Sept. 16, 2001 – Determined to fly the American flag from their home in Mandahl this weekend but "unable to find one for sale," Jackson and Tracy Roberts used a little Yankee know-how to make their own.
Tracy downloaded the necessary flag image from the Internet and, using her architectural skills, expanded the outlines to 60 by 31 feet to fit properly on their rooftop. Meanwhile, Jackson, who flies DC-10s for Northwest Airlines for a living, bought "custom-mixed" roof-coating in the traditional colors.
Friends and neighbors, all fellow patriots living in the U.S. Virgin Islands, pitched in to complete the "flag raising" by mid-afternoon, with time left for a barbecue.
"The real reason we did it," said Jackson, "is because our hearts go out to the terrorist attack victims and the people who are working to save them. Since we couldn't be there to help, we did this to show our support."

The scene at Cyril E. King Airport on Saturday was probably not that different from scenes all across the country: vehicles lined up waiting to be inspected and searched so they could enter the airport grounds.
It was extraordinary to see this happening here in our beautiful, peaceful Virgin Islands. But it is a sign of the times, and it will likely get worse before it gets better.
As the rest of the nation calls for vigilance and patience after the worst terrorism attacks in history, the Virgin Islands must also realize that we are America and we are vulnerable. In fact, we are more vulnerable than many places because of our location, our topography, our laxness about security and our history as a crossroads for illegal activity, including smuggling of drugs and illegal immigrants.
Many national political leaders and editorial commentators are cautioning that America is in this war against terrorism for the long haul and must be realistic about the long-term nature of what we face.
Our leaders, our security forces and our people here in this territory must acknowledge and respond to that reality as well.
We have such minimal resources to begin with that it would be easy to beg off the job of protecting our citizenry and, in turn, our fellow U.S. citizens. It is also hard for many of us to take seriously our possible link to the larger picture of what is happening on the mainland.
But we must not separate ourselves from our brothers and sisters there. We are part of America, which makes us not only a target but also kindred souls.
All week comparisons have been made between the Sept. 11 massacre and Pearl Harbor. Remember Pearl Harbor? It was part of an island far off the mainland of America.. Hawaii was not a state at that time; it was a territory.
This is not to suggest that we should be afraid. Quite the opposite. We are an integral part of America and as such we must be the guardians of her safety with as great a commitment as any security force in any state or city in America.
We, too, as Virgin Islanders are in this for the long haul. We must keep up our vigil. We must continue to be tolerant of the changes we are going to experience, and tolerant of the vastly diverse peoples who live here. We must take the well-being of our country as seriously as anyone anywhere. We must do this with mindfulness. We must not use this state of emergency to abuse power or each other. We must be kind while being committed.
This is a war and one of the enemies is fear.
We hope and pray that the people who have been charged with minimizing our fear will take their jobs seriously and responsibly and with great care.
God bless Americans.

