9/11 Remembered
September 11, 2001...a day that will never be forgotten...a day I will always remember with high emotion.
I was scheduled to fly to Phoenix, AZ for a conference for a non-profit organization, The Wesley Hospitality House in Elizabeth City, NC, of which I was on the board. On 9/10 a friend of mine and I left the monthly WHH board meeting to catch our flight from Raleigh scheduled to depart that afternoon. There was an accident on I-40 and subsequently a major traffic back up which caused us to miss our flight. We contacted Southwest Airlines and were able to reschedule our flight for the next morning. We found a hotel room and enjoyed the evening anxiously awaiting our trip the next day.
We arose the morning of 9/11 to begin our journey. We of course had no idea what was about to unfold as the day progressed. We landed at Chicago Midway and when getting off the plane I thanked the flight attendants for their friendly hospitality as I tend to do. They were unusually somber which puzzled me. When we walked into the gate we were greeted by frantic travelers and airport staff. I was at a loss to explain the chaos. Then I saw it. I remember staring up at the TV in the terminal in total disbelief. I cannot begin to describe the numbness, the panic, the overwhelming emotion.
Once we pulled ourselves back together my friend, Bernie, and I tried to call our families to let them know we were OK. The phone lines were jammed and of course it seemed like a lifetime before we could get through. It was such a sigh of relief for my mom to know I was OK and was trying my best to find a way to come home. I had to wait until my son arrived as his after school care to call and let him know I was coming home. All I wanted to do was see my baby boy who was too young at the time to really have any idea what was happening. Bernie was able to speak with her family as well. She is from Johnstown, PA close to Shanksville, the site of the heroic take down of United Airlines Flight 93.
There was total chaos in the airport. They made an announcement that the airport would be closing and that anyone traveling to the West Coast could find their luggage at Carousel C. Bernie got in line in hopes of securing a rental car and I went to find our luggage. I knew the moment I saw the sea of black luggage that I would be sifting through the bags for a while. By the time I found our bags Bernie had returned with bad news on the rental car option. She was the next person in line when they sold out. With our luggage in tow and not a clue what we were going to do next we stopped to catch our breath. The airport was crawling with police, military, the bomb squad, the fire department and so many uniformed men and women it was very scary for a small town girl like me. The announcement over the loud speaker kept repeating the airport would be closing in an hour bringing us to the reality that we had to find a plan.
Bernie started calling the bus lines, Amtrak, car rental agencies to no avail as public transportation had been temporarily suspended. I found a group of officers who were nearby and asked for help. One man told me to take the "L" to downtown. Another said I couldn't do that because they were closing down the downtown Chicago area. At that very moment is when I had meltdown. I burst into tears at the thought of being so far from home in an unfamiliar city when our country was in panic mode with no place to go. Luckily one of the officers pulled me aside and suggested we catch a cab to an offsite car rental company to try to secure a rental. We did so but of course no options were available. In sheer desperation we decided we should find respite and try to figure out what to do next. The cabbie took us to the Hilton in Oaklawn where we were able to secure a room for the night, or at least that was the plan.
We settled into the room and of course turned on the TV to find out the details surrounding the horrific attack on our country. Bernie started calling for alternate transportation and was able to secure the last two seats on Amtrak to Johnstown to stay with her brother. The hotel was agreeable with our decision to leave so we headed to the train station. As we made our way to PA we had to get off the train at every stop as a security measure. There was no rest for the weary. After traveling all night her brother picked us up at the station the next morning. We enjoyed their hospitality and were thankful for a familiar face. The following day a friend of hers drove us to Fredericksburg, VA where a friend of ours picked us up and drove us to Raleigh to get my car from the airport. It was the total planes, trains and automobiles experience.
It was a super rough few days, but I had it so much better than thousands of others. My heart goes out to those who lost family and friends, those who were injured and those who witnessed the terror first hand and lived to tell about it.
Never forget 9/11…I know I won’t.
