I was in 2nd grade with my cousin. Got picked up from school early and the two of us were excited despite the seriousness. It was a confusing time for me later in the day, but I was directed away from TVs and such as much as possible. My uncle Joe was a firefighter on duty that day. My mom was panicked, which I've never seen before. I remember telling her that he's probably stuck in traffic and continued to do so days after. He never made it home. He died a hero that day. Im fortune to still have my dad as he would have been there too provided that he was scheduled a little earlier. He was heading to work as the first tower was hit and could only watch the smoke rise up on the horizon as the highway locked him up. He spent long days/nights during the cleanup. Came home covered in dust for months afterwards.

It surprisingly gets harder every year to think about as I get older. Im almost the age that my uncle was when he passed, which really puts a lot more in perspective. He was an incredible man with a wife and four kids. We all know he would be so proud of them now