story20346.xml

story20346.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2006-09-09

A friend and I were traveling to Belgium to visit her daughter, who is married to an Army officer. We had been commenting on the number of Arabs in the airports and how rude they were on our first flight out of Charlotte, NC. We had never seen so many Arabs gathered at airports like this before. Not til we arrived at NATO headquarters did we receive the news from a small transistor radio on her daughter's desk. People were running in the halls and at first were told we may not be able to leave the NATO headquarters. We were devastated and frightened...wondering if we would be able to get back home to North Carolina. It was later in the day before we saw the news on CNN at her daughter's home. It was shocking to watch the twin towers fall and we were overwhelmed with disbelief. How could this happen to America? Our hearts were grief-strickened for the families and friends of those lost. We were allowed to travel later to Rome, Italy and were greeted warmly by the people once they could hear we were Americans. In all the churches and cathedrals we visited, prayer books were full for America and the tragedy. We were touched by their compassion. It was a week later that I was scheduled to come home...which happened to be the day flights were allowed back to America. Needless to say, because of security, I missed my flight out of Gatwick Airport in England. A lot of Americans were stranded there, and I could not find a hotel to stay the night. So I ended up spending 24hrs in the airport, sleeping in a chair, clutching my suitcases with numerous other passengers. I met a young girl from Bulgaria, whom I believe God sent to be my guardian angel that night. She definitely was a blessing! When I got on the flight the next day(one seat was left), I ended up sitting beside a man who was from Sawmills, NC....a town next to my community! And when that plane landed in Charlotte, there was shouting and clapping throughout the plane. I kissed the ground when I got off the plane, which a lot of others did also. One woman passed out when she met her husband. I had never been so thankful in my life and will never forget the experience.