There are some mornings you never forget. September 11, 2001, is one of them. Like so many people, I can still picture exactly where I was when I first heard the news. For me, it was a phone call from a co-worker. “Turn on the TV, quick,” she said. And from that moment on, the world was different.
Even though we live in a small town tucked away in the Rockies, far removed from the skyscrapers of New York or the Pentagon in Washington, the shockwaves of that day reached us here in Golden.
On our televisions, we watched the towers fall, horrified and helpless, realizing history was unfolding before our eyes. The sheer scale of the loss, the vulnerability it revealed, and the bravery that followed it all became etched into our collective memory.
What stands out, looking back 23 years later, is how quickly the tragedy became a shared burden across borders. Canada opened its skies and its communities to more than 200 diverted flights that suddenly had nowhere else to land. Thousands of stranded passengers were met not with suspicion or fear, but with food, shelter, and kindness. Some of those unexpected stopovers in places like Gander, Newfoundland, are still talked about today as shining examples of humanity in the face of terror. There’s even a book written about it, and it’s an excellent read.
For those of us in Golden, it was also a reminder that even in a quiet mountain town, we’re connected to the wider world. What happens far away has a way of finding its way here, whether it’s through global events, economics, or the shared grief of a tragedy that touched every corner of the globe.
September 11 changed how we travel, how we think about safety, and how we view the fragility of peace. But it also revealed resilience, the kind of resilience we see when people look out for one another. That’s something a small community like ours understands well.
As we mark this day in 2025, it’s worth pausing to remember not just the horror of that morning, but also the lessons that came from it. The importance of kindness. The value of community. And the reminder that even when the world feels overwhelming, each of us can choose to respond with compassion.
Because if 9/11 taught us anything, it’s that the worst of humanity can be met with the best of humanity. And that’s something worth holding onto, whether you’re in New York, Gander, or right here in Golden. Perhaps the USA will remember their northern neighbour fondly today.
