Remembering 9/11 - See-Wong Shum

2996 is a coalition of bloggers brought together by D.Challener Roe to commemorate the lives of the victims in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Here is the list of participants and tributes.

I am remembering forty-four year old See-Wong Shum who worked for New York Metropolitan Transport Council, eighty-second floor, One World Trade Center (north building).

He is survived by his wife - Rebecca Shum, son - Leon Shum, and daughter - Chanel Shum.

See-Wong Shum seems to have been a deeply spiritual, dedicated, and very intelligent person; he spent endless hours in the public library researching texts on different religions and a week before the World Trade Center attacks he announced that he was converting to Buddhism.

Mr. Shum also seemed to always be seeking new adventures and ways to help other people. Raised in Hong Kong, He once held positions as a high school teacher, corrections officer and suicide hotline counselor.

During his free time, he backpacked through Europe, China, Israel, Peru, Egypt and Thailand.

It was in Thailand where he was first exposed to Buddhism and meditated in a temple for the first time.

Mr. Shum finally settled on a computer-related job, managing computer systems for New York Metropolitan Transportation Council. It is said that he rarely missed a day of work, only taking time off to tend to his wife or children if they were sick.

He reportedly answered phones amid the chaos of the September 11th attacks. His wife, Rebecca, did not get a chance to talk to him one last time. However, when she returned home that day after dropping their daughter off at nursery school, there was a message on the answering machine. There were no voices on the message, just the sound of wailing sirens in the background.

While I never knew Mr. Shum in this life, after learning about him I now feel a great loss. He seems like a man that I would liked to have spoken with and personally known. This has allowed me to put a face, a name, and a life to this day that had affected me so much that I felt compelled to re-join the military to do my part. See-Wong Shum you are missed.

I am honored to have participated in this remembrance of the victims of 9/11. Please take some time today to stop and think about See-Wong Shum, his family and the 2995 other victims who perished on September 11, 2001.

Crikey! Steve Irwin Is Dead...

Steve Irwin died doing what he loved best, working with one of the dangerous animals he dedicated his life to protecting with an irrepressible, effervescent personality that propelled him to global fame as television's "Crocodile Hunter."

“Crikey!” was his catch phrase, repeated whenever there was a close call during his televison programs, delivered with a broad smile, an Australian twang and big arm gestures.

The forty-four year old Irwin's heart was pierced by the serrated, poisonous spine of a stingray as he swam with the creature.

Irwin created an empire out of flirting with the world's most dangerous creatures - both on land and in the sea - and was filming a documentary, Ocean's Deadliest, when the tragedy occurred.

It’s seems a lot like when I heard the news that Christopher Reeve fell from his horse and broke his back. Even though I am aware that he was just an actor, it's was something that I just couldn't believe would happen to Superman. You know what I mean?

Steve Irwin was kind of like the “Superman” of the wild. No matter how close he got to a dangerous or poisonous creature or how crazy what he was doing looked like - Steve was always going to be safe because of his passion and knowledge for what he was doing.

Conservationists said all the world would feel the loss of Irwin, who turned a childhood love of snakes and lizards and knowledge learned at his parents’ side into a message of wildlife preservation that reached a television audience that reportedly exceeded two hundred million.

He was a committed conservationist, running a wildlife park for crocodiles and other Australian fauna, including kangaroos, koalas and possums, and using some of his televsion wealth to buy tracts of land for use as natural habitat.

I will really miss watching his wacky antics while being educated about exotic animals. He seemed like such a good hearted person with a great sense of humor.

Some people live a very long very safe life. Some people live a bit differently. I think Steve got all he could out of life. He lived and died on his own terms. I think he did die doing what he loved best.

Caption This...

It's "Caption This" Sunday again!

This weeks picture was suggested by Tracy

OK, it's said that a picture is worth a thousand words.

Test your wit and come up with a funny caption for this photo.

Here are a few to get you started...

1. This one is empty too! Mickey how do you refill a boobie?
2. Well, Mommy's are made of silicone too...
3. In retrospect, it was a mistake to leave Mickey Mouse alone with Stanley knowing that he and Barbie were swingers.

Pete's Dueling Piano Bar!

Friday night Season and I went downtown to Pete's Dueling Piano Bar which is known for singing loud and proud across the great state of Texas!

It's a large bar that features a main stage with two baby grand pianos where the entertainment consists of a couple of prolific piano players leading drunken sing-a-longs. They play oldies, but goodies, your favorite requests and even recent hits they know the crowd will love.

The music is indescribable until you see it in person. The players seem to have a vast repertoire of songs from which to choose and didn't seem to be stumped by obscure requests either.

It's everyone's singing and laughing that creates that infectious excitement that keeps the good time going. Season and I were a great team...I can recognize a lot of songs, but she is the one that actually knows the lyrics. Season was so good she was asked to dance up on stage!

The drinks were flowing, we sang till we were hoarse, we danced a bit, and met some nice and also some really odd people.

We had a blast! This place is a sing-along, clap-along, drink-along, have-one-helluva-good-time-along bar!