God Bless America!
I was scheduled to fly to Phoenix, AZ for a conference for a non-profit organization, The Wesley Hospitality House in Elizabeth City, NC, of which I was on the board. On 9/10 a friend of mine and I left the monthly WHH board meeting to catch our flight from Raleigh scheduled to depart that afternoon. There was an accident on I-40 and subsequently a major traffic back up which caused us to miss our flight. We contacted Southwest Airlines and were able to reschedule our flight for the next morning. We found a hotel room and enjoyed the evening anxiously awaiting our trip the next day.
We arose the morning of 9/11 to begin our journey. We of course had no idea what was about to unfold as the day progressed. We landed at Chicago Midway and when getting off the plane I thanked the flight attendants for their friendly hospitality as I tend to do. They were unusually somber which puzzled me. When we walked into the gate we were greeted by frantic travelers and airport staff. I was at a loss to explain the chaos. Then I saw it. I remember staring up at the TV in the terminal in total disbelief. I cannot begin to describe the numbness, the panic, the overwhelming emotion.
Once we pulled ourselves back together my friend, Bernie, and I tried to call our families to let them know we were OK. The phone lines were jammed and of course it seemed like a lifetime before we could get through. It was such a sigh of relief for my mom to know I was OK and was trying my best to find a way to come home. I had to wait until my son arrived as his after school care to call and let him know I was coming home. All I wanted to do was see my baby boy who was too young at the time to really have any idea what was happening. Bernie was able to speak with her family as well. She is from Johnstown, PA close to Shanksville, the site of the heroic take down of United Airlines Flight 93.
There was total chaos in the airport. They made an announcement that the airport would be closing and that anyone traveling to the West Coast could find their luggage at Carousel C. Bernie got in line in hopes of securing a rental car and I went to find our luggage. I knew the moment I saw the sea of black luggage that I would be sifting through the bags for a while. By the time I found our bags Bernie had returned with bad news on the rental car option. She was the next person in line when they sold out. With our luggage in tow and not a clue what we were going to do next we stopped to catch our breath. The airport was crawling with police, military, the bomb squad, the fire department and so many uniformed men and women it was very scary for a small town girl like me. The announcement over the loud speaker kept repeating the airport would be closing in an hour bringing us to the reality that we had to find a plan.
Bernie started calling the bus lines, Amtrak, car rental agencies to no avail as public transportation had been temporarily suspended. I found a group of officers who were nearby and asked for help. One man told me to take the "L" to downtown. Another said I couldn't do that because they were closing down the downtown Chicago area. At that very moment is when I had meltdown. I burst into tears at the thought of being so far from home in an unfamiliar city when our country was in panic mode with no place to go. Luckily one of the officers pulled me aside and suggested we catch a cab to an offsite car rental company to try to secure a rental. We did so but of course no options were available. In sheer desperation we decided we should find respite and try to figure out what to do next. The cabbie took us to the Hilton in Oaklawn where we were able to secure a room for the night, or at least that was the plan.
We settled into the room and of course turned on the TV to find out the details surrounding the horrific attack on our country. Bernie started calling for alternate transportation and was able to secure the last two seats on Amtrak to Johnstown to stay with her brother. The hotel was agreeable with our decision to leave so we headed to the train station. As we made our way to PA we had to get off the train at every stop as a security measure. There was no rest for the weary. After traveling all night her brother picked us up at the station the next morning. We enjoyed their hospitality and were thankful for a familiar face. The following day a friend of hers drove us to Fredericksburg, VA where a friend of ours picked us up and drove us to Raleigh to get my car from the airport. It was the total planes, trains and automobiles experience.
It was a super rough few days, but I had it so much better than thousands of others. My heart goes out to those who lost family and friends, those who were injured and those who witnessed the terror first hand and lived to tell about it.
Never forget 9/11…I know I won’t.
God Bless America!
posted by Vacation Traditions at
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