nmah5469.xml

nmah5469.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2003-03-16

I was on vacation in Europe in early September and originally scheduled to fly home to the U.S. on 9/11. Deciding that I wanted to stay one extra day, I went to the airport in the morning, rebooked my flight for the 12th and returned to my hotel to arrange to stay an extra night. By the time all this took place, I returned to my room around 2:30pm CET and switched on CNN for some background TV before going back out for the afternoon. CNN was playing a live feed from a NY TV station about "a possible fire" at the World Trade Center. I watched with fascination wondering what in the world could have happened. Then, live on TV, I see the second plane crash into the second tower. Immediately I think to myself, "this is NO accident." I spend the next 6 hours glued to CNN watching the events unfold back home. I'm completely stunned! I scan the local regional channels and one after another in Dutch, German, French, Italian... all of them are carrying some form of live coverage of what's happening. That evening I went out to get something to eat and was shocked that the lively, happenin' city of Amsterdam was very quiet and silent. Streets empty, few people outside. I then spend the next three days in a ritual of watching the news, calling the airlines to see when the airspace is reopened and e-mailing friends and coworkers back home as to what's happening. I end up leaving Europe that Friday morning, originally routed to JFK, but changed to Cincinnati in mid-flight where I then spend the night because all the airlines don't have their planes and crews in position for normal operations. I'm fascinated by the plastic knives mandated with dinner in First Class. Arriving in Cincinnati, a huge banner is draped in customs welcoming home U.S. travelers and custom officials greeting travelers like long lost friends. I finally make it back home to California late Saturday afternoon. From my own perspective, it was the most haunting, eerie, and scary week of my live.

Due to the financial downturn (from an already failing tech economy) I was laid off from my job one month later. I ended up unemployed for nearly six months before landing a job that paid a third of my old job. The economic disruptions from that infamous day still reverberate to this day.

First and foremost would be thoughts of the poor, innocent souls that perished that day. Ordinary people just trying to get through life were snuffed out in the most horrific way. It was also a wake up call for the complacency that existed in our nation's security and intelligence sectors. It truly showed how vulnerable our country was for so long.

No, I did not have an appropriate place to hang one. Many of us in the office taped small flags to our name placards on the outside of our cubicles.

My feelings for the flag were not affected. I was more "disturbed" with the bandwagon patriotic mentality that was brewing around the nation as people forgot their petty hatreds, misgivings and general nastiness and "rallied 'round the flag". It's too bad that spirit didn't remain and our society quickly slipped back to vengenance, ignorance, and general apathy. It only made the patriotic fervor seem phony and staged. You still see it today with how people who put American flag stickers on their cars have neglected them to where they look worn, faded and torn. It was the fad of the moment that has passed from memory as we're preoccupied with other mundane matters.