Thursday, September 11
9/11 Memories
Two years ago, I flew in from Columbus, OH (CMH) to Jacksonville, FL (JAX) on an extremely late flight. I was due home 9:30PM 9/10, but I didn't get home until 1:30AM 9/11. I had just spent the weekend with friends watching an OSU Buckeyes football game in Ohio Stadium.
I had arrived at CMH with little time to spare in getting to my flight. When I checked in, I found that my flight had been cancelled, but they were putting me on the flight before that one to Newark, NJ. Which according to the time of departure, was leaving right now. I go through security (nothing like it is today!) and get to the gate, only to find that it's been delayed. The line from the airline was that it was bad weather (heavy thunderstorms) at Newark causing the delay. I call my wife, and let her know what's going on. She's complaining that I should just take the flight the next morning, but I'm insisting that I take this flight. I know she doesn't want to be picking me up at who knows what time in the morning, but I want to get home.
After a 3 hour delay, we finally board the aircraft, although it seems that we're still waiting for clearance. I'm also hearing a rumor that there's been a fire at the Newark airport, which is also causing delays. We finally get into the air, get to the airport, and wait another half hour waiting for a gate to open up so that we can get off, since the delays have now thoroughly screwed up which flights are at what gates. Of course, we're at one end of the concourse, while my flight out is at the end of another concourse. I get to my gate, and call the wife again, who's really mad at me at this point. Then I hear the final boarding call for my flight, so I scoot into another plane, only to have to wait another hour (or so?) waiting to get to the runway to get off the ground.
I arrived at JAX, with a grumpy wife waiting for me. Get home, get to bed. I'm finally moving around about 8:00AM. The phone rings about 8:30, and according to the caller ID, it's my friend in Columbus. He's telling me two things at once. That it's good that I did get home (he didn't know it was late), and I should be watching CNN because a plane just hit one of the World Trace Center buildings. I get it turned on, and we're talking on the phone, and we both see the second plane hit, live. I get off the phone, call the wife, and make a date for lunch at our usual spot. There, they have the TV going, and we watch more and more of it. I didn't see the towers fall when they did. I had shut the TV off at that point.
Needless to say, two people in the least were very happy that I went ahead and came home in the early hours of 9/11, as I certainly would have been stuck in Ohio without a plane ride home at that point. Me and my wife!
Another friend found himself in not so good of shape. He was in Europe in business. I didn't get all the details, but it seems he was the leader of the Americans that were staying at the hotel, and when he flew home, it was one of the first international flights that arrived after 9/11.
Unfortunately, I see nothing that we've done in the past two years that would truly make a difference in making sure that this doesn't happen again. :( Permanent link posted by bytehead @ 9/11/2003 11:21:00 AM
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