NFL Opening Day--Sept 11

[Chief Dick]

Just was thinking today about how opening Sunday this year is on September 11th. I started to reflect on the events of that day and the time right after, when America was staggering with raw emotion. And then the way America came together made me an extremely proud man. Here are my thoughts of that day and immediately after.

 

The day of the attack, I was driving to work listening to the radio. All of a sudden the disc jockeys started talking about a plane that hit the WTC. Then several minutes later, they were watching a monitor when the second plane hit, and were describing this on the radio. I am a contractor, and that day I was to replumb a house and replace a shower fixture. When I got to the house, the homeowner had the TV on, and we sat and watched for several minutes. He left for work, and was kind enough to leave the TV on for me to watch as I worked. The rest of the day was me in the bathroom, in the living room, under the house, in the living room, etc. That was one of the longest days of my life, and when I got home all I could do was watch the coverage until the late hours.

 

The next few weeks were unreal. I had all these different emotions coming out. Pain. Horror. Sadness. Anger. Empathy. Sympathy. Rage. Wonderment of why this even needs to happen. And then all of this gives way to getting back to your regular life. You still have to get up, go to work, feed the kids, go to movies, and watch sports.

 

Fast forward to the week the NFL resumed football. I was lucky enough to have tickets to the game in Kansas City that week, and our opponent was the NY Giants. I have several memories of that day.

 

1. Pride. I will never forget the ovation the Kansas City fans gave the players and personnel of the NY Giants when they came out of that tunnel. It went on for several minutes, and as I looked around I could see tears in the eyes of my fellow fans, as it seemed like this was the way we could maybe help a little bit here in KC. I remember reading the KC Star the next day and there were several quotes from Giants players about how touched they were at the response they got from the home crowd. I will NEVER be prouder to be a Kansas Citian.

 

2. The National Anthem. On a normal day this song gives me the chills, so you can only imagine how it felt that day. 78,000 people singing in unison. Normally at a Chiefs game, the fans will sing at the end: "and the home, of the Chiefs", and say the word "Chiefs" really loud. Not that day.

 

3. At the end of the national anthem, the in house camera focused on a fan sitting on the top row of the stadium. The fan was a firefighter, decked out with his helmet, waving the American flag. To this day I get chills thinking about that moment.

 

And that moment made me realize one thing. We are fighters. We are Americans, dammit, and we will fight through this like we have throughout our history. That moment made me happy, and proud, and appreciative of the freedoms I enjoy, made possible by those who came before me.

 

I am a citizen of the greatest country in the world. The United States of America.

 

Edited September 11, 2019 by Chief Dick

[Chief Dick]

I'm really surprised nobody else would share their thoughts of that day. I was hoping others would add to this.

Edited September 11, 2019 by Big John

[rhippens]

good post chief. i was at penn state. that morning, i walked across campus and got into the building to go to class. they had a tv on and everybody had their head tilted back so i knew something was up. it was minutes after the first plane had crashed. our ahole prof came in and said "ok, let's get to work." we stood their looking at him like "are you nuts?" but like i said, he was an ahole and make us take the exam. by the time i got done, the second plane had crashed. i literally ran across campus, hopped in my car, and went back to my apartment. i woke up my roommate and i think we sat there for hours. eventually, our families and friends called with those "can you believe this?" calls. it was crazy. ordinarily, we would've been playing ps2, drinking beer, etc. but i truly felt like concrete, like i couldn't even get up from the couch. certainly, a mild state of shock. we sat there all day.

 

i think i was near tears at the beginning of nearly every sporting event i watched over the next couple of weeks. it meant so much more. and since, everything has meant so much more. every person in this country should be proud and aware of what sacrifice it has taken to get here and that we are never truly out of danger. regardless of where anyone stands politically, if you didn't feel a sense of pride as we came together following the attacks, then you probably aren't a true american.

 

thanks for the post and the reminder of how important things are, chief.

