25 Years Later ~ I Will Never Forget 9/11

We promised to never forget. I will never forget. I will never forget when a coworker slammed down the phone after a friend with the Secret Service at the White House told her a plane had struck the WTC. I will never forget rushing to locate the only TV at our office that only sowed one channel and sitting dumbstruck with my colleagues while we watched the 2nd plane hit followed by the collapse of the towers. 

I will never forget the first responders who rushed into the towers as people were fleeing, running up the stairs with full gear to save all souls they could. 

I will never forget the sights of individuals choosing to jump to their deaths rather than burn. 

I will never forget concern for colleagues from Marsh & Aon working in the towers and friends working at the Pentagon.

I will never forget the bravery of the crew and passengers on Flight 93.

I will never forget walking with my friend Holly Mellstrom through her neighborhood in Westchester County, MY 4 weeks later and she pointed out the houses where families lost loved ones.

I will never forget the faces of the people trying to escape the toxic dust.

I will never forget what my colleagues at the Chubb Water Street office told me they’d seen and experienced.

I will never forget that first responders and people working in the City are still dying of cancers related to the toxins in the air.

I will never forget the huge cavity in the Pentagon caused by the highjacked  plane readily visible to all commuters from Virginia.

But, too many Americans choose to forget. 

I am on a vacation in Catalonia with a group of Americans who refused to consider even a moment of silence this morning. They want to think only about happy things.

This breaks my heart. This is why we remain divided- I believe. 

They do not want to remember. 

I will not forget.