September 10th, 2001

Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day?
Teaching a class full of innocent children
Or driving down some cold interstate?

Did you feel guilty
'Cause you're a survivor
In a crowded room did you feel alone?
Did you call up your mother
And tell her you loved her?
Did you dust off that Bible at home?

Did you open your eyes, hope it never happened
Close your eyes and not go to sleep?
Did you notice the sunset the first time in ages
Or speak to some stranger on the street?

Alan Jackson - Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning

Twenty-five years ago today, life was simple for us. Terrorism was in the Middle East, Northern Ireland and Colombia. Twenty-five years ago today, we could look at an azure sky and enjoy it for what it was – pure, deep and inviting. People rode the subways, planes and buses without cause for concern. Washington D.C., Shanksville PA and New York City would never be mentioned in the same sentence on September 10, 2001.

Twenty-five years ago today, we saw and spoke to friends and family members for the final time. We watched as firefighters parked their cars at the firehouse for the night tour, hoping to watch the Giants-Broncos game between runs. Police officers stood at roll call for a quiet September night patrolling the city. Husbands, wives and flight attendants packed for their flights the next morning.

Twenty-five years ago today, we said goodbye to our innocence as we woke to a new world. In 102 Minutes, our lives would be forever changed.

Now, blue skies remind us of that day when they were blackened by smoke, when we heard the skies become silent and saw many act courageously in their final moments. Statements like, Let’s Roll and We're Three Truck and We’re Still Heading Up exemplify moments of bravery and final acts of humanity in a day filled with so much fear. Stories of the fire safety director who wouldn’t leave the Trade Center until he accounted for all of his employees, the equities trader with the red bandanna who saved 12 people, the final fight for their lives on board a hurdling plane, the firefighter running through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel in full gear to do his job, the police officer last seen as she helped victims to safety -- each one of these heroes gave their lives for others...this is what September 11th should be remembered as...selfless acts of courage. Our September 10th heroes looked up to our September 11th heroes in the following days. 

Twenty-five years ago on September 11th, our world changed, and it will never go back to the way it was. Something always reminds you of that day – a song, a fire truck, a plane, dust on the sidewalk. Although we must move on – never forget the sacrifices, the unspoken hurt that still remains, the friend’s phone number still on the cell phone after ten years or the want of a memorial for those never recovered.

Future generations won't know what life was like before this day. They will hear about it in reminisced stories by survivors, witnesses, victims' families, songs and TV. It is our job to keep the memories alive of the almost 3,000 victims who perished that day, the first responders who are dying now as a result of their rescue and recovery work and our soldiers who fight to defend our country. Our future generations need to know more than we were attacked by terrorists. They need to know that we were attacked by terrorists and brave human beings from 90 countries - civilian and military and even a bomb sniffing dog, died and many survived through brave acts by fellow human beings. They also need to know that day was hell -- it was terrifying to not know what was next, to watch humans perish in front of our eyes on live satellite television.  Life was extinguished and disappeared in an instant and we all experienced or watched it first-hand.

Twenty-five years on -- we have grieved, we are remembering, we are moving along, but we will never forget.

My September Soundtrack

 Summer in New York City in 2002 was still a lost time. I was still living blocks from the pit that was once the sprawling World Trade Center. I slept with constant light into my window from the diminishing piles that once towered over Church Street. We were still numb beyond hurt.

That hot summer, I turned to Bruce Springsteen and wondered what he could offer. The Rising has since been my album of therapy. It is my reminder of so many things: that I cannot look at a crisp, azure September sky and not think about that day; that soon not many will remember what life was like before Tuesday, September 11th; it reminds me of loneliness in the months before I met my fated husband; and it reminds me of smiles we will never see greet us again.

Many songs on the album directly relate to our feelings, our heroes, our losses and confusion after 9/11. Things that people wanted to say, but didn't know how. Whatever your feelings of Bruce Springsteen may be, this album was from the heart and for us.

And while the world is as scary as ever, let us remember how we pulled together on those terrifying days. Don't forget the sacrifices so many have made since that day - in the name of our freedom and our security.

Lord, take me where you want me to go, let me meet who you want me to meet, tell me what you want me to say, and keep me out of your way

~Father Mychal Judge, FDNY Chaplain

	Lonesome Day Hell's brewin' dark sun's on the rise This storm'll blow through by and by House is on fire, Viper's in the grass A little revenge and this too shall pass This too shall pass, I'm gonna pray Right now all I got's this lonesome day
	Into the Fire  I need your kiss, but love and duty called you someplace higher Somewhere up the stairs into the fire
	Waitin' on a Sunny Day It's rainin' but there ain't a cloud in the sky Musta been a tear from your eye Everything'll be okay
	Nothing Man I don't remember how I felt I never thought I'd live To read about myself In my hometown paper How my brave young life Was forever changed In a misty cloud of pink vapor
	Countin' on a Miracle I'm runnin' through the forest With this wolf at my heels My king is lost at midnight When the tower bells peal We've got no fairytale ending In God's hands our fate is complete Your heaven's here in my heart Our love's this dust beneath my feet
	Empty Sky I woke up this morning I could barely breathe Just an empty impression In the bed where you used to be I want a kiss from your lips I want an eye for an eye I woke up this morning to the empty sky
	You're Missing  God's drifting in heaven, devil's in the mailbox I got dust on my shoes, nothing but teardrops  The Rising  Can't see nothin' in front of me Can't see nothin' coming up behind I make my way through this darkness I can't feel nothing but this chain that binds me Lost track of how far I've gone How far I've gone, how high I've climbed On my back's a sixty pound stone On my shoulder a half mile line Come on up for the rising Come on up, lay your hands in mine Come on up for the rising Come on up for the rising tonight Left the house this morning Bells ringing filled the air Wearin' the cross of my calling On wheels of fire, I come rollin' down here