[Guggs]

I was at work when a co-worker in the next cubicle, who was listening to her headset, said a plane crashed into the WTC. I didn't think much of it. I thought a private plane got lost in the fog or whatever and it probably did minimal damage to such a big building. Several minutes later, I went into a different department for something and one of the gals had her radio on and said as I walked into the dept. of 8 or 9 people that a 2nd plane crashed into the other tower. Honest to God, the first word I said was "terrorism." Everyone looked at me kind of funny and I said "What else could it be? 2 planes, both towers. It has to be terrorism. Later I found out they were jet planes and the enormousy of it. About an hour later or so, soon after I listened on the radio as the 2nd tower fell, a supervisor pulled me into his office and announced to me that I was the one who got the big promotion over probably 15 people, a lot of them who had seniority over me. I was surprised and very happy for the promotion. I was still stunned and not really realizing to what effect the devastation had occured (We did not have a T.V. there), I was happy, but soon my stomach started to turn thinking about those poor people in the towers, 4 planes, Pentegon etc. People congratulated me throughout the day about my promotion, but as it sunk in to what had happened in New York etc., I could of cared less. Also, the previous evening, before MNF, that game Ed McCaffery got injured and was out for the season by the way, my friends asked me to be the Godfather of their new baby. Such happy events turned into whatever and who cares in the wake of the tragedy. I was thinking earlier today about those people on the top floors of the WTC having that horrific decision to jump out the windows. They knew they were going to jump to their deaths. What a horrible decision to be faced with. Burn to death, or jump to one's death. God bless all who perished that day and their loved ones and friends.

Edited August 17, 2005 by Guggs

[seminoles]

I guess my point of view is a little different since i was 10 when it happened. At my school the teachers and staff said nothing about the attacks the whole day. Never told us a thing. I know at other schools my friends watched tv for most of the day and talked about it etc. Looking back on the day I realize my teacher (and probably the others in the school) knew about the attacks and tried their very best to hold it in. I think that was the best option so that the parents could tell their children the information and events in their own way.

When i got home (about 4 1/2 hours after the attacks) I found my dad on the couch watching t.v. He was sent home from Lucent (which is one of their only good choices in the last couple years...) and that is were I learned about the plane crashes. I guess i can say I understood more than most my age about what was going on. I never was scared of my own safety but felt scared for Chicago's buildings. I was somewhat baffled to why they would do such a thing but wasnt really surprised that such a thing could happen. My life did change after that day. Like Chief, I always get chills from the National Anthem, but when I watched a football game (whenever the next game was) I had a tear roll down my face. I didnt care that day how my fantasy football team was doing, but cared about the people who lost a little bit of them not so long ago.

From dusk til dawn, America will fight. What a great country we live in

Edited September 11, 2019 by Big John

[TitansFan]

Isn't it amazing how you can always remember where you were and what you were doing when a great tragedy occurs.

 

For me, it was a normal day, I went to school (I was in 8th grade) like normal, not expecting anything special to happen. I was in English class when the computer lab teacher came in and said a plane had hit the WTC. My whole class went to the library where a TV was set up and on a news station. We watched that for a few minutes, seeing the burning buildings of the first tower and the pentagon, then went back to class. Soon after the computer lab teacher came back and told us another plane had hit the second tower of the World Trade Center. I was in disbelief. I didn't know what to do or what to think. I tried to push it out of my mind and revert my attention back on my schoolwork. Eventually, she came in again and said the two towers had fallen. I couldn't believe it. I was in total shock. I was thinking, "How could this happen?" "Who would want to do something like this?" The rest of the day I had this on my mind. When I got home, I immediately turned on the TV and watched the news coverage. I watched the rest of the night trying to find out why this happened and who was behind it.

 

I'll never forget that day. My heart goes out to those families who lost loved ones on that day. However I believe that good will always come from evil. Because of the attacks, we became a lot more patriotic, and we were all united as Americans. May we never forget that day, and how it resparked the love and pride for our country.

 

Edited September 11, 2019 by Big John

[Guest THEbigred]

I was working at a horrible job with people who generally were of the worst sort (MITRE, if anyone is interested), in various ways.....back-biters, morons, phony people, just strange/pathetic/disgusting in general. When the first plane hit, it came on the radio and we managed to get into CNN.com for a pic. I was in near shock but everyone seemed to be in a "whatever" kind of mode and continued about the day like "oh well." Hardly surprising, given that place.

 

When the 2d one hit, I knew only because the complete moron I shared an office with saw it on CNN and actually LAUGHED and said "ohhh they hit the 2d tower." I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone. (I don't think he really thought it was funny, he was just a total moron) Further, a guy I was doing some work with (a retired Marine and former POW btw) wanted to just keep working, and seemed slightly annoyed that I wanted to just sit and listen to the radio. Just too weird.

 

Course our country/the world was major bizarro before 9/11 and continues to be so, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised...

