I had the day off from my new job and I got up early to go fishing. I’ll never forget the call I got from my wife and immediately going into my truck and turning the radio on. The tone of voice in the radio announcer was different than anything I’ve ever heard. The silence that pervaded the background was stifling. I remember the bitter feeling in my mouth that this terrible thing could actually happen in our country. It was so real that day.
Several weeks ago strolling with my wife in the financial district of New York City, it became real again. We were still several blocks away but the huge gap in the buildings represented a gap of great loss in our country. Not just in concrete, steel and glass but in human life and substance. We walked around the outer perimeter and watched as the building of the new structures took place.
I hope that I never forget. I hope that I can instill something in my kids and help them to learn from 9/11. The fact that an evil, spiteful enemy hated us enough to do this thing is very evident. The fact that they’ll try and try to do it again is apparent. But the fact that America is the most exceptional nation ever born in this world is being tested. We will never forget.