Dear Source,
As a young child, I remember climbing and sitting on a blue arched U.S. mail drop box located on the Cuccis' lawn at the corner of Sunrise Road and Linden Street in my suburban Boston neighborhood. My world to that point consisted of the warm comforts that friends and family sheltered me in. Golden days of summer, ice cream, baseball games, road trips to Cape Cod beaches and other innocent experiences defined my view of the world. I knew nothing of other countries or even other nationalities. All my friends and family looked and talked the same, they had the same values, dreams and expectations.
The Brocks had a couple of older boys who went away from the neighborhood for a while and came back different. They now had long hair and wore army clothes. They acted very different than they had before they left for Viet Nam. They now got drunk and yelled a lot. They played loud rock music and practiced drumming for hours. The most important change to me was that they looked at me differently now. The warm connection that I enjoyed with the older Brock boys was gone, with no explanation.
Sitting on the mail box, I started to pound the sides of the box like a drum in order to get their attention as the Brock boys approached.
At first they just looked through me and I naturally responded by banging harder. I thought this was their new language and if I could get their attention this way, I could get them to appreciate me again. They responded by yelling at me to shut up. This signaled me to pound even harder against their request while I returned my retort, "No — you shut up."
I grinned as they reached the box knowing that there was no way they would consider taking action against a child. Not in my own neighborhood. Not within earshot of my mother. Not in broad daylight.
The next few seconds changed my life forever.
As I leaned forward to pound the box in defiance, one of the Brock brothers struck me on the side of my head catapulting my toddler body through the air. My ears rang as stars swarmed around my crown on my flight down to the Cuccis' lawn. With the wind knocked out of my lungs, I gasped for the air to cry in horror and shock at what had just happened.
The rules had changed. I was not safe. I could no longer do what came naturally to me without first considering the consequences. I ran back up the hill to the comforting arms of my mother, whom I expected to retaliate against my horrific oppressors. While I wailed for sympathy and attention, it became painfully clear to me that there was very little my mother could or would do to make it all better.
These men were exposed to the horrors of war in Viet Nam. They lost friends, they were asked to kill other human beings, and they were not the same men when they came home.
I lost my innocence on that day, and the United States of America was knocked off its mailbox on Tuesday, Sept. 11.
The comforting shelter that the United States' family and friends provided its citizens in the past is no more. The United States has now been forced to join the world of grownup nations and must now learn to make its own way.
We do not have the arms of our mother to protect us. We must accept the responsibilities of our relationships with other nations and the security of our citizens. The United States is not an innocent toddler any more. We must be informed, we must be responsible and, above all, we must put the safety of our citizens above all else — including profit.
Let's walk with our heads up and our eyes open to the adult world that we all live in now.
God bless the United States of America.

Neal A. Sullivan
St. John

Editor's note: We welcome and encourage readers to keep the dialogue going by responding to Source commentary. Letters should be e-mailed with name and place of residence to source@viaccess.net.

Dear Source,
As a young child, I remember climbing and sitting on a blue arched U.S. mail drop box located on the Cuccis' lawn at the corner of Sunrise Road and Linden Street in my suburban Boston neighborhood. My world to that point consisted of the warm comforts that friends and family sheltered me in. Golden days of summer, ice cream, baseball games, road trips to Cape Cod beaches and other innocent experiences defined my view of the world. I knew nothing of other countries or even other nationalities. All my friends and family looked and talked the same, they had the same values, dreams and expectations.
The Brocks had a couple of older boys who went away from the neighborhood for a while and came back different. They now had long hair and wore army clothes. They acted very different than they had before they left for Viet Nam. They now got drunk and yelled a lot. They played loud rock music and practiced drumming for hours. The most important change to me was that they looked at me differently now. The warm connection that I enjoyed with the older Brock boys was gone, with no explanation.
Sitting on the mail box, I started to pound the sides of the box like a drum in order to get their attention as the Brock boys approached.
At first they just looked through me and I naturally responded by banging harder. I thought this was their new language and if I could get their attention this way, I could get them to appreciate me again. They responded by yelling at me to shut up. This signaled me to pound even harder against their request while I returned my retort, "No — you shut up."
I grinned as they reached the box knowing that there was no way they would consider taking action against a child. Not in my own neighborhood. Not within earshot of my mother. Not in broad daylight.
The next few seconds changed my life forever.
As I leaned forward to pound the box in defiance, one of the Brock brothers struck me on the side of my head catapulting my toddler body through the air. My ears rang as stars swarmed around my crown on my flight down to the Cuccis' lawn. With the wind knocked out of my lungs, I gasped for the air to cry in horror and shock at what had just happened.
The rules had changed. I was not safe. I could no longer do what came naturally to me without first considering the consequences. I ran back up the hill to the comforting arms of my mother, whom I expected to retaliate against my horrific oppressors. While I wailed for sympathy and attention, it became painfully clear to me that there was very little my mother could or would do to make it all better.
These men were exposed to the horrors of war in Viet Nam. They lost friends, they were asked to kill other human beings, and they were not the same men when they came home.
I lost my innocence on that day, and the United States of America was knocked off its mailbox on Tuesday, Sept. 11.
The comforting shelter that the United States' family and friends provided its citizens in the past is no more. The United States has now been forced to join the world of grownup nations and must now learn to make its own way.
We do not have the arms of our mother to protect us. We must accept the responsibilities of our relationships with other nations and the security of our citizens. The United States is not an innocent toddler any more. We must be informed, we must be responsible and, above all, we must put the safety of our citizens above all else — including profit.
Let's walk with our heads up and our eyes open to the adult world that we all live in now.
God bless the United States of America.

