Today is September 11, 2011, which marks the tenth year since America was attacked on our own soil and thousands of lives were lost.  In those ten years there have been steps and misteps as the country tried to make sense out of something senseless and we did the best we could to come to terms with our vulnerabilities and make sure we never had this experience again.  There are many commemorations today of the lives lost, many of whom were first responders who are the men and women first on the scene and charged with the fateful duty of trying to protect and save innocent lives.  Sadly, many of those champions became the victims and left behind broken and torn lives of loved ones.  As we remember those lives lost today, we would like to pay special tribute to the first responders, the second responders and all of those men and women who sacrifice their safety each and every day to make our world just a little bit safer. To the families of the innocent who died as they went about their business, their jobs and living their lives as they did every day, we send a prayer to you as well.  From every tragedy inevitably we learn and grow as people and a nation.  Hopefully, as we remember those lost we can also acknowledge lessons learned and know those lessons are helping make our first responders and our citizens safer and more aware of the world around us.  In remembrance today for lives lost and our country we pause and say, thank you.