We all have our "Where were you on 9/11?" stories. I was half a world away, in bed in a college dorm room in Australia, when a friend came banging on my door in the middle of the night. "You have to come with me. Now," she demanded. I didn’t bother to put on shoes. The college common room was full of wide-eyed Australians, glued to a TV showing what I thought was a James Bond movie. When I walked in, their eyes fell on me instead. The token American. They turned back to the TV, then to me. Back and forth, like a tennis match. Watching me react on behalf of my country. Until the walls of the Twin Towers started tumbling down, and the room gasped in unison.

Whether we were in New York, Seattle, or Australia that day a decade ago, we all felt the towers fall. And though 10 years may feel as arbitrary a marker as 5, 15, or 30, it’s the year we can finally say the 9/11 Memorial has opened, and that Osama bin Laden is gone. It warrants a moment of pause.

The country will observe a National Moment of Remembrance at 10amPST on Sunday with ‘a minute of reflection, marked by the ringing of bells, sounding of sirens and other actions to remember the victims.’

10+ Seattle will pay tribute all morning at the International Fountain at Seattle Center:

At 5:46am, the Kobe Bell will sound correlating to the time that the North Tower was struck. The consecutive three events of September 11, 2001 will be marked in the same manner at 6:03am and 6:37am concluding with a final ring at 7:03am. … Everyone is invited to come when they can and to stay at least for 10 minutes in compassionate meditation. From 8am-10am, we invite people to get up, walk around and meet their neighbors.

The Seattle Times also has an extensive roundup of local 9/11 memorial events.

Where were you on September 11th?