This isn’t a day to discuss politics. It is a day to remember what was lost and what was forever gained on Sept 11. Gone are the days when we wanted to make the bad guys pay, gone are the days when we treated our fellow man a little better, gone are the days when we hung flags, ribbons and put stickers on our car. WE MUST NEVER FORGET!

God bless the families and friends who lost loved ones on that fateful day. You will never be forgotten by the Tampa Pirate and crew.

Close my eyes to see it when the world gets dark
Got a memory of you I carry in my soul
I wrap it close around me when the nights get cold
If you asked me how I'm doin' I'd say just fine
But the truth is baby, if you could read my mind

Not a day goes by that I don't think of you
After all this time you're still with me it's true
Somehow you remain locked so deep inside
Baby, not a day goes by

I still wait for the phone in the middle of the night
Thinkin' you might call me if your dreams don't turn out right
And it still amazes me that I lie here in the dark
Wishin' you were next to me, your head against my heart
If you asked me how I'm doing I'd say just fine
But the truth is baby, if you could read my mind

Not a day goes by that I don't think of you
After all this time you're still with me it's true
Somehow you remain locked so deep inside
Baby, not a day goes by

Minutes turn to hours, and the hours to days
Seems it's been forever that I've felt this way

Not a day goes by that I don't think of you
After all this time you're still with me it's true
Somehow you remain locked so deep inside
Baby, not a day goes by

By Lonestar

Man Jumping From The Towers

At 8:45 AM on September 11th, 2001 a fear we had never known began to unfold. While we watched in amazement, horror and fear, thousands of our fellow citizens were fighting for their lives trapped inside WTC Towers # 1 (North) and # 2 (South). While we sat and wondered what was going on, 'are we under attack?', hundreds of firefighters and police were rushing into the towers to save people they did not even know. 

We started hearing stories that people were jumping out of the towers. I remember thinking how horrible it must have been given the choice of burning to death or jumping out of one of the worlds tallest buildings to your death. There were mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, husbands and wives, and boyfriends and girlfriends suffering and having to face the reality that they would not be seeing their loved ones again. It tore your guts in two.

At 9:40 word came that the Pentagon's West Wall had been hit by a plane and the rumors were swirling that there were other flights still in the air and uncounted for. As we were focusing on all the what if's the unimaginable occured. The once great WTC towers were collapsing. WTC Tower # 2 collapsed at 10:05 and WTC Tower # 1 followed at 10:29. Even after Tower # 2 collapsed emergency workers ran into Tower # 1 to try and do their jobs. Many never made it out alive.

At 9:45 an operator receives a call from a man claiming to be a passenger on United Airlines flight # 93 saying that their airplane had been hi-jacked and the passengers were fighting back.  At about 10:07 Flight # 93 crashes in a field in Shanksville, PA. The FAA had already closed the entire U.S. Airspace and advised 50 aircraft were still in the air. Until that last plane landed everyone was on pins and needles. 

During all of the events that day I remember talking to my wife on the phone and hearing the disbelief in her voice. Her family is from NYC and she knew the city well. We talked about our fears and we were worried, we were both at work and our daughter was in daycare. I was talking to friends and others I love who either were in Manhatten working that morning or who who were also from the NY/NJ. All I wanted to do was pick-up our daughter and go home.

In the months and years following the attacks the stories of bravery and heroism began to emerge. From emergency workers in NY and Washington putting their lives in danger to save other, to passengers on a hijacked airplane joining together to fight back and stop more innocent people from dying, to soliders on foreign battlefields fighting to prevent more attacks from occuring and exact our revenge on the people responsible for this.   

In August last year I went with my wife to her 20th high school reunion and we took time to stop by the hole in the ground where the towers once stood now known as Ground Zero. There were makeshift memorials still scattered about and poster boards showing the timeline of the tragic events that day. There was also a plaque with the names of all who perished that day in NY, Washington and Pennsylvania. We stood in silence and you could not help but feel the emotions of that day come back, you could hear the sounds of the towers collapsing and even the whispers of the voices of those lost. 

Now we must continue on and stand strong in our resolve, we must never forget what occured that day. We have a responsibility to the ones lost that day to live life to it's fullest, live for them. 

Here are some links to help us remember that day and hopefully never, ever forget.

Kevin Cosgrove was lost in the towers that day. Here are his final minutes while talking to a 9/11 operator.

Kevin Cosgroves’ 9/11 Last Call From World Trade Center - For more videos, click here

Melissa Doi’s last phone call that day. (Gut wrenching if your a parent)

An amazing site by true patriots. HERE

Audio from the FDNY that day.
Download Link - FDNY Manhattan audio 1 of 3 8:46-9:34

Download Link - FDNY Manhattan audio 2 of 3 9:34-10:22

Download Link - FDNY Manhattan audio 3 of 3 10:22-11:10

ATC call from United Airlines Flight 93 

United Airlines Flight 93 - From Cleveland ATC. The hijackers were talking to the passengers, but they accidently broadcast over the open airwaves.