Tuesday, January 10, 2006
SEPTEMBER....2001
The first of September Rocky, Becky and I drove to Springfield and went a little crazy. She came home with a new computer and we came home with a new mini-van.
……..and after that, on the 11th day of the month the unthinkable happened. I was getting ready for work and turned on the Today Show. They were talking about a plane flying into one of the World Trade Towers and at first it was supposed a pilot made a tragic error…….then as we watched, a second plane flew into the other tower. There is no way to adequately describe the rest of the terror that followed when a third plane flew into the Pentagon and a fourth was diverted by a brave bunch of guys in the plane who had anticipated where they were headed and stormed the cockpit, causing the plane to crash before it reached it’s destination. The young man who bravely took action behind the words, “Let’s roll!” was killed in a field with the rest of the crew and passengers somewhere in Pennsylvania.
The stories of bravery and treason were endless as the facts began surfacing across the weeks and months that followed. The devastation was beyond any War of the Worlds images a Hollywood filmmaker could produce…..the loss of lives touched many countries that day, Americans weren’t the only ones who died. Becky’s daughter, Jennifer, was working in New York at the time and her office window looked out on the scene. The Empire State Bldg. was between her office and the Towers and as news traveled fast she looked out in time to see the second plane plunge into the second Tower.
No one could believe their eyes…..and they watched helplessly as people waved from windows above the burning impact below them….some holding hands and jumping, others scrambling, trying to get down before the building collapsed…..it was all horrifying for the onlookers. Jennifer said their building was closed immediately in case someone tried to enter from the street to do harm….and while brave men and women were trying to get the injured out of the buildings they collapsed and fell upon all who were racing up stairs to offer aid.
Later in the day, Jennifer joined the hoards of people who walked to leave the city and try to catch a commuter train home. She reached the Station and was able to catch the last train to Connecticut. She cried in seeing the vehicles parked at the stops en-route home because many of them would not be driven home again. It was a day none of us will forget but more so for the people who saw it first hand and was privy to the sights and sounds that marked the devastation. Our nation mourned the dead, the dying and the bravery of so many.
On the 20th of September we planned a trip out to Connecticut to see Jennifer and her husband, Marc. We got the pets to boarding, picked Becky and her luggage up, drove on to St. Louis where we met George in a parking lot and the four of us headed east. We stayed at Washington, PA. our first night and drove hard to get to New York by late afternoon the next day to see the skyline and Statue of Liberty. There was a lot of traffic but we were not involved with any tie-ups or grid-locks. We crossed the bridge that the children’s grandpa Strain helped build….the George Washington Bridge….and on to Jennifer’s by suppertime. It was a hard two day’s driving but the excitement made the trip go quickly.
Jennifer and Marc had made a lot of improvements on their home and it was very attractive and well cared for. We had a nice week of sight seeing throughout the New England area and a good visit with Jennifer and Marc. We met his parents and liked them very much……we were made welcome and enjoyed their home.
We stopped at Uncle Tom’s in New Hampshire for about an hour and a half as we were hoping to get home with just two more nights on the road. It was good to see him in his surroundings with his daughter Mary and her husband. The drive through northern New York was so very pretty. The best color of the trip was seen in that area and the foliage was at peak color at that particular time. We were impressed with the clean farms, fields and the color contrasted with the bright green of the pastures.
We dropped George off at St. Louis and he would drive on back to the Kansas City area as we drove south towards home. The trip was filled with good food, wonderful scenery, new landscapes and premier family time. It was good to be home but we certainly enjoyed our trip. The only things missing were two beautiful towers that had once upon a time been part of the skyline in a city that never sleeps……..
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
……..and after that, on the 11th day of the month the unthinkable happened. I was getting ready for work and turned on the Today Show. They were talking about a plane flying into one of the World Trade Towers and at first it was supposed a pilot made a tragic error…….then as we watched, a second plane flew into the other tower. There is no way to adequately describe the rest of the terror that followed when a third plane flew into the Pentagon and a fourth was diverted by a brave bunch of guys in the plane who had anticipated where they were headed and stormed the cockpit, causing the plane to crash before it reached it’s destination. The young man who bravely took action behind the words, “Let’s roll!” was killed in a field with the rest of the crew and passengers somewhere in Pennsylvania.
The stories of bravery and treason were endless as the facts began surfacing across the weeks and months that followed. The devastation was beyond any War of the Worlds images a Hollywood filmmaker could produce…..the loss of lives touched many countries that day, Americans weren’t the only ones who died. Becky’s daughter, Jennifer, was working in New York at the time and her office window looked out on the scene. The Empire State Bldg. was between her office and the Towers and as news traveled fast she looked out in time to see the second plane plunge into the second Tower.
No one could believe their eyes…..and they watched helplessly as people waved from windows above the burning impact below them….some holding hands and jumping, others scrambling, trying to get down before the building collapsed…..it was all horrifying for the onlookers. Jennifer said their building was closed immediately in case someone tried to enter from the street to do harm….and while brave men and women were trying to get the injured out of the buildings they collapsed and fell upon all who were racing up stairs to offer aid.
Later in the day, Jennifer joined the hoards of people who walked to leave the city and try to catch a commuter train home. She reached the Station and was able to catch the last train to Connecticut. She cried in seeing the vehicles parked at the stops en-route home because many of them would not be driven home again. It was a day none of us will forget but more so for the people who saw it first hand and was privy to the sights and sounds that marked the devastation. Our nation mourned the dead, the dying and the bravery of so many.
On the 20th of September we planned a trip out to Connecticut to see Jennifer and her husband, Marc. We got the pets to boarding, picked Becky and her luggage up, drove on to St. Louis where we met George in a parking lot and the four of us headed east. We stayed at Washington, PA. our first night and drove hard to get to New York by late afternoon the next day to see the skyline and Statue of Liberty. There was a lot of traffic but we were not involved with any tie-ups or grid-locks. We crossed the bridge that the children’s grandpa Strain helped build….the George Washington Bridge….and on to Jennifer’s by suppertime. It was a hard two day’s driving but the excitement made the trip go quickly.
Jennifer and Marc had made a lot of improvements on their home and it was very attractive and well cared for. We had a nice week of sight seeing throughout the New England area and a good visit with Jennifer and Marc. We met his parents and liked them very much……we were made welcome and enjoyed their home.
We stopped at Uncle Tom’s in New Hampshire for about an hour and a half as we were hoping to get home with just two more nights on the road. It was good to see him in his surroundings with his daughter Mary and her husband. The drive through northern New York was so very pretty. The best color of the trip was seen in that area and the foliage was at peak color at that particular time. We were impressed with the clean farms, fields and the color contrasted with the bright green of the pastures.
We dropped George off at St. Louis and he would drive on back to the Kansas City area as we drove south towards home. The trip was filled with good food, wonderful scenery, new landscapes and premier family time. It was good to be home but we certainly enjoyed our trip. The only things missing were two beautiful towers that had once upon a time been part of the skyline in a city that never sleeps……..
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
