Life

Where I was on September 11, 2001 | I will never forget

Today marks the 12th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, otherwise known as 9/11.  The day the United States and much of the rest of the world came to a halt for a brief period in time.  On that day a group of cowards decided to hijack a series of airplanes and crash them into strategic buildings of the United States, including the twin towers of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and allegedly flight 93 was headed for the White House.

World Trade Center report on CNN
World Trade Center report on CNN

My memory starts to serve me around 8:03 CT as I was driving past one of the Air Force bases in San Antonio, TX on my way to the Time Warner Cable office where I was implementing some new software.  That day I had decided not to listen to the radio on my way to the office as I had purchased an upbeat CD to listen to instead.  As I was passing the Air Force base 8 jets took off above my car in a scramble like mode.  I remember thinking, “man, they must be running exercises today.”  A few minutes later I was parked and headed into the Time Warner Cable office.

As you entered the lobby there was a wall of TV screens.  Having been on site for a couple of weeks now, I was accustomed to seeing various news channels and morning talk shows on the screens.  Today I immediately noticed something different; all the stations were showing the exact same thing.  A plane had just flown into one of the World Trade Center towers and the building was on fire.  At that time people started to gather with me in the lobby trying to figure out what had happened.  Remembering the Air Force jets just minutes earlier, I remember mumbling something like, “this was done on purpose.”  The lady next to me looked at me and said, “There’s no way.  This had to be an accident.”

Within what seemed like just a few seconds after that exchange with the woman you began to see the second plane enter the screen and dart right into the second WTC building.  I thought, “Shit, I was right. We’re under attack.”  The silence in the lobby was deafening.

I remember heading back to the group that I was working with.  I knew everyone was going to want to go home, but this was going to be a busy day working on a system that they weren’t quite familiar with.  The software I implemented ran all of the advertising for Time Warner in San Antonio and no advertiser wants to be on the news during a tragic event like 9/11.  This meant we had to get all of the ads off of the air…immediately!

We got to work quickly, with tears in our eyes, sadness in our hearts, and fear in our minds.  The crew was amazing.  We finished up around 11ish and I remember getting a call from my father as I had left him several messages trying to determine where he was at in the country (we both flew a lot).  When I returned the crew asked me if I wanted to go to mass at the local church.  Of course!  What better place to be than the house of God in a time like this.

That night I remember sitting in my room at the Hilton and watching the various news channels over and over again.  I remember thinking that I had to get out of there.  I had to go somewhere other than the hotel.  I drove down to the River Walk to see what other people were doing.  It turns out that many people had the same idea that I did.  I walked past a martini bar called Twist and saw that it was packed with people.  They were loud and talkative.  This was the place I wanted to be.

I stepped up to the bar and the gentleman pointed out that I needed a drink.  He waived over the bartender and told him to get me a drink, on his tab.  That night struck me in a big way.  The feeling was different.  For a moment strangers were neighbors.  It was if people started to realize what was really important in life; connections with people.

This trend lasted for a few weeks as I finally made it back to San Francisco about a week later.  It was everywhere I had visited from Texas to California.  The nation had changed.  We had come together as people; Americans.