Honoring September 11 in Texas

When I lived in San Angelo, Texas, our community came together each year to remember those lost. We placed flags on the grounds of the September 11 memorial site in San Angelo. A retired New York City fireman donated a cross he received from the remains of the 9/11 site in NYC to be placed at our memorial. Every year, we honored the memory of that day and those lives lost, reminding us that even in Texas, far from Ground Zero, the impact of September 11 was deeply felt and never forgotten.

In February of 2019, I was fortunate enough to fly to New York City for a work trip. I admittedly felt trepidation before my visit, which is really unlike me when I travel. I had never been to a city this large, and the vastness of it all intimidated me a bit. While I’ve lived in a few large cities, I’m more of a country girl and prefer wide-open spaces. I suppose I also watch too many crime shows that take place in NYC and was nervous I’d get mugged or worse while walking around by myself. New Yorkers also aren’t always portrayed in the nicest ways, so I went in with preconceived notions.

Exploring the City

The trip was magical, especially for an amateur photographer. I clocked over 30 miles on my Fitbit between appointments, and after work, I took hundreds of pictures with my Nikon and my cell phone. I didn’t want to miss anything. I wanted to experience it all.

I ate lunch at a Top Chef restaurant near the United Nations, enjoyed a hot dog from a vendor by Central Park, and grabbed a slice from a pizza place in the basement of a high-rise. A woman at a bagel shop yelled at me for taking too long to decide on my order. The line was long, and she had people to assist who knew what they wanted. I sat by a fashion designer who offered me a bite of his Asian dish because he said his was better than what I ordered, and he insisted I try it.

I rode to the top of Rockefeller Center for the incredible view of the city after watching the ice skaters at the iconic rink next door. I stopped to watch a bubble maker and a saxophone player, who seemed to ignore the crowds and do their own thing, and saw the infamous T-Rex at the American Museum of Natural History. I visited Grand Central Station, looked at the subway cars (wasn’t quite brave enough to figure that out on my own), and walked over to Times Square because that’s what you do when you’re a tourist in NYC. I checked off a great deal in only five days.

While I would have loved to see a Broadway show, the one thing I knew I had to experience when I arrived in the city happened on my last day.

Visiting the 9/11 Memorial

A little before dusk, I took an Uber two miles to the memorial site and museum dedicated to those who lost their lives at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. When I arrived, I walked around the dedication to those lost on that horrific day 25 years ago. Decisions made by those trapped due to the location of the airplanes flying into the buildings were even more impactful when I saw the vastness of the area and could see for myself the height of the adjacent One World Trade Center next door to the memorial. It was apparent to me that I was standing not only on a memorial site but also on an unconventional cemetery dedicated to 2,977 individuals, some who died there and others who lost their lives in Shanksville, PA, and Washington, D.C.

The 9/11 Memorial and Museum

When I entered the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, I saw the familiar remnants of the building and reminders of that day. The steel beams, the staircase, and the remains of the Ladder 3 Fire Truck left an image in my mind I will not soon forget.

Seeing the smiling faces of those lost that day through photos on a seemingly never-ending wall and hearing the recordings of their voices from messages left on phones or answering machines struck me with a grief I was not prepared for, and I had the desire to run away. I didn’t KNOW these people, but I DID know them as my fellow American citizens and people from across the globe who innocently started their day, only to have it end in unforeseen tragedy and loss.

When you’re young and learning about history in school, you tend to read the few paragraphs in your assigned textbook and move on without much feeling. I’m sure I was that way when I learned about World War One, the holocaust, and the Vietnam War. Having been married to my husband Dan, who I recently lost, a Vietnam veteran, for more than 27 years opened my eyes to the true impact on someone who lived it. The same can be said for those in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, who were there and saw things unfolding before their eyes. I only saw it on screen, and I know the impact it had on me.

Twenty-five years later, many people seem to have swept that tragic day under the rug, but I believe it is imperative that we continue to honor this day, those lost, and those who will suffer for years to come. In the words of Spanish philosopher George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” a line later paraphrased by former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill: “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.”

Remembering and Honoring 9/11

So many young people living today have no memory of that time, as they were very young or they were not yet born, and the anniversary of 9/11 is the only time they learn of the tragedies of that fateful day in America. People read the names, share the stories of their own loved ones, and bells are rung to signify the times of those four horrible incidents in our history, when planes were taken over by terrorists hell-bent on destroying the U.S.A. A field in the Pennsylvania countryside memorializes the heroes who lost their lives while bravely taking on these evil people, so that more tragedy did not take place in our nation’s capital.

Similarly, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., Americans gather each year to honor those who lost their lives in the attack on September 11, 2001. The Pentagon Memorial stands as a solemn tribute to the 184 people who perished there, both those in the building and the passengers and crew aboard Flight 77. The site serves as a place of remembrance and reflection, connecting people from across the nation to the events and sacrifices of that day.

For those of you who CAN remember, do you recollect that day? What about September 12? We seemed to all become ONE America. Flying an American flag in our front yards was an easy way to show our patriotism, and we did it. We did it because we were unsure what else to do. Many young people enlisted, many wrote songs, and still others vowed not to take their lives for granted and to do good things.

As others say every year, I suggest we all harken back to September 12, 2001, and try to relive that attitude daily, when we worked together for the good of this land we love, and it was not based on party lines. We are not Democrats against Republicans or us vs. them. We ARE Americans. Sadly, I have not felt that we are acting like it. I have seen, read, and heard more divided conversations today than I can remember in my 60 years on this earth. We are BETTER than this, but we seem to have a “my way or the highway” mentality. I ask you, where does that get you?

Years ago, I took the Stephen Covey course, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. One of those habits stands out for me today. It is to seek first to understand, then to be understood. We all fall short of that philosophy, but I ask us to do better, to be better. Because we disagree on a topic doesn’t mean one side is right and the other is wrong. Seldom are things black and white. Life events shape how we think. In my humble opinion, putting everyone in the same category because we choose to do something or not is wrong and unfair.

A few years ago, I heard former Mayor Rudy Giuliani say, “America was at its best that day.” While I know we can’t always stop tragedies like the one that happened a quarter century ago on what started out as a beautiful September morning, we can and should come together as Americans without relying on tragedy to do it.

One of the photos I took in Central Park in New York City struck me that day and still reminds me of the tragedies that fell upon our country 25 years ago. I have no idea who the gentleman was standing with his back to me on a rock in the park, but seeing him look toward the skyline, I wondered who stood there on September 11, 2001, and what they were thinking.

I pray it doesn’t take another incident like 9/11 to remind us of how little time we have on this earth. I have said this before, and I try to make it my mantra for life. “This is the only life we’re blessed to have. I want to get out and explore and know I really lived.”

Live Your Dash

I encourage you to live your dash. I remind you to never forget.

Until next time from Texas…safe travels!