I find myself in a somber mood as I reflect on the events of 9/11.
Twenty-five years have passed, but I can still remember that day as if it were yesterday. And I am certain that anyone old enough to remember recalls it vividly too.
I was living in Chicago, and it was a beautiful morning. The sun was shining, the sky was clear blue, and the temperature was absolutely perfect. It was what I call a “Chamber of Commerce type of day.”
I was running a little behind schedule because I had been at the Cubs game the night before. The Today Show was on in the background as I finished getting ready. Then the broadcast cut to an image of smoke billowing out of the first building.
It was a moment of complete disbelief. I asked myself, “Is this real?”
My sister was working in the Sears Tower at the time. I called to make sure she was all right, and she told me their building had been evacuated and everyone was being sent home. I knew the same would be true for me, as I worked only a few blocks away and right next to the Board of Trade.
No one really knew what was happening or what could happen next. As the news began to spread, people started taking emergency action.
While I was on the phone with my sister, the second building was struck. That was when the realization sank in that it was not an accident. It was intentional. It was meant to cause harm and to take innocent lives.
To sit with the enormity of that thought and the emotions it evokes still feels as raw today as it did then. The amount of hatred behind an act of such destruction is incomprehensible.
My sister came to my apartment, and we watched in horror for hours.
At that time, my work took me to New York several times a year, and I had many close colleagues, clients, and friends in the area. Nearly everyone I interacted with was affected in some way or knew someone who had lost someone close to them.
It was heartbreaking.
In the weeks and months that followed, there was an indescribable unity. It was something I had never experienced before.
We all had something in common. We were Americans.
We stood beside one another in times of need. We supported each other with generosity, and we helped each other rise up again. It is one of the many reasons I feel blessed to be a proud American.
Seventeen years later, I had the opportunity to visit Ground Zero with a dear friend. We toured the museum. We listened to the voicemails. We walked around the memorial reflecting pools. We touched the names. We looked into the empty footprints where those towering buildings once stood. Thinking of the loss was like losing air.
Everyone should visit this memorial to experience a glimpse of how that day claimed 2,977 souls and forever changed their families. And sadly, the loss has continued as thousands of people exposed to the toxic air and dust have developed serious illnesses, and many have died.
It was a somber day, like today, but it reminded me of our resilience.
I honor all those who lost their lives, the families who were left to carry on, and the incredible heroes who sacrificed their lives on behalf of others.
I will never forget that day.
I will never forget how we united after that day.
And I will always remember:
Love wins.
Hate destroys.
And together, we are stronger.