Do you remember where you were on 9/11/2001?

I DO.

Pensacola Florida, our son was in preschool, 38 days before his 3rd birthday. My husband was still in the Navy and at work on NSGA Corry Station. I was getting my hair braided. My stylist flipped on the Today Show and we thought it had been replaced by long trailer for a disaster movie- only it wasn't a movie.

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The world moved in slow motion for weeks, it was too shocking to process. While we confirmed my husband's New York friends and family were safe, NONE of us escaped harm.

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We took turns with our son while the other privately cried in shock, horror, grief and terror. After we protected him as well as we could from the horror and put him to bed, we held and comforted each other the best we could, devastated not just by the lives stolen by terrorism but also for those left behind to pick up pieces.

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Don's family's deep connection to the city brought a host of emotions that we couldn't fathom and had no tools to process.

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My guilt of bringing our son into this mad mad world, struggling with the first pang of what would become decades of torturous, heart wrenching empathy for the mothers of the dead, murdered by hatred.

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Do you remember where you were 9/12/2001? I DO.

Red-rimmed eyes watching total strangers come together in solidarity as Americans, banding together against a common enemy hell bent on destroying our nation.

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No one gave a fuck who you pulled a lever for at the polls- we all bled red, white and blue to protect our way of life and defeat the paralyzing fear that domestic terror struck in ALL of our hearts.

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We cared immediately about all other Americans. We didn't look on at Manhattan, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania, shaking our heads saying "Whewwwweee- GLAD THAT WASN'T ME OR MINE" and moved on in oblivion with our own lives, uncaring- telling ourselves that THEIR lives didn't bear thinking about.

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Instead Americans donated endless blood, time and money to those directly impacted. We praised good deeds and contributed good works of our own. We thought THIS was the phoenix of a stronger, LITERAL 🇺🇲 UNITED 🇺🇲 STATES rising from the ashes of an enemy that would tear us apart from within...

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Do you know where you are 9/11/2025? I DO.

Dismayed at the Americans with apathetic attitudes who aren't affected (YET,) blindly watching fellow Americans suffer, justifying it with skewed empty rhetoric that's easier to parrot than to think through.

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The same who will be gnashing their teeth in anger and demand rescue when the betrayal reaches THEIR pockets and doorsteps. Yet they were fine until they were now victimized...

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Disappointed at leaders who choose to protect their own political careers over the welfare of their communities being ripped apart. Businesses that are being forced into closure and bankruptcy. Corruption, complicit look aways, cowardly silence at all levels, on all sides.

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Devastating helplessness that we simply have to hope WE aren't in line of fire for the next domestic assault on freedom, with no idea how to fight with honor, leadership and trustworthy resources NOWHERE IN SIGHT.

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Did we become a perfectly harmonious land without racism, strife or injustice on 9/12/2001? Of course not- this isn't a fairy tale world. But for a brief time, we could all share the load of healing OUR nation together. Now we're split, SHATTERED. FRACTURED.

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Murders based on differing views. Political assassination of opposing officials, striking fear in hearts of others who might want to stand up against lies and dangerous rhetoric. Gaslighting, back pedaling and overt lies SO juvenile you think " no WAY that anyone is falling for that" and yet...

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History has seen this playbook, and it's repeating itself. ALL those in power, REGARDLESS of which side they plant their flag on, are failing to unite this nation- is that even a goal anymore...? We see greed and cowardice instead of strength and advocacy for we, the people.

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Don't we owe the America of 9/11/2001 MORE than this as a nation?

WHERE WILL WE BE ON 9/12/2025...? I wish I knew... 😔