I could not let this day pass without writing something about the events of September 11, 2001. Like so many of you, my heart is heavy today, as I remember and think of the victims and their families of that horrible day. It is still hard for me to comprehend how and why those evil people attacked our nation and took the lives of nearly 3000 innocent people who were just going about their daily life.
Ten years ago today, I was working for Schering-Plough and was actually at a training meeting in New Jersey, just across the Hudson River. I had flown in on Sunday, Sept 9th and that day, like Tuesday the 11th was a beautiful, clear day. Just before we landed at Newark, the pilot took a route that went along the river and lower Manhattan. I got the best view of South Street Seaport and the World Trade Center anyone could ask for. Little did I know in less than 48 hours, they would be gone.
Monday, our meeting went great, as back then, Pharmaceutical Sales was fun and I LOVED going to meetings and training classes. Tuesday morning was normal and we got a great start to our sessions. We went on through the morning not knowing anything was wrong. I remember we had a speaker (who I think was "very important") so they let him finish his 1 and 1/2 hour session. After he finished, our Training Director made the horrible announcement. People immediately started to panic and had confused looks on their faces. You have to remember, we had NO television and no news except for the announcement. I do not think I realized how bad it was. We really had no information except that planes had crashed into the World Trade Center and that we were going to break until after lunch so we could call our family and friends to let them know we were okay. I immediately started calling Margot, my dear friend who worked in the World Financial Center, adjacent to the towers. Cell Phones did not work. No one had a signal. I went outside and called tried to call my Parents and kept trying to call Margot. FINALLY, I reached my Dad and he was pulled out of a meeting to get on the phone with me. He was so relieved to hear we were okay. He told me what had happened. Now remember, I still had not see any images. It was lunch time at this point. He told me the Towers were gone. Gone? Really? How could that be?
At that point, some of my co-workers and I went in our building and went all the way to the top of the elevator and somehow got on the roof. We were in a very tall building, close to Manhattan. I will never forget the sight of the smoke in the distance. I will never forget.
We had our afternoon class for a while and we went back to our hotel around 3:00. It was at that time that I first saw a television and a the images of the day. I had also just gotten in touch with Margot and learned she was at work at the time of the attack but had done the smart thing and evacuated immediately. She was safe with her family and I was so thankful.
The end of the week came and of course, I could not go home on an airplane so I went to the Hamptons with Margot's family and stayed there until Wednesday of the following week. It was nice to be with friends at this time and not have to fly so soon after the attack. But I knew I would have to leave at some point. I remember going to La Guardia Airport the following Wednesday, a week after the attack and the airport was literally a ghost town. What was usually a booming and busy airport was almost empty. I boarded the plane along with about 8-10 other people and the pilot came into the cabin and spoke to us. He told us how much he appreciated our trust in him to board the plane. I knew we would be safe and we were.
I don't know why I felt like writing about this, but I did. Bryan says that I "love watching 9/11 stuff" and I really do not love watching it, but still have such a hard time believing that it happened. Sometimes seeing it on T.V again reminds me that it did happen and to never forget the people who died that day and the brave men and women who stood up to the terrorists and tried to prevent them from completing their mission. God Bless You and America.
