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GREENSBORO — Rusty Griffin is on another demolition job today — one, however, with less of a profile than where the World Trade Center complex fell Sept. 11, 2001.

And, as he has done every year since, Griffin will take a few minutes during the day to reflect on the smoldering ruins of ground zero, where he toiled for months after the deadliest terrorist act on U.S. soil.

“The long hours and all the debris, the human factor and having to deal with all the death,” said Griffin, a vice president with the Greensboro-based D.H. Griffin Wrecking. The company oversaw cleanup after terrorists hijacked four airplanes, flying two into the twin towers and another into the Pentagon. The fourth crashed in Pennsylvania with Greensboro flight attendant Sandy Bradshaw on board.

“I’ll always remember, but I think some people want to get by it,” said Griffin, who still recalls the bright red fire truck found crumpled like a toy beneath twisted metal and concrete.

In the first few years after the tragedy, large observances and remembrances took place, with churches opening their doors at noon for people. The images on the television screen of the buildings toppling and people covered in soot had some people returning to church pews and houses of worship for the first time in a long time, church leaders said.

Maybe out of fear. Maybe out of a need to spiritually reconnect or reflect.

But over the years, the observances have dropped. There are few advertised observances this year and in recent years.

Back in 2001, the night after Sept. 11, the Rev. Julie Peeples led 60 people in dropping stones into a bowl of water to symbolize the release of hate and anger.

“I think it is several things,” Peeples said. “One is expectations — after the fifth anniversary, people assume there will be larger-scale remembrances on certain anniversary years, the 10th, 15th, and so on. So the in-between ones get forgotten.”

It is also painful, she said.

“As it reminds us all of the fragility of life on this planet and how it can all change in an instant,” Peeples said. “We’d just as soon not face up to that. Of course, for those most directly affected, they don’t have that luxury of choosing when to remember.”

First Baptist Church held a prayer meeting Wednesday that focused on the event and the aftermath — which is what many people are now focused on, intentionally or not.

“My own sense is that 9/11 set in motion a series of events that now eclipse the triggering tragedy,” said the Rev. Ken Massey. “The war, gasoline prices, the national debt, the poor economy and the housing crisis tend to overwhelm our social psyche. People in survival mode tend to be less reflective and many people are struggling to keep their heads and hearts above water today.”

Contact Nancy H. McLaughlin at 373-7049 or nancy.mclaughlin@news-record.com