This week's episode is a little different. On the 25th anniversary of September 11th, we set aside the usual format to talk about where we were that day, what we remember, and how it shaped the years that followed.

We walk through the morning as it unfolded for each of us, from the confusion of realizing what was actually happening to the strange stillness that settled over everything in the hours after. We talk about the images that stuck with us most, the return of air travel, the way people leaned into community and country in a way that felt different from anything before or since. We also touch on stories from that day we didn't learn about until years later, including the diversion of dozens of flights to a small town in Newfoundland and how that community responded.

This episode is also a reminder that the impact of that day didn't end in 2001. The effects reached people in ways that aren't always visible, and for anyone who was a kid at the time, it shaped how they understand the world without them fully realizing it. We wanted to use this episode as an invitation to check in with the people around you, especially today.

Highlights

• Personal memories from the morning of September 11th and how the day unfolded.
• The eerie quiet that followed and how quickly the world changed.
• Lesser-known stories from that day, including the flight diversions to Newfoundland.
• The lasting, sometimes invisible impact on families and later generations.
• A reminder to check in on the people around you.

Get in touch with us:

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Steve Doyle:

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Brad Herda:

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Hey everyone, welcome back to this episode of the Blue Collar BS podcast. I am Brad, along with the award-winning co-host.

Doyle.

you're killing me, man.

Whatever. Whatever, you big old Michigan whatever. Whatever. Whatever. Whatever. Whatever's happening.

Whatever.

Yeah, let's keep going. Keep it going. Yeah. Uh-huh. Exactly. So how's how's the golf game going right now?

right now it's all right. Could be better. Everything could be better. you know, so so today's show is is not I don't want to say it's not gonna be fun, but it's gonna be different. It's gonna be emotional. because today is the twenty fifth anniversary of 911 as we're coming out on this episode here, September eleventh, twenty twenty six. And for

Good. Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Many Gen Xers, millennials, and some of the older Gen Z, that day may or may not had a significant impact on your life and how you grew up and all the things that went with it. And

Mm-hmm.

Twenty-five years, lots of stuff. lots of different stories that go with everybody that happened that day. And I guess I just wanna kinda go through that and go through that day of remembrance and what maybe you did, what I was doing, what your takeaways were, what the impacts were, post, et cetera, et cetera, and just kinda go through that and give everybody else permission to do the same thing. Cause sometimes we wanna put shit so far deep and down that we don't wanna take the time to

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

re reflect and understand. And I think today we need to take that opportunity and and understand how the world changed that day for for for better or for worse along the way and the things that transpired. So what was going on on your calendar that morning? You're in the Eastern time zone. We're in central so

Mm-hmm.

things happen a little earlier in the morning for us than it did for you. So what was going on in

Yeah. I mean I was I remember I was at work. We were everybody was doing their things in their morning meetings.

Time I was twenty-three. so I was I was at work that day. I wasn't at school because I was yeah, three years.

Were you married yet or no?

You got married at twenty?

Yeah, twenty Yeah. Yeah.

Wow, did not know that. That's awful. That's getting pretty early marriage for a millennial like yourself.

No, whatever. Whatever. So yeah. let's see. We were I remember I was walking down a hallway, and my boss was like the everything stopped. And I couldn't under like it to me, I'm like, what's going on? And there was just a ton of commotion.

I would say around the office and so of like dude a plane just went through one of the towers. So I'm like, what? Like, no, serious like this is serious. And I kind was like, I I I don't remember. I was probably said some really insensitive things at the time, like, dude, like that's cool or something. And it was like, No, you idiot, like somebody actually, it's a terrorist attack. And I'm like, what?

Everybody, nobody, like all the rest of the meetings for the day, if if they were still going on, 90% of the conversation was around what is actually transpiring. And that that for me was kind of like that.

What kind of like what the hell is going on?

You know, first time ever experiencing anything like that. Right. Not not in military. So you don't not train for any of that. You just kinda like, shit. Like that for me, that's what was going on that morning. Cause it was earlier in the morning. If I remember, it was before what was it? Nine o'clock. Somewhere around nine o'clock. Yep. And I just remember walking down that hallway and everybody I was

Right.

