Remembering 9/11 Ten Years Later

It’s not often that we talk about things this personal in a blog mostly on fashion & lifestyle, but I think I would be remiss in not talking about this particular subject since it directly affected me, as it directly affected thousands of others.  I’m using this image from one of my favorite sports blogs, Shutdown Corner because it happened on this season’s opening football game, and it’s a wonderful tribute to all of the people who effected by the events of September 11 , 2001.

I was in Virginia visiting my friend Sara for a week in the beginning part of September 2001.  If I remember correctly, I flew into town on either Wednesday or Thursday, which was September 5th or 6th.   This was during our whole boy band excursion:  we watched O-Town in concert on September 8 at Six Flags, Kings Dominion in Doswell, VA and then at the Patriot Center in Washington DC on September 10.  Sara had become a very close friend and I didn’t mind at all visiting her, even if it meant traveling to see a boy band in concert.

My original departure time on September 11, 2001 was to be earlier in the morning.  But I decided that I didn’t want to wake up so early after a concert the night before, and I wanted to have lunch with my friend Mike who lived in Washington DC (only 30 minutes away).  I pushed my flight to 3pm that day, which meant he could take me right to the airport after lunch.  Still reeling from the fun the night before, Sara and I slept in until almost 9am.

Sara’s phone rang, but we didn’t answer it because we thought for sure that it was that crazy caller from the night before who was frantically looking for her boyfriend (that woman called her condo at least four times that night).  It rang again, and this time Sara looked at the caller ID and recognized my home phone number.  It was my mom.

My mom spoke in a hushed tone that I had not heard before.  She asked if we were watching TV and I stated no.  She then said that I had better turn it on because I would not be coming home that day.  I asked her to stop kidding around as Sara turned on the TV.  I asked my mom why she would make us watch this crazy movie of a plane crashing into a building, knowing that I was going to fly later that day.  We quickly realized it was the news and that’s when I saw the second plane hit the second tower in New York.

The next news flash was of the plane that crashed into The Pentagon.  I immediately called Mike because his condo was literally across from The Pentagon.  He said that he was at work and that he saw the plane fly in the opposite direction of where the usual flight pattern was over the freeway (which was highly unusual).  He then saw a ball of smoke and fire from just beyond the horizon.

The next day was spent trying to figure out what to do next.  I had a new job with Fox Searchlight to work on Antwone Fisher, which was delayed because the crew could not get out of Ohio.  Additionally, it was going to be delayed an additional month because the film was supposed to be shot on several Naval bases, which were brought up to the highest points of security due to the events of September 11, 2001.

So many routine and trivial things floated around in my mind, but didn’t feel trivial because they directly affected me.  I had just enough clothing to last me until the next day, which meant I had to do laundry, and I’ve never had to worry about that before.  I remember going out to sushi for dinner that night.  We went to a mall because I wanted to find a new outfit, but wasn’t in the right frame of mind to find anything.  Rather than eat out, the next day we went grocery shopping because every store and restaurant played the news, which was a lot to take after waking up and discovering I wasn’t going home.  After two full days of straight news, we had to put on comedies to distract ourselves.

I called the airport that night and the following day to find out when I could actually fly out of Virginia.  My mom was upset because one of her biggest fears had happened: our family was separated.  I was clear across the United States in the very heart of all the tragedy, and they were in California, wondering when I would be home.  Sara’s mom came over just to give me a big hug because I couldn’t get one from my own mom.

By Thursday, September 13, I had hit my breaking point.  I had actually been fine, up until I called my house and spoke to my sister.  Even typing it out brings tears to my eyes because it was the first time I had heard panic from my family.  My dad was always calm and cool, so I knew he would be my voice of reason.  Even my mom was more even keeled than I thought she would be.  But my sister, who was filled with love and fear, just lost it.  She belted out a cry and said, “I just need you home, I just want you to be home now!”

I followed my sister’s emotional declaration with one of my last calls to the airport.  It was finally the news I’ve been waiting to hear: I was flying home on Friday September 14, 2001.

Even the flight out of Dulles International Airport was extremely eventful.  After my tearful hugs from Sara, the security was at the highest I had ever experienced.  It took me two hours to get through everything, and when I finally got to my gates, I didn’t have the correct print out for my boarding pass.  When I finally got that settled, I discovered that I was the last passenger to board and had actually held up the flight.   I sunk deep into my seat for the rest of the flight.

When we touched down at Lindbergh Field, the plane let out a roaring cheer.  We were HOME.  I couldn’t get out of the gate fast enough.  I saw my dad and my sister at the foot of the escalator, and my dad was holding up an American flag.  I made my way down and jumped into the arms of my sister, both of us crying like little school girls.   I gave my dad a big hug and asked where my mom was.  My sister said it was too much for her and that she would just see me at home.

Home.  I would never take that word for granted after September 11, 2001.  I will remember that week for the rest of my life.  Now I remember all the families that lost a loved one on that day, and all the brave souls who did their best to ensure that many more were not lost.