Tomorrow, September 11th, 2009, marks the 8th anniversary of one of the grimmest chapters in American history, the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. The horror of that day, and the days that followed, are forever burned into our collective consciousness. While our nation as a whole has moved on from that day, the pain and anguish still linger and many localities hold memorial services and events commemorating the lives that were lost and irreparably changed on that day.
Several local towns are planning memorial events, so we have taken the liberty to list here the ones we know of (as reported by the Meriden Record-Journal and Jason Zandri in his blog):
Wallingford will be the only area town to hold an official ceremony, at 8:30 a.m. on the Parade Ground in front of Town Hall, 45 S. Main St. At 6:30 p.m. that evening, the town’s three volunteer fire departments— Yalesville, North Farms and East Wallingford — will have open houses, with each showing a video about Sept. 11.
The keynote speaker at the Meriden service will be Stanley Praimnath, who was working on the 81st floor of the World Trade Center’s South Tower when the second plane hit. Praimnath was trapped under a wall of debris in a stairwell but was rescued by two other survivors, including Brian Clark, who served as the keynote speaker of last year’s event.
The Summit at Plantsville, a nursing and rehabilitation center on Summit Street in Southington, will host its third annual Sept. 11 memorial ceremony. The event is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. and will feature speeches by members of the Southington Police and Fire departments and local politicians.
In Cheshire, the eighth annual Mark Jardim Memorial Jog, a five-kilometer fundraiser in honor of the Cheshire High School graduate who was killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center, is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 11. The event, which has raised more than $40,000 for Jardim's scholarship foundation, Cheshire Special Olympics, the high school’s cross country team and other area charitable organizations, will take place at 1 p.m. along the trails of Cheshire Park.
Please join us in remembering the terrible events of that day: the fall of the twin towers; the attack on the Pentagon; and the crash of Flight 93 in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania. The courage and sacrifice of those that fell that day should never be forgotten.
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Thanks, Mike. I was a call center manager on that day, and I still remember the shock on the face of every one of my reps when we heard the news. Many were so overcome that they could no longer answer the phone to speak to customers, and we let people go home if they chose to. A couple even had friends who worked in the WTC. It was a time in history that I hope we never see repeated. I will never forget it.
Pat and Wayne, thank you so much for posting this (and for feeding it to your Twitter account so I would see it). Before I moved to Hawaii, I lived in CT as you may remember. In those days I was not in real estate--I was actually consulting to Trinity Church Wall Street on a project called "Wall Street Dialogues". I was required to spend two days a week at Trinity and Tuesday September 11th was one of those days.
What was most life-changing for me was actually what some of us have come to call "9-12"--the amazing story of compassion and courage that unfolded in the days, weeks and months of the recovery effort. I volunteered at St Pauls Chapel during the long nights of that winter and spring, providing food, drink, rest and spiritual nourishment to Ground Zero workers like the ones in the photo you posted.
So often when I am tempted to react to something as if it were a life-and-death matter, I remember the lessons I learned on September 11. Hope everyone who reads this remembers to tell the ones you love "I love you" and to remember that your real wealth is what you do for others.
Beth: Kudos to you for the work you did to help alleviate the suffering of so many during that awful time. We can't begin to imagine what those people went through - in fact, are STILL going through - and our hearts go out them every day. We had friends who lost friends and family in the attacks and to see their anguish was heartbreaking. The first responders and emergency workers were true angels that day, and their heroics in saving the people they did was amazing. As you said, in light of those catastrophic events, most things that happen to us pale in comparison. We tell each other we love each other every day, and thank God for every day we have. Thanks for stopping by, it was good to heara from you!
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