones, and your motionally healthy future.

So - please do honor yourself and all those who died and all those who helped during and afterwards who are still alive -

And take some time to appreciate your own emotional responses then and now.


We've all moved on in the past 10 years, of course. But as Judith says, we do need to honor ourselves and all those who died as well as all of us who helped during and afterwards who are still alive. It's the healthy thing to do.
_________________________
Boomer in Chief of Boomer Women Speak and the National Association of Baby Boomer Women.
www.nabbw.com
www.boomerwomenspeak.com
www.boomerlifestyle.com
www.boomerco.com

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