By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

NAPLES— Tricia Shaw wishes that 19 years later Americans still had the same patriotism they had on the day after 9-11.

“It’s too bad that the sentiment in our country is not how it is right now. It is so divided,” she began. “Remember how we all felt on the 12th of September? We were all Americans. There was no left, right, right or wrong. We were a unified nation. It is just a shame the division that is in our country right now. I wish that we could get back to feeling more unified as Americans.”

But, more than anything, she wishes that those senseless acts of terrorism had never happened on American soil.

Tricia Shaw joined her husband Ron Shaw for a solemn gathering to remember 9-11.

The group of people gathered on or around the Naples Town Dock, overlooking Long Lake. They listened to TAPs on the trumpet, which Ron played, starting at 8:45 a.m., the time when the first place hit the World Trade Center’s north tower.

Then, those present stood in silence for the next 18 minutes until the time when the second plane hit the south tower. Then, he played the “Star Spangled Banner,” followed by a few moments of silence.

Since the one-year anniversary of 9-11, the Shaws and a handful of community members have been showing up at the town dock around 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 11. They never publicize that this is going to happening. They’ve been doing this brief and non-complicated ceremony for 18 years in a row now.

“It never gets any easier,” Ron said as he removed his trumpet from its case. “I can still feel the tremendous hurt this morning.”

Tricia agreed.

“It is always emotional, even this far away from it,” she said, referring to the number of years that had passed.

As soon as Tricia finished her thought, Ron spoke. 

“It’s always emotional. I feel some of the grief the families feel I think. It’s a grief all Americans feel,” he said, standing on the dock and shaking his head. “It is crazy to think that that could have ever happened. It’s hard to get your head around it.”

According to history.com, 2,996 people died including 19 terrorists during the attacks carried out by “militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al Qaeda” on Sept. 11, 2001.

“The evilness of 9-11 was that they used our own systems against us,” Tricia said. “Things that we could feel safe doing: getting on a plane and flying across country. They used our aircraft against us.”

Then, she talked about adding injury to insult.

“To do it on a date that was 9-11. That is our emergency number,” she said. “I just don’t understand the minds that plan something like that. It wasn’t an accident. It was planned evil.” 

Nineteen years ago, Americans were shocked as a series of events unfolded starting in the early morning on the East Coast. (A good recounting of the events and the timeline was prepared by editors on history.com.)

On Friday, Americans across the nation, just like the Shaws in Naples, Maine, remembered a time when their nation was attacked by terrorists. Last week, people took the time to remember the loss of life, the loss of feeling safe and secure.

After the attacks, the couple took a trip to Ground Zero. They recalled that experience.

“We went to the site several years after the attacks when they were still excavating the site. Boy, you could still feel the emotion there,” Tricia said.

Her husband added, “Such a huge hole in the ground.”

She nodded.

“It was terrible to see years later. I cannot imagine being there the day it happened,” she said. “What struck me was the little church, the Trinity Church across the street was untouched. Those two big buildings coming down and that little tiny church untouched. They had the inside of that church—the inside of the church was dedicated to the firefighters and police who responded. There were patches from every department.”

The total number of people who died during the 9-11 attacks “includes 343 firefighters and paramedics, 23 New York City police officers and 37 Port Authority police officers who were struggling to complete an evacuation of the buildings and save the office workers trapped on higher floors,” according to history.com.

“Boy, my dad and my brother were firefighters,” Tricia said, tearing up. “And, that really touched me to see the tribute to the first responders there in that little church.”