09/12/2026
When September 11, 2001 happened, I was driving my son to school when I got a call from a friend. She told me her mother’s plane had been grounded and that one of the towers in New York City had been hit.
I remember thinking, “Oh my God, how tragic.” She sounded frantic because nobody really knew what was happening yet.
After I dropped my son off, I turned on the radio and listened to the news. I don’t remember exactly what station I was listening to, but I remember the fear in the announcers’ voices. When I got to work, we turned on the television and watched the horror unfold.
None of us could have understood then how much those few hours would change our lives. Four planes. New York City. The Pentagon. Pennsylvania. Thousands of lives lost, and millions more changed forever.
Fast forward 25 years, and I now live in New York City.
Tonight, I’m taking this photo from Sunset Park, where we have an incredible view of Lower Manhattan. From here, the blue Tribute in Light rises into the darkness.
I watched some of the coverage today as the names of the victims were read aloud. Brothers. Fathers. Sons. Daughters. Mothers. Aunts. Friends. So many families lost someone that morning.
Some of the people speaking today were children when September 11 happened. Some barely remember the parent they lost. Others were born afterward and never had the chance to meet them.
As the names were read, police officers and firefighters stood behind the family members. You could see some of them fighting back tears. Twenty-five years have passed, and the pain is still there.
For many people, September 11 was never simply a historical event. It was the day their family changed forever.
Looking at those blue lights tonight, I find myself wondering how many young people truly understand what happened that day — not just the facts, but the fear, the loss, and the way it changed this country.
When you listen to New Yorkers who were here that morning, you can still hear it in their voices. They will never forget.
But as the years pass, the memory will inevitably begin to fade.
That may be why these lights matter.
They remind us to remember.
