Quote:
Originally Posted by 2000cs
I also can’t go to the memorial. I’ve stayed next to it on business trips, walked by, but can’t go in.
The day is somber and solemn for me. Somber in remembrance of those who were in the buildings and solemn in reflection of those who risked health and life to run into the buildings as well as those on the PA flight.
I was in a business meeting with Japanese partners in another city in the US. They had a satellite office in one of the towers and we watched together in our conference room, each comforting the other. Another partner was en-route from London and his flight was returned to London (fortunately he wasn’t far enough along to get stranded somewhere overseas).
The days after were weird. In addition to the great coming together, there was the long period of no air traffic, and every little thing immediately was feared to be a terrorist attack, even in the inconsequential little town I lived in (and the city I worked in had already removed itself as a target by years of mismanagement and neglect). Everything really is local.
It amazes me that a full generation now either did not experience 9-11, was too young to “feel” it, and/or has been taught nothing about it. Perhaps that’s why ground zero is a tourist attraction and not really a memorial, except for us oldsters.
I understand better the reverence my parents had for WWII memorials, etc. And I understand better why veterans rarely talked about their experiences.
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The days after were surreal. I remember driving home from work that night.
I was driving south on the Garden State Parkway, so away from the city. No one was on the road except for a steady stream of police cars, ambulances and fire trucks heading north, going towards it. First responders from everywhere came to aid. And how strange it was not to hear or see airplanes waiting in queue to land at Newark.