Latest / RealTalkwithMikeD / Episode 23 - Remembering 9/11

Transcript

Episode 23 - Remembering 9/11 · RealTalkwithMikeD

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Real Talk with Mike D. Alright, welcome back
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: to Real Talk with Mike D. I am Mike D. Boy,
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: do I got a good one for us today, folks.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Today I want to remember and just talk about September
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: the 11th. I don't want to talk about politics. I
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: don't want to argue about who's right or who's wrong.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: I don't want to get caught up in all the
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: noise that's constantly surrounding that. I just want to remember
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: September the 11th. So for those of us who were
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: alive that morning, it's one of those days where you
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: can remember exactly where you were when you heard the news.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: You can remember the television. You can remember the confusion.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: You can remember looking at the screen and thinking, this
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: can't be real. And then another plane hit, and suddenly
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: the world we knew changed. There are certain moments in
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: life that divide time into before and after. And September
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: the 11th is one of those moments. Before 9-11 and
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: after 9-11. We watched the towers fall. We watched people
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: running through the streets. We watched firefighters, police officers, paramedics,
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: and ordinary people running towards the danger while everyone else
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: was trying to get away from it. And that's something
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: I'll never forget. The courage. The sacrifice. The human beings
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: who didn't stop to ask, what's in it for me?
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: They simply went to help. And some never came home.
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: Hundreds of firefighters and police officers made the ultimate sacrifice
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: that day. People they didn't know. Families they had never met. Strangers.
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: But they went anyway. And when I think about September
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: the 11th, I don't just think about destruction. I think
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: about humanity. I think about people helping people. I think
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: about strangers giving blood, people opening their homes, people standing
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: in line to help, people praying together, people putting aside
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: their differences because, for a moment, none of that mattered.
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: We were Americans and we were hurting. I think one
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: of the saddest things about September the 11th is that
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: so many young people today weren't alive when it happened.
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: They know the date, they've seen the pictures, they've heard
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: the stories, but they didn't experience that strange feeling of
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: watching history happen in real time. They didn't experience the
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: silence in the sky when airplanes were grounded. They didn't
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: experience the fear of wondering what was going to happen next.
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: They didn't experience the way people came together afterwards. And
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: maybe that's why it's so important for those of us
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: who remember to tell the story. Not to spread hatred,
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: Not to create fear, but to remember the people. Remember
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: the families. Remember the firefighters and police officers. Remember the paramedics.
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: And remember the passengers who fought back. Remember the people
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: who were simply going to work that morning. Mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters,
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: and friends. Every single person had a story. Every single
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: person had somebody waiting for them. And every single one
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: of those lives mattered. Sometimes we get so caught up
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: in everyday problems like bills, work, relationships, arguments, things that
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: seem enormous in the moment, and then you stop and
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: remember September the 11th. And it puts things into perspective.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: Because life can change in a matter of seconds. That's
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: one of the lessons I take from that day. Tell
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: people you love them. Don't wait. Call your mother. Call
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: your father. Hug your kids. Tell your friends what they
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: mean to you. Make that phone call you've been putting off.
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: Apologize when you need to apologize. Forgive when you can.
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: Because none of us are guaranteed tomorrow. September 11th reminds
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: us that in the most painful way possible. And I
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: also think about the first responders who survived. The people
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: who ran into those buildings and came home carrying memories
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: that would have to live with them forever. We should
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: remember them too. We should remember the people who survived,
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: the people who lost loved ones, the children who grew
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: up without a parent, the spouse who had to continue
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: living without the person they planned to grow old with,
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: the families who live with those horrible, horrible memories. Now
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: 25 years later, the pain doesn't simply disappear. The pain
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: moves forward. But the memories remain. Maybe that's okay. Maybe
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: remembering is part of honoring them. So on this September
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: the 11th, let's remember. Let's remember the lives that were lost.
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: Let's remember the bravery. Let's remember the sacrifice. Let's remember
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: the unity. And let's remember that behind every statistic, was
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: a human being. Someone who laughed, someone who loved, someone
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: who had dreams, someone who mattered. And I hope we
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: never forget. I hope we never forget. Well, we won't
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: ever forget. We will keep their memory and their spirits
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: with us for the rest of our lives. Well, ladies
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: and gentlemen, I appreciate you listening. I appreciate you being here.
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: And when you wake up tomorrow morning and you're having
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: your first cup of coffee, just remember the sacrifice that
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: our military, our police, our firefighters and paramedics and all
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: first responders sacrifice. They are all truly heroes. But I
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: appreciate your time. I appreciate you listening. And I'll see
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: you all on the next one.