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Did you notice people wearing red, white and blue today? If you hadn’t figured it out, that probably reminded you that today marks the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. It has been a few years and it is important to remember all that happened on that tragic day. There were stories of pain and loss and stories of great courage and sacrifice. A few of us in the office talked about where we were and what we were doing at the time, and we thought it would be good to share. Our hope is that you think about where you were at when the attacks began and remember all of those that either lost their lives or displayed great courage as our country dealt with tragedy.
As far as courage, there is a great story about how construction manager Frank De Martini and construction inspector Pablo Ortiz saved 77 people on the tower’s 88th floor and inspired others to do the same. There is a special on TLC called “9/11, Heroes of the 88th Floor” that would be great to see.
Here are some of the stories from our staff:
All of Caitlin’s classes in Middle School were canceled for the day. The school had everyone report to the auditorium to watch what was happening. Then, they set up TVs in lots of places in the school. Caitlin ended up spending a lot of time in the library watching what was happening on the news.
Amy had taken the day off and was ironing clothes when the Today Show began covering what was happening. It was an emotional day for Amy because she had taken the day off to go with her mother-in-law for her surgery that was scheduled for later that day.
David was in the dorms at Emporia State University when he saw the towers with smoke billowing out of them on the news. He and his roommate Zack spent the morning watching the TV as events unfolded.
Chris was living and working in Maui, Hawaii. He remembers his fiance knocking on the door, and due to the time difference waking him up, to ask if he had heard what was happening in New York.
Trent was reporting to his first day of basic training in Fort Benning, Georgia. They didn’t know many details about what was happening because they were deep into training with little contact with the outside world. The full extent of what was happening wasn’t clear for a few days until their drill sergeant explained what was going on.
Josh was doing event coordination at his desk in Macon, Georgia when the news broke and he spent the rest of the day watching events unfold on a tiny TV in the corner of the office.
Jason was in Colorado getting ready to go on the Cog Railway up Pike’s Peak with his family. He went to start the car and realized the radio had nothing but news on every channel. His family ended up spending hours in front of a TV in their lodge. Later that afternoon, they still went on the Cog Railway tour, but it was a quiet and somber environment. Not much talking going on as everyone was thinking about the attacks on our country and how devastating the news was.
For more detailed information about the events of 9/11, you could start with this article on About.com.
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I am so thankful that all of you remember and that none of us will ever forget. I was on the phone coaching a man in New York and we watched from each of our offices. Then later that day he called me and asked me if I would call and counsel with his sister Peg Ogonowsky, whom I had never met or even heard of. Jim went on to tell me that her husband John was the Captain of the American airlines flight #11, the plane which crashed into the first tower. As I called her i didn’t know what to say but after her brother-in-law answered and handed her the phone she told me all about John and how concerned he always was about his passengers and that she was concerned about how he must have felt as the plane was hitting the tower. I didn’t hesitate because God gave me the response that she needed to hear and that was that he was murdered as soon as they got into the cockpit and he wasn’t flying the plane, the terrorists were. That gave her such peace and then several days later they found out that indeed he was killed instantly and was not flying the plane when it crashed. God is good and he gives us what we need in spite of ourselves. I kept up with Peg and her 3 daughters for many years and then she re-married and we haven’t talked in several years but I will never forget 9/11.
Jack Kelly
Jack, Thank you for posting your comment to our blog. It is a perfect example of the 6 degrees of separation. It is wonderful that you could connect to Peg and help her in those moments.
Your client Tommy Fagan was in a coma at St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, Mo. from having Neuro Surgery and didn’t wake up until the 20th of September (to a whole new world!)……
Tommy, Thank you for posting that comment to our blog. We are so glad the surgery went well and that you bounced back quickly. I can only imagine what it was like to wake up and try to get your thoughts around how the world had changed in those few days.