9/11 Remembrance

8 years ago today I was in the shower when Jamie peaked in and said she saw on the news that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center buildings. 10 minutes later I was standing in a towel in the living room watching CNN and saw the second plane crash live and I will never forget the sinking feeling I had because I knew we were under attack by someone and I could not imagine how many people were in those buildings or what else that day would have in store for the country. We rushed into the office (our old warehouse building were there was no TV) and sat and listened to the radio for over an hour while the pentagon got hit, and then later came the announcement that the first WTC building had collapsed.

I got all our employees together and told them that we would not be filling any tickets that day, and that everyone needed to go home and make sure their friends and family were OK. We turned off the lights and locked up, and on our way home they announced on the radio that the second WTC building had collapsed, and that another plane had crashed in Pennsylvania. When we got home, we made a few calls to relatives and friends, and just hunkered down and watched the news for the rest of the day. It was one of the saddest days of my life.

So today we remember. God bless you all.

Army Major Tom Hanson pays respect to his friend Captain Cliff Patterson, Jr.,
who was killed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the Pentagon.