Remembering September 11

Twenty-five years ago, I was living on the other side of the country, and I came down to make coffee early in the morning to witness one of the most horrific moments in recent American history. As I watched the television with disbelief, a plane crashed into the World Trade Center, and then another. Many tried to escape the skyscraper infernos, and still many others rushed into them hoping to save lives. Almost three thousand died that day. Millions of other lives were deeply affected at the time and in the decades afterwards. The reverberations continue in in our country and around the world.

People will differ on how best to remember this day, but I don’t hear much disagreement about how important it is not to forget it. This video from the 9/11 Memorial Museum makes the point well.

At Wesleyan there will be discussions for a long time about 9/11 and its aftermath. First, though, we must remember the lives lost that terrifying day. The bells in South College will ring at the time the planes hit. We were not there, but we remember.

Middletown PBA Pipes & Drums will also be participating in remembrance events throughout the day tomorrow in Middletown and Wallingford, beginning in Middletown's Veterans Memorial Park at 8:30 a.m.