The bus was quiet on my ride into town this morning. In my mind that was because our unofficial national day of mourning was being observed by a group of people who share very little in common except for a ride downtown and a day when we lost our innocence about terrorism being someone else’s issue. Or maybe everyone was just tired…

I do know that September 11 brings with it a range of emotions. Now, let me say my emotions are nowhere near as intense as those directly impacted by the events in New York or DC or Pennsylvania. Nowhere near.

With that being said, working at Merrill Lynch at the time brought the reality of the day a bit closer. The last image sent from the devices on top of the Twin Towers to our computers was an image of them burning.

Realizing that I talked to people who worked in the towers on a regular basis was sobering. I had no real relationship but just knowing that the voices on the other side of the phone were forever impacted and potentially gone changed me.

But as with any tragedy, time begins to build calluses…I won’t say heal because only God can do that, but we do become less sensitized to the events. Maybe that’s a good thing…maybe it’s not.

The second event bringing emotion today happened in 2013 as I received a phone call that a good friend of mine took his life. To say his life was difficult would be an understatement. To say that he was one of the strongest people I know would be an understatement too.

Having gotten through a particularly trying time in his life and what appeared from the outside as him getting his life back together made the phone call even more crushing.

I miss him for sure. Later today I’ll call his mom and we will cry a bit together and talk about how our lives have moved forward.

Thanks for listening. Sometimes I just need to get things out of my brain. Today was one of those days for me.