In Remembrance of September 11, 2001

In Rememberance of all who died on Sept 11, 2001 from all nations....



I know you have memories of September 11th. Mine is that the US Open for tennis was over on Sept 9th and I took a friend sightseeing on Sept 10th that had never been to New York before. We were at the World Trade Center 18 hours before the planes hit.

On September 10th, 2001 it was a beautiful day in New York City. The sun was shining and people were going about their daily business. I was taking my friend on a tour of the city and the man conducting the tour stated " 1993 will never happen again because they are locked up in prison for over 200 years." Little did anyone know what would happen 18 hours later. We left Guardia late in the evening because of bad weather and sat on the runway for 2 1/2 hours when we finally got an opening to take off. We got back to the airport at home and then drove the rest of the way to my home and saw the second plane hit the Towers. It was pure unbelief. I was safe at home but what about the fate of those I saw only hours before.

I will never forget September 11th but again I will never forget September 10th, the faces I still see knowing I will never know their fate. I went back to the US Open the next year and went to the site but it was a construction site then but I could still see the buildings roped off around with damage.

In the minutes hours, and days following the attack in New York, The Pentagon and the fields of Pennsylvania, everyone felt the need to do something. We wanted to reach out to victims, we wanted to reach out to one another. We needed to show unity. And then the flags were unfurled. They were on buildings, in windows in the hands of children, on rooftops, on lawns, on backpacks and jackets... and those became a symbol and fly today.

May we never forget that day and the people who gave their innocent lives.

Who could EVER forget THAT day!! I was sleeping when a friend called and said a plane hit the WTC! I thought he was pulling a joke and he yelled to turn the tv on. I knew then it was NO joke! As soon as my tv went on, I just got a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach. The initial report was a small plane. I scoffed at that; it was obvious from the hole and the smoke that this was no small plane! Then the nightmare unfolded over the rest of the day. I lived on the upper westside of Manhattan. I will NEVER forget the city over the following days and months. Everywhere you walked there were constant reminders of the tragedy.

Firehouses around the city were like mini-memorial sites. I walked to my local firehouse to give a donation--I HAD to do something. I saw a fireman and gave him money for the widow and children's fund. He told me to wait, that he would give me a receipt. I told him that I was in a hurry. He said to me, "you trust me with this?" I told him that we all trust him and the firefighters with our lives; why would I NOT trust him with the money? At that, this big burly guy started to cry! Needless to say, there was not a dry eye there after that!

Yes, it was one of the key events in all of our lives. We will NEVER forget!!

I changed my avatar this morning out of respect for all the victims and their families and friends.

It was a truly awful day I watched events on the TV as they unfolded. It was very hard to take it all in.

That's a very touching story Fudge I was reading some survivor accounts the other day and one lady told how she met a group of firemen going up towards the fires as she was coming down during the evacuation. She was struck by the heavy loads they carried and how tired but determined they looked. She put her hand out to touch one on the shoulder and said "you guys have a lot of heart". Boy was she right about that.

Amazing photos from that day:


http://lightbox.time.com/2011/09/08/911-the-photographs-that-moved-them-most/#22

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I was working that day in the Rome-Fiumicino airport area close to the Hilton hotel, but heard of the events only later when I got home.

Imagine the mess the next day around the hotel, with people from the US and every other nation mixed, all trying to get some news... for sure the shock was universal.

It has been the only day that I took a portable radio to the excavation site.

This is a newly audio video from 911 from the control towers following the flights of the planes and realizing what was happening that day.....

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/44445917#44445917

The late great Ray Charles: