09/11/2026
Every September 11th, I find myself thinking about where I was, what I saw, and how much can change in just one year. A year before 9/11, I had the incredible opportunity to dine at Windows on the World at the top of the World Trade Center. I remember being there, looking out over New York City, completely unaware that the place I was standing would soon become part of one of the darkest days in our nation's history.
I sometimes think about the people who were there that morning. People sitting at their desks, having breakfast, starting another ordinary workday—just like they had done countless times before. And I think about the people at Windows on the World, preparing for day's patrons, never knowing what was about to happen.
Years later, I also had the privilege of working with a former firefighter who was there on 9/11. He survived that day, but he carried the effects of it with him for the rest of his life. He was eventually diagnosed with lung cancer, believed to be connected to the toxic materials he was exposed to at Ground Zero, and sadly lost his life.
Knowing him made 9/11 feel even more personal to me. It reminded me that the story didn't end when the towers came down or when the news cameras eventually left. So many people continued to fight battles that most of us could never see.
Today, 25 years later, I remember the lives lost, the families forever changed, the firefighters, police officers, paramedics, and countless others who ran toward danger when everyone else was trying to get away.
And I remember the people who survived—but never truly left that day behind.
🇺🇸 I remember. I honor. I will never forget.
