This is the first 9/11
anniversary where I may not actually be able to do it.
I didn’t have any direct
connection to New York or the events that transpired. I walked into my office
without a clue. I was so clueless, that when I IM’d a buddy, asking what he was
up to, and he mentioned watching the plane crash into the World Trade Center, I
made a joke.
“Well, they are very big.”
Without context, I assume a
small, private plane had clipped the tower somehow.
Yesterday, my oldest son let
me know they were studying 9/11 in class. It’s weird to me because I lived
through it. It’s weird for me to say that I lived through anything that
significant.
My then girlfriend and I had
a date scheduled that night. Dinner reservations and theater tickets. We were
going to fly out the next day for an alumni game at our alma mater: Eastern New
Mexico University.
Obviously, that didn’t
happen.
When my son asked where I was,
I tried to remember if I was supposed to fly into Albuquerque or Lubbock. I
assume it was Lubbock, because that’s only a little over 90 minutes to
Portales. Albuquerque is a nearly four hour drive.
I can’t remember anymore. The
tickets were cancelled and refunded when all flights were grounded for the
three days.
A week or so later, I was
with my sister at a local football game. I can’t tell you if it was a college
or high school game. My nephew, who was four or five at the time, had asked, “Who
wants to go to a football game?” I heard “hot dogs and beer” so I was in. At
one point in the game, a small passenger plane noisily flew over the stadium,
and everyone stopped. We stopped and stared up at the plane.
Planes were no longer
magical, technological wonders that had become mundane. They were no longer
safe.
Usually, I ask a question and
try to prompt some response or discussion below. That’s a marketing thing. I
won’t ask anything this time, but you are welcome to post your thoughts below.
Sometimes talking helps.
No comments:
Post a Comment