I believe that I said a year ago everything that I have to say on the subject of September 11th:
Personally, 9/11 was a gut-wrenching emotional experience for me. I was driving in Connecticut on my way to visit a store that morning when a peer called to tell me about what had happened. The second plane had just hit, you see. I spent that morning in South Windsor, Connecticut with my team watching as the day unfolded. I remember, that morning, being almost completely in shock.
[..]
Emotionally, 9/11 affected me – like others – greatly. I was fortunate in that I did not lose any friends or family members that day. But I cried many times during the following days – sometimes out of a sense of loss – sometimes in awe of the heroism displayed that morning – sometimes just because I love my country.
[..]
Professionally, 9/11 has had a huge impact on how my job is viewed – and what I worry about each day. I’ll always focus on the traditional aspects of retail loss prevention – theft and fraud – but now I’m highly concerned with how we prepare and posture ourselves to better respond to a crisis – how we prevent major incidents – how we coordinate with public safety officials – and on and on —
[..]
In the end, I think we all have the responsibility to remember what happened that day – to us – to our fellow man – here in our own country.
A few weeks ago, while having coffee with a peer in Minneapolis, our conversation steered towards the impact of September 11th on our lives – both personally and professionally.
She pulled out her PDA – tapped on it a few times – and spun it around so that I could read it.
It was her calendar – turned to September 11th, 2004 – and it showed just one word:
Remember….
This morning, we donated money to the Pentagon Memorial Fund and the WTC Site Memorial Fund.. Our donation to the Pentagon was in memory of all servicemen and women that have lost their lives during this fight. Our donation to the WTC Site Memorial was in memory of Lt. Ray Murphy, FDNY, a man I never met, but whose photo after the first tower fell is one of the finest examples of courage I have ever seen. That photo adorns my office wall.
We gave because we want to remember….