One of my very best friends, Muriel Fisher lost her son, Gerald Fisher at the
Pentagon. He was there with his team to present a computer program which they had created to ease government payments to the survivors of slain service people At the moment they were presenting it to the general, the plane hit the pentagon and wasted the beautiful lives of kind and loving people who were attempting to do a good thing for Americans. What a horrific personal loss to the families and to the many people whose pain could have been eased and their lives been made easier from the loving work of "Geepe" Fisher and his team.

In addition to the pain of the families, we have lost, what over 3,000 people could have contributed to humanity is staggering. What music and books will not be written? What medical cures will not be discovered? What progeny will not be born? I hope if any would be terrorist is reading this you think about how much good you are destroying in the name of your misguided idea of religion. To the survivors, my heart is with you.

Love Renaissance Joy

Here is a poem and a song which I wrote for the memorial service of Gerald 'Geepe' Fisher, the son of my very dear friend's Muriel Fisher.

WE DID NOTHING
by Joy de la Ren
(with acknowledgement to Pastor Martin Niemoller)

When Arafaat stalked and murdered Israeli athlete youth at Munich, we said, "those are not my people" and we did nothing.

When a fatwah was issued on Salomin Rushdie and made his life a living hell, we thought, "its only the loss of one person's freedom of speech" and we did nothing.

When Ben Ladin blew up embassies in Africa, we thought, "its so far away" and we did nothing.

When the world trade center was bombed the first time, not enough people were killed, and what did we do?

When they blew up the SS Cole, we thought, "its only one ship" and we did nothing.

When the Taliban committed atrocities against their own women: ritual genital mutilation, refused them work, education, healthcare, murdered them at will and put them in Burqua under house arrest, we thought, "they are so far away and our women are free" and we did nothing.

We let them build, we watched them build and we did nothing.

Now they have come for us and taken more than 3,000 souls who have touched the lives of every one of us and we are lucky there are still
some of us left to do something.

A Mourning Song For Muriel
By Joy de la Ren

Sung to the melody of Shanandoa

We sit here stunned
While we are weeping
Away souls are are leaving
We mourn and cry
We wonder why
There seems
no end in sight
As we share our grieving

We have lost someone we love
Away souls are leaving
We cry and wait
And hope in grief
We'll see
One day we'll see
A world of peace.