September 11th Sunset

Reading over so many accounts of individual 9/11 experiences, 

there was one theme that stood out to me today: 

it was the "this changes everything" statement.

Some newscasters even went as far as to say those exact words thirteen years ago today, and many more have said it since then.
And yes, it did change everything...for a time.
It changed a few things in a more long term way.

But we persevere.      We carry on.     That's who we are.

It's important to realize that if we allow those people who caused the horrors of September 11th to change our world, change our outlook, change our very way of living and thinking and hoping - then they have won.

But if we carry on, loving each other and savoring every moment of our precious lives despite what they did - then they've lost.

Tonight I met a couple who inspired me:

They were celebrating their 21st anniversary and had been married many years before the 9/11 that we all know.  They didn't let the attacks affect how they observed the date in the years that followed 2001.
 
Tonight I was honored to have them aboard my gondola and we all enjoyed a brilliant sunset sky and the colors that followed.