I've felt really heavy hearted all day today. It started when I awoke early and couldn't go back to sleep. When I left for work, I kissed my husband and told him goodbye. A few minutes later, I called him to tell him how much I loved him as I'd remembered telling him goodbye 11 years ago as he left for Columbus, Ohio and I left for New York City.
11 years ago Catie was going to preschool and this morning she was going to high school. How blessed I am to have had those 11 years. On this evening in 2001 I remember rushing around the Marriott World Trade Center trying to find a fax machine so I could help my staff back in Overland Park, Ks with the urgent shipment they were working on. Even technology has changed drastically since then. Once the fax was taken care of, I stopped by Times Square Gifts and bought a beautiful pink satin tie as a gift and a miniature Statue of Liberty.
Hungry, I finally settled on going into Tall Ships Bar & Grill. I always hated traveling and eating alone. Usually I just ordered room service. I remember pondering the menu as it was quite different than a midwest bar and grill. Eventually, I settled on a portobello mushroom sandwich (I think it was the NYC version of our hamburger) with tomato on it. Honestly, I just picked at it. Because of the vicinity there were lots of things that were reminiscent of the NYSE and executives all around. I'm sure this midwestern gal looked out of place in her Levi's and Kansas City Chief's jersey. Earlier in the afternoon (on the plane) the stewardess had accidentally dumped an entire can of Coca-Cola on me but it had long since dried.
The shuttle from the airport into downtown Manhattan was nerve wracking, there were some women headed to one of the cruise ships and they were giddy about their soon to be excursion. The traffic was typical of NYC and absolutely insane. I think it took about 2 hours to finally get to the hotel. By the time my evening was finished I was exhausted. I made my way to my room which looked out into the courtyard of the World Trade Center - it was a beautiful view at night. I called home and spoke to my Mom, Catie and also called Brian (he'd made it to Columbus). I finally crawled into bed and drifted off to sleep.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, I awoke, got dressed for the seminar and left for WTC 1. I arrived early and checked in at security. They provided me with my security badge and I swiped it at the turn style so I could get on the express elevators. I remember thinking to myself, "Wow, I'm so glad they have such good security after the 1993 bombing." Never in a million years would I have suspected they would choose commercial aircraft as their weapon of choice (and no amount of security could guard against that). That small plastic card was not going to protect me on this day.
11 years later, I can't believe some of the details I can recall like they happened yesterday. Yet other things were blocked for some time (and I'm sure there are some things that my brain says are just too much to remember). The brain is an amazing part of our body. In the years that have followed many times I've wondered to myself why things happened the way they did. I've always been a firm believer that things happen for a reason but sometimes figuring out the reason is practically impossible. I'm a very logical person and have succumbed to the fact that there will be times when I just have to use my faith and know that while I might not understand the reason, there really is one.
No comments:
Post a Comment