Twenty-Five: a personal remembrance of 9/11 and what the day still asks of us

The useful part

It played on the local FM radio station nearly every morning on my way to school. This line has always stuck with me: "Don't worry about the future, or worry, but know that worry is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind.

How it works

• Today is always an incredibly hard day for so many of us who remember watching the horrors of 9/11 happen in real time.
• This New Yorker article about the life and death of Rick Rescorla, head of security for Morgan Stanley has made me obsessive about knowing how to get out of every building I have ever worked in.
• This is the story of how another priest, his good friend, honored his life.
• On 9/11, he put on his old gear, reported to his old company, and spent days at the site cleaning rubble, searching for survivors.
• I watched the first tower come down and said to someone else, "Everyone got out, right?" I couldn't fathom the scale of the buildings and the number of people involved.

What to take from it

Because making our children feel secure at school every day was always everyone's goal, even before the learning started. Surprisingly (because I did not have great classroom management), not a single kid laughed at my emotions – they were all taking it in. When we evacuated our office, I walked with a coworker to the Memorial Bridge and caught a ride with her and her roommate to get home to Northern Virginia because there was no cell service and I was terrified when I couldn't reach my mom.

Example or evidence

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• I am very lucky that she was fine, but I can still remember, viscerally, inching past the Pentagon in traffic on 395, and seeing the plane and building still smoking and burning.
• The entire day is etched into my mind in a way that can never be erased.
• Tonight, before you head home, try to leave the building a new way.

Details worth keeping

Packable Puffer Jackets The Find: A Dress You Will Never Regret Twenty-Five Sep 11, 2026 Style In 1999, Baz Luhrman produced a spoken word piece called " Everybody's Free (to Wear Sunscreen) " based on a graduation speech by Mary Schmich. on some idle Tuesday." 9/11 was on a Tuesday. There has been no day in 25 years I have not thought about.

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