09/11/2026
I can still remember my brother walking out of the office that morning and saying, “Hey, something just happened. A plane hit a building in New York.”
None of us knew yet that we were watching a day that would change America forever.
It was September 11, 2001, and what had started like any other September morning at Teton Valley Lodge suddenly became a day none of us would ever forget.
The Blue Ridge Eye Study Club was staying with us. We were getting boats and guides ready when the news began coming in.
Then came the second plane. The Pentagon. Pennsylvania.
Before long, everyone was gathered around the only television in the lodge.
Some of our guests had offices in the World Trade Center or knew people who did. Everyone wanted to get home—but the airports were closed, rental cars were gone, and nobody was going anywhere.
The group’s leader was Dr. Ed Isbey—“Uncle Eddie.”
As everyone tried to figure out what to do, Ed finally put his hands up and said:
“Boys, everybody hold on. We’re going fishing.”
His point wasn’t really about fishing.
The people who attacked America wanted us afraid. They wanted to disrupt our lives and our way of life.
We weren’t going to give them that.
So we went fishing.
We spent that day together on the river talking about our families, our country, and what America meant to us.
And 25 years later, that same group is coming back to Teton Valley Lodge next week.
Ed is gone, but what he built remains—the friendships, camaraderie and tradition.
Today we remember the nearly 3,000 lives lost on 9/11. We remember the firefighters, police officers and first responders who ran toward danger. We remember the passengers who fought back. And we remember the men and women of our Armed Forces who answered the call afterward, especially those who never came home.
Never Forget isn’t only about remembering what happened to America that day.
It’s about remembering what America is—and what generations of Americans have sacrificed to protect.
Freedom. Opportunity. Family. Hard work. And the freedom to build a better life for the next generation.
And we will never forget. 🇺🇸
God Bless America
#911