Ann

I woke up this morning to the realization that it is 911. The past 2 years as come and gone very quickly. I wanted to share with you what today means to me. I will not pretend that I was a close friend of Ann's, but after listening some of the stories about her I wish I would have gotten to know her better. However, since her death I can honestly say I think about her a lot.

I coach football in my spare time, so I get to listen to the National Anthem every week. Every time I hear it I picture Ann with her dog in front of the flag and I THANK HER. I thank her for helping me realize that I am very lucky. She reminds me every week of what is really important in my life. She reinforces my decision to take time to coach, something I have always dreamed about doing. It was a hard decision to take a big pay cut for 5 months out of the year to do something for the pure enjoyment of it. Ann is especially there for me when I think the pressure from work is getting too much. She is there, in front of the Flag, and in my mind she is telling me it's OK to follow your dream and reminds me that we need to take advantage of the opportunities we are given to the best of our abilities. She reminds me to take the time to tell my friends and family that I love them.

Even though we were not close before, she has done a lot for me since 911 and I want to thank her. I sincerely believe that she can hear me but I wanted all of you to know what she has done for me on this special day.

I am going to tell my team at practice today about Ann. But I'm not sure what I am going to say or how it's going to come out. I think she is a very inspirational story and if we keep her in our thoughts then she will never truly be gone.

I hope every one is Happy and Healthy.

John Trana