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The Tragedy of September 11th effected
everybody, and we shall each have our own stories of where we were
and how we were affected. Here is mine.
I was in Phoenix, Arizona that Tuesday, delivering a very very
difficult class. It had been proposed for June, and delayed to
August, then finally to the week after Labor Day. It had required an
incredible amount of preparation, actually creating unique material,
something I don't do much anymore.
Monday went poorly, with students coming and going. I draw my energy
from my students, and find their attention and questions
invigorating. It is always difficult for me when they are called off
or don't come back from lunch or break, as I fall into doldrums.
My plane tickets were weird, and an angel must have been on my
shoulder. I always travel back at night, after the final class day.
Class was due to end on Thursday, but I could get no flights out of
Phoenix. The only "red-eye" was to fly to LA, then back to
Florida to arrive at 8am. Lyn and I decided to simply have me bunk
over Thursday night, and take a 6am flight out Friday. I have done
this less than 5 times in the six years I have been at this job.
Tuesday morning I was asleep, listening to my radio on headphones.
The announcer woke me up, literally shouting "Get Up! Get out of
bed! Go turn on your TV Set! A plane has hit the Trade Center!"
He knew many of his listeners, like me, would be in bed listening on
a clock radio or walkman. I was in Pacific Time, so this occurred at
6:15 am. I was watching the live NY feed, talking to Lyn, as the
second plane arrived. Like millions of others, I saw it on the Today
show feed. I sat mesmerized, on the bed, in my pajamas, for the next
two hours. The pentagon, the plane in Pennsylvania, the President in
nearby Sarasota and then off on Air Force One.
I arrived at the client around 8:50 for a 9:00 start, and we were all
zombies. We talked about people we knew that lived in NYC, and if
they were affected. We kept CNN.com up on one screen stopping in from
time to time for all to read. An internal e-mail came out that
my company had several consultant on-sites in the WTC, eventually, we
learned that a fellow employee had been on the Pennsylvania flight,
and had actually lead the now notorious charge. Two nights later, I
watched as our ex-department administrator, retired to raise his
children, talked to Larry King about her husband, after being singled
out by President Bush for praise and condolences.
He was an ordinary guy, working for the same company, but he was a
hero that saved many innocent lives. That is what is meant by
"doing the right thing". Heros are just ordinary men, that
find themselves in a heroic situation. I hope that I might honor his
memory and my country by doing the same in my hour of being called.
You may remember that the airports were shut down with NO flights for
Tuesday and Wednesday, stranding people in cities they just happened
to be flying over at the fateful hour. On Thursday, they opened
airports to continue the interrupted flights and to rearrange
aircraft. Sure enough, Friday morning was the first day
that new flights were allowed to depart. And I was ticketed on
a 6am departure!
I arrived early, and waded through a HUGE line at PHX, then waited
again at the gate. The pilot came on with a memorable announcement.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are having a technical problem with
the aircraft. We have a warning light that the mechanics need to
review and resolve". We all moaned and looked about. Then he
continued. "However, due to the events of recent days, we happen
to have a couple extra aircraft handy, so if you wouldn't mind, an
exact copy of this exact plane is two gates down. If you will take
your stuff with you and sit in the same seats, we will move the
luggage and meet you there" It was just a small joke and a small
smile, but I continue to find that travelers as a group are making
the effort to see the lighter side of travel.
Unfortunately, lost in the hoopla around 9/11 is
the fact that Florida was in the middle of a hurricane. My plane
departed Phoenix almost two hours late, but the dozen or so of us
going to Tampa all knew that the airport was closed for take-offs and
landings. In Dallas, the other passengers were rerouted to planes,
and I was scheduled on a late night flight. I arrived in Dallas
around 1pm, and would fly out around 8pm. What can you do? I went to
the Delta crown room for some free brewskis, then had a nice
lunch/dinner, then headed back to the crown room. I worked on e-mails
and my web page and waited. Around 7, I headed to the gate and the
flight was delayed, slowly, but surely. First to 7:30, then 8:00,
then 8:30. We had a plane, and plenty of passengers, and the Tampa
airport had been opened since around 4pm, but we had no pilots.
Finally, around 9:30, they announced the flight was cancelled, and
that we would fly out in the morning.
Like any seasoned traveller, I ran (pulling my rolley-bag) to the
crown room, and got a ticket on a flight leaving almost immediately
for Orlando. "Run to the gate" I was told. Now, I don't
know if you know how DFW is laid out, but each terminal is like a
letter "U" and I had been waiting for Tampa at a gate right
in the middle. There are two crown rooms, I headed to the one down by
gate 5, but (of course) the Orlando flight was out of Gate 30, three
gates down from the 'other' crown room. Oh well.
I ran, shuffled, huffed and puffed (with my rolley) the entire
distance back to my Tampa gate, then all the way down to the Orlando
flight. On the way, I caught up with several other Tampa passengers
doing the same. "Hurry", I told them, "the flight is
about to depart" and we all ran, until we found another guy who
told us, "Don't bother, its delayed". And it was, so we had
lots of time to wait in line to get ticketed. My cellphone had run
out of power (imagine that!) but Lyn got me a one-way rental in
Orlando back to Tampa. My friend from PHX needed a lift back to the
TPA, so I said we would share the ride and keep each other awake. We
offered a lift to everybody around us, but there were no other takers.
He was a seasoned traveller, like me, working for a competing
software company. What a great guy! He was from Wisconsin, and his
wife was a lawyer, etc, etc. We got the car and got on our way, and
with a couple open ended questions filled the hour and a half from
MCO to TPA. I dropped him at the parking garage and drove the last
bit by myself. We exchanged cards, and he was absolutely delightful
person. And that sums up my experiences since that awful day.
Yes, travel is more congested, with lots of
silly rules. It is still 10 times easier than my flight to Israel
three years ago (read the story).
But I just arrive a little earlier and carry a little extra
patience, and I will tell you, I have found people to be more
enjoyable then ever before. Our president said it would be a call for
America to rise up, and that has been my experience. There is so much
more "please" and "thank-you" and "you go
first" and "let me help you with that". I have
seen a rise of the American spirit that I remember, not the one from
the age of greed. Yes, when I arrive an hour and a half before
departure, it is the case that half the time I have an hour to kill
and half the time I have to run to my gate, but I have always had a
simple adage about that. If you don't want to live with travel
hassles, don't travel. Just remember, before you go to the airport,
pack a little extra patience and leave those nail clippers at home. I
have, and everything has turned out for the best.
Now, if only business will pick up.
Dave |
