It's been overwhelming.

The pictures

and the sounds of last week's tragedies in Washington and New York will

forever be embedded in our memories.

Our safe world

where our main worry for the day was where to eat lunch or dinner has

been replaced with a place where each siren causes a nervous glance to

the window, and each image from our television gets harder to take.

Since the tragedies

unfurled, the nation has come together in a way that has not been seen

since that tranquil Sunday morning in Hawaii shattered our lives 60 years

ago.

One of the

many stories that has emerged from the rubble has been the outpouring

of help from New York's restaurant community. Meals that would normally

cost $100-$200 are now being enjoyed by dusty firefighters and police

officers who are only acquainted with the restaurant by passing it on

the way to work.

For 30 minutes

or so, the rescue workers are transported back to our old world and share

the communion of food and fellowship with people from all walks of life.

A brief break

for a meal doesn't change the grim task of sorting through tons of debris,

but it's providing many workers their only semblance of reality in an

insane world.

While Fayette

County remained physically untouched from last week's events, all of our

psyches have been shaken. Now's the time to gather around a community

table and share a meal, a chat, a community hug. ...

For years,

the family dinner hour was a place that opinions were shaped, decisions

were delivered and families were strengthened.

But in our

time-crunched society, we're far more likely to grab fast-food on the

way home and eat it while watching television. Meals are just another

activity on our Palm Pilots ... they no longer are a priority, just another

to-do item.

The world changed

Tuesday, and it's time for us to change as well. Many of our Christian

faiths refer to their communion services as receiving the bread of life.

It's time for

all of us to commune, and share a meal together with everyone important

in our lives. It's not going to turn the clock back, but it will help

keep us moving forward in one of the bleakest hours we've faced in over

60 years.