[seminoles]

THEbigred said:

When the 2d one hit, I knew only because the complete moron I shared an office with saw it on CNN and actually LAUGHED and said "ohhh they hit the 2d tower."  I

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Edited September 11, 2019 by Big John

[max]

I was also at work at the time the first plane crashed into the WTC. My wife called me at work and told me the horrifible news. Shortly after I saw on cnn.com that a second plane crashde into the other building. I was stunned. I also thought it was too coincendintal (sp?) to be an accident. Shortly after that the 3rd plane went down in PA. about 45 minutes form where I live.

 

A woman I worked with at the time had a brother that worked in the Pentagon. Luckily he wasn't at work at the time as his office was destroyed be the plane that hit the Pentagon.

 

I was feeling all sorts of emotions throughout the day like so many others. Everything else going on at that time was all of a sudden was not important. I remember thinking that I wanted to be around my family as opposed to being at work. Aroud noon we were given permission to leave work and be with our families during for the day. My wife's company also did the same for them.

 

We were glued to the TV for the day. Staring at the screen in disbelief. Just hoping that it was a bad dream and not reality. I remember thinking what kind of monster would kill all of these innocent people. These people were just going to work to support their families and had their lives taken from them.

 

I remember watching the fire fighters raise the greatest flag in the world in the rubble. It gave me chills. I knew then that as bad as this event was that our country would unite and get through this together as a united front.

 

I never go to bed or leave the house without telling my wife I love her. You just never know what will happen. If something ever does happen to me I want that to be the last thing I say to her.

Edited July 27, 2005 by max

[KICK A$$ BLASTER]

That was a very sad day indeed.....

 

A Fitting Tribute

 

The above link is to a 9/11 tribute page. If you have dial-up, it will take forever to load....

 

 

 

Edited September 11, 2019 by Big John

[Herdmaster]

I was driving near Detroit Metro Airport that day, didn't have the radio on (my son had been sick and had kept me up all night, so I had a headache) that's when I noticed that the normally busy airport had a eerie calmness about it. At that time of the morning, there are usually planes getting ready to taxi and the skies are almost always filled with planes coming in for landings...but not that day. I turned on AM radio to a local airport traffic station....nothing but dead air. When I finally found out what had happened, I called the office and they told me to go home, which was exactly what I had in mind all along. The thing that really stands out in my mind about that horrible day, was having to go home and explain to my tearful daughter why it had happened! I tried to harness my own anger, fear and sadness, to explain to her that the events of that horrible day, to which she said to me "You wouldn't let anything happen to me like that, right Daddy?" It was the first time in my life as a parent, that I felt totally helpless. I will never forget the fear of that day and the subsequent pride of the weeks that followed as the world watched and saw the resolve of our great nation!

 

 

 

 

We will never forget.

[seminoles]

That was a very sad day indeed.....

 

A Fitting Tribute

 

The above link is to a 9/11 tribute page. If you have dial-up, it will take forever to load....

 

896785[/snapback]

 

 

 

if that link doesnt get to your heart, then you dont have one.

[Menudo]

What a gread thread.

 

For me, I had just been layed off from Lucent Technologies two weeks prior. I was at home, sending out resumes, when my Dad called me on the phone to tell me about the first plane hitting. We talked for a while and we both had CNN on, and while we were on the phone, the 2nd tower was hit. My father, who didn't show much emotion usually, immediately said, "All my God, we are being attacked, his voice choked up, he told me he would call me back and hung up the phone." As I continued to watch the events, I was filled with anxiety. I decided to try to do something else to keep my mind off of it, but I couldn't stop watching. My Dad and I talked several times on the phone that day. In the days that followed, like the original post said, I had many mixed emotions. I was wishing that I had a job at that time, because it was hard to think about anything else, and I was having some issues with anxiety. I do remember one day about 3 days after the attacks, I was driving down the street where I lived at the time, and every house had the flag flying proudly. I was overcome with emotions and my eyes filled with tears. I pulled the car over and looked at the display of Patriotism, and I was prouder than ever to be an American.

 

The terrific stories that followed of the brave men and women of this country eager to help out where they could. The firefighters and policemen who ran into those building when others were running out, Congress unified and singing "God Bless America", the ceremonies preceding sporting events, and the fact that everyone seemed to be united and have a greater appreciation for one another as human beings were all things that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Edited September 11, 2019 by Big John

[MikesVikes]

I was just getting to work that morning and went through my routine. Read the paper, get into the office, turn the radio on, etc. Now the radio station that I listen to hardly ever cuts in with news of any kind. I often joked that a tornado could rip right through our office and we wouldn't hear about it until after we left work. But on this day, they came on with the news about the plane hitting the first WTC building as soon as it happened. All the announcers were reporting it as some type of accident.

