Hi,

Today is September 11, and specifically, the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attack that claimed thousands of lives and shocked millions of others. I’m recognizing the moment be sharing a story I’ve shared a few times before — one of hope and healing, and of unlikely people coming to help the best way they could. I think their actions are a good model to live by, and I’m not alone. Before I get to the story, here’s a quote from Fred Rogers — or Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood fame — from this 1983 book, “Mister Rogers Talks With Parents.”

When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” To this day, especially in times of “disaster,” I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.

It’s a great lesson, and one that we should not only heed, but also model. Don’t just look for the helpers — look for ways to be one.

For me, the timing of this lesson is deeply personal. I’m a New Yorker (okay, southern Connecticut) native, and Ground Zero is not far from where I grew up. And as many longtime readers know, I’m Jewish. We celebrate Rosh Hashana this weekend, which, among other things, reminds us to practice tzedakah — loosely, the act of helping those who we can. So regardless of what you’re otherwise doing this weekend, please find an opportunity to thank those who have helped you in the past, and find ways to help those who need it today.

Onto the story, originally shared here in 2014:

When the Cows Come Home

The 9/11 attack on the United States has a number of villains rightfully attached to its history. But there are also a number of heroes who emerged on that day as well. Some ran into the carnage to save lives, giving theirs in the process. Others, realizing that they were ill-prepared to help in that way, tried to find other ways to help — even if symbolically.

Like by donating a cow.

Kenyan-born Kimeli Naiyomah was in New York City on September 11, 2001. His story was already one of perseverance and a desire to do good for his community. At a young age, according to CNN, he was battling against long odds: his father was out of the picture, his mother was an alcoholic, and his grandmother had been murdered. His family was destitute and the town he grew up in lacked electricity, running water, phones, and roads. Yet somehow, when his mother fell ill, she (with him in tow) managed to make it to a hospital. Naiyomah, inspired by what he saw there, wanted to become a doctor. When he reached high school age, he left his village without a penny to his name. He walked nine miles to the nearest school, where he pleaded with the administration to let him stay and learn. Even though he didn’t have the money for books, housing, or a uniform, the school agreed. And after high school, he earned a scholarship to the University of Oregon, and after that, to Stanford Medical School.

He was a Stanford med student on 9/11. But he wasn’t in California that day, as noted above. He was in New York to meet the President of Kenya, who was making a diplomatic visit. Naiyomah’s rags-to-education story made the student a celebrity back home; the student was the dignitary’s guest in New York. When the planes hit the World Trade Center, he wanted to help but wasn’t yet a doctor. Instead, in the spring of 2002, Naiyomah approached his village elders to ask their permission to purchase and donate a cow to the United States. Naiyomah is a member of the Maasai people, a semi-nomadic clan of warriors dating back centuries. Cattle play a large role in Maasai culture, as explained by Wikipedia:

Traditional Maasai lifestyle centres around their cattle which constitute their primary source of food. The measure of a man’s wealth is in terms of cattle and children. A herd of 50 cattle is respectable, and the more children the better. A man who has plenty of one but not the other is considered to be poor. A Maasai religious belief relates that God gave them all the cattle on earth, leading to the belief that rustling cattle from other tribes is a matter of taking back what is rightfully theirs, a practice that has become much less common.

Donating a cow? That’s a very big deal if you’re Maasai.

The elders not only agreed to Naiyomah’s gesture but also agreed to match it — each. In total, the Maasai tribe donated 14 cattle to the United States. The cattle were presented to an American attache in a special ceremony; Maasai attendees offered their condolences while the Star Spangled banner played in the background.

Because of agricultural regulations, though, the U.S. was unable to bring the cows to America. Originally, per the BBC, the cows were to be “sold at a local market and the proceeds used to buy beads,” after which “Maasai women [were to fashion traditional beadwork with commemorative messages, including perhaps the Stars and Stripes of the US flag [which was to] be handed over to the people of New York for display in the city.” But that didn’t go over well with the Maasai. Instead, as CNN further notes, on the five-year anniversary of 9/11, the U.S. Ambassa

The Now I Know Week In Review

Monday: Labor Day — I didn’t send an email.

Tuesday: How Cap’n Crunch Made Free Phone Calls: A story I’ve wanted to tell for a while, glad I finally did.

Wednesday: Ben’s Big Decision: A 9/11 story.

Thursday: The Opposite of a Ringing Endorsement?: A pin I kind of want, and I don’t even collect pins.

Long Reads and Other Things

Here are a few things you may want to check out over the weekend:

1) “The 17 Minutes That Changed America” (National Geographic, 22 minutes, September 2026). You’ll need to give an email address to access this, and the piece does dabble into politics a bit, but it’s a good piece on the longstanding impact of 9/11 on America.

2) “The Dark Side of Mindfulness“ (The Atlantic, 11 minutes, September 2026). I was able to access this despite it being behind the paywall; I hope you can, too. The subhead: “A prominent psychologist and meditation teacher set out to research the benefits of the practice. What she found alarmed her.”

3) “It Was Supposed to Be a Haven for Troubled Teens. They Risked Everything to Escape.” (The Marshall Project, 24 minutes, July 2026). Netflix has a documentary about a similar school called “The Program” that I watched a few years ago — it’s harrowing.

See you Monday,

Dan