Twenty-five years is long enough for a child to grow up and have children of their own. But for people who remember September 11, 2001, parts of that morning can still feel close.
For some people, it started with the radio in the kitchen. For others, it was a television at work or someone calling to say they should turn on the news. The details are different for everyone. The feeling of an ordinary day becoming something terrible is harder to forget.
New York, the Pentagon, and the field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, were far from Linn County. The grief reached well beyond those places. Here in Marceline, this anniversary gives us a reason to pause and think about the people who died, the families who miss them, and what it means to look after one another.
The flags mean something
An American flag on a porch is a familiar sight. On September 11, it asks us to pay a little more attention.
For someone who remembers the attacks, it may bring back a name or a conversation. For a child born years afterward, it may prompt a question. Both matter.
Children cannot remember a day they did not live through. They can learn why we remember it. We can tell them about the people who went to work that morning, the families waiting for news, and the strangers who helped one another when there was every reason to be afraid.
Those conversations do not have to be long. They just need to be honest, and suited to the child asking.
The people who answered the call
Among those killed on September 11 were 343 members of the Fire Department of New York. Police officers, emergency medical workers, and many others also lost their lives. Civilians helped coworkers and strangers escape, sometimes at great risk to themselves.
We honor that courage without forgetting the people behind it. They had families, friends, and plans for when their shifts were over.
In a small community, first responders are people you recognize. You see them at the store or pass them on the road. Volunteers often fit training and emergency calls around another job and a family. Paid or volunteer, they do work the rest of us depend on when things go wrong.
If you know a firefighter, EMT, deputy, police officer, or dispatcher, a simple thank-you is worth making time for. A phone call or a few words in person can mean a great deal.
Looking after what matters
From our office on Howell Avenue, we think about community in practical terms: neighbors, families, and the work people put into building a life here.
There is pride in a home that has stayed in a family, a farm passed from one generation to the next, or a small business someone worked hard to open. Caring about those things also means caring about the people attached to them.
At Black Insurance Group, LLC, our work involves helping people think through how to protect what matters to them. Today, the more important conversation is about remembering those who were lost and being present for the people still beside us.
Check on someone. Make the call you have been putting off. Give a neighbor a little of your time.
A few ways to remember
There is room for a quiet observance, even if you cannot attend a ceremony.
- Pause for a moment of silence. The first annual moment of silence marks 8:46 a.m. Eastern, or 7:46 a.m. Central. If that time has passed, a quiet moment later in the day still matters.
- Observe the flag tradition. Flags are lowered to half-staff on September 11 in remembrance of those who died.
- Tell your story. If you remember that day, share what you remember with someone who does not. Listen to their questions.
- Check on a neighbor. A difficult anniversary can bring back grief that is not obvious from the outside.
- Support people who serve. Find a meaningful way to help a local first-responder or veterans organization, whether that means volunteering, attending a fundraiser, or asking what they need.
What we carry forward
Marceline helped inspire Walt Disney's Main Street, U.S.A. That connection is part of our town's history. The daily work of being a community is ours to carry on.
We do it in ordinary ways: helping when someone needs a hand, staying in touch after the first few difficult days, and making sure the next generation understands why certain dates matter.
To everyone who lost someone on September 11, to those living with lasting injuries or illness, and to the families whose lives were changed by what followed: we remember with you.
Twenty-five years later, there is still a place for remembrance here in Marceline.