Marshall has a moving post from his events on September 11, 2001. Consider reading if you haven’t already.
I remember the day like yesterday. I was in college at the time. I woke up early to head into the business school and was waiting in line while watching news on the TV. The first plane struck while I was in line. It wasn’t clear what was happening at first, so I finished up my business and headed home for the morning. Mrs Weekly Flyer, my college sweetheart, met me at home. For the rest of the day, my friends, Mrs Weekly Flyer and I watched the events unfold together. The events were surreal.
At the time I didn’t travel much except for the occasional leisure trip. Today, Mrs Weekly Flyer and I find ourselves in a completely different situation. I almost can’t stop traveling. In fact, today, Mrs Weekly Flyer and I are missing each other in the air, literally and figuratively.
We’re both flying different paths at 35k feet almost as if we are chasing each other. The weather is cooperating though, and it is a nice flight.
Sunny skies and clear runways made for a quick departure. I did my best to get back to Atlanta before Mrs Weekly Flyer departed on her journey. My hope was to catch her and have dinner at our favorite Atlanta airport restaurant.
Unfortunately a wave in the air will have to do for now. The events of the day got in the way and didn’t allow for an early same day confirm flight to catch her at the airport.
No cocktails today. Instead, a sober reminder of the events of that fateful Tuesday morning.
Thoughts go out to all of those who lost someone close on that day 11 years ago. And a big thank you to the service men and women, first responders, and all the travel industry professionals who keep us safe allowing us to fly.
Follow us on Twitter || Like us on Facebook || Sign Up For Email || Tips & Tricks Page
About The Weekly Flyer
The Weekly Flyer writes about travel from a business traveler perspective. He travels the world every week accumulating points and miles along the way.
Sign up for Email || Twitter || Facebook |
Hotel Offers || Airline Offers || Bank Offers || Cash Back Offers
Nice post. I just read through a brief summary of the Flight Crews lost on 9-11-01. I noted at least TWO FA pairs who where married couple, one who apparently flew together regulary and another who did not, but made this joint trip to spend a few days together in SoCal. Those make it just so much sadder. If there is a bright And I question my use of that word) side to those four unfortunate flights, their load factors were very light that morning. With a tragedy of that magnitude, do the numbers really matter? Hell Yes, they matter! A viable, productive life is a life. If there is any grace in that day’s events is is that those four airplanes were not full. Eleven years later, I’m still not sure that I understand the impact of this event, but it has certainly changed our lives. Sadly and unpleasantly, some of those changes are not positive and I am concerned about them. The TSA is but one example, (Hire power-hingry idiots and get what you pay for, or less) and we could do a lot better. If HSA had a clue, or employed a few professionals, we would not be concered about mouthwash or shampoo, but people’s behavior and the contents of major cargo. Grandma’s tooth powder or mouth rinse (over 100ml) is not going to cause a problem – and gawd knows that she needs the stuff! That un-opened, uninspected cargo, sent as freight, just might bring down an airliner with 300+ souls on board. My advice to HSA and TSA is get off the toothpaste and mouthwash kick, screw the expensivev nudo-scopes and look for items that reall can threaten a flight. A bit of inflamatory substance in one’s shorts or shoes is just not enough to down a modern liner. Nasty? Yes. The crews are trained to deal with those events. Reather than harrassing hhundreds of millions of honest passengers, ;ook at the lists with more care and may a LOT more attention to the cargo and baggage. Sorry to say it, but HSA and TSA are federal organizations filled with IDIOTS, simply protection their ownm non-productive jobs. [Rant Mode=OFF]
We are Eleven Years past the horror of 9-11-01, but how far have we come? In my estimation, not far.