Remembering 9/11 and my Daddy, Part II

9/11 New York City

Twenty-five years ago, our nation—and my family—lived through the worst time in our lives. Several years ago, I wrote a blog post about our experience, and as we enter the 25th anniversary of those awful days, I’m sharing an update. I posted Part I a couple of days ago, which takes us through Daddy’s funeral on Monday; today, I share the rest of the story.

We slept in a little later than usual that Tuesday morning after having had such a long day on Monday. We had gathered in the family room to plan the day’s appointments when my phone rang. It was Dana calling.

“Mommy, we’re stuck in the Atlanta airport,” she said, which I immediately assumed was because of the incompetence of ASA, the regional Delta jet that flew into Gainesville.

“No, Mommy,” she said as her voice cracked. “You don’t understand. Turn on the TV. Planes have just flown into the World Trade Center.”

The rest of the day is a blur—we certainly kept the television on, and we did get the errands done. As was the case in cities and towns around the country, many flocked to church services, as we did at Beaver Dam Baptist Church that evening. Mommy and I sat behind Page and Becky Ashby who were really close to Daddy and have since become—along with their parents Terry and Donna—our special friends. Larry and the girls ultimately made it to Gainesville later on Tuesday, thanks to a UF student and her dad. I drove to Gainesville on Wednesday, searching for radio stations along I-65, I-24, and I-75 to keep up with the latest news.

We all stumbled through the next few weeks as we figured out what to make of this newly disrupted life. These days are seared into our memories, and although we ultimately recovered, we never forgot. Our family still sheds tears watching videos from those days, still remembering the trauma our nation endured and the personal loss of our family.

The Daily Show with
Jon Stewart

All four of us ended up living in New York City at some point during the past 25 years. We’ve visited Ground Zero multiple times, walking the hallowed halls and grounds of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. I remember once being in a hurry returning to Barnard from a meeting in lower Manhattan when I suddenly realized that, as I’d woven my way through the city blocks, I’d stumbled upon the grounds. I stopped for several minutes, standing near the Memorial’s twin reflecting pools, the footprints of the Towers.

Remembering.

As I shared in my earlier story, it is still hard to remember my Daddy without thinking about 9/11. Still today, I can’t separate one event from the other, and the memories will remain with me for the rest of my life. I also remember how this country came together after the tragedy, and unfortunately, that’s now lost. While I never want another event like 9/11, I hope at some point our country will come together like we did in those early days after the Towers fell.

A lot has happened to our family in the past 25 years.

Mama Doris

My Mommy moved to Gainesville to be near us a few years after Daddy died. She enjoyed her time in Gainesville, especially being close to us and the girls. She died in her sleep in July 2014, and we celebrated her life back in Kentucky a few days later.

In 2015, Larry and I left Gainesville and moved to New York City. We had always talked about what it would be like to live in the best city in the world and enjoy the urban lifestyle we’d always coveted. We loved it. We stayed in NYC through COVID-19, and in 2023, we moved to the beautiful city of Portsmouth, NH. We loved Portsmouth, but not the weather, and in June 2025, we left the Northeast for Lexington, Ky., which gives us better weather, affordable living, and a lovely SEC city.

Dana and Giacomo

Dana graduated from Florida State University with her bachelor’s degrees and then worked for six months in Rome, an ancient city that stole her heart. She returned to the U.S. and earned a master’s in global public policy from Duke, then moved to NYC, where she lived and worked for several years before moving back to Rome right before COVID-19 hit. She has since married a wonderful Italian man, and they live in Rome and are expecting our first grandchild in December.

Jenni went to Columbia University in 2007 and earned an earth and environmental engineering degree, then spent two years in the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic. She returned to the States and earned a global environmental public health master’s degree from Emory University.

Jenni

She left the U.S. as soon as she finished and has lived and worked overseas ever since: Ghana, South Sudan, Iraq (Baghdad and Erbil), Nepal, Ethiopia, and today, she works in Gaza. She has traveled the world, visiting 75 (and counting) countries.

9/11 certainly had an impact on the lives of our family, and I believe it gave all four of us the courage to follow our dreams, no matter how crazy they might have seemed. I’m proud that we kept going, dreamed big, and didn’t give up.

As we all reflect on 9/11 in the coming days, may your memories of the past 25 years provide you comfort as we remember those we lost on 9/11 and those

Quentin Payton

who died defending our country in the subsequent wars.

And please remember my Daddy.