In remembrance of 9 11

13 years ago I was working as a Health Consultant at a consulting firm in Washington Dc. A lot of the companies we represented were housed in the World Trade Center. That morning when I showed up at work my assistant told me a plane hit one of the Twin Towers. We all thought it was an accident. I returned to my desk after getting some coffee and was told another plane hit the other Twin Tower. We then knew it was premeditated. Then at 9:39 that morning the Pentagon was hit. I remember the entire company rushing to the conference room to watch a report from CNN about the bombing, and the president of the company said we could go home if we wanted. The building was empty in minutes. I remember the streets. There were military planes flying over head , and sirens. It was like a scene right out of the King Kong or Godzilla movies, where people were running every which way, trying to get to safety. Trying to get to schools to get their kids. Trying to get home. The busses were packed with everyone trying to get on. Even the trains were packed. It used to take me about 30 minutes to get home from work. That day it took me about 4 hours. I will never forget that. I remember trying to call my mom to tell her I was ok, but the lines were so overwhelmed that I couldn’t get a call through until that evening. I will never forget that day. Nearly 3,000 people died as a result of the attacks.
My thoughts are once again with all those who lost loved ones on that tragic morning. I think about those who were killed, honoring the sacrifices of the first responders, and remembering the spirit of unity that emerged in the aftermath of 9/11.