It’s difficult to put September 11, 2001 in to perspective but it was a day in history not dissimilar to the magnitude of the assassination of JFK.  On that day, Friday, November 22, 1963, this country was also forever changed.  Even now, people ask, where were you when Kennedy was shot?  And no person alive at that time and with a memory, can ever forget where they were that fateful day.   Fifty years later, people still wander around the grassy knoll in Dealey Plaza, almost in disbelief it could have happened.  The same can be said for 9-11, as people pensively wander around the memorial at ground zero.  How could this have happened?   No one will ever forget where they were that morning, when they saw or heard about the first plane that struck the World Trade Center.  While I don’t wish to recall all of the details of that day, two things stand out relating to it.  First, it was one of the most beautiful days of the year.  There was hardly a cloud in the sky and it was a cool morning.  On the way in to the office I remember thinking it would have been great to take off  and enjoy the weather after a hot, sticky summer.  Second, as people were attempting to leave the city following the collapse of the buildings, there was not a sound.  Since the World Trade Center is located in the southern most tip of Manhattan, everyone was walking north.  The Island of Manhattan was at first in a lockdown.  Once it was lifted, people started heading home.  Many walked since mass transit was not working on a regular schedule since it too was shut down that day.  Hundreds of thousands of people walking in one direction, clogging the streets with humanity and not a sound.  No one spoke, no one uttered a single word as the normally deafening, city, fell silent other than the sirens of emergency vehicles heading south.  It was eery actually but made an impact I will never forget.  Eleven years later, life has moved on for most of us; those of us not directly effected by the tragedy of that day.  Yet we must remember the fallen; the hero firefighters and police, the first responders, the thousands of innocents who lost their lives for no other reason than going to work after kissing their loved ones goodbye, expecting to return home at the end of a long day.  Whether in a field in Pennsylvania, the World Trade Center or the Pentagon, all those lost, must never be forgotten.  Their memories serve as a reminder never to take for granted the life this country has afforded us.  Today, One World Trade Center stands tall, above all other buildings in New York City.  Soon, it will be the tallest building in the United States of America.  It will stand as a symbol of our fortitude, our unity, our ability to bounce back from adversity.  From the ashes, rises new life, a new day, and the hope for a better future.  God Bless America!