Remembering September 11th — Mayor's Minute

You can watch above, or read the full message below.

Twenty-five years ago today, I was driving to work when I heard that a plane had hit the World Trade Center.

Like so many Americans, I didn’t yet understand what was happening.

Not long after, I was watching the news as the towers fell.

Twenty-five years later, I can still remember that morning. I remember the shock. I remember the uncertainty. I remember watching firefighters, police officers, first responders, and ordinary people running toward danger to help complete strangers.

We lost 2,977 people that day, and today we remember them, their families, and all those whose lives were forever changed.

But there is something else I remember about September 11th.

I remember September 12th.

I remember a country that came together.

For a while, our differences didn’t seem quite so important. We checked on our neighbors. We helped people we didn’t know. We flew our flags. We stood together as Americans.

Twenty-five years later, our country is deeply divided in ways that I think should concern all of us.

But as Mayor of Linn Valley, I get to see something that gives me hope.

I see neighbors helping neighbors. I see volunteers giving their time. I see people who may disagree about plenty of things still showing up when someone needs help.

That’s what community is supposed to be.

We cannot change what happened 25 years ago, and we should never forget those we lost.

But we can choose what we remember from the days that followed.

We can choose kindness over hatred, service over selfishness, and neighbors over division.

We shouldn’t need another tragedy to remind us how much we have in common.

Today, Linn Valley remembers.

God bless those we lost, God bless their families, God bless Linn Valley, and God bless the United States of America.