That Day Changed Me ......

September 11, 2001

Do you remember where you were?  What you thought?

I was at the Data Center in Norwich, working, enjoying being lost in the distraction of email, trouble tickets and new account set ups.  Then someone came around the corner and made a statement that, at the time, seemed much like a scene right out of Chicken Little.

"A plane has crashed into the World Trade Center, they think it might be terrorism"

"I don't have time for the drama today." I thought to myself. "Not today."

I don't remember how I found out about the second tower.  I do remember that at that moment I knew it was NOT a freak accident and we were, for lack of a better description, under attack.

Then there was the Pentagon, the plane crash in a field in PA ..... when was it going to stop?  You couldn't get through to people on the phones, the circuits were overloaded, roads were shut down, planes were grounded.  We were crowded around the few TVs there were in the building hoping that there might be some explanation......there was none.

That Fall,  I went to our Corporate HQ and flew into Dulles International Airport.  You were not allowed out of your seat for the first 30 min and the last 30 min of the flight - NO EXCEPTIONS.  The plane was quieter than I was used to.  People were taking in the people around them, looking to the flight crew for assurance that we would be OK.  Two hours after I got off the plane and left the airport - it was closed - a suspicious object had been located and then confirmed it was not another threat.

My boss & I met for dinner and then before dropping me back at the hotel he asked if I had a few minutes to go for a ride, he wanted me to see The Pentagon.  As we got closer I could feel my chest tighten, the hair on my neck stand up, and a chill go down my spine.  There was a huge, gaping hole in the building.  In my memory, when I think about that night, its smoldering, I can't remember if it actually was.......but it was unnerving.

I was blessed not to have family or friends in those buildings or on those planes that day.  I think of Ruth and Julianna McCourt, wife and 4 year old daughter of David McCourt an ABCO owner and acquaintance of Dad's, from time to time.  They boarded a plane that morning without a care in the world and then their world forever stopped turning.

September 11, 2001 started like any other day and ended like no other. 

I was scared and I was shaken, but I was reminded how much I love our country.  It is the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave ....... the BRAVE. 

Since that day 9 years ago, I am stronger, more confident, more open, more loving and more aware that everything can change in a split second.

That day changed me...............................