We can never forget the pain, the terror, the anguish that a few twisted individuals were able to cause in just a few short hours. We must never forget the strength, the hope, and the love that thousands upon thousands of people demonstrated in response over the days, weeks, and months that followed. September 11th, 2001 was a day that was filled with tragedy, and we should remember that. But we should also remember the unbridled human decency that so many thousands of nameless people expressed through words and deeds in response.
I will cite but one tiny story, among so many, to begin the count that will overwhelm the power of any terrorist's act. And by such tales, multiplied many millionfold, let these few depraved people finally understand why their vision of inspired fear cannot prevail over ordinary decency. As we left a local restaurant to make a delivery to Ground Zero late one evening, the cook gave us a shopping bag and said: "Here's a dozen apple brown bettys, our best dessert, still warm. Please give them to the rescue workers." How lovely, I thought, but how meaningless, except as an act of solidarity, connecting the cook to the cleanup. Still, we promised that we would make the distribution, and we put the bag of 12 apple brown bettys atop several thousand respirators and shoe pads.
Twelve apple brown bettys into the breach. Twelve apple brown bettys for thousands of workers. And then I learned something important that I should never have forgotten -- and the joke turned on me. Those twelve apple brown betty's went like literal hotcakes. These trivial symbols in my initial judgment turned into little drops of gold within a rainstorm of similar offerings for the stomach and soul, from children's postcards to cheers by the roadside. We gave the last one to a firefighter, an older man in a young crowd, sitting alone in utter exhaustion as he inserted one of our shoe pads. And he said, with a twinkle and a smile restored to his face: "Thank you. This is the most lovely thing I've seen in four days -- and still warm!"