It's like n nine nine nine ish or so. Yep.

Obviously one of the younger ones in the in that in that environment. And yeah, it was just we gotta figure out what's like what we need to understand what's going on. That was the mentality of people at the office.

Okay. So this is it, I can remember this whole day like vividly because I had I had a supplier and the manufacturing were up. They were in from out of town. I had my boss and another co-supplier, right? They kind of collaborated once in a while. We had a we had a

How about you?

event a a a golf day planned for Milwaukee Country Club, which is old school money here, one of the best courses here in the state from a private club perspective. different thing we had ten o'clock tea time, ten thirty ish tea time to go out and then grab some dinner or whatever after

Mm-hmm.

So things happen. It's around eight o'clock our side. One of the guys has the old rabbit T small, the small little nine inch TVs, rabbit ears. He's picking it up, talking. so everybody's hearing what's going on, trying to get on their computer, see what's happening. Ask my boss if he's going. He's like, No, I'm not gonna go. I just need to understand what's going on. He was probably forty-eight at the time or so. I was thirty-four.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

like, okay, cool. I'm gonna go. The guys that were in town were in town. Like, cool. Club was still open, got confirmation. Great. the day here was a gr just a very it was like chamber of commerce weather, right? Sunshin, clear blue skies, different things. And remember being on I remember being on the golf course, not a sound was heard from the sky. There was

Mm-hmm.

Right.

Mm.

You could hear nothing. You could feel that there was no energy out in the out in the universe of what's going on. And it was very surreal to be out there with folks that were in from Ohio, in from Indiana, that were leaving on the next night. We had Burr game tickets for that night that I got from another supplier that we worked with. obviously the game got canceled.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

And we're like, okay, great. let's go to dinner. Cool. nothing was open. There was a TJI Fridays or something that was open. That was it. That was it, right? There was one place down in the south side of Milwaukee that was open. We met for dinner. they both ended up getting rental cars.

Nothing open.

Mm-hmm.

Wow.

Mm-hmm.

Rush and said the guy from Ohio was able to get a rental car. The other dude lived in Indiana and he just drove up here anyhow. And so we had dinner that night talking, you know, did our things. I drive home that evening. so I'm gone all day. My wife's she's R N nurse. She's got the kids doing whatever.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

I'm getting updates throughout the days. We're looking at the TVs at the golf course during lunch after afterwards and then at dinner watching the TVs at the at the restaurant. And I drive home and I get to a gas station that is like so I'm coming home. I got my 1992 Buick is my car. And I'm like, I got like an eighth of a tank, quarter tank left of gas, and I gotta go back and forth. I'm like, I'll get gas on the way home.

Mm-hmm.

Gas stations got lines at nine o'clock at night. And I'm like, am I not gonna be able to gas tomorrow? Am I not are we gonna get what's going on here? What's happening? and then the aftermath of, you know, the next day and all the things and watching and watching the news reports, watching the things because we were out I was out all day doing normal stuff and

The wazoo.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Like, okay, cool. It's an impact, but we gotta make those the rest of that happen. So what was the what was the what's the biggest thing that you have in from a remembrance standpoint or from a impact perspective? What what visuals or what images or what things do you remember that probably impacted you either personally or professionally moving forward?

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

I mean the things that I remember and and full train I my memory does I there's not a lot from a memory standpoint.

I but I do remember like there was not you there was no airplanes whatsoever for several like air trap air travel was non-existent for a while. So it changed everything at the airport like immensely. but then the the genuine I would say care that I saw people have like

Right.

Right. It changed it well, changed the airport change. Right.

Where like their individual jobs at the moment didn't matter. And there was a sense, I would say we also s heavily supported the industry I was in, heavily supported the military. And so there was a sense of pride to support that further. So a sense of of country that frankly I think we've lost sight of.

Correct.

