Remember when the words “nine eleven” simply indicated a date on the calendar? No longer. Tomorrow marks the third anniversary of the day that will live in infamy.
I was driving north on Route 7 just outside of the beautiful village of Middlebury, Vermont. The radio was tuned to the Imus in the Morning program. My destination was an initial meeting with a new client (I help injured workers with vocational planning.)
Just as I was entering the town of New Haven when Imus gets a call from his sportscaster who was home that day, Warner Wolf. Wolfe says that he saw a plane hit one of the towers. He seemed very rattled, and described the plane as likely being a small plane gone awry. Imus stays serious and continues to question Wolf, who had a direct view of the catastrophe from his home. Moments later he says that a plane just hit the tower. Don asks if he is simply watching one of the many replays running on TV and he asserts that it was the other tower that was also hit.
I arrive at my destination, sitting in the driveway with the radio on, hoping to hear some good news. I remember standing in the doorway of my client’s house. The door had a big window in it. There was a TV on off to the right and there were spectacularly bright flashes on the set. I hadn’t connected the dots yet.
My client comes to the door, apologizes for having dozed on his couch and invited me in for our meeting. As we glanced to the television, we could see the towers burning. None of the anchors were talking about terrorism. Not yet. We shook our heads and moved to the kitchen table to start our meeting.
About ten minutes in, we both realized that we were glancing off to the television, still on, in the living room. Then, it all started to become clearer that things were very bad.
Here’s the thing that I will never forget: My client stared at the television, shook his head and said, “This changes everything.”
We called an end to our meeting, obviously unable to focus as shock was beginning to take over.
While driving home I was praying while I was worrying that I was going to lose my breakfast while driving.
As I walked in our house, our next door neighbors were with my wife in the livingroom with eyes affixed to the television. As soon as I saw my wife, I lost it. I hadn’t felt such emotional pain in many years. As we comforted one another, Tower 2 began to tumble to the ground, turning to a column of dust. Then Tower 1 began its collapse. The horrific sight remains an indellible image. Even as I write this, I can feel the heartbreak all over again. “Those poor people! First they were jumping out of the building and now everybody’s gone.”
The next day was a month I’ll never forget.
Tomorrow will be 9/11 It’s 2004. We are more attuned to our safety. We appreciate our freedom so much more. We pray to God has provided for us and this world. Although we may feel less safe, we are more aware of the freedom to enjoy each day on Earth to the fullest.