Neal A. Sullivan
St. John

Editor's note: The Source welcomes the personal feelings and stories of our readers. Please send your letters to A HREF="mailto:source@viaccess.net">source@viaccess.net.

The Good Hope School will hold the Calcutta Tennis Tournament at 6 p.m. on Oct. 4-7, at the Buccaneer Tennis Club. The tournament is a mixed doubles affair and a handicap system will be used.

Dear Source,
World peace and understanding may seem more remote than ever at this moment, but it could be that we are in fact a step closer.
Our eyes and our minds have been forced wide open by this terrible tragedy. We are given no choice but to leave complacency behind, to look deep into our own hearts for answers, to truly recognize ourselves as human beings — individuals together, people the world; to think about how each one of us, whoever we are, wherever we live, in our everyday lives can make the world a better place for another human being.
We have all been laid bare by this event and we have all been given the opportunity to start from ground zero to build a better world using the blocks of kindness, understanding, dignity, tolerance and love. Let us seize this opportunity and make it our life's work.
Corinne Van Rensselaer
St. Thomas

Editor's note: We welcome and encourage readers to keep the dialogue going by responding to Source commentary. Letters should be e-mailed with name and place of residence to source@viaccess.net.

Sept. 15, 2001 – Regional U.S. Coast Guard officials are encouraging St. Thomas and St. John commercial boaters to attend a meeting on the morning of Sept. 28 to go over marine safety regulations coming into effect this season and to review those already in place. The regulations, which were actually adopted in 1995, are amendments to the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping and come into full effect Feb. 1, 2002.
Billed as The Small Passenger Vessel Industry Meeting, the event is aimed at the owners and operators of commercial vessels in the territory who are licensed to carry more than six passengers. The Coast Guard is asking that those planning to attend let the Marine Safety Detachment office on St. Thomas know by Sept. 21.
The officer in charge of marine inspection regionally, Cmdr. Joseph Servidio, who is based in San Juan, is urging and encouraging all commercial boaters to attend. "We need to continue working together toward our common goal of a partnership in safety," he said. The meeting was timed to coincide with the traditionally slow time of year for boaters, he noted.
Lt. John Reinert, supervisor of the Marine Safety Detachment on St. Thomas, said the Sept. 28 meeting "is the only one planned at this time."
Servidio said the amendments are of particular interest to local boaters on inspected vessels weighing 100 gross tons or more and carrying passengers between the USVI and the British Virgin Islands.
Other topics on the agenda for the meeting include requirements and responsibilities for vessel maintenance and administration, chemical testing, marine casualty reporting and pollution prevention.
Servidio said anyone with questions or suggestions on topics to be addressed should contact Reinert at 776-3497. That is also the number to call to reserve space for the meeting, which will take place at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel on Sept. 28 from 8 a.m. to noon.

Wireless World, an ATN company, will host the St. Thomas/St. John Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 27, at Buccaneer Mall.
Complimentary horsd'oevers will be served as well as the Chamber $2 bar.

Coral World will host its fourth annual Halloween Party from 12 noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27.
Children 12 years old and under dressed in full costume will be admitted to the park free, though they must be accompanied by an adult.

Wireless World, an ATN company, will host the St. Thomas/St. John Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 27, at Buccaneer Mall.
Complimentary horsd'oevers will be served as well as the Chamber $2 bar.