I remember...

...exactly where I was the moment I heard the first news of the attack on the World Trade Center. I will never forget it.

It was day 2 of my first course at the Canadian Police College in Ottawa. We had just started the first lecture of the day for the Collision Analysis Course. One of the instructors came running into the room and interrupted the instructor leading the current session and said "they just flew a plane into the World Trade Center." All 24 class participants got up and went into a small conference room where a television was set up. We sat in stunned silence and watched events unfold. Eventually, we returned to our class and resumed lectures. For many of us not directly tied to the city, we simply returned, as best we could, to the daily activities of our lives. Looking back now it is very surreal for me, even so far away from the direct impact of the attacks.

This morning I sat watching news feeds covering the 10th anniversary of 9/11. My 13 year old sat down and watched for a moment with me. She was only 2 years old when this happened so she asked me about the events of the day. I began to tell her, "there were two planes that struck the World Trade Center towers, then a plane that struck the Pentagon, then a plane that..."

I could not finish my story. I was simply overwhelmed with emotion and by the events of that day. More accurately, I am overwhelmed by the heroism of all the people directly involved these attacks.

I will finish the discussion with my daughter old some day. Because it is not only important that I remember what occurred on September 11, 2001, it is important that our future generations remember it as well. It truly is the day the world, as my generation knows it, changed forever.