Fifteen years ago, after dealing with a torn ACL for far too long, I had the surgery and was recovering. Early September, I decided to go back to work way too early, so still on crutches and on light duty at work. On the morning of the eleventh, I did what all telephone guys do: I got in my truck and headed for the nearest coffee shop. I have always been a news junkie, so I turned on the radio and the first report came in during my short drive. A small plane has hit the World Trade Center.

I swear, I never gave it a second thought.

I wobbled into the Busy Bee and enjoyed my first cup of coffee. Phone rings, server answers, says we are under attack and turns the tv on. It still did not register. She said planes were flying into the World Trade Center and at that moment I knew the world had changed.

Now, when I say that I knew the world had changed, I did not realize that our country had changed. But, make no mistake, when history looks back on this nation, I believe that morning, on my way to grab a few cups of coffee, we were dealt a mortal wound that we never recovered from. I can remember almost everything about that day right up to time to go home.

We all said the same thing. War. We will build it back. We will kill them all. So many dead, and nobody knew bin Laden or Al-Qaeda. And so it began: more security and less freedom- just for a little while. Wire taps to keep us safe. Special pat downs at airports just to keep us safe. I was flying quite a bit at the time and I always used our intimate times to lecture. So, here we are now with the NSA, TSA, HOMELAND SECURITY and nothing is private and nobody bats an eye. Here is what I believe fifteen years after the world changed:

2. This is The Western World’s Zombie Apocalypse. (They will never give up. They will never grow weary. They are evil, and the sooner you accept it the better.)
3. World War III is coming, and we are not prepared. (We are approaching twenty trillion dollars in debt and the rest of the western world is in worse shape than us. That should scare the hell out of everyone and it would except for one small thing: nobody believes it.)
4. I honestly believed for maybe five years that they were taking our freedom to protect us. (At this point if you still feel this way, maybe you should be tested for the Dumbass Virus. I’m guessing you’re stage four.)
5. The old America is never coming back. (If you are my age, you know exactly what I mean. If you are under 45 you don’t, and never will. Sorry.)     Growing up in the old America, one decade past World War II, there was a mindset that everyone had, but that just somehow died along the way. People no longer believe in American exceptionalism. That hard work will win out. Cheaters never win and winners never cheat. An honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. Politicians are there to serve the people.

If you are my age, you believed all of that and more, but somewhere we lost our way.

The last fifteen years have been pretty hard on me in many ways. There is a huge difference in 45 and pushing 60. The biggest change though is how I view the world. I now live in a world that struggles with gender identity, safe places, countries, and groups that are so polarized they are filled with hate. Right now, half of our population cannot relate to the other half solely because of political views. Half of our population is standing in the handout line or working multiple jobs just to scrape by. We no longer trust our government to fix anything. In the end, all that matters is family. And helping others. The old America is never coming back. It vanished with a cup of coffee.