My day, 9-11-01

I was half awake when the images of the first hit and burning world trade center tower were being broadcast on Fox News. I blinked at the screen not understanding what I was seeing, I'm not very coherent when I first wake up anyway. As it started to sink in, I thought, could it have been a Cessna or some other small plane, someone committing suicide trying to go out with a bang. But the flames and the hole were too big. Then.............

Then I knew, we all knew, this was an attack. I got up and got ready for work. I drove to work in a daze, listening to the radio, feeling gut punched and useless. The rumors were coming fast and furious, there were more planes hijacked and about to crash into god knows what. The White House was a target, there were possibly several more hijacked planes still in the air. All these were unconfirmed reports, but after each report, my heart sank deeper. When I arrived at work at 9:30, everyone was glued to the monitors. I work in a traffic control center, we have more monitors than Carter has little pills. All of the talking heads were speculating; who did this, what will happen next? Over the next hour, the Pentagon was hit, flight 93 crashed in Shanksville Pa. and both towers collapsed. The unsolicited tribute below is from a man from Guatemala.

Let's roll,

In memory of...

Those gallant passengers and flight crew members of United Airlines Flight 93 that on Sept. 11th, 2001 defeated the coward terrorist hijackers and their intended purpose. We honor you. We admire you. We salute you.

We shall never forget...

Blessed are the peacemakers...

Let freedom ring...

My brothers pay tribute with the above plaque:

On September 11, 2001, the passengers and crew of United Flight 93 gave their lives. They made this choice so that an unknown number of people could live, people that they never met. The people aboard Flight 93 gave the ultimate sacrifice. Motorcyclists from all over the free world leave this memorial as a tribute to you. Thank you for your sacrifice. May god bless you and your families.

America's 9/11 Ride Foundation, Inc.

I wish I could have participated in that ride. But it would have been too difficult emotionally and I didn't actually have a motorcycle, or a helmet, or a motorcycle license at the time.

The men and women at the Pentagon were equally courageous. They did what we know all of our military does automatically, no one left behind.

At this point, all of the bosses made an offer to the supervisors and traffic managers. If you want to go home and be with your family, go, there would be no penalty. An appreciated gesture. I don't know of it happened all at once or if we all came to the same concern at slightly different times, but everyone was concerned for Ahmad and his family. Ahmad was and is a traffic information manager, from Lebanon, and a Muslim. He left immediately to be with and protect his family. If there were any problems, we warned, call, we would use our direct contacts with Cincinnati Police to send protection at a moments notice. We were reasonably certain that Cincinnati would not be a target, so our main concern was for Ahmad and his family. He told me today (9-12-05) that he does not like to think about 9-11 because it depresses him. Men misrepresenting his faith killed thousands of innocent people and it bothers him deeply. So, when mental midgets like Kanye West regurgitate the left's mantra that George Bush is a racist, then by association all who voted for him are racists....... Let's not kid ourselves that's what Kanye and that sect of activists think of us...... I think of that day when a room full of white people, who's country was just attacked by Muslim fundamentalists, were as concerned for their Muslim co-worker as getting home to their own families.