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Sixteen years ago today I was sitting in my office in midtown at the north end of Times Square working on my editorial for the November 2001 issue of Sound & Vision.

I had just finished recapping my trip to IFA in Berlin when I learned of the unspeakable act of terrorism that had taken place 5 miles away at the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. A picture-perfect day with radiant blue skies was shattered at 8:46 a.m. when hijackers crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into the North Tower; 17 minutes later the gut-punch was repeated when Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower.

I recalled the page from the printer and added this addendum hours before we went to press:

"On a personal note, I started work on this column just before learning about the most heinous acts of terrorism in our history. (Everything else in the issue had already been shipped to the printer, so if any content seems inappropriate, please understand that it was too late to change it.)

My colleagues and I watched helplessly from our 45th-floor offices in midtown as smoke from the disaster at the World Trade Center consumed the whole of lower Manhattan. I was reminded of the dark past of Berlin, the city I had just visited.

I’m stunned. Sick to my stomach. Angry. I mourn for the thousands of innocent people who lost their lives. We will rebuild, but the world will never be the same."

We will never forget.