What September 11th Means to MeEveryone remembers where they were on the morning of September 11th, 2001. For me, it started like so many others, an ordinary day that would leave an extraordinary mark on my life and on the world as we knew it. I had just finished an overnight shift at Bucks County 9-1-1. It was 6:00 AM, and after 12 hours of dispatching emergency calls, I headed home and went to bed, completely unaware of what the next few hours would bring. Not long after the first plane struck the North Tower, my pager went off. I was Ladder Lieutenant with the Warminster Fire Department at the time, and we were being dispatched for a fire alarm at the local Kohl's. As I was walking into the firehouse, another member mentioned that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. Like many people in those first moments, I assumed it was a tragic accident. I responded, "We'll watch the news about it when we get back." We made it back just in time to see the second plane hit the South Tower. We all knew then—this was no accident. We were under attack. I don't think any of us at the station moved from that TV for the rest of the morning. We watched in disbelief, in horror, and in silence as the day unfolded. We watched the towers fall. We watched brave firefighters and police officers run into buildings that would soon collapse. We watched Americans come together in ways we hadn't seen in generations. We also watched the coverage of the Pentagon being hit. It was surreal to see one of the most secure buildings in the world engulfed in flames. At that point, we didn't know how far this would go or where the next target might be. It hit close to home in more ways than one. Warminster had once been home to a Navy research base—Johnsville Naval Air Station, later known as NADC or NAWC. Although it was closed before 9/11, its legacy and presence in the community remained fresh in our minds. Just a few miles away was Willow Grove Joint Naval Air Station, still active at the time. Were those military installations potential targets? Could Philadelphia be one? The weight of that thought was real. And yet, duty still called. I had to pull myself away from the screen and try to get some sleep. I had another 12-hour dispatch shift starting that night. I may have gotten three hours. When I returned to the dispatch center, the mood was heavy. It was quiet in a way I'd never experienced there before. Everyone was subdued. Everyone had a story—where they were, who told them, how they felt when they saw the smoke, the fire, the collapse. However, something else was in the air that night as well. For a short time, we were one. One country. One voice. One community. United not by politics or background, but by heartbreak, resilience, and a sense of shared identity. Why I'm Sharing This on a Business BlogBerridge Media exists today because I've always believed in service. Whether it was as a firefighter, a 9-1-1 dispatcher, or now as a visual media professional helping businesses and homeowners tell their stories—I've always felt called to serve my community. September 11th reminds me why. It reminds me of the fragility of life and the strength of our people. It reminds me that behind every address we photograph, every business we film, and every property we fly a drone over—there's a story worth preserving. So today, we remember. We honor the lives lost. We thank the heroes. And we hold on to that brief but powerful moment when we were all one. Never forget.
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