It was not until my dear wife, Carrie, and I found a nice after school vacation spot in The Berkshires in western Massachusetts did we realize that visiting New York City was actually something we could pull off.

There was a matter of getting to Poughkeepsie Station in Poughkeepsie, NY where we would catch a train and ride a couple of hours into Grand Central Station.

The first time we went to New York City we saw a taping of The David Letterman Show in the Ed Sullivan Theatre.

Two summers ago we went back to New York once again.

This time it was not so much fun.  We did not take selfies. One of the places we visited that day was the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.

Some things never leave us.  I walked into Bobby Russell’s room on September 11, 2001 one morning to ask him a question.  He, a Social Studies teacher, and me, an English teacher, at South Central Jr-Sr High School in Elizabeth, Indiana.

Bobby:  Dan, you’re not going to believe this, but a plane just flew into one of the World Trade Centers in New York.

Me:  Huh?

It was on a television screen hanging from one of his classroom walls.  As I peered at the screen, it was not long before I saw an image of a plane flying through the second tower.  I will never forget it.

Nor will I forget images I have seen where it happened.

The image of this young lady rubbing a name of one who perished that day will stay with me, forever.

I typed these words as I listened to The Concert for New York City, the songs The Who played.

Carrie and I saw The Who at Deer Creek in 2018, and I could not help but to think about 9/11.  It was an honor to hear those songs. I shed a few tears and breathed harder than I ever have at concert before.

Our house, some 40 miles from the Louisville airport, gets the westbound landing pattern traffic.  I remember how the skies were so quiet over our house that night.  I still remember meandering out to look up.  It was a silence that I have never heard.

The Pandemic of late slowed things down for a while for sure…but don’t get this embarrassed Republican started on that.  The Honor 9/11 does not deserve to be diminished.

I know I will never forget.  If I don’t hurt for what all I know about this, I am not worth the powder to blow me up (I paraphrase my dear late Granny).

Take care of each other.  Lord knows we could use more of that!

Speaking the rights…

Danny Johnson