9/11: 20 Years Later

 Twenty years ago, the "unthinkable" happened in the US.

I was commuting between Albuquerque, NM and Detroit, MI.  I was working with a team developing a brand new aircraft.

On the morning of September 11, 2001.  I was listening to the local NPR radio station while driving from my hotel in Novi, MI to the office in Walled Lake, MI.   There was a story.... I don't remember if it was a local or national NPR story.... but it was about how there had not been a terrorist attack on US soil and whether the US would be prepared if were to happened.  The story struck me as unusual and I missed my turn to the office.  So I ended up being a few minutes late that day.

The unusual NPR story would happen again, a few weeks later, with respect to Anthrax.

On the morning of September 11th, less than an hour after that NPR story, I remember my co-worker standing up to answer his personal cell phone.  Cell phones were rare at that time.  He kept it in the overhead at his desk and the only person who ever called it was his wife.  The fact that she was calling so early in the day was unusual.

I remember his words to his wife... "An airplane hit one of the Twin Towers?  It must have been an accident."

I knew instinctively it was not an accident, though I was hoping it was.  I went straight to cnn.com while he was still on the phone to see if there was any information.  There was not, yet... and a few minutes later the site would not load.

One of our other co-workers had a radio, so he set it up and several of us stood around his cubicle, listening to the events unfold.

I was on the verge of tears all day... as I am right now, while writing this.

Another friend/co-worker and I decided to get lunch offsite, hoping to get some respite from the news, only to find several people we knew attempting to do the same thing.  The news was on the TV in the diner and the lunch crowd was melancholy.  There was a sense of unity in the sadness we were all experiencing.

I tried to be productive at work, feeling determined to be successful at this huge project we had undertaken... developing a new aircraft.  Not only a new aircraft, but a new type of aircraft and a new company to support it.  We had no idea what the future looked like and it felt like a bad time to be in the aircraft business.

The airspace was closed that day.  So those of us who had been commuting between Detroit and Albuquerque did not go home that weekend.

My lunch friend/co-worker and I went to a street fair on Saturday.  I believe it was in Plymouth, MI.  It was eerie how quiet it was without air traffic.  I felt bad trying to have a fun distraction while scores of people had lost loved ones and even more were working to find them in NYC, Pennsylvania, and DC.

The airspace was re-opened a few days later, but the travel experience was significantly different.  Everyone was distrusting of everyone else.... We unpacked our bags, removed our belts, coats, and shoes, and submitted to a more-thorough search in order to have access to the airport concourses.  There were armed MPs and military dogs everywhere.

I felt brave (scared but doing it anyway) and defiant while travelling.  I normally slept the entire way home, but was no longer able to do so.  My husband and I grabbed each other and cried when I got home.

I continued to travel every week for 2.5 more months.

While the events of 9/11/01 were heartbreaking, I was optimistic with the new-found national unity and the level at which people were helping each other. 

Unfortunately, this did not endure.

9/11 was the worst thing thing to happen on US soil in my adult life, until January 6th of this year... when a mob of Trump Loyalists attacked our capital with the intention of overturning the election and democracy along with murdering both the Vice President and Speaker of the House.

I watched the events of January 6th with the same sadness and disbelief of 9/11.

However, rather than coming together, my country is more divided than I have ever seen.

One of my co-workers from my cubicle bank on 9/11... the one responsible for me having the opportunity to work on that new aircraft and company... was lost last November to Covid-19.

Too many people refuse to wear masks or take a safe vaccine in order to protect each other.

20 years ago, I truly believed that the strangers on my flights between Detroit and Albuquerque would band together to prevent another attack.

Today, people who wish to travel by air are physically attacking Flight Attendants and Gate Workers.

Today, people cough on each other at supermarkets and school board meetings.

All of these are assault.

So when you say #NeverForget, did you?  Are you truly living in the spirit of post-9/11?  Are you truly banding with and protecting your neighbors?