What a loss it was. Our thought of a nation untouchable ended ten years ago with the loss of so many innocent lives on September 11, 2001. People were just going to work, going about doing the things that they did every single day. They certainly were not pondering the thought that in a few hours/minutes this would be their last day on earth.

We wake every day, going through our daily routine never thinking that there may be no more days ahead for us. We get used to seeing the same people every day as we pass by, the same scenery as we travel, the same us as we look in the mirror. But it's an appearance, a make-believe notion. The scenery, the people, and even the "us" part slowly but continuously disintegrates over time; everything fades; rips and holes begin to appear in the carefully woven fabric. We patch what we see with tears shed or with self- produced warming, comforting thoughts, and then satisfied we move along.

We don't give a thought to what loss is until it begins to happen around us. Our family and friends get older. Their hair grays. They become round shouldered and stooped, their mental faculties may slip and be a cause for concern, and perhaps they need the assistance of a willing arm or shoulder or if not available an artificial support. None escape the inevitable. As we live on, there are more tears and more holes to repair and at some point we can no longer keep up the needed mending. But the slowness of it gives us a chance to accept the undeniable end, to be somewhat prepared for it.

Those on 9-11 whose innocent lives ended in a pile of rubble never had a chance to repair the tears and holes in their fabric. How sad, how appalling, how unpardonable it is that they never had that chance.

They tell us we should not live in the past; that we should leave the past behind and live only for the future. I have to say that if it were not for my pleasant memories of the "past," I don't believe I could survive in our world as we know it now and I truly hate to think of what our future will be if we continue on the road we are traveling today.

I am not well versed or educated in every aspect as to why things have changed so drastically in our society, but can only speak from my point of view and my life. It seems to me that the more advances in lifestyle and technology that occur, the poorer our lives become, except, of course, for all the people who've become wealthy contributing to all the technology that is literally destroying jobs of the middle class. I know if I were still in the workforce, I would not be able to get a job due to technology.

I was employed for 47 years as a secretary and administrative assistant. When I was hired in 1953, jobs were plentiful -- In fact, the Personnel Manager of the first company where I worked actually came to our high school to recruit employees. I wasn't the best typist (35 WPM), but the company hired me anyway. I learned and improved on the job. This would never happen today. You would have to be proficient and an expert on the computer and God knows what else before you could get hired. I eventually graduated to the computer in my work, but was lucky to get to the point of retirement, because you had to keep learning a new system on the computer and my brain couldn't take it anymore.

I say I couldn't get a job today because there is no need for a secretary when the executive can make a huge salary and type his letters, etc. on his own computer.

Due to technology we eventually will no longer need bank clerks, postal workers, librarians, factory workers (robots), books, newspapers, etc. etc. The question is with all the wonderful technology and savings from not hiring real people, how can anyone buy all the technology with no jobs.

It seems to me that all our advances are more of a loss than a gain. I'd rather think of my simple past, than the lost future.