It was Rich's 50th birthday and we had plans to go out to a nice dinner after work. Little did we know that after the events of that morning, he'd be detained by a lockdown at the Base. By the time he was allowed to leave, we just went out for a quick meal at Applebees. The TVs were on and we all ate in silence, listening to the devastating news of that day in stunned disbelief. A lady at another table had tears streaming down her cheeks. Rich says his birthday has never quite been the same again.
Rich's dad had died 6 days earlier, and we were scheduled to fly to CA to spread his ashes at sea a few days after the 11th. Our flight was canceled and rescheduled a couple of times and it would have been easy to give up the trip, but it was so important for us to be there. The airlines finally patched together several short flights and we hopscotched across the country to Los Angeles in a halting, bizarre pattern. Most flights were practically empty. I remember getting on a plane in Charlotte, NC and the only people in coach were Rich and I, along with two dark-haired, dark-skinned men who were traveling together. They could have been from anywhere, and they had obviously passed a rigorous security check, but I couldn't stop myself from anxiously sending furtive, suspicious glances in their direction.
I find myself using 9-11 as a major event in my personal timeline. Let's see, exactly when did Rich's dad pass away? Well, it was 6 days before 9-11 so had to be Sept. 5th. Hmmm, did my dad pass away in 2001 or 2002? Well, it was the summer after 9-11, so had to be 2002.
9-11 is one of those days in your lifetime you never forget. Life has inevitably gone on, but a sense of security has been replaced by a feeling of fragility and a disquieting vulnerability lurking way under the surface.
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