Where were you on...?

It's that date again. A decade and plus out from that morning we all stared at tragedy broadcast live on our screens, and life changed. Not just for the victims and their families. Not just for New Yorkers. Not just for national security. It all changed after that day - remember?

I see status questions "Where were you on...?" - and instead of posting my usual reply (first radio gig, then long day - LONG MONTH - at newsroom after), I just remember. The "before." Before was the nineties, and youth. And a sense of security. Certainty.

After...of course I remember the aftermath. The world changed. People changed. Lives became more raw, more real. Fear became part of our lives. We watched warnings and colors on the news, waiting for the next one.

A near-dozen years later, there's a new generation - high-tech, post-9/11. People bent over their devices all day. Remember phone calls from something wired to the wall? Remember bookstores? For my generation, yes - we remember. For the younger, it's all vintage. It's ironic.

I watch the recent election coverage. Apparently, hope is also now vintage - an ironic word thrown about by pundits.

Today, remembering, I am sad. It all makes me sad. Those twin tower pictures aren't just a symbol of that terrible day. It represents what is lost. Of days gone by.

Here, today, in the thick of some of biggest challenges of my life, during the most difficult days, yeah - I do look back. I do retreat to that place, "before."

Where were you on....?

I was young. I had purpose. I worked hard. I was appreciated. I was able to help. I believed.

Where am I now?

I am not sure how to answer that question.