email805.xml

email805.xml

born-digital

email

unknown

yes

2002-09-11

Dear FOA,

Allen called me this evening from Oslo. He had managed to
leave me a message last night when I was out, getting some
air and a change of scenery for a few minutes. On his trip
to Oslo from the airport, he was hearing words, "World Trade
Center", "Pentagon", "high-jackers". He was so absorbed
trying to understand the Norwegian words, that he missed his
exit. As he was groping his way to the hotel, he stopped and
asked a police officer for directions. By a strange
coincidence, he was at the American Embassy, and the officer
told him what was happening.

He wanted everyone to know that he is OK, over in Oslo and
asked me to contact some of you. He has tried to call
several people and has had trouble getting through to this
area, as phone lines have been unavailable. He was able to
reach his Dad in Durham, who helped to calm him down - he
was angry and bewildered, of course. He has been keeping up
with things, and meeting lots of other travelers, exchanging
tidbits of info. He said that every Norwegian that he meets
offers condolences.

Allen's biggest problem has been that his hotel doesn't have
CNN, as they are changing service and the new one, with CNN,
is not hooked up yet. I encouraged him to enjoy his trip,
that there is really nothing he can do about this, and that
it will go on for a long time; he knows he can't come back
anyway. People were being told that flights might not
return until late next week. He doesn't plan to even try
to get back earlier than his scheduled Sept. 20th date (I
think).

While we were talking, the hotel sent him a message that the
PC in the lobby was available, so he wanted to get on the
internet and see what he could learn. People were going to
bars and restaurants to watch CNN. He knew details about
the news that I did not, so he seems to be keeping up. His
experience in air traffic control was kicking in and making
him curious about the high-jackers process.

So, this is just a note to let you all know that he is well,
though frustrated, and probably will proceed on at least
part of his planned tour.

If you want to ask questions of me, call me.

Best and sympathies,

Pat


Pat,

Thank you so much for your e-mail. I looked for your number
last night to see if Allen had check-in with you but was
unable to locate the number. I imagine that Allen must be
extremely frustrated; we all have each other through this
and he is somewhat alone with strangers. I am glad to hear
that the Norwegians are sending their condolences to him and
us. It is a terrible time to try and site see and have fun.
Again, I am so sorry for how extremely frustrated he must
feel.

Ashley

Wed, September 12, 2001 6:25 PM / Thu, 13 Sep 2001 10:49:41

Allen called in / Re: Allen called in