Twenty-five years ago today, I was 25 years old.

I had moved to Pennsylvania just 11 months earlier from a small town in Indiana. My mother hated that I had moved to a “big city,” where, in her mind, more bad things happened.

At the time, I was working in a machine shop in Ivyland. I had actually just given my two weeks’ notice after applying to Bucks County Community College the day before.

I was still adjusting to the culture shock of moving more than 700 miles away from everything and everyone I had ever known.

Most of the people I worked with were probably 20 years older than me and, looking back, much more in tune with what was happening in the world.

I wasn’t.

I was pretty oblivious to anything happening outside of my own day-to-day life. I was still trying to figure out how to do life on my own in a place that was completely new to me.

What I remember most about that morning is how angry everyone was.

I don’t remember every detail or every conversation, but I remember some of the guys in the shop seemed to know who was responsible before I had heard anyone on television say it.

That stuck with me.

It made me realize just how much I had been living with my head in the proverbial sand.

At some point, I walked into the office. My soon-to-be (ex) mother-in-law was the office manager, and she was beside herself.

She showed me the videos.

At first, it didn’t seem real.

Sometimes, 25 years later, it still doesn’t.

I already knew the world could be cruel. September 11 showed me a level of cruelty I had never really contemplated before.

I was getting married the following April. We had planned to go to Antigua for our honeymoon. After 9/11, we canceled the trip and decided to drive to Disney instead.

It was a small decision in the grand scheme of everything that happened, but I think it shows just how quickly that day changed the way so many of us looked at the world.

Like millions of others, I vowed that day to never forget.

I haven’t.

And I never will.

If you’re looking for a way to commemorate the 25th anniversary of September 11 today, I shared a few local remembrance ceremonies and tributes earlier this week.

You can find them here.

There’s plenty to catch up on.

I spent the week looking at the latest local housing numbers, putting together another local jobs report, digging through the latest court filings, continuing my look at Pennsylvania’s proposed health regulation changes, and keeping an eye on what’s happening around the community.

And, since it’s Friday, I’ve also pulled together plenty of things to do this weekend, along with a few dates you may want to put on your calendar.

So, if you haven’t been checking in throughout the week, no worries. I got you boo boo 😉

Looking for something to do this weekend? I pulled together a handful of the best local options including events, live music, and more.

See this weekend’s curated picks.

If you’d like to browse even more, check out the full Spotlight Events Calendar. And remember, you can add your events on here for free.

The newsletter is now arriving only once per week, but the Spotlight is active every day. Here are a few ways to stay connected between Friday newsletters.

That’s it for this week! Thanks for spending a couple of minutes with me.

Do you know something that should make it into the Spotlight? Just hit Reply, I read every email.

Have a fantastic day,

Corey