My September 11, 2001 Recollections

The morning of September 11, I got to my job in Newark, New Jersey at 6:00 a.m. as I always did. After turning on the office lights, I prepared the sign-in book for all employees and visitors to use. When I turned the page, I wrote 9/11/2001 and as I wrote it, I thought to myself...911 Emergency and sort of chuckled.
As people came into the building, I was busy at my desk and said my quick good mornings as they scurried past my desk. About 9:00 a.m. a friend strolled by my desk to tell me that he just heard on the radio that a helicopter crashed into the World Trade Center. We both thought that only an idiot could run into a building like that, especially with a helicopter. It seemed like moments later that he clarified the story and told me about another plane that crashed into the second tower. Immediately, a sense of terror rushed through my body. We pulled out the television set I had stored in my office for the World Series and NCAA March Madness lunchtime viewing.
As we watched the towers fall, I was near a complete breakdown, as my brother-in-law is a first responder for the Port Authority and I have several friends who work there and a son-in-law who worked around the block. The state of my frame of mind was despair as my boss sent me home because it was no use staying there.
As I drove home south into the most gorgeous sunshiny day, in my rear view mirror the sky was black. Phones were useless and after calling everyone I could, I finally got through to my son's home in Maryland. I told my daughter-in-law to put the television on immediately.
As I write this article my heart is racing and living in the shadow of the skyline I remember so well, I still pray for the souls of friends I lost that day and rejoice in the gladness that some friends and all my family members there that day survived. My flying days are over and every year I watch the memorial service listening for the names of my friends and cry just like it was yesterday. As a child, I watched them erect those massive towers and in an instant they were destroyed by insanity disguised as religion.