Do I remember where I was on 11 September 2001? Of course I do. Anyone conscious on that day will never forget where they were.

We were up early and the NPR station that we listen to was about to go to a taped piece with Susan Stamberg about teachers when a live voice broke in and announced that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. I grabbed the remote and turned on the TV to CNN. There it was. I yelled downstairs, “Turn on 22!” There was an audible, “Huh?” I couldn’t remember the name, CNN, all I could say was, “Turn on 22! A plane! The World Trade Center!”

Then we watched a fellow named Aaron Brown on top of a building with a live camera focused on the WTC. All we could think of was how many people worked there. How many were trapped. Just as that began to sink in, the second plane hit. At that moment, an accident became a deliberate act of hatred beyond comprehension. Now, we doubled our estimate of people dead.

Later a third plane would careen in to the Pentagon. Finally, a fourth plane would dig its own grave in a field in Pennsylvania. Were our hearts ever so heavy? Did we ever feel such a loss for complete strangers? These were strangers who would now live forever in our hearts. In the end, the number would be less than we originally thought, but still more than we could bear.

How many of those people went to work that morning, or got on their plane without saying goodbye? How many said goodbye with a hug and kiss? How many had no one to say goodbye to?

The victims are all draped in the gauze of the memory of grief now; there were heroes and villains, lovers and haters, good people and bad people, those who are remembered and those who had been forgotten long before.

What must not be forgotten is that no matter who they were and what they were; not one of them deserved to die. Not one of them should have died before their time.

I have always had a soft spot in my heart for firemen. I’ve always felt that they are everyday heroes. These are folks who go running into danger to save us without ever asking, do you deserve to be saved? After the 11th of September 2001, I will keep them in my heart forever. When our local firefighters go on their daily runs near our house, I wave to them and think to myself, “thank goodness for you.”

This 11 September, let’s put aside all the political rhetoric. In the end, it doesn’t matter where you or I were on that day. Let’s come together and remember that time in September. Let us remember because we owe it to those dead. Let us remember because we dare not forget.

Please give what you can to Médecins sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders).

And, of course

*Try to remember the kind of September
When life was slow and oh, so mellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When grass was green and grain was yellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When you were a tender and callow fellow.
Try to remember, and if you remember,
Then follow.

Try to remember when life was so tender
That no one wept except the willow.
Try to remember when life was so tender
That dreams were kept beside your pillow.
Try to remember when life was so tender
That love was an ember about to billow.
Try to remember, and if you remember,
Then follow.

Deep in December, it’s nice to remember,
Although you know the snow will follow.
Deep in December, it’s nice to remember,
Without a hurt the heart is hollow.
Deep in December, it’s nice to remember,
The fire of September that made us mellow.
Deep in December, our hearts should remember
And follow.
- Music: Harvey Schmidt, Lyrics: Tom Jones
“The Fantasticks”