Justice

I have a story that seems to follow me everywhere I go. I wasn’t planning to blog about it, but then the circumstances changed this week. In a previous blog, I mentioned that my husband and I will be married ten years on September 8, of this year. It was such a beautiful wedding. On the night of the tenth, we flew into Aruba to start our honeymoon. It was dark when we landed, but when we woke up the next morning, we were so excited to see such a beautiful white sandy beach right out our door. In that moment, it really was “the happiest place on earth,” as the saying goes, and we were anxious to start our day. As we started to get ready, we turned on the television and saw what I initially thought was the movie, “Armageddon,” but quickly learned it was the scary reality of the twin towers collapsing. We were instantly overcome with terror. Both of our fathers, my brother-in-law, my aunts and uncles and almost our entire bridal party worked in Manhattan. As we struggled to snap out of shock, all we could see was people running for their lives. Sadly, we found out later that my father-in-law, Jim Corrigan, was killed on that day and we were suddenly stuck in the “happiest place on earth,” for five full days, since all of the American airports were closed. Our wedding was the last time we saw him.

My father-in-law was a retired Captain of the New York City Fire Department, and worked as the head of fire and life services for the twin towers. He died a hero that day, rescuing an entire day care center before he died. We now have three children, who never got to know their grandfather personally and every milestone in their lives, and every anniversary we celebrate is tainted bitter sweet as a result of 9/11. This week, when I heard the news that Osama Bin Laden was dead, I was happy. Justice has finally been served, but that won’t bring him back. There is still a gaping hole in our hearts and a feeling that he should be here with us and his grandchildren. I have to say, the unity among Americans in recent weeks is reminiscent of the weeks that followed 9/11, and it is inspiring. In some ways, it eases the sadness. I can only hope and pray that Jim is resting a little more peacefully now that his murderer has a hot seat in hell right next to the devil.

Vocabulary 

Previous (adjective) - coming or occurring before something else; prior

Mention (verb) - to refer briefly to; name, specify, or speak of

Honeymoon (noun) - a vacation or trip taken by a newly married couple

Anxious (adjective) - earnestly desirous; eager

Collapsing (verb) - to fall or cave in; crumble suddenly

Reminiscent (adjective) - awakening memories of something similar

Overcome (verb) - to overpower or overwhelm in body or mind

Fill in the Blank

1. We needed to fix up the house because the  ___________owner had not done any work in years.

2. She did not _________ the time of the show.

3. The new couple went to Hawaii for their _________.

4. After all the stress of planning a wedding, they were ________ to go on vacation.

5. The buildings were ________ because they were old and not well kept.

6. She was _______with sadness at the death of her friend.

7. The wedding was _______of the 1940s.

Grammar Point

This blog is written in the past tense. Many verbs in the past tense end in –ed, however their endings may sound different. Words that end in –ed can have an ending sound of “d,” “ t,” or “id.” Write down these past tense ending sounds in three sections at the top of your paper. Find all of the words that end in –ed from this blog and write them in the column that matches their ending sound.