nmah6574.xml

nmah6574.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2004-08-13

I landed in Bermuda on September 10 to begin what was to be two weeks of "mystery shopping" hotels. On the morning of September 11, I was in a gift shop when another guest came in and spoke about the news. Due to my workload, but more because I wasn't "home," I was unable to feel much except shock from seeing the pictures of WTC continually punctuate newscasts by Dan Rather. It was only on a plane over a year later that I was able to come to terms with the whole episode. Through several changes of seats, I ended up next to a survivor of the WTC and a survivor of the Pentagon. I asked each man to tell me his story in as complete honesty as they could. THEN I was able to feel the level of horror, pain, and shock that everyone else had over a year earlier. I thank those two men for telling me their stories. Joni Haddox

I travel a great deal for my work, so airport security has changed considerably, and this has affected me. I don't care about taking off my shoes or submitting my purse for examination; in fact, I welcome the fact that security has tightened up somewhat. Other than that, because of my life in idaho, there has been little change.

Who did it, who was involved, why it happened (lax intelligence as well as poor security at all entrances to the country. And I think the pictuers should be shown, too, not hidden away so that someone doesn't "get offended."

Yes, I flew a flag and wore much patriotic clothing and jewelry. My feelings about the freedoms represented by the American flag have only intensified.