 

I immediately went downstairs and into a barber shop that has a tv. I saw the crumpled mess of the first hit and saw the second plane circle come into view on the tv screen. I had a very unsettling feeling about that second plane. A few seconds later, I saw it hit the second WTC building. What a horrible sight!

 

Now at the time of this tragedy, I didn't really have any hard feelings towards any Arab people that I would see. There are always quite a few Arabs around town where I work as they travel hear to visit the Mayo Clinic. When these Arabs come to town, the first thing they do is take out tons of money at the bank. The bank tellers always comment that they give out huge amounts of money one day, and they see it coming back after they spend it the next day. They love to shop for jewelry, clothes, or anything else that they want. They've spent tens of thousands of dollars at our stores quite frequently. So with that experience with them, a give them a little pass for being just a little different than the rest of us. Like the lack of showering or treating women like second class citizens or believing that they are superior to us local people. As of now, most Arabs have difficulty in getting visas for short periods of time so I don's see them around as often. Now what they do is have our doctors travel overseas to visit them. In fact, one doctor traveled over there and returned with 8 or 9 Persian rugs. Doctors used to make house calls for chickens. Now it's persian rugs.

 

But how could anybody even think of doing something like this to anybody else that they don't even know? So some stupid arse somewhere says he doesn't like Americans and everyone else around him is supposed to go along with it?

 

Yes the tragedy hit me like it did everyone else. It makes you feel vulnerable, angry, and makes you wonder about other people.

 

I remember that I went to a Vikings game a month or two later and the scalpers weren't coming out so good then. I was able to get tickets at the 50 yard line for around $20-25. We were playing the Lions and they said that both teams weren't hot right then and that the WTC had had a hugh effect on their business.

[loaf]

It's a nice read that you put together. I just would rather not open those wounds again. I lost a dear relative...

[max]

It's a nice read that you put together. I just would rather not open those wounds again. I lost a dear relative...

 

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I am sorry for your loss loaf.

[Hugh 0ne]

I lost a friend, and a business associate's wife. They took down towers in my city. All morning I frantically tried to reach my sister who lives on the Lower West Side, and several of my close friends who work in the City. Luckily, almost everyone I knew in the City was safe. Unfortunately, Chris didn't make it.

 

I have since sworn that on every September 11th, I will force myself to watch the Memorial's and Tributes, just so I never forget how I felt on that day. I don't want to forget that emotion. I don't want to forget those that we lost.

Edited July 27, 2005 by Hugh 0ne

[spain]

At that time, my office was on the 24th floor of the tallest building in downtown Nashville. My daughter was only 2 weeks old at the time and my wife was home with her. She called and told me what happened. We had a tv on our floor and watched in horror as the 2nd plane hit. I knew it was those racist anti-semitic muslim murderers from the time I first heard about it. They asked us to leave the building since they thought maybe they would attack large buildings all over the country. I went home and watched it on tv all day. I was very sad and very angry and knew that we would find and kill these monsters.

[BigTen]

 

 

Edited September 11, 2019 by Big John

[1stimer]

The Friday before we were traveling back home from my parents house in CT and went through NYC over to NJ. We took a ferry to the Statue of Liberty and got some pictures of the NY skyline with the towers in them. We had our three 1/2 month old son with us. Seemed surreal a few days later. That Tuesday I was at my job working in the middle of nowhere in OH and people started talking about the first tower being hit. I remember trying to get on websites to check out what was going on and just waiting for the day to end so I could go home. We did not have tv then so we couldn't watch anything although our neighbors offered if we wanted to go over when the president came on. My wife was over there some during the day watching some of the coverage. I remember an extremely long line of cars at the gas stations with everyone worried that gas was going to be outrageously too expensive. I must admit I joined the line on the way home since I was going to need gas in the next day or so anyway. It seemed like everyone you looked at had that look of shock on their faces. I had that feeling of what's going to happen next? I am glad that our son was so young though since it defintiely would not be easy answering questions about tragedies such as that. It most certainly gave renewed meaning to somewhat "traditional" things such as The National Anthem, Fourth of July Celebrations, and more. Thank God for those men and women who have fought for our freedom in the past, and continue even to stand up for our country today. I would imagine it is a tough time to be in the Armed Forces, but I and many other people across this country am truly grateful for them. May God keep you safe and bring you home to your loved ones!

