Remembering 9/11
It has been 20 years since the September 11 terrorist attacks. Adults remember it like it was yesterday. Children file it alongside Pearl Harbor. Lives were lost on 9/11/01; others were changed forever. In the middle of the terror, heroes emerged. America united in a way unseen in recent years.
Twenty years older, I can now look back on that day from a different perspective. I can see beyond the raw emotion to consider what really happened and imagine myself in a similar situation. After listening to a related podcast called “Missing on 911,” I again realized the strength of the survivors and the thousands of lives that were affected in untold ways.
September 11 is now recognized as Patriot Day in memory of those killed in the terrorist attacks. It has also come to be known as a National Day of Service and Remembrance to honor first responders who risked their lives to save others.
Every day first responders risk their lives to save others. They often go unrecognized. As we walk the streets of Cincinnati with our food tour groups, we witness local police and firefighters doing what so many of us take for granted. Someone calls 9-1-1. Help arrives. Random accidents, criminal activities, domestic disputes, lost children. Whatever the need, our first responders don’t hesitate to answer the call.
In recognition of all that our local first responders do to make Cincinnati a better place, Cincinnati Food Tours will use the proceeds from our tours on 9/11/21 to purchase restaurant gift cards for District 1 police and fire personnel. Join us on September 11, and your ticket purchase will Back the Red and Blue. Choose from the following tours:
Signature Over-the-Rhine Tour, 11 am-2 pm
Wyoming Walk: Food + History Tour, 1 pm-4 pm
The Original Findlay Market Tour, 3 pm-4:30 pm
Unable to make it on September 11? Buy a Cincinnati Food Tours gift card between September 1 and September 11, and 20% of the value will be converted to a restaurant gift card for our police and firefighters.
Do you have a favorite restaurant that you want to support? Purchase a specific restaurant gift card or Downtown Cincinnati gift card on your own. Contact Barb to make arrangements for pickup, and we will gladly add your gift card donation to our collection for District 1.
Finally, the best way you can recognize our local first responders is something you can do time and again. Smile and say thank you. They are there for us. That is the least we can do for them.