9/11: The Name I Remember

In my antibiotic and antihistamine drugged induced haze, I scheduled the cute "Pumpkin Crafts" post for this morning.  Now I want to talk about something a little more timely.

Jeffrey James Olsen.

Eleven years ago, we all remember exactly where we were.  I was at work, and I know exactly who I heard the first news from.  I know exactly what I did after that (I had a doctor's appt) and the rest of the day was spent just waiting for news.

Overwhelming is mild.  The list of names went on and on.  It was hard to know what to do, for whom to pray for, but I knew I had to do something.

So I picked one name from the list of thousands to pray for specifically; for his family, his friends, his co-workers.... and I needed it to be a name I could remember.

Jeff was a beta fish we had at the time.  Olsen was a co-worker of mine that day in 2001. From the list, it seemed like Jeffrey Olsen was the name I should pick.  So I prayed for him that day, that year, and every year after, on 9/11, I remember him and pray for those left behind.

He was a member of FDNY and died on the ground at the World Trade Center. I pray today for those still grieving his loss and remembering him.

Today I had to work to pull back his name, but with the little clues I had planted, I got it.

Jeffrey James Olsen.  He was 31.