We like to keep things fairly light, positive and optimistic on TGT. We avoid negative news stories and mostly remember people on the anniversary of their birth, rather than their death (recent obituaries aside).

But the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks seemed too big an event, with too much of a legacy on modern life to ignore completely. So I tried to find a positive angle on the events of that day. I did think about re-doing Steve Buscemi’s quiet return to his old job in Engine Company 55 to help search for survivors - but we did that a couple of years ago.

Then I read about the scale of the boatlift that day. Around 450,000 people moved to safety with 100s of boat captains answering the ‘All Available Boats’ call and sailing towards the danger. More people were evacuated than at Dunkirk in 1/9th of the time.

As Fred Roger’s mother told him, when the news is scary, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

-Bill