We were living in Houston in 2001. Thinking our stay there would be brief, I temporarily stepped outside my profession and took a part-time job at a nearby travel agency. I had been an agent years before and thought it would be fun and good for a few travel perks.
On the morning of September 11, I was savoring my second cup of coffee on my day off when the phone rang. It was our agency manager asking if I could come in. A plane had hit the World Trade Center, the phones were ringing wildly and they needed help. "A terrible accident," I thought as I drove the short distance to the office. When I arrived, I found my co-workers gathered around a portable television, their faces reflecting shock and disbelief as they realized it had been intentional. A second plane had crashed into the other tower and we stared in silent horror at the smoke billowing from the wreckage. News reports were coming in waves as yet another plane hit the Pentagon and one more was reported crashed into a field. We learned that the F.A.A. had ordered all aircraft grounded immediately.The sheer volume of news was overwhelming and almost incomprehensible.
Phones were ringing incessantly as people clamored for information about what was happening. It was a study in contrasts. Some just seemed to need to talk to someone—anyone. Others were concerned about loved ones who were in the air or in New York or Washington and were desperate for information. Still others were concerned only about themselves. I vividly remember one man whose main concern was whether he would get his money back on his non-refundable ticket to New York. "If American Airlines thinks I'm going to pay for this," he blustered, "They've got another think coming." Travel professionals are accustomed to dealing with cranky, unreasonable customers but after listening to his arrogant diatribe and then his insistence I get an airline representative on the phone immediately to deal with his issue, my tolerance ran out. My voice was icy as I said, "Sir, we have just experienced a national tragedy of epic proportions. Buildings and aircraft have been destroyed and uncounted numbers of people are dead. We don't know why or who is behind this or what else may happen. I don't think American Airlines gives a crap about your refund right now--and neither do I."
All through the day we answered call after call and did our best to help people stranded by the groundings while we tried to keep up with the news and make sense of it all. I will never forget the sight of those towers coming down. Until that moment, I think we were all hoping there was some sort of orderly evacuation going on and that people had been able to get out of the buildings. The collapse seemed to be in slow motion, ending all illusion of survivors. I will also never forget the sight of our members of Congress standing in solidarity. It was fleeting but for awhile we remembered more about our commonality than our differences. What a shame it takes a national tragedy for that to happen.