Edited September 11, 2019 by Big John

[Vet]

I was in New York City at the time, at a conference at the Plaza Hotel in midtown. My sister and brother-in-law were living in the Battery Park appartment complex, a fer blocks from the World Trade Center. I worked on Wall Street for seven years and knew alot of people that worked in the World Trade Center and the World Financial Center. I personally knew five people who died.

 

My brother in law worked for Guy Carpenter, a division of Marsh McClennan, on the 55th floor of the South Tower. He rarely travels, but that day he happend to be sent to London for an insurance conference. When the first plane hit the North Tower, his coworkers began to evacuate the other tower. About 12 floors from the bottom, there was an announcement that the emergency was limited to the North Tower and that people could go back up to work. My brother-in-law's colleagues chose to ignore that announcement, and it probably saved their lives. Moments later, the second plane flew into the South Tower - only a few floors above his office.

 

My sister was in her apartment in Battery Park, oblivious to what was going on. I was watching CNBC in my hotel where they initially reported that a small commuter plane had crashed into the WTC. I called her immediately and said it's a good thing Ron (her husband) was traveling. She was clueless, so I told her what was going on. She went out on her balcony, and while we were on the phone, the second plane hit the South Tower. She saw it coming in and smashing right into the building.

 

I think she went into shock. She locked herself in her apartment and refused to leave. When the towers collapsed, she had dust, debris, and even office memos from the WTC on her balcony. She stayed in there for 3 days, we couldn't get her to leave and we couldn't get down there because the whole place was closed off. Finally, when her husband got back from London, she left the apartment and came up to my house in Connecticut. God only knows what she was breathing (asbestos, etc.) in that air just a few blocks from Ground Zero.

 

I made my way (slowly) out of the City and back up to CT. It took forever, but it dodn't matter that day. I was just so happy to see my wife and son when I got home. I couldn't get ahold of my sister for a couple of days, but it turned out she was OK.

 

Anyway - those are my recollections from 9/11. Tough day in Amreican history.

[Rovers]

It was my day off as a NYC subway train operator. I was sitting down with my coffee and turned the TV on. The second plane had just hit. My nephew, who has an apt in my house was a rookie firefighter with Ladder 8 in Tribeca, just blocks away from the WTC. He was on a gas leak call, when a plane came in low and fast. They watched it go into the north tower. There was another unit on that call, with 2 French filmakers doing a documentary on another rookie that happened to be in my nephew's class. This was the only film taken of the first plane.... you may have seen the special they did later on TV.

 

My sister, who worked in WTC#7 called me and I had to tell her that my nephew was working. She was late leaving her apt that day, so at least I knew she was safe. My other sister worked in Liberty Plaza, the large black building that caused the rescuers to evacuate the area several times for fear of it's collapse.

 

I watched in horror as the south tower went down. My sister called me back to tell me, unbelievably, that she got a call from my nephew on the 30th floor of the north tower to tell her he was OK. About 20 minutes later, I watched the north tower go down. My nephew had to have been killed. 20 minutes, 30 floors....

 

A couple of hours later, I got another of many calls from my sister. She had seen her son on television, covered in dust, but certain it was him. It was. Right after he had gotten off the phone, his Lt ordered the men to drop the 100 pounds of gear, and just run. Get out of the building, don't stop to help anyone, just run. Thsi Lt then went to the 32nd floor to repeat this order. He never got out. My nephew was dodging bodies as he ran out of the tower, and heard it start to come down. He hit the ground between 2 firetrucks. I later saw a picture of these two trucks. They were crushed to a hieght of about 4 or 5 feet. He never got scratched.

 

Later, we finally heard from my other sister. In front of her building (she was late because she stopped to vote that day) a cop told her to wlak north, they had reports of a third plane, maybe the one that went down in PA? She noted his name. The cop didnt survive.

 

My nephew ran past two very overwieght women on the stairs. That haunts him to this day. A close friend of my sister was on the roof. He used his cell phone to say goodbye to his wife.

 

The aftermath was a nightmare. Transit played a ibg role in the rescue and recovery, since we were the only ones with a large supply of steel cutting heavy equipment. 50,000 transit workers took part, a little known fact. Once a firefighter was found, the FD was notified, and they did the recovery. My nephew had to use a spoon to recover the remains of one fireman, inside his bunker gear, under the heat for months, his body had turned to goo.

