No doubt we all remember precisely what we were doing on 9-11. I can remember each and every moment like it was only two hours ago. I remember driving on the freeway after delivering a speech to local business groups with tears streaming down my face as I began to grasp the horror that had taken place. I remember talking to my ex-wife, with whom I was going through a divorce with at the time, and standing outside of my home staring at my TV through the window displaying CNN’s coverage of the disaster. The headlines were flashing and my ex-wife and I were crying as we talked to each other.
It was a day where you just wanted to hug someone, to put your arm on somone’s shoulder. It was a day where you knew that nothing would ever go back to the way it was in this country, and to this day it still has not.
Eleven years have passed since that unforgettable day in America. As beyond-belief catastrophic as that day was, there was never a day, never a week, never a month quite like the time that passed after it. Never before was I so proud to be an American. Never before had I felt so connected to the people around me in this country. Regardless of race, religion, or beliefs, we were all so American after that horrible moment in time. For a little while people stopped yelling at each other, people stopped getting road rage, things were more connected than ever. We had such resolve to just be Americans together and to love our country!
On this eleventh anniversary of the catastrophe that brought us together, let us not take our lives in this country, our freedom, our ability to do as we see fit for granted. Let us take some time throughout the day today to appreciate this amazing country that we live in. Let us appreciate our friends, our co workers, our families, and our fellow Americans. I mean it when I say we are all so blessed and God bless America, the land of the free!
Let’s make it a day to remember and let’s remember those that left this world on that day. Let it deeply resonate in us all, as this is the greatest country in the world and I am so proud to be American.
