From: Bruce Kaufman, September 13, 2001. |
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President, USLMRA |
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After the mind-numbing tragedy of Tuesday, September 11, I think it is important for communities to pull together, even our community, the community of lawn mower racers. I, like all of you, was glued to the television after the tragedy watching, listening and absorbing. I have had a hard time grasping the significance of what has transpired. Unlike most of you, I watched the events from the hospital where my third child, Lee Jarret Kaufman, was born. I dealt with a flurry of emotions from the hospital to the television providing personal encouragement for one new life and having long distance empathy for countless deaths. To all of you who have sent me congratulatory e-mails on the birth of my new little person, thank you. I also wish to thank our lawn mower racing friends in England, Canada and Australia who have shared kind words of sympathy for all of us. On behalf of all your American lawn mower racing friends, thank you. I guess in light of the terrible tragedy, which has befallen our nation, lawn mower racing might seem rather insignificant and trivial. Even so, we are a community. We have created our community and we are a close knit group. When it gets right down to it, America is a network of neighborhoods and communities: New York, New York. Mendota, Illinois. Washington, DC. Cut Bank, Montana. Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Citronelle, Alabama. As each of these communities pull together to make it through this difficult and emotionally turbulent time, I see our community pulling together. Our Yahoo Club site has messages posted on it (http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/unitedstateslawnmowerracing) about our community's reaction. My e-mail box has been flooded, first with congratulations then with messages of patriotism. I know we are all dealing with this tragedy in our own way, among our groups of family, friends and co-workers. And within our community. As a member of the community of lawn mower racers, I wish you the resolve and strength to make it through this tough time. I join with all of you in empathy, sorrow, anger, a desire for revenge, disbelief and numbness as we continue to watch the events of Tuesday, September 11 unfold. While I am with my new born life and thinking about thousands of senseless deaths, I'll take some comfort in knowing that I am a member of a community, indeed an international community, of friends, families and like-minded folks of whom I'm proud to be part of. My best to all of you.. Bruce Kaufman |