September 11, 2007
by Dr. Gordon Kingsley, Principal

Today, We Remember.

All of Britain, every November 11, observes "Remembrance Day," honoring those who have died in wars, and particularly the terrible carnage of World War I.

People wear red poppies, symbolizing blood shed in the fields of Flanders and France.

At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, everything stops-all traffic, all business, all to-ing and fro-ing. People stand for two full minutes of silence.

Sometimes "The Last Post" is played on a bugle.

Then, a speaker intones words from a poem, "For the Fallen," by Laurence Binyon:

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn,
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.

We will join in that remembrance come November.

But today, on September 11, on 9-1-1, the College Family pauses for our own Time of Remembrance. All the brilliant faculty, all the above average students, all the pulsing energy pauses, and for a moment we remember those who perished six years ago in those terrible attacks on American soil. When you are far away from home, from family and friends and flag and country, such things matter.

And so, on this day, we pause for a still moment, and as Americans across the sea we resolve,

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember . . . .