Today is Patriot Day

I'm kind of embarrassed. I looked at my calendar and saw it was Patriot Day, but I could not remember what it was for. I talked to some friends and it turned out that no one knew what it was all about. The most enthusiastic anyone got was one friend who asked, hopefully, if it meant a day off from work.

You'd think that the fact that it was on 'September 11th' would have tipped me off -but no. The little grey brain cells just weren't working. Well, I took the time to look it up and to discover how dumb I can really be sometimes. For those of you who, like me, are having trouble putting it together, here is the '411' on Patriots Day:

In the United States, Patriot Day occurs on September 11 of each year, designated in memory of the 2,977 killed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Initially, the day was called the Prayer and Remembrance for the Victims of the Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001.

U.S. House of Representatives Joint Resolution 71 was approved by a vote of 407–0 on October 25, 2001. It requested that the President designate September 11 of each year as "Patriot Day". President George W. Bush signed the resolution into law on December 18, 2001 (as Public Law 107-89[1]). It is a discretionary day of remembrance. On September 4, 2002, President Bush used his authority created by the resolution and proclaimed September 11, 2002 as Patriot Day.

On this day, the President requests that the American flag be flown at half-staff at individual American homes, at the White House, and on all U.S. government buildings and establishments, home and abroad. The President also asks Americans to observe a moment of silence beginning at 8:46 A.M. (Eastern Daylight Time), the time the first plane struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

Live Long and Prosper....