Every year, September 11 brings back emotions that are hard to explain.
For me, 9/11 has always been one of those days that I sometimes try not to think about too much. Not because I do not respect what happened, but because it is a lot to take in. The videos. The stories. The pictures. The firefighters running into danger while others were running away. The innocent people who simply went to work that morning and never came home.
Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks on September 11, 2001.
A few weeks ago, I heard that Clayton County Fire and Emergency Services would be holding a 9/11 remembrance ceremony. I had been to ceremonies before, but it had been a while. I made up my mind that I was going.
Then this morning happened.
I got dressed in my uniform, dropped my son off at school, and headed to the ceremony at our new headquarters. Everything was going fine until the bottom of my right boot completely came apart lol.
Perfect timing…………not
I was walking around trying to figure out how I was going to fix it while also trying not to let anyone notice. The closer we got to the start of the ceremony, the more I thought about just leaving.
I even got back into my car and started it.
Then I stopped.
I told myself, this ceremony is bigger than me.
A broken boot was nothing compared with what we were there to remember.
So I got out of the car and went.
Yes, I was basically limping around trying to keep the bottom of my boot from flopping everywhere. To the few people who noticed and later sent me a text, THANK YOU. I am okay.
But once the ceremony started, none of that mattered.
You could feel the emotion.
Listening to our chiefs, commissioners, and others speak made this ceremony feel different. One statement from our chief especially stayed with me. It may sound cheesy but it hit me and made me think…
“This could have happened to any one of us”
As a Clayton County firefighter, that hit home.
The truth is, it still can happen to any one of us. We are living in some dangerous times right now.
The firefighters, police officers, and other public safety members who responded on 9/11 expected to go home. Many never did. They answered the call because that is what public safety does.
I still remember being a young child in elementary school when the attacks happened. Our class stopped what we were doing and watched the television. At that age, I did not fully understand what I was seeing.
As I got older, I understood more.
And somehow, it became even harder to watch.
But there is another part of the 9/11 story that I believe we need to remember.
Unity.
After that terrible day, people came together. Race did not matter. Background did not matter. Political differences seemed smaller. people helped people.
Today, we seem more divided than ever.
Sometimes I joke that snow and Christmas are the only things that can bring everybody together anymore. But maybe unity should not require a holiday, a storm, or a tragedy.
We need to normalize coming together again.
We can disagree and still care about each other. We can come from different backgrounds and still stand beside one another.
Full credit goes to everyone who helped organize today’s Clayton County Fire and Emergency Services ceremony. It was powerful, respectful, and something I am glad I did not allow a broken boot to make me miss.
Today reminded me why we say:
Never forget.
Not only the tragedy.
Not only the sacrifice.
But also the unity that followed.
