Remind me again.

Remind me again of that partly cloudy morning.

Remind me again of the men and women who went to work that day.

Remind me again of the husbands and wives, the sons and the daughters, who boarded the planes.

Remind me again of the office workers in that five-sided building.

Remind me again of the farmers in rural Pennsylvania.

Remind me again of the peace of that morning.

Remind me again of America going about its daily duties that morning.

Remind me again of everybody who left the runways that morning.

Remind me again of everybody who got to their desks that morning.

Remind me again of those who tried to save.

Remind me again of those who could not move.

Remind me again of those who tried to kill.

Remind me again of those who tore apart our peace.

Remind me again of the numbers.  11.  175.  77.  93.

Remind me again of the count.  Two thousand, nine hundred and ninety-six.

Remind me again of the nineteen who murdered.

Remind me again of the smoke from the towers.

Remind me again of the smoke from Washington.

Remind me again of the smoke from Shanksville.

Remind me again of the flags that rose.

Remind me again of the spirits that soared.

Remind me again of the moments before 8:46 a.m. Eastern time.

Remind me again of the moments after 10:28 a.m. Eastern time.

Remind me again why this day is so important.

Remind me again of this attack on Americans.

Remind me again of this attack on civilians.

Remind me again of this attack on the innocent.

Remind me again of the heroes.

Remind me again of the boat flotilla that rescued survivors from the harbor.

Remind me again of those who shielded with their bodies so that others could survive.

Remind me again of the police who ran inside the towers.

Remind me again of the firemen who ran inside the towers.

Remind me again of the men and women who helped those who could not walk get out of the buildings.

Remind me again of the restaurants who fed the survivors without asking for a cent in exchange.

Remind me again of the wall of photographs, of family members asking if anyone had seen their brother, their daughter, their father, their sister, their friend.

Remind me again of all this.

Remind me nine times.

Remind me eleven times.

Remind me two thousand and one times.

Remind me again why this day contains as big a scar as does November 22nd for my parents.

Remind me again why this day contains as big a scar as does December 7th for my grandparents.

Remind me again why nearly two dozen men listened to a demagogue and fulfilled his twisted, sick, repulsive wishes.

Remind me again why those murderers did this horrible act to us.

Remind me again why three religions that can trace their faiths back to Abraham / Ibrahim have drifted so far apart today.

Remind me again why the prejudice still swirls around us today.

Remind me again why this day can’t just be another day on the calendar.

And after you’ve reminded me of this…

Please, God, don’t ever let me forget it.

Ever.