Whenever I revisit the treacherous terrorist attacks 13 years ago today, the first thing I see is the tail of a huge airplane jutting out of a tall building billowing in acrid smoke in America’s largest city.

That foreboding image is forever etched in my mental skies.

We would later come to face the horrific reality that 19 hijackers commandeered four commercial U.S. planes and crashed them into American symbols and shook — not to mention shocked — an entire nation.

With jaws dropped and eyes glued to the TV screen, we stood in the middle of a newsroom in silence.

Today, on a balmy and clear Thursday, I am eerily reminded of the warm and sunny Sept. 11 morning in 2001.

I, personally, knew not one person who died or lost loved ones in the deadly attack. But all of us, in one way or another, lost something that dreadful day, something we can never regain or recover.

Sept. 11, 2001, changed us all, whether we were in New York or Washington or Pennsylvania or even Pensacola.

It changed how we looked at others, friends and foe. It changed how we looked at the world, at home and abroad. It changed how we looked at ourselves, inside and out.

“Nothing will ever be the same” was the mantra, but really how different are we today?

To be sure, many changes were fleeting and temporal — an immediate response out of concern for our safety — while some proved more lasting and transformative.

We saw massive changes in air travel, in homeland security, in anti-Islam sentiments.

The attacks did change us on a more personal level: We prayed together and stood together. We became closer, more spiritual, less materialistic, but only for a little while.

Remember the fervent waving of flags? What happened to the eloquent words and passionate promises to keep the memories of those who died alive? If ever we needed something, we need today more unity, fervent prayers and patriotic pledges to bring us closer and steel our resolve.

We see all too often that the fanatical terrorists have not relented 13 years later.

The sadistic beheadings of journalists by Muslim extremists is evidence that we are no safer today than before 9/11.

That should give us more reason to stand closer together, to pay homage, to show respect, to remember, to never forget.

We can’t erase from our lives or our memories the awful moment that Sept. 11 wrought.

We can’t bring back the dead or return to the blissful innocence we enjoyed before the jets crashed our symbols and shattered our American Dream.

But we can pledge to never forget by always remembering to do a few things to help make our lives and those of others better.

Start with helping and caring for your fellow man, woman and child. Give of your time, talents and money to worthy causes and needy people.

Volunteer at your church, synagogue or mosque. Tutor or mentor at a local school. Feed the homeless, help the helpless, give hope to the hopeless.

Consider every act of kindness as a special gift to the people who died and their families who lost a loved one.

If that’s not your thing, simply learn to love more and hate less.

Instead of vilifying Muslims with vitriolic anti-Islamic fervor, learn more about the religion and share it with friends and family.

The terrorists who attacked us and still breed violence today are extremists. They are no more Muslim than the so-called Christians who burned witches in Salem or lynched black people in the South.

And that’s all the more reason to come together today to recall, to honor, to memorialize, to never forget. And to pray there never will be another attack.

Not today. Not ever.

Finally, practice and preach nonviolence. We can’t condemn terrorists for violence and then advocate bombing and killing innocent people who have nothing to do with the acts of terror.

What we really need to consider is forgiveness.

“We must maintain the capacity to forgive,” as Dr. King said. “He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.

“There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.”

Sept. 11 is truly a day that will live in infamy in our hearts, souls and minds. We can harbor hate and allow it to destroy our humanity and love for one another. Or we can embrace love and forgiveness, which will heal wounds and mend broken hearts.

After the ashes and dust of Sept. 11 settled, and we were left with broken lives and shattered dreams, it was love that stitched our hearts together, and it is love that can bring healing and hope.

The very core of our existence is love. The only power that can hold us together is love.

Love trumps evil.

Always has. Always will.

[progresspromise]