Metrolink Board Director Karen Spiegel speaking at a Metrolink and Riverside County Transportation Commission event in 2025.
A word from Metrolink Board Director and Riverside County Supervisor Karen Spiegel:
Twenty-five years ago, our nation experienced a day none of us will ever forget — the worst terrorist attack ever carried out on American soil. Nearly 3,000 innocent people lost their lives. Families were changed forever. Our first responders ran toward danger, and thousands of Americans made the ultimate sacrifice in the years that followed.
Mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, grandparents, friends, coworkers, first responders, and fellow Americans — people who simply went to work, boarded an airplane, or began another ordinary day — never made it home.
We remember the thousands of first responders, military personnel, volunteers, and ordinary citizens who ran toward danger when others were running away. We remember the unity of a nation that, for a brief and powerful moment, remembered what it meant to simply be Americans.
I remember that day not only as an elected official, but as a mother. My husband, Bobby, and I have five children. Like so many parents, we had to find the words to explain something that was almost impossible to understand. How do you explain to your children that something so horrific has happened in our country? How do you help them understand the seriousness of what they were seeing and hearing, while also giving them hope?
Our nation had been attacked. We were hurting. We were frightened. We were angry. But amid that darkness, there was a beautiful glimmer of hope.
I often shared with my children something that felt especially appropriate for our community. Corona was once known as the “Lemon Capital of the World.” And one of the lessons we tried to teach our children was that sometimes life gives you lemons — circumstances you didn't ask for, circumstances you cannot change. And you have to find a way to make lemonade.
But let me be very clear: finding the lemonade does not mean pretending the lemons weren't there. It does not mean overlooking the pain. It does not mean minimizing the loss. And it certainly does not mean forgetting. It simply means recognizing that, even in the most horrific circumstances, we have a choice in how we respond.
That is what I remember most about the days following the September 11 attacks: on September 12 — and in the days that followed — something beautiful began to emerge. Our differences seemed to disappear. There was little concern about someone's political party, their religion, the color of their skin, where they were born, or what opinions they held. We were Americans who all needed one another. Neighbors helped neighbors. Strangers helped strangers. People lined up to donate blood. Flags appeared everywhere. Communities gathered. First responders were honored. People reached out to people they had never met simply because they were hurting. For a brief moment, we remembered something incredibly important: we were not defined by our differences. We were Americans.
Twenty-five years ago, our nation experienced the most horrific tragedy — and without ever forgetting the pain, we found a beautiful glimmer of hope, compassion, service, and unity. That is the lemonade. Not to erase the lemons. Not to pretend the tragedy didn't happen, but to recognize that even when life gives us something we never wanted, we still have a choice in how we respond. We can choose hatred, or we can choose compassion. We can choose division, or we can choose unity. We can choose to remain focused only on what separates us, or we can remember what brings us together.
Twenty-five years ago, America showed the world what it looked like when we came together. My hope is that we never have to experience another September 11 to remember how powerful that can be.
Many heroes emerged that fateful day. Among them was Todd Beamer, a passenger on Flight 93, whose words became a rallying cry: “Let's Roll.” And then there are two words that we pledged, two words that must remain with us forever: NEVER FORGET. Never forget those we lost. Never forget those who served. Never forget the families who continue to carry that loss. And never forget what happened on September 11, 2001. Never forget the courage of ordinary people who became heroes. Never forget the compassion of Americans who reached beyond their differences. And never forget what happened on September 12, when Americans looked beyond those differences, reached out to one another, and reminded ourselves that we are stronger when we stand together.
Twenty-five years later, may we remember the lives lost, honor the heroes who responded, cherish the freedoms they protected, and continue to look for that glimmer of hope. We remember. We honor. We stand together. And we will NEVER FORGET.
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In addition to Director Spiegel’s remembrance essay, Metrolink Chief of Staff Noelia Rodriguez published a piece in the Los Angeles Daily News, “Reflections on 9/11: A view from the White House.” Rodriguez served as First Lady Laura Bush’s first White House press secretary and communications director, as well as press secretary and deputy mayor to Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan.