Duty.

Because I cannot and will not let today start like any other ordinary weekday.

Because it feels impossible that fourteen years have already passed.

Because there is an entire generation that no longer knows what the Manhattan sky used to look like; who ask their parents about these mythical towers that once stood.  Because for them, 9/11 is a day they read about, that their parents and family tell them about.  Because while they may come close, they likely will never be able to imagine the horror, the disbelief, the fear, and immense sadness that gripped our beloved country at 8:46 in the morning, fourteen years ago.

Because last night I went to bed thinking of the divide that will forever exist in my mind - the before on September 10th - and the after, a bright Tuesday morning fourteen years ago, where time stopped.  Everything changed.  Everything was lost.

Because there was a moment, fourteen years ago, when I first heard the breaking news on the radio as I drove into work, that I hoped it was a mistake, a freak accident.

Because it wasn't.

Because there are thousands of innocent people who committed no crime, who merely showed up for work, or later, went to the aide of others in need, that are no longer afforded the opportunity of waking up from their beds this morning, on September 11th, remembering.

Because we have to keep remembering.  For those we lost, for those who fought, for those who got out, for those who helped.  We have to keep remembering.