Good morning, Team. It’s Friday.

Twenty-five years ago today, we suffered a great tragedy as a country. The kind where most of us remember distinctly where we were when the news broke. The country stopped in its tracks as terror took its toll, and the stories rolled in.

I’ve spent enough time in New York to see the site, visit the museum, watch One World Trade Center rise, see the rebuilding of the transportation infrastructure, walk around the Memorial Pools—and read the signs everywhere:

Never Forget.

I was in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, at the Greenbrier, having dinner with multiple industry icons and their spouses for a special event. The wine had been poured, and one of our tablemates prefaced his toast with a story about his son, a first responder in New York when the towers fell.

His son shared how, after a grueling period of sifting and searching, a group of responders assembled to break bread and toast those they had lost.

It was an old toast:

To lying, cheating, stealing and drinking.

If you’re going to lie, lie to save a friend.
If you’re going to cheat, cheat death.
If you’re going to steal, steal a heart.
And if you must drink, raise a glass with me.

So, as we reflect today—and if you imbibe and reflect—remember the toast.

Raise a glass.

And never forget.

Have a blessed weekend.

Eric