Inside the Bubble

Owning September 11

You will quickly catch on that this Thursday's installment of ITB was written last Sunday - 9/11.

Let's start with a core belief, courtesy of Sir Isaac Newton: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Next a message to what is left of al-Qaeda: No one gets to take a beautiful September day away from us.  We are getting it back.  Do not think for even a split-second that any event – no matter how insanely evil - will keep us down.  That, my enemy, is delusional thinking. Seek therapy. We own 9/11.  We will turn this day into a celebration about everything that is beautiful about the American spirit. There is much to celebrate.  We are not a nation of mourners.  We are not a people who allow fear to take residence.  Evil will not have this day.  We not only bounce back.  We bounce back higher. Maybe you heard this story…

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Photos: Firefighters Honor Fallen Heroes With 110-Story Stair Climb

More than 170 firefighters from around the state participated in a stair climb raising money for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.

It was an exhausting test of strength, and it took some rests, but the more than 170 firefighters that participated in a stair climb in remembrance of fallen 9/11 firefighters at US Bank Sunday morning were inspired by their patriotism and the courage of those who lost their lives 10 years ago today.

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A Man's Account of New York City the Day the Towers Were Hit

Kevin Farrell was working in New York City on September 11, 2001. Today marks the 10th Anniversary of the attacks.

Kevin Farrell's view of New York City changed forever after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 that brought down the World Trade Center towers ten years ago. Farrell, 62, spent most of his life in the east coast as a salesman and later moved to Greendale, WI. On Sept. 8 Farrell and a college buddy, who was also a pilot, saw the towers for the last time from the air. Three days later Farrell saw the city he so loved turn into utter chaos when the two planes hit the towers. The former salesman was working about five miles away from the towers. He spent day looking for a safe way home to New Jersey since the whole city shutdown, including the subway.  Even though he was not at the site Farrell said that people in the city looked like they were …

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Ten Years Later, Firefighters Will Complete Climb for Fallen Brothers

On Sunday, 169 Wisconsin firefighters will climb the steps of the US Bank building to honor the firefighters that lost their lives on 9/11.

One hundred ten stories. It’s the height of the World Trade Center towers, and the distance 169 Wisconsin firefighters will climb Sunday to remember the 343 firefighters who died in the towers ten years ago. “It’s a memorial that costs me something,” Milwaukee Fire Department Lt. Jordan Ponder, who organized the event, said. “I have to be sweaty, get worn out, have some determination out of me. That will ensure that I will never forget.” The 9-11 climb is a nationwide commemorative tradition, but this will be the first year that Wisconsin firefighters participate. One of the first problems Ponder faced in planning the event was where to find 110 stories in Milwaukee. The solution: climb to the 23rd story of the downtown U.S. Bank building …

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Heather Asiyanbi

9:55 pm on Sunday, September 11, 2011

I did watch that tonight and had to turn away more than once. What was especially moving is how first responders are suffering today from a variety of cancers from breathing in the dust and debris as they seached for survivors and bodies.   more ›