My IT career spans from the 70’s to the early part of this century. In it, I’ve had the opportunity to travel around the North American continent – not as much as I would have enjoyed, but enough to help me enjoy the job. It took me from Texas to Alaska, East Coast to the West Coast.
I enjoyed Toronto in 1984 while acquiring some training on mainframe security – this was a hard place to find Dr. Pepper for some odd reason! I stayed the weekend to enjoy Niagara Falls from the Canadian side – this was before you needed a passport, but the traffic was too busy to chance a crossing to the US side and make my flight in time.
In the early 90’s I made a number of trips to the Big Apple. New York, NY. Along with the allure of working in Manhattan, I especially enjoyed many historical sites, giving directions to a tourist on July 4th, and having an undercover cop on the subway warning us to never flash our money or pull out our wallets while on the train.
My first trip was about 1991 and was the first of a half-dozen or so enjoyable treks. We were allowed to pick the hotel we wanted to experience so, for this first trip, I asked for in the Marriott Vista International Hotel, the one that nestled at the foot and in between the two World Trade Towers. It was designated WTC 3. The windows opened up onto the plaza and you really had to remember to keep the shades closed when you were shutting down for the evening – otherwise you may shock the audience below!
There are great places of history to visit in NY. Lady Liberty. Battery Park. Wall Street. Central Park. Broadway. The USS Intrepid is permanently housed at Pier 86. There are other vessels and aircraft now there, including the Space Shuttle Enterprise. There is more than enough to experience in your lifetime. You just need to go there.
Eating in the Big Apple was always a great experience. It seems in a crowded place like this food would not be the focus. But when you are competing with millions, then you really have to think about your caloric needs and where to go!
Early morning breakfast would generally find me in the bowels of the World Trade Center below the Towers, sitting at a little perch with coffee and muffin, watching the thousands of people pour out of the subways like ants coming out of a stirred up nest. They would ride the escalators up several floors, crowding like a funnel to the first step, and then pouring out at the top, heading off to work. Or, I would eat breakfast atop one of the two towers at Windows on the World (North Tower), 107 floors above the ground and sitting right at the windows looking down on the specks below that represented people scurrying to their appointments.
After breakfast, I might wander over to the South Tower up to the Observation Deck that was outside and circled the top of the tower about 20 feet from the edge. From there you had an unobstructed view of the glory of New York, the harbor, and the weather front that seemed to always be hanging out over the ocean. Unobstructed 50 miles of viewing in any direction!
Lunch was simply what’s open, close and quickly accessed. We were working some long hours and would often pick up something and take it back to the conference room we were based out of. Pizza seemed to be popular. Street vendors were everywhere.
For dinner, we once took a cab to Central Park and enjoyed Tavern on the Green – a pretty expensive place. Or find a crowded restaurant or a greasy spoon diner and just flow in with the crowds, eat and then spend a little time sight-seeing. One night we ate at a restaurant that had picnic tables and had family style spaghetti – huge dishes put on the table and we served our self. Probably the least expensive dinners of all when you have 10 people to feed!
Such fond memories of a totally different time.
Then, on February 26, 1993, a car bomb went off in the parking garage under the Towers and below the Vista hotel. Terrorist. On American soil. Shock and dismay that would only be magnified a few years later on 9/11. The underground structures were badly damaged, six people killed, and 100 or more injured.
But this was not to be the only attack. Just 3,119 days later the world experienced a greater shaking than we could imagine. I will assume it was worse than Pearl Harbor only because it was experienced on Live network coverage and the entire world could see it happening real-time.
I feel it necessary to include a single paragraph of details because I never want to forget the events. I’m not worried about excluding the terrorist’s details. They are unimportant. What’s important is to take special note of the immediate events on the day of tragedy. I was in Anchorage, Alaska. It was very early. By 6 am, if my memory serves me correct, we had military air coverage over our city, protecting us from who knows what. Since I lived closed to the main gateway to Alaska via the airport, then I was happy to have all the planes grounded and the military giving us protection.
“At 8:46 AM the first plane, American Airlines flight 11, which had originated from Boston, was piloted into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. Most observers construed this initially to be an accident involving a small commuter plane. The second plane, United Airlines flight 175, also from Boston, struck the south tower 17 minutes later. At this point there was no doubt that the United States was under attack. Each structure was badly damaged by the impact and erupted into flames. Office workers who were trapped above the points of impact in some cases leapt to their deaths rather than face the infernos now raging inside the towers. The third plane, American Airlines flight 77, taking off from Dulles Airport near Washington, D.C., struck the southwest side of the Pentagon (just outside the city) at 9:37 AM, touching off a fire in that section of the structure. Minutes later the Federal Aviation Authority ordered a nationwide ground stop, and within the next hour (at 10:03 AM) the fourth aircraft, United Airlines flight 93 from Newark, New Jersey, crashed near Shanksville in the Pennsylvania countryside after its passengers—informed of events via cellular phone—attempted to overpower their assailants.” [Source] (Emphasis mine)
When the Towers succumbed to attack on 9/11/2001, nearly 3,000 people lost their lives, including first responders: 72 Police, 343 Fire Department. 90 Countries lost citizens on this day. Only 8 children died and they were all on the airplanes used in the attack. Since then? Countless others have passed due to the pollutants and injuries experienced during this tragedy.
Since then, I have visited the Pentagon after it was re-built and enjoyed a private tour as deep into the rings as they would allow! I’ve never been to Shanksville, but that is definitely on my list.
My parents were on an “around the country” driving vacation in 2001 and were headed to NY when the attack happened. They were sleeping not far from Shanksville, PA where the passengers fought back on United Airlines Flight 93. They subsequently crashed. Who knows where that plane was headed. But thanks to passengers who said, “Let’s Roll!” a potentially greater tragedy was averted. Mom and Dad circled around NY on their journey south and did not witness the devastation except on the News that covered the broadcast centers of the world.
As I’ve traveled to far-flung places on other continents, and here at home, I find those places that honor the sacrifices and deaths of those that died in such tragic horror. Whether it’s the memorial at Pearl Harbor, or the memorial from the bombing in Oklahoma, or even a place to honor the dead in foreign countries, they are each solemn places to spend some time remembering and honoring, lest we forget. My sister visited France a few years ago and presented me with a vial of sand from the beaches where so many invaded, fought, and died. WIth names like D-Day, Normandy, and other now famous words, we honor the sacrifices of so many who were there. I have met soldiers, men, and women, who are just everyday people who were involved in these conflicts, police actions, and wars. To me, they have a story to tell like no history book.
When traveling in Israel and Jordan, I stood at the peaks and valleys of human experience and realized the thousands of years represented by perhaps a monument, or what’s only recorded in the Bible. It may not be enough. But at least it’s the starting point for conversation. When Israel crossed the Jordan River headed for the Promised Land, 12 stones were taken out of the river and stacked for a Memorial. Why? “When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do these stones mean?'” You will have an opportunity to remember yourself and explain to the next generation. (Joshua 4)
It’s been nearly 30 years since those days in the 90’s. I have not re-visited that part of the world except passing through the airports for other destinations. One of these days I would like to re-live those visits and enjoy NY again. Not sure when this will happen. Just praying about it. I think I would like to stand at the foot of the destruction site and pay homage to all those that died and pray for America.
Perhaps we all need to make special journeys to these locations every so often … A pilgrimage. If for nothing more than to feel the humbling of spirit at the loss of so many. Remember. And then be ready to explain.