Hi all,
Welcome to my blog. This is my first attempt at blogging, so please pardon any rookie moves I may make. I promise, I’ll get better with time.
I’ve thought about starting a blog for some time. I have travelled a lot over the years and through out all of my travels I have always sent out e-mails chronicling the events of the moment. The list of recipients has gotten larger and larger. So, I figured I might as well publish my thoughts, ideas, and comments. Plus it’s a good way to vent, share and just ramble about things on my mind. So, welcome, I hope you enjoy.
The reason I titled this post “A somber start to an interesting blog…” is that I start this blog on the 5th anniversary of 9/11.
Five years ago, I found myself in Devon, England with a friend. We were spending a few weeks driving around England in a motor home visiting various places, including an event called the Goodwood Revival (that’s another story for another time).
Dan and I were on a tour boat when his cell phone rang. A friend of his, who lived in England, called to say if we had heard the news about the plane crashing into the World Trade Center. Apparently he didn’t have a lot of details, but wanted to let us know. We figured Cessna, Piper Cub, something small.
While on the phone, out friend said “Oh my god, another plane hit the other tower.” At first, we thought he was pulling our leg or something. This just seemed to be too odd to be be really happening. He said we should try and get to a television as soon as we could. It started looking pretty bad.
We had another 20 minutes before we docked. We tried calling people back home on our cells but we couldn’t get through. Either the call wouldn’t go through or we got an all circuits busy message. Now, we’re starting to worry. We also notice that the cell phones of a few other people on the boat are also starting to ring. Not we’re getting more concerned.
We finally dock and we run over to the nearest pub to see if they have a television. They do. As we walk in we see the replayof the second plane hitting the tower. We were in utter shock, we couldn’t believe what was happening. We didn’t speak, we didn’t do anything. We just sat there.
The same was true of everyone in the pub. Everyone was quiet, staring at the images on the screen. Eventually, one of the waitresses came over and asked us if she could get us anything. I don’t remember what we said, but at that point, she and others realized we were American’s. The look on her face.
We sat there for quite awhile. I don’t know how long. It’s odd. Some of that day is so clear, but so many other parts are just a blur. The towers crashing down, clear. The sudden feeling of how far away from home I really was, crystal clear.
Eventually we left; back to the campground. On the way we came across a few phone boxes. We decided to try calling home from a land-line. After a few tries we got through. At the time I was not married and had no one special waiting for me. So who do I call… Mom. Mom’s always make things better. This time though, I knew she couldn’t fix this. I talked with her, we re-assured each other we were fine, and regardless of what happened I said I was going to make it home with no problems. I had another week or so to go before I was supposed to head back. With all the chaos, I didn’t know when I would really be able to head back. I knew there was no way I would get out of there any earlier.
We got back in the van and continued on to the campground. How we got there, I don’t know. We were transfixed to the radio. Next thing I know we were there.
As we got out of the van we see the manager of the camp ground walking towards us with a very sad look on his face. He asks us if we have been listening to the news. We tell him we have and we already know what has been happening. This nice man. I wish I could remember his name. He invited us into his office/home so we could continue to watch the coverage on the news. He said we could stay all night if we wanted to and he left a bottle of liquor on the table with some glasses while he attended to business.
We only stayed an hour or so. While we wanted to know everything, we couldn’t stand to stare at the screen any more. We went back to the camper and turned on the radio. We both laid there all night and listed to the news. I don’t think either of us got any sleep.
The next few days were a blur. I don’t really recall what we did. At least at this point we could call home without too much of a problem.
Eventually we wound up at Goodwood which is in Chichester, England for a vintage auto race. I won’t get too much into this event as I notice that my first post is getting rather long. But I will say this. At the opening ceremonies every flag on the site had been replaced by an American flag and the American anthem played over the speakers. That just brought everything to a head.
I’ve made a similar trip to England two times since then, 2005 and just a week ago. Every time I go I can’t help but think about that trip of 2001 and those feelings.
As I think about that day tomorrow, I’ll think about not only the people lost, but the people that survived, those who risked their lives in the aftermath, and the families that are still trying to cope today. There are so many people that have been affected by that day.
I guess every generation has their “Where were you when…” story and this was mine.
So this is my first blog entry. Not quite the rib tickler I thought it would be, but my thoughts none the less. I promise, things will be a lot more light hearted moving forward.
R
