Fr. Martin Fox Visits an Empty Field in Pennsylvania

Fr. Martin Fox at his blog Bonfire of the Vanities writes about a recent side trip to an empty field while travelling back to Ohio from Washington, D.C.:

Wednesday, as I considered my route back home to Ohio from Washington, D.C., I remembered: there was a special site, somewhere in Pennsylvania--was it near I-70? I checked, and indeed it was: Shanksville, Pennsylvania, not too far off the path I would take home.

Do you recall that name? Does it sound vaguely familiar? I wager so: that is where United Airlines Flight 93 plummeted to earth, as a group of "hell, no, we're not going to take it anymore" Americans rose up against the terrorists on September 11 (yes, that September 11) and fought back.

So, as I departed northern Virginia, I dithered about whether I would get off the Pennsylvania Turnpike for this visit. "It will take too long," I thought; "I can do it the next time through," I rationalized. Then came a firm response: "No, I may never do it. This is the time; I am in no hurry; I am not due back for another day...do it now!"

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