 

We went to a lot of funerals. One, a high school firend of mine named Terry Farrell was in FDNY Rescue 1. As a volunteer, he had been with the volunteer ambulance crew that took my father to the hospital for the last time. He eventually became the Chief of the Dix Hills VFD. A couple of years before 9-11, he had donated bone marrow for a little girl with lukemia in Ohio, whom he didn't even know. Once she was in remission, that Ohio family came to NYC and took him out to dinner.... to the restaurant at the top of the WTC.

 

I was very lucky on a day that was filled with agony and grief for so many around me. I can't even guess at how many funerals we went to. That day, and what happened afterwards will always stay with me.

Edited September 11, 2019 by Big John

[seminoles]

Rovers said:

It was my day off as a NYC subway train operator. I was sitting down with my coffee and turned the TV on. The second plane had just hit. My nephew, who has an apt in my house was a rookie firefighter with Ladder 8 in Tribeca, just blocks away from the WTC. He was on a gas leak call, when a plane came in low and fast. They watched it go into the north tower. There was another unit on that call, with 2 French filmakers doing a documentary on another rookie that happened to be in my nephew's class. This was the only film taken of the first plane.... you may have seen the special they did later on TV.

 

My sister, who worked in WTC#7 called me and I had to tell her that my nephew was working.  She was late leaving her apt that day, so at least I knew she was safe. My other sister worked in Liberty Plaza, the large black building that caused the rescuers to evacuate the area several times for fear of it's collapse.

 

I watched in horror as the south tower went down. My sister called me back to tell me, unbelievably, that she got a call from my nephew on the 30th floor of the north tower to tell her he was OK. About 20 minutes later, I watched the north tower go down. My nephew had to have been killed. 20 minutes, 30 floors....

 

A couple of hours later, I got another of many calls from my sister. She had seen her son on television, covered in dust, but certain it was him. It was. Right after he had gotten off the phone, his Lt ordered the men to drop the 100 pounds of gear, and just run. Get out of the building, don't stop to help anyone, just run. Thsi Lt then went to the 32nd floor to repeat this order. He never got out. My nephew was dodging bodies as he ran out of the tower, and heard it start to come down. He hit the ground between 2 firetrucks. I later saw a picture of these two trucks. They were crushed to a hieght of about 4 or 5 feet. He never got scratched.

 

Later, we finally heard from my other sister. In front of her building (she was late because she stopped to vote that day) a cop told her to wlak north, they had reports of a third plane, maybe the one that went down in PA? She noted his name. The cop didnt survive.

 

My nephew ran past two very overwieght women on the stairs. That haunts him to this day. A close friend of my sister was on the roof. He used his cell phone to say goodbye to his wife.

 

The aftermath was a nightmare. Transit played a ibg role in the rescue and recovery, since we were the only ones with a large supply of steel cutting heavy equipment. 50,000 transit workers took part, a little known fact. Once a firefighter was found, the FD was notified, and they did the recovery. My nephew had to use a spoon to recover the remains of one fireman, inside his bunker gear, under the heat for months, his body had turned to goo.

 

We went to a lot of funerals. One, a high school firend of mine named Terry Farrell was in FDNY Rescue 1. As a volunteer, he had been with the volunteer ambulance crew that took my father to the hospital for the last time. He eventually became the Chief of the Dix Hills VFD. A couple of years before 9-11, he had donated bone marrow for a little girl with lukemia in Ohio, whom he didn't even know.  Once she was in remission, that Ohio family came to NYC and took him out to dinner.... to the restaurant at the top of the WTC. 

 

I was very lucky on a day that was filled with agony and grief for so many around me. I can't even guess at how many funerals we went to. That day, and what happened afterwards will always stay with me. 

 

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wow

Edited September 11, 2019 by Big John

[Hat Trick]

How tough it must have been to call your loved ones to say goodbye.

Edited September 11, 2019 by Big John

[PantherDave]

My first born was 5 months old, and I was taking some time off to bond with my daughter. It really made me stand up and take notice of the world we live in today, the time of Wally and the Beaver is gone....My wife and I didn't travel by plane again until 2004. It was and is a world changing event, and as witnessed last month in the UK...not over yet. Proud to be an American...where we fought to be free..earned it..and have helped to make the world a safer place for all. Peace PD.