I had to deal with a loss this week.  The loss of a truly wonderful friend.  The tears and the pressure in my throat and chest.  The way it makes you look at life in a different perspective. 

I didn't know a single person that was killed on 9/11.  But I certainly felt it.  I felt the loss, just as I do today with the death of my true friend.   The senselessness.  The hurt.  The blanket of sadness across the country.  I sent so many prayers.  I grieved with the families. 

I have been given a huge honor.  Huge.  To write about a man who was killed that day.  I've done my homework, and I think I get a feeling about what type of man he was.

Lieutenant Colonol Kip Paul Taylor.

He was a Michigander, like myself, and he was 38, which is about my age.  He went to Northern Michigan University, which is a school I applied to and was accepted to. 

Lt. Col Taylor was an Army man, and he made it all the way to the Pentagon as a military assistant.   Before coming to the Pentagon, he served in both Germany and Honduros. 

His office was in the outside ring of the Pentagon, and was hit by American Flight 77.

He had just sent an e-mail, just about an hour before his death where he said:

"After kids, there are days that just get going when you say, 'Hi honey, I'm home "

 "My conclusion is that what we do until that moment pales in comparison to what we do after that point in the day."

He and his wife Nancy had a son, Dean, and she was 8-months pregnant with their second child at the time of his death.  Luke Taylor was born on October 25th, 2001.

Lt. Col Kip Paul Taylor loved his family and was an all-around good guy from the midwest.  He was 6'5" and loved to play golf.  Another example of a great American who was killed that day.

Their family's sad story does not end there.  When I was reading about him and his family, I was so saddened to read that Lt. Col. Taylor's wife, Nancy, passed away from cancer in 2003.   She found out about this terminal cancer upon the birth of their second son, Luke.  

Lt. Col Taylor's brother, Dean, and his wife, took the boys in to raise them.  They will also have college scholarships from the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. 

As I said earlier, it is a true honor for me to have been given this opportunity to write about the Taylor family.  It has been a very trying five years for them.  Those two little boys and their Aunt and Uncle will certainly be in my prayers.

Sherry

If you'd like to read more blogs with tributes to every other person killed on 9/11/2001, please go to the dcroe.com website.  You will find a list there -- a very, very long list.  Scroll through it and get a feeling for all those lives we lost.  And THANK YOU DCROE ---- for doing this wonderful thing. 

Mike and I lost a close friend today.  He was like a big brother.  And it hurts. 

His Mom called me just as it started to downpour and hail.  I had just dropped Mike off at work and was driving home.  She told me she had bad news.  A few things ran through my head.  Not death. 

She tried her best to console ME.  His mother.  She is just this idyllic mother.  We went and visited them for a long weekend last summer.  She lives on a lake surrounded by trees, gardens, frogs, a clothesline, and a patio overlooking the beach.  Just calm.  Tranquil.  Beautiful.  She actually walked bowls, spoons, and a 1/2 gallon of icecream down TO THE BEACH because the kids looked like they wanted some.  That's how she is.  And it makes her happy to be that way.  Please pray for her to be able to deal with this loss.  She and his sister both. 

That is why her son was such a conundrum.  One part big, tough Harley guy.  Another part giving, loving, caring and protective of those he loved. 

He lived with us on and off for three years.  He was giong to buy his own house, but just wasn't ready.  (He was divorced, no kids)  He worked with Mike.  My kids all adored him.  He called Emme "Daisy" -- and she wanted to change her name to that.  I think it made her feel special.

He was in his late 40s.  And yes, he's had problems with heart blockages.  He'd had several angioplasty procedures and was scheduled for another.  He also had diabetes and a bone infection that was being treated with IV antibiotics daily.  He was staying with his mom at that lovely, charming home of hers.  But he was tough.  Big, strong, rough, tough.  He never showed weakness. 

He was off work for 6 months last year and stayed with his mom.  And when he came back here again, he tried to eat better, quit smoking, etc.  He still slept a whole lot, didn't go out like he used to -- but he was happy. 

His Mom told me on the phone how much he loved Mike and I, how highly he talked about us. 

He called me last week -- he sounded sad.  He said that he wanted us to have his big screen t.v., surround sound, dvd, vcr, and stereo system.  He said he wanted us to have it because we meant so much to him.  At the time, he thought he'd have to take permanent disability.  But I wonder, did he know?  Maybe even slightly?

The thought of him never walking through the kitchen again or hearing him on the phone or hearing him coming up the stairs -- it's unfathomable. 

And it hurts.

Sherry

Hello my friends,

Jennah and Jacob are leaving tonight with their dad for Florida.  Driving.  Please, please pray for their safe return home after their vacation. I'm a nervous wreck!  My stomach is in knots. 

Also, my good, sweet friend Domi who lives in the South of France has a new little niece who is about a week old.  Juliette.  Pretty as a picture!  However, she has a small broken blood vessel (?) in her brain which is giving her small convulsions.  The doctors say it should heal itself.  Please pray that it does!

Thank you for your prayers!  I truly appreciate each and every one of them.

Sherry