Remembering the Past

Today, September 11th is one of those days when many Americans stop and remember the past. Most of us can recall exactly where we were and what we were doing when the attacks happened.

As a private pilot I've heard many stories about others who were flying that day and ordered to land at the nearest field, no matter how close or far they were from their intended destination.  Some didn't have their radio's tuned into Air Traffic Control and those lucky few were met by military fighter jets who got their attention very quickly and helped motivate them to land with hand signals.

I was down at the Georgia Pacific HQ building in downtown Atlanta getting a few last minute things together for my trip at 11 am to New York City for a trade show.  As I left my office nothing seemed amiss, however at the front lobby desk the security had shut down the building and as I approached dragging my luggage they asked where I was intending on going.  I told them and they ordered me to return to my office upstairs and await further instructions. WOW! Never happened at GP before!  I wondered what I had done wrong.  As I approached the elevators I heard several friends discussing the situation and by the time I'd returned upstairs to my office everyone was gathered around very small TVs watching the events unfold.  I saw the second plane hit the second tower on TV.  SILENCE and complete STUNNED reaction from the 50-60 of us gathered around the TV.  Soon the telephones rang and everyone was ordered to evacuate the building, we heard at that same time on TV that all tall buildings in Atlanta were ordered to evacuate.

Driving back to my home in Peachtree Corners I called my wife and they were watching in her office also and she said they too were leaving shortly - as you can imagine the highways were packed but everyone was driving extremely courteously which for Atlanta traffic was also very different. The next several days passed in a blur, very few folks went to work, everyone was glued to the TV for more details and to see and try to understand this situation.  Today, 11 years later, we are still trying to understand this situation!

Oh, how our lives have changed, yet somehow, even if a little bit, the American Spirit grew even stronger because of this sad event.  Just as other national disaster events like Pearl Harbor have changed us as a country we still grew stronger and September 11th I'm sure will be no different.

Today, for a moment, please stop and remember the past, remember the event, remember who we are as a people and a country. And above all else, please Count Your Blessings.

These are my thoughts, what are yours?
Steve