HELP ME - CENTRAL

***********************************************************************    Everyone who is reading this probably remembers where they were and what they were doing ten years ago today. It was one of those moments in time that becomes frozen in our memories due to the nature of the occurrence. I was with my oldest son. We were parking our car in the parking lot of a local electronics store and someone on the radio stated that an airplane had flown into one of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.  We assumed it was some sort of terrible accident. When we entered the store every television screen was aglow with the same image. The surreal was made real as we watched the events as they unfolded. Strangers spoke with one another and tried to make sense out of what was happening. We were able to see the damage to the building, the smoke eminating from the damaged areas, and  the fear and confusion expressed  by commentators and eyewitnesses. As the day passed we learned about the other hijacked planes, the attack on the Pentagon, and the crash of Flight 93 in a field in Pennsylvania. We saw the second plane hit the second tower, people jumping to their deaths, and ultimately, the collapse of both towers. The pictures of that day stored in my memory are almost as clear today as when they occurred 10 years ago. Some things cannot be forgotten.

     When we hear “911” we immediately think of that day...but we also think about what 911 also symbolizes.  A call to 911 is a plea for help. Whether we need a police officer, a fire fighter, or emergency medical services, it is the number we are advised to call for assistance. I imagine the majority of people who call 911 feel fear, panic, and stress. They are in a situation that they are unable to handle on their own and must reach out to others for help.

      I started this website approximately three years ago. At that time I was a cross-poster. I would read a post or receive an email about a dog, cat, or shelter that needed assistance and I would send out emails to rescues and repost the pleas to Yahoo Groups hoping that someone somewhere could help. I would get up early in the morning and go to bed late at night to send out one more plea and hope that the right person would receive the message and respond in time. In these situations, time is always of the essence. Ultimately, the feelings of helplessness and hopelessness became so overwhelming, I decided to start a website. The logic behind the decision was that I would be able to reach a wider audience if information could be found on one site and those who visited the website could pay it forward and cross-post. One plea for help would become many.

     Unfortunately, not much has changed in three years. Every time I receive an email, post on the website, or cross-post on Facebook I feel that same sense of urgency and panic. I can hear the minutes ticking by and the voice of despair whispering in my ear...Too many needing help, not enough time to post all the pleas that need to be posted, and not enough people who care. My only comfort, and hope, is knowing that there are others who are doing what I am trying to do...save lives.  So today of all days I hope we remember that  we are not alone and that one small act, one email, one click on a share button, can make a difference.

None of us can ever save himself; we are the instruments of one another’s salvation, and only by the hope that we give to others do we lift ourselves out of the darkness into light.  ~Dean Koontz

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