As some of you know, I pretty much lost faith in everything & everybody these last few years; but the enclosed article, forwarded to me by my baby sister, struck a chord deep inside of me. I have cleaned up some of the hieroglyphics to facilitate an easier read (an American privilege!), but these words are original as well as genuine. I clicked all of my e-addresses to expedite this message, so I hope no one is offended. Please feel free to make copies & forward as much as desired. Thanks for perusing this e-note, I know your time is very valuable. Take care of yourselves, Ken Bailey ******************************************************* per source translator after 9/11/2001... Subject: Article from a Romanian Newspaper We rarely get a chance to see another country's media editorials about the USA. This Romanian writer really identified key elements in who we Americans are...Read this excerpt from a Romanian Newspaper. The article was written by Cornel Nistorescu & published under the title "C'ntarea Americii", meaning 'Ode to America',on September 24, 2002 in the Romanian paper ~Evenimentul Zilei~ ("The Daily Event" or "News of the Day"): >>> ~An Ode to America~ <<< Why are Americans so united? They would not resemble one another even if you painted them all one color! They speak all the languages of the world and form an astonishing mixture of civilizations and religious beliefs. Still, the American tragedy turned three hundred million people into a hand put on the heart. Nobody rushed to accuse the White House, the army, and the secret services that they are only a bunch of losers. Nobody rushed to empty their bank accounts. Nobody rushed out onto the streets nearby to gape about. Instead, the Americans volunteered to donate blood and to give a helping hand. After the first moments of panic, they raised their flag over the smoking ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps & ties in the colors of the national flag. They placed flags on buildings and cars as if in every place & car a government official or the president was passing. On every occasion, they were singing heartfelt renditions of their traditional song, "God Bless America!" I watched the live broadcast, and rerun after rerun, for hours listening to the story of the guy who went down one hundred floors with a woman in a wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the Californian hockey player, who gave his life fighting with the terrorists and prevented the plane from hitting a target that could have killed hundreds or thousands of other people. How on earth were they able to respond united as one human being? Imperceptibly, with every word & musical note, the memory of some turned into a modern myth of tragic heroes. And with every phone call, millions and millions of dollars were put in a collection aimed at rewarding not a man or a family, but a spirit, which no money can buy. What on earth can unite Americans in such a way?!? Their Land? Their economic Power? Their brief, galloping, adventurous history? Their Money? I tried for hours to find an answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases at the risk of sounding trite or commonplace. I thought many things over, but reached one conclusion... only Freedom can work such miracles! *********************************** ***** MAY GOD CONTINUE TO BLESS AMERICA ***** *********************************** __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - File online, calculators, forms, and more http://tax.yahoo.com