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What's Brewing

For 9/11, walk and remember

By SUSAN THURSTON
Published September 8, 2006

Five years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, it's a good bet that most people still know exactly where they were when the planes struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

I was on vacation in New Orleans, visiting the Audubon Zoo. I remember watching news coverage on a small black and white TV zookeepers set up in the petting zoo, goats standing at our side. Later, I remember crying in a hotel bathroom for all the lives lost and the hatred hurled at Americans.

It was an unparalleled time for all of us. Half a decade later, it continues to permeate our lives, in ways large and small.

Brenda Little was at work, preparing for a charity event that night at the grand opening of Dillard's at International Plaza. She thought it was strange when someone called to cancel because of a plane crash up north.

By noon, the event was canceled. Everything was canceled.

Her brother, Donald Little, a captain in the Army, was among the first to go to Iraq. No one knew what was happening or how long he'd be gone. Their mother, naturally, was beside herself.

Donald Little, 33, returned safe and sound, got married and now is stationed in Korea. He misses his wife and family and life back home in Tampa.

For him and all the troops overseas, Brenda is organizing the first America Supports You Freedom Walk in Tampa on Monday at Legends Field. The event will remember the victims of 9/11 and pay tribute to soldiers deployed around the world. It is one of about 120 walks taking place in cities across the United States.

Brenda, 37, took on the project a few weeks ago at the suggestion of a friend. A longtime South Tampa resident, she had just finished her MBA at the University of South Florida and was days from graduating.

Eager to take a break from study and work, she threw her energy into planning the walk. A promotions and events planner for Lighthouse Marketing, Brenda had the know-how to pull it off. She and a friend, Kim Francis, director of communications for Checkers, formed a small committee to organize the event.

They landed Legends Field and Checkers Drive-In Restaurants as main sponsors. The first 500 participants to register online will get a free commemorative T-shirt.

On-site registration - everyone has to sign a waiver to attend the event - starts at 6 p.m. The ceremony starts at 7 p.m. An honor guard will lead participants on a walk around the field's perimeter. Small signs posted along the route will offer a time line of 9/11 events and messages of support.

Brenda wanted to keep the event simple and solemn. No one will ask for donations. Everything is free. Organizers encourage people to dress in red, white and blue.

The walk will coincide with similar events from California to Maine. Five are planned in Florida, according to the umbrella organizing group's Web site, www.americasupportsyou.com. The main Freedom Walk will happen in Washington, D.C., on Sunday night, the eve of the attacks.

Everyday people like Brenda are putting together the walks. There's 9-year-old Colton Lockner, who's organizing the event in Sebring, Ohio. He wanted to thank his uncle, an Army Reserve staff sergeant, and remember those who died during the attacks.

There's also Army National Guardsman Paul Holton, who's heading up the event in Salt Lake City. Holton founded Operation Give, which gives toys, medical supplies and other items to children in areas torn by war or natural disaster, including Afghanistan, Iraq and Sri Lanka.

Brenda hopes people everywhere will come to the walks to reflect on the past and look toward the future. A future that forever changed five years ago.

Susan Thurston can be reached at thurston@sptimes.com or 226-3394.

[Last modified September 7, 2006, 11:28:30]