The Tragedy

by Robert Lee Camp, September 12, 2001

I was at the airport in Charlotte, NC yesterday when the tragedy occurred. I was just about ready to board my flight to Hartford, CT when they announced that all flights that were scheduled to traverse the NYC area were being postponed due to some incident at the World Trade Center. The next announcement came 15 minutes later when they announced that all flights in the entire country were being cancelled until 6:00 pm. At that moment everyone in the crowded airport stood up or looked at each other. Wow! What is going on? I had seen a lot of people at the bar watching TV but I still did not know what had happened. When I found out that two airliners had been flown into the World Trade Towers, I was stunned.

The first thing I thought about was how this event was going to affect everyone. I thought about all of us at the airport. I looked around. There were businessmen, family members, people going on vacation, people returning home, military men being transported and all the folks that work at the airport. I saw that for each of us there, this event would have a unique effect. For me it was not that big of a deal. My flight up north was for something that could easily be rescheduled. I just had to manage to get a ride back to my home, which was two hours away by car. For some reason, I felt no anxiousness or disappointment. But I noticed that others were getting very stressed out. People got on their cell phones and lined up at the pay phones. I went downstairs to the rental car companies, but too late. They were sold out before I got there. Wow, I thought, this is going to be a great day for the rental car companies. Not such a great day for the airlines though. Millions of tickets probably had to be refunded yesterday. I am waiting a couple of days before calling to get my $400 back. It was a great day for hotels too. Many of the people at the airport needed accommodations.

Then I thought about the employees. Within hours the entire airport was evacuated. We were all lead downstairs to a scene of utter pandemonium as we tried to get our luggage back from all the airplanes left standing at the gates. It took a couple of hours for my baggage to show up, just about enough time for my friend to arrive to pick me up. People were sitting around, talking, reflecting on what had occurred, or frantically trying to get somewhere or make arrangements for their own safety and comfort. It was a scene that I will not forget. But the spirit was cooperative and people were genuinely there for each other. A tragedy like this has a way of bringing people together who would ordinarily not give each other the time of day. I talked with some of the employees. For them, this was just another day, but one with lots of different elements to it.

I then reflected on how this event was causing all the people in our country to get on the telephone. This is a great day for the telephone companies too, I thought. The executive in their offices must be celebrating how much money they are making today. I knew my mother and sisters would be worried about me so I tried to call. My cell phone could barely get through. The circuits were overloaded everywhere. I think a huge tragedy like this causes us all to remember that death is our ultimate destination. It certainly caused me to appreciate some things in my life that I wasn't beforehand. Relationships, in particular, seemed to come to mind. I wanted everyone in my life to know that I loved them. I think a lot of other people had the same thought because this morning in my email I got a lot of messages from people reminding us that we need to tell our loved ones how important they are to us. I can see that for many people, this tragedy has helped them appreciate what they have in their life. They are placing their attention upon things that normally get passed over in favor of their career or personal interests.

Then I thought about the people who were in the airplanes and the buildings that were destroyed. I thought about their families and loved ones. Again I realized that each person connected to one of these people would be affected in a unique way. For some it would be an utter tragedy but for others, it could cause a major healing. Just two weeks ago, I attended the funeral of one of my aunts. What was so great about it was how it brought all the diverse members of a large family together again. I loved seeing my other aunts and uncles and connecting to the roots of my physical being. I bet there will be many funerals in the upcoming weeks and each of them will have this sort of a positive effect on someone like myself. Beyond the funerals, I can see that every individual connected to someone who perished or was injured by this incident would have a unique story to tell about how this tragedy changed their life. The person in the picture here jumped out of a window to his death. He might have made it out okay. Why do you suppose he would choose to do that? It could have been some sort of personal declaration of his power to make choices in spite of a impossible situation. We may never know.

It is my firm belief that everyone affected by this event was affected in a positive way. It may seem heartless to suggest that such a tragedy is a positive thing. But that only comes from the notion that death is a bad thing. We just do not know the individual stories of each person who died. But if we did, I bet we would see the loving hand of God in each one of them. That is how it always is.

Then I thought about the future of our country. This event could trigger a war with one or more middle east Arab countries. First of all, these countries control something like 80% of the world's oil. A war will cause a fuel shortage which will affect us all in this country. But this could be a fuel crisis, not just a shortage. This war could cost thousands or even millions of more lives. Now that the die has been cast by the Arabs, the chain of events could lead in many different directions.

I looked at the cards for the US this year, pictured above. The only negative influences present are the 9 of Hearts Long Range Card and the 6 of Clubs and Ace of Spades in Saturn. And this is a Rebirth year for our country, which always has a positive effect of some kind. The 9 of Hearts could certainly mean a falling out with other countries. We may actually make a lot of more enemies and have to sever ties with many countries as a result of this event. But in my opinion, the outcome of all this will be beneficial to our country, because this is a blessed year. The daily cards are interesting too.

Yesterday, the US had a 7 of Club and 6 of Spades in Uranus. Underlying the 7 of Clubs is the Queen of Clubs and Underlying the 6 of Spades is the Ace of Spades. These influences seem to say that this event is a retribution for something we have done, as a country. Uranus deals with unexpected events and with air travel. Interesting!

Friends and fellow students of the cards, please be aware that we the public know little of what our country is really up to in many of the foreign events that surround us and which we are involved in. Just look in our recent past at the Iran-Contra affair and others where factions of our government were operating behind the scenes doing things that the public had no knowledge of. This event could easily be retribution for something that we know nothing about. The real story is probably only known by a few in the upper echelons of our government. The media is tool that blinds us to what is happening much more than one that informs us.

Then, I talked with some friends of mine. One was scheduled to fly to Denver, CO for a gem show. This event caused a cancellation of his flight. His staying home instead of going caused other changes to occur. In my own case, I was flying up north to attend a personal development workshop. I had broken up with my girlfriend and this trip was supposed to be, for us, a parting of the ways, a time for us both to get on with our lives. But when this tragedy happened, she ended up coming to pick me up at the airport. On the way home, we had a healing about our relationship. This tragedy brouht us back together again.

Think about how this tragedy has affected you. If, like me, you realize that this event had an ultimately good effect on you, drop me an email and let me know.

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