Right, but we'll we'll we won't go down that political show. But that whole sense of country pride, like who we are, was definitely came out during that time. Right. That those are the those are the things that I distinctly remember.

Excellent.

yes.

How about how about you?

So there's a few of them, right. So not seeing didn't get to see it, didn't see it live, but just plain two, just that image that the fact that they kept playing it over and over and over and again in slow motion and just seeing how a plane could get to do that type of damage and do those types of things. the the collapse.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Watching that was just mind boggling.

From that perspective,

Having the president notified while he's reading the kids, and having him not put the book down, jump out of his seat, and leave right away, and just finish what he was doing and showing the composure and the respect to the kids. that was there. And then the return of baseball at Yankee Stadium.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Mm.

That night, that game, that

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, that

I'm I'm trying I honestly I don't remember the I didn't watch I don't watch a lot of baseball, so I don't but I do remember seeing something like that on ESPN at the time of their coverage of things like that. Right.

Yes. I watched that game, watched all the stuff. See the NYPD, see the fire department, NYFD, see all those things, see all that there was the flags stuff. The it that first game back was just hugely impactful to watch and see and like you said, bringing a country and a community together.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

I don't think we've felt that ever since.

Correct. And I would say I'm still to this day learning stuff about things that transpired that I never even knew from that time frame. meaning there was, we actually had a play here called Come From Away about the 38 commercial planes that were diverted to a small town in Newfoundland.

Mm-hmm. It's a good play. That's a great that's a great play.

And I didn't I did not even I didn't know that I didn't even I didn't even know about the story. I didn't

Neither did I till I went and saw it and I was right. It's we had at the at the rep down here and it's like, okay, my wife, okay, we're gonna go see it. They're like, I know all about this. I'm like, I don't know anything about this story. Okay, great.

Mm-hmm.

I never even I didn't know that was a thing. Like I didn't know that actually happened. Right. And how the community took care of those 7,000 passengers. And it wasn't just a, you know, yep, hey, here's room and board. No, they actually took care of those passengers because the US closed the airspace. Right. And and I

Never even knew that was a thing.

Right. And it's it just kind of shocks me that twenty-five years later still finding out like these ancillary things that transpired as a result of that that event.

Yes, there are a lot of things and a lot of memories and a lot of stuff and just you know, for the few years after and you know w so when you talk to you know as leaders and you go through and you're on this day, you know, many of your like well, let's see, so that was two thousand one. Let's see here.

Mm-hmm.

Right, so your Gen Zers were four years old. That was the oldest Gen Zer at the time of of that opportunity. So

Mm-hmm.

they may or may not remember any of it, but they probably got it through school and those first few years after and right. So you're you figure you're six, seven years old, eight years old and you're going and seeing all these things on TV and in school and all that stuff. That's gotta have a pretty big impact for how they see things and view things. so as you go through today and you like don't be afraid to ask, hey, how you doing? Right. We've had those conversations, ask people.

Mm-hmm.

Right.

As we keep getting further and further removed, the impact of the the debris, the the dust, the airborne particulates, the amount of people that have been, you know, passed away from all of those things as a ancillary piece, other than those that just in the actual event itself. there's a lot of impactful families impacted that you wouldn't necessarily know. So

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Right.

Don't be afraid to ask somebody today, hey, how you feeling? Is everything okay?

Mm-hmm.

Absolutely.

Kind of a bummer show today, but I think it was important being it was the twenty-fifth anniversary, to keep it a little bit li keep it a little down and just hey, what do you remember? What's going on? And we'll get something in our show notes here for some numbers for support and different things, and and we'll try to put whatever resources we can in our show notes. 'cause it will trigger something. It will be there and

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

it's impacted everybody differently across generations and it's important to remember and understand what's what's going on in today's world might be who knows? but can't forget.

Mm-hmm.

Nope, absolutely not.

So thank you for letting us share our memories with you, our audience, on this September eleventh, twenty-fifth anniversary. please take the time to remember and support one another the best that you can. So thank you.

Exactly.

Mm-hmm.

Thank you.