What is so special about January 27 2001? Everyone knows what happened on 9/11 of that year but 1/27 was much more personal for me. It was the second week of class at Oklahoma State University. I was teaching a stress management class to bright, happy students with no cares in the world.

When I left work on Friday, January 25th, I had prepared class for the following week. We were going to discuss principles of stress and resilience. Then January 27th happened and everything I had so carefully planned seemed so trivial.

It was a Sunday night, January 27th . I turned on my favorite Oklahoma City television station to watch the news. I loved the Sports Anchor, Bill Teegins. He was a youthful, vibrant, playful, genuine human being who also happened to call play-by-play for the OSU basketball team. I loved to listen to him call the games on the radio. You could feel his love for the players as he described the action. At least once a game he would shout "he shoots from three...... HE GOT IT!!!!!" More difficult moments usually brought forth a disgusted "oh brother!".

What I saw that night on the news was bizarre. Both news anchors were crying. Neither one could complete a sentence. They were trying their best, but only a commercial break could save them. Slowly the horrible, unthinkable events unfolded.

The OSU basketball team had played a game in Colorado. They usually traveled in three private planes. Two were jets and one was a turbo prop. The coaches and players usually flew in the jets and the basketball posse usually flew in the turbo prop. For some reason, this night two of the players happened to board the turbo prop with the OSU basketball staff and Bill Teegins.

The turbo prop took off perhaps without being adequately de-iced. It reached a certain altitude then began to dive. We later learned that it dove nose first into a farmers field east of Denver. As the facts continued to come in, it was painfully evident that there was no possible chance that any of the 10 passengers survived.

This event touched me and all of the people who lived in that small community in so many ways that I cannot adequately describe. Ironically, I left two days later to fly overseas and had to fly through Denver. This provoked a great deal of reflection on my part. Usually when I reflect deeply enough, I write poetry. Here is the poem that I wrote on the plane to Denver that day in January 2001. It is entitled "Oklahoma Sons". May it help you appreciate the present moment and to regularly express love to the special ones in your life.

Dear God, they were our family,
Our precious. beloved, joyful ones;
They lived, they loved, they labored here,
Our Oklahoma Sons.

Its seems that it was far too soon,
For our ten brothers to depart;
Please God, heal the emptiness,
In our Oklahoma hearts.

Let us remember their legacy,
By loving life as they have done;
That our lives may a memorial be,
To our Oklahoma Sons.

As we press forward from this day,
Please keep these blessed ones;
We entrust them to thy tender care,
Your Oklahoma Sons.