When the 9/11 attacks unfolded, 25 years ago, most Americans remember exactly where they were at the moments hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in a remote field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
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planes → unfold → Shanksville
Marian Fontana was in Brooklyn and had plans to celebrate her eighth wedding anniversary that day with her husband, Dave Fontana, a New York City firefighter.
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Fontana → have → husband
He stayed past his shift and like so many other firefighters, rushed to Lower Manhattan when the first plane struck, she said.
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she → stay → Manhattan
"And I dropped my son off for his second day of kindergarten," Marian Fontana said.
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Fontana → drop → kindergarten
And I sat, I called [Dave] and said, 'you know, are you ready to go?'"
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you → sit → Dave
Fontana said there was a change of shifts around the time of the attack.
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Fontana → say → attack
After the attacks, rows of media trucks were set up along West Side Highway, more than a mile from Ground Zero where first responders and crews searched for victims.
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responders → set → victims
Frank Schramm, a professional photographer, says he grabbed his camera and began documenting scenes around the city.
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he → say → city
Looking back, he says it was one of the few ways to mark history before the era of smartphones and social media.
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it → look → smartphones
Reporters and photographers were often the "first witnesses of 9/11," he said, "and in a way they, by being there, were speaking to the world about what was going on.
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what → say → world
For millions of Americans, the attacks were not something they experienced directly but witnessed on a TV screen.
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they → experience → screen
Regardless, the experience still left its mark.
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experience → leave → mark
Mindy Notheis says she was getting ready for work at her home in St. Louis, Missouri.
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she → say → Louis
"And the first plane hit, there was tons of confusion and then the second plane hit and everybody knew that something was drastically wrong and then you just saw --within a matter of what, an hour? -- the towers fall," she said.
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she → hit → hour
Notheis says she recently visited the 9/11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan with her niece -- who wasn't even born when the attacks happened -- paying their respects to the thousands of names inscribed in the bronze around the twin reflecting pools where the towers once stood.
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towers → say → pools
She says she has made it a point to bring her other nieces and nephews to see the 9/11 Memorial and Museum over the years.
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she → say → years
New York City, its residents and families who lost loved ones showed resilience in those initial days, weeks and months that followed.
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that → lose → days
After the attacks, relatives of victims, political leaders and the public have gathered at the 9/11 ceremonies in Lower Manhattan.
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relatives → gather → Manhattan
But many other families have marked the anniversary in private.
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families → mark → anniversary
Marian Fontana and her son, Aidan, who's now 30, say they will go to the beach to pay tribute to Dave.
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they → say → Dave
"It's a mixed bag because I'm grateful that people remember, and yet sometimes it's really hard to go back there," Marian Fontana said.
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Fontana → remember → ?
And so I've really always let my son decide what we do on that day, and I think because it's been such a public event that we've been part of, he always chooses a very private."
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he → let → private
Marian Fontana says after 25 years of raising her son and grieving, she can start thinking about what's next.
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what → say → son
She says that includes getting back to activities like comedy and writing, along with launching a podcast called "Firehouse Files," which features firsthand accounts from firefighters and first responders.
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which → say → firefighters
"I wanted to give back for the huge generosity that was shown to me after 9/11 and this overwhelming flow of generosity from the world," she said.
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she → want → world
"And I felt this duty to give back, and I still do.
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I → feel → duty
But there was a point at which I was kind of sacrificing my own, you know, my own well-being.
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you → be → being
So I'm kind of spending this next chapter kind of focusing on myself, returning to theater, returning to the things I love, and really trying to make this last chapter a happy one.
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chapter → spend → things
The Aporia
