I'll never forget that morning.  My mom woke me up to notify me I might not be flying to New York the following day for a radio conference, as a plane just crashed into the World Trade Center.  Thinking it was a 2 seater Cessna or something, I brushed her off and went back to sleep.  Then my brother in law called asking for a ride to "the base", as he was in the National Guard.  And the reality hit.We all have our "where were you stories", and for me, I'll always get a chill down my spine recalling that tragic day, as I was supposed to fly out to NYC the very next day.  To think how the day started, how I just brushed it off in my slumber...

Shortly after getting off the phone with my brother in law, I turned on the TV, as I attempted to get ready for work.  We all recall how difficult it was to pull your eyes away, as we stared in disbelief.  I had the radio up, and remember the exact intersection I was at when the first tower fell, and how the world seemed to just freeze up, as we all continually glanced up at the sky.  I remember getting to work, just as the second tower fell, getting out of the car, and again staring up at the sky.

I managed a Blockbuster Video at the time, when we had DirecTV in the store.  I had the TV locked on the news all day, and needless to say, didn't get much done as I kept staring at the TV.  I remember a customer who was rushing in on their lunch break to grab a movie.  We watched together for almost an hour, before he realized he needed to get back to work; no lunch and no movie for him.  An hour we'll never forget.

Flash forward a month, and the radio conference I was supposed to fly out to on September 12th was rescheduled for exactly a month later.  Attendance was way down for this October conference. It was business as usual, even though we were in a different world now.  At some point during the conference though, we took a walk over to Ground Zero, at least as close as we could get at that point.  It was scary how quiet a loud city like NYC was around that area.  Maybe it was all in my head.  I do remember my phone rang, as my fiance was calling.  I answered it, though it felt wrong.  I don't remember what she called for, as all I could think was how disrespectful it was to be on the phone in this solemn place.  To her frustration (THAT I remember), I quickly ended the call, about the time we came across a discarded face mask, just sitting there on the sidewalk.  Probably had been there for weeks.  Shortly after, we came up on the truck outside Engine 24, Ladder 5, who had parts melted from the heat of the explosion/tower falling.

I will never forget the day, or the trip the month after, for as long as I live.  Even this morning, as my 9yr old daughter remembered what day it was, she exclaimed, "I can't believe Daddy was supposed to fly there the next day." Neither can I sweetie. Neither can I.

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