September 11, 2001

Thanks to all of you for sharing your thoughts regarding the tragedies of 9/11. One alerted me to S.J.’s poignant email on the list serve. Some of you may remember that I was in D.C. at that time. My recollections of standing on top of our office building watching the plumes of smoke and fire from the Pentagon are vivid. The twin sister of one of my staff Members was caught in Tower I. Tola did not know her sister’s fate until late that afternoon. You can imagine the trauma. Her phone rang around 5 P.M., she did not want to answer, but she finally did. She heard a voice say, “Your sister is lying here next to me and she made it out. I think she’s going to be okay.”

It certainly impacted our lives, our perspective…forever. Our experiences, our attachment to the event pale next to those innocent lives lost and the family Members who can only embrace the memories in their absence. Perhaps the only gift we can give them is to remember, to hold them in our hearts and our prayers.

We are never safe from those who wish us harm. Thinking, denying or wishing it otherwise will never change that.

God bless all 2,996 lost, the more than 6,000 injured and their families.

Mr. Parman is a frequent guest on the radio and can be seen on television talk shows explaining the importance of proper estate planning. Prosperity Productions selected Mr. Parman is a featured speaker in a nationally-recognized educational video on Living Trusts. He is the author of numerous published articles on financial and estate planning matters and the co-author of two books, Estate Planning Basics: A Crash Course in Safeguarding Your Legacy and Guiding Those Left Behind in Oklahoma: Settling the Affairs of Your Loved Ones.

Mr. Parman is a Member and Fellow of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys. He is also a member of the Oklahoma and Missouri Bar Associations, the American Bar Association, and the Oklahoma City Estate Planning Council.

Academy Guest Blogger
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