My wife and I first met at The Fairmount 6 years before, well, actually in a car out front as we went on our first date (a blind date with her sister and husband, a friend of mine). She and our two young daughters (3 and 1 at the time) were in Chicago area staying at her Mom's.
That night we had planned a special evening together as a rememberence and celebration.
That morning, I had a breakfast meeting with a VP of our company who lived and worked in Israel. I only had 30 minutes for the breakfast meeting, then had to get to McCormick Place by 8:00 a.m. Central for our daily meeting before the show.
We finished our discussion at 7:30 a.m. Central, then took a taxi together to McCormick. It was an absolutely beutiful day...crystal clear, just like in NYC.
Our conversation went something like this:
ME: Have you been in Chicago before
HIM: Yes, the last time I was here, the Bulls won the championship.
ME: I just read a headline in the newspaper that Michael Jordan may be coming back to the NBA, maybe The Bulls.
HIM: Isn't that something...in your country, your headlines are about Michael Jordan, basketball, etc. In my country, the headlines are always about the latest terrorist bombing.
ME: Thank God, we don't have to worry about that here.
The time was approximately 7:50 a.m. Central...almost to the minute when the first plane hit the first tower.
Just...wow. How things changed on that most beautiful of mornings.
I flew back to New York Wednesday, 9/19, arriving early in the AM on 9/20. I'm not sure why I went; I just had a strong urge to get down there.
I got to Ground Zero about 0830. I was only 200 feet away
from the rubble. It was unlike anything I had ever seen.
We all remember the images. What is difficult to explain is the smell and the taste of the dust that was impossible not to inhale. The pile was still smoking.
The strangest thing was looking up and seeing emptiness insteae of the towers I was so used to seeing. Those were the two biggest structures you can imagine.
There were flyers of loved ones posted all around. The windows of nearby buildings were ash covered all the way to the top floors. Police and military were everywhere.
Had they asked me to help, I would have done whatever. I would have crawled thru the rubble, carried or lifted things, or people, anything.
I stared at the devastation and wondered why we had not bombed anyone yet. My emotions were very raw at that time.
Normally New Yorkers go about there business without much thought of anyone else. But as I walked through Manhattan that day, I noticed something striking; whenever you would walk passed someone, they would look you in the eye. They might slowly nod, or give half-hearted smiles. People were acknowledging each other and comforting one another.
That evening, President Bush gave what I believe was one of the greatest speeches in American history.
It breaks my heart that many in this country have forgotten and given up the fight, or they have become bored with it.
The War on Terror is an obsession for me because of how I felt on 9/11.
So we arrive at McCormick Place, and I am hustling fast to get to my meeting room on time, which was 8:00 a.m. Central. As I'm walking, I see people standing around a TV monitor mounted up high. I wonder, then think 'oh, it must be an internal broadcast of a speaker here at the convention'. A little further in, I see another larger group watching another monitor. A little further, I see a group of maybe 50+ people watching another one.
Now I'm really curious.
I walk over to the monitor and as I'm about to ask, I see the first tower that was just hit. 'Oh my God" I think...but must be an accident.
Go into the meeting. We're downstairs in McCormick Place, with no view to the outside world. Like being in a cave.
Ninety minutes later, meeting ends and we find out. Two towers hit, plus The Pentagon. Definitely terrorists.
The room explodes...'we must cancel the show'...'we can't'...'what do we tell everyone (100+ people) working in our booth?'...my comment was, "I'm not letting those bastards scare me away"...everyone rushes upstairs because we can't use our cell phones downstairs.
It's total pandemonium upstairs. There is close to 10,000 people waiting to get into the show...rumors are flying...I hear people talking about hijacked planes...no cell phones are working. No calls are going thru.
I think of my wife and kids in St Charles at Grandma's. I'm sure they are safe...but my wife (little rebel) must be worried about me.
I go to call, and see that I have a lot of messages. Call to v-mail goes thru...miracle... First one is from my wife...an FYI about the first tower. Look at a TV if I get a chance. She has no idea it's terrorists at that point. Next message...wife again...crying...second tower...terrorism...she's scared...knows I'm close to Sears Tower..."DON'T TRY TO BE A HERO"...next message, wife again...crying uncontrollably...first tower collapsed...sadness and anger [my wife, little rebel, is one of THE MOST patriotic people I know]...next message, wife again...where are you, please call...we are hearing rumors about The Sears Building...
I end listening and call her at her Mom's...goes thru (again) immediately...Thank You God..."I'm OK...I'm not being a hero...I don't know anything yet...are the girls OK?...my 3 year old is crying because Mom can't stop crying...OK honey, I'll let you know what I'm going to do once I find out what's going on here. Bye. I love you."