Every year on September 11th, we pause. The calendar calls it Patriot Day, but for most of us, it’s a day when memories, images, and feelings come rushing back.
I remember exactly where I was that morning: on the air, doing what seemed like just another Tuesday broadcast, when someone from the newsroom stepped into the studio. They told us a plane had hit the World Trade Center. Like so many others, my first thought was that it must have been some terrible accident. But then came the second plane. In that moment, it was clear—something far more sinister was happening.
That morning, life in Southeastern Indiana looked the same—the corn still stood tall, buses still rolled down the roads—but the world felt suddenly and permanently changed.
We remember the heartbreak: the lives lost, the families forever altered. But we also remember the courage. Firefighters, police officers, passengers on Flight 93, and countless ordinary people who became heroes simply because they stepped forward when it mattered most.
And in a small town, remembrance takes on its own shape. Flags lowered at the post office. A few more stars and stripes flying from porches. A church bell tolling at the hour of the attacks. A classroom where students ask questions their teacher can only answer with a heavy pause.
It’s been more than two decades now, and it would be easy to let September 11th drift into history books instead of hearts. But part of honoring Patriot Day is keeping the human part alive—the part that says, we remember not just the tragedy, but the unity that followed.
So this week, maybe take a moment to thank a first responder. Fly your flag. Tell a young person where you were that morning. And pause to remember that even in the hardest chapters of our story, Americans have a way of standing together.
Because Patriot Day isn’t just about what we lost. It’s also about the strength we discovered—and the reminder that even in small towns like ours, we are part of that larger fabric of resilience and hope.
