I hope you’ll indulge me for a brief final note, as we bring the Marketplace Money program to a close on this most somber weekend.

“I will be so glad when we get past all these 9/11 retrospectives.”

Those aren’t my words. I’m quoting a friend who was complaining to me this week about the flood of media coverage that was, of course, inevitable 10 years on from the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

But allow me to make the case for how important it is that we do remember. Certainly the lives lost and the sacrifices made. And something else: I fear our post-9/11 outlook on life has faded all too soon. If you walked into any store or office building
or just down the streets of New York City in the dark days and months after 9/11, you couldn’t help but feel a common bond, a strong sense of “happy to see you, glad you’re here” community, and it seemed everyone had suddenly shifted their priorities.

The other day, I came across an interview I did in the aftermath of 9/11 with a Wall Street stockbroker friend, Ted Weisberg, confiding what that harrowing day had taught him: That there are so many things more important than money.

Ted Weisberg: “I think September 11th really made you kind of refocus what your priorities are. In terms of how important the business is compared to the other things going on in my life or around me. Perhaps coming to Wall Street is not quite as important as it used to be.”

And when it comes to keeping an eye on that bigger picture beyond the dollars and cents, I don’t think I can put it any better. Thanks so much for making us a part of your weekend. We’re glad you’re here.