email192.xml
Title
email192.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
email
Date Entered
2002-06-14
September 11 Email: Body
It was a typical rainy/drizzly "London" kind of day as we touched the ground at Heathrow on September 11. As a Flight Attendant for United Airlines, this was my second trip to London in 5 days, I was tired, jet-lagged,a bit grumpy, and just numb. Getting to the hotel and into a hot bath, and a comfy bed were the main objectives of my day.
Before I left my house in Arlington Va.,on September 10, I had a nagging feeling, I did not want to take this trip, then I said to myself,"Snap out of it, you are getting paid to go to London! Again!" So, I went, unwillingly.,unaware of course that all hell was about to break loose, not only where I reside,(1 mile from the Pentagon)but also in beloved N.Y., where some of my dearest family and friends live and work.
I awoke sometime around 4 p.m.(11:00 a.m. eastern time),I decided to go and check my return assignment for the next day, via the computers provided for us at the hotel. When I entered the computer room, another Flight Attendant was there, and he was obviously distraught."Ok, I'll bite" I thought, he told me of the planes going into the twin towers, and the Pentagon, I couldn't believe it! I immediately thought of my family, they did not know what trip I was assigned, they knew I was flying internationally, but occasionally we would be assigned to a domestic trip. Translation= she could be anywhere! I knew they must be worried sick.
It took a couple of minutes for me to digest all this horrible information, I e-mailed one of my friends in D.C. whom I knew did not have a television, gambling that she would be on-line, and she was. She contacted my family to let them know I was in England, safe, and that I would try to contact them soon. The friend e-mailed again to say our families in N.Y. were ok, Thanks be to God. Then, I thought of my friends who were flying that day, were they ok? Were they flying? Were they stuck in Canada? Where were they?
The feelings, events, behavior I witnessed for the following days, and weeks since, I liken to experiencing a death in the family, that of a close family member, anyway. I prayed a lot, cried in spurts, and mostly thanked God for my life, all of it, the good, the bad, and the in-between. I may not be perfect, but I am here, and I was spared that day. My friends were spared that day, my family was spared that day, their friends were spared that day. I am truly blessed.
Due to the evil acts of those on September 11, many of us at United and other companies as well were "laid off", "furloughed", "canned", whatever you want to call it. It was a nice break. I needed it, maybe we all did.
On March 18th, I climbed back on the horse, came back from being off for six months, and took my first flight as a United Flight Attendant. Was I scared? Truth? Yeah, A little. Am I still scared? Truth? Yeah, a little. This week I again was assigned two London trips in one week. I have a new perspective on things now, not just the job, life. I thought I knew what was important before September 11. Now I am certain I know what is important in life.I don't think it's how fast, or how many times you can circle the globe, it's not how much money you have, or don't have. It's not what school(s) you went to, or who you know, or the car(s) you drive, or how big your house is, or the neighborhood it's in. It's how you treat people, and the caliber of the human being you are while you are here.In the end, all that other crap doesn't matter.
As I travel from state to state, country to country,I find myself falling into the "what if" mode. What if that guy is a terrorist bastard? What if this family is "scouting" this flight? Do we even know who these people are? I pray that the people in the area where I live, in the most powerful city in the United States of America make the right decisions when it comes to fighting these terrorists, and Do Not relent and become complaceant in how we deal with visas and visitors to our country, and that homeland security is improved as well as it can possibly be.
Every day, there are people who wake up without their sons, daughters, husbands, brothers, sisters, cousins,friends, and most importantly moms and dads. These people will forever be affected by the events on 9/11 because our government could not prevent this "mess".When you think you have it bad, think again, you could be them.
Life is short people, enjoy each minute with those you love, and those you know love you. Don't sweat the small stuff, and stop being so self-absorbed, if you have a little too much time or money on your hands, there are a lot of folks who can use your help. God Bless America-
Anonymous D.C.-based Flight Attendant
Before I left my house in Arlington Va.,on September 10, I had a nagging feeling, I did not want to take this trip, then I said to myself,"Snap out of it, you are getting paid to go to London! Again!" So, I went, unwillingly.,unaware of course that all hell was about to break loose, not only where I reside,(1 mile from the Pentagon)but also in beloved N.Y., where some of my dearest family and friends live and work.
I awoke sometime around 4 p.m.(11:00 a.m. eastern time),I decided to go and check my return assignment for the next day, via the computers provided for us at the hotel. When I entered the computer room, another Flight Attendant was there, and he was obviously distraught."Ok, I'll bite" I thought, he told me of the planes going into the twin towers, and the Pentagon, I couldn't believe it! I immediately thought of my family, they did not know what trip I was assigned, they knew I was flying internationally, but occasionally we would be assigned to a domestic trip. Translation= she could be anywhere! I knew they must be worried sick.
It took a couple of minutes for me to digest all this horrible information, I e-mailed one of my friends in D.C. whom I knew did not have a television, gambling that she would be on-line, and she was. She contacted my family to let them know I was in England, safe, and that I would try to contact them soon. The friend e-mailed again to say our families in N.Y. were ok, Thanks be to God. Then, I thought of my friends who were flying that day, were they ok? Were they flying? Were they stuck in Canada? Where were they?
The feelings, events, behavior I witnessed for the following days, and weeks since, I liken to experiencing a death in the family, that of a close family member, anyway. I prayed a lot, cried in spurts, and mostly thanked God for my life, all of it, the good, the bad, and the in-between. I may not be perfect, but I am here, and I was spared that day. My friends were spared that day, my family was spared that day, their friends were spared that day. I am truly blessed.
Due to the evil acts of those on September 11, many of us at United and other companies as well were "laid off", "furloughed", "canned", whatever you want to call it. It was a nice break. I needed it, maybe we all did.
On March 18th, I climbed back on the horse, came back from being off for six months, and took my first flight as a United Flight Attendant. Was I scared? Truth? Yeah, A little. Am I still scared? Truth? Yeah, a little. This week I again was assigned two London trips in one week. I have a new perspective on things now, not just the job, life. I thought I knew what was important before September 11. Now I am certain I know what is important in life.I don't think it's how fast, or how many times you can circle the globe, it's not how much money you have, or don't have. It's not what school(s) you went to, or who you know, or the car(s) you drive, or how big your house is, or the neighborhood it's in. It's how you treat people, and the caliber of the human being you are while you are here.In the end, all that other crap doesn't matter.
As I travel from state to state, country to country,I find myself falling into the "what if" mode. What if that guy is a terrorist bastard? What if this family is "scouting" this flight? Do we even know who these people are? I pray that the people in the area where I live, in the most powerful city in the United States of America make the right decisions when it comes to fighting these terrorists, and Do Not relent and become complaceant in how we deal with visas and visitors to our country, and that homeland security is improved as well as it can possibly be.
Every day, there are people who wake up without their sons, daughters, husbands, brothers, sisters, cousins,friends, and most importantly moms and dads. These people will forever be affected by the events on 9/11 because our government could not prevent this "mess".When you think you have it bad, think again, you could be them.
Life is short people, enjoy each minute with those you love, and those you know love you. Don't sweat the small stuff, and stop being so self-absorbed, if you have a little too much time or money on your hands, there are a lot of folks who can use your help. God Bless America-
Anonymous D.C.-based Flight Attendant
September 11 Email: Date
June 14-2002
September 11 Email: Subject
What's your story? Everybody's got one.
Collection
Citation
“email192.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed July 5, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/37901.