Strategy Session

Do you remember? Do you remember where you were on September 11, 2001 when the first plane hit the World Trade Tower?

I do, and I bet you, do, too. I live in downtown Boston, and I was working at home that day. I was on the phone, and the person on the other end suddenly blurted out that there was an accident in New York and a plane hit one of the Towers at the World Trade Center. I remember we thought maybe it was an accident, but then of course we all know what unfolded.

Here we are six years later. Yesterday I didn’t think too much about today, but when I was driving to the office in a suburb of Boston this morning and listened to the news on the radio it was hard to forget. All those memories of where I was, what I felt that day all came rushing back.

I recall that it was a glorious crystal clear day in Boston (unlike today, which is overcast and gloomy). When I couldn’t watch the TV anymore about the attacks because of my anxiety and restlessness, I decided to go for a run along the Charles River. I couldn’t believe how quiet it was and then I realized it was because all planes were grounded. I was accustomed to seeing and hearing planes taking off and landing at nearby Logan International Airport. The silence was eerie. But every now and then I’d hear the roar of a fighter jet. The sound was scary and comforting to me at the same time.

Do you know someone who died in the terrorist attacks? I do, and I bet some of you do, too. My friend in Boston saw the attack unfolding on television, and called her husband who was on a business trip to tell him about it. He answered his mobile, and what she didn’t realize at the time was that he was at a breakfast meeting at Windows on the World. She taped the news coverage, thinking that it would be something they could watch together when he returned to Boston. Of course, he died in the attack. 

Thanks for indulging me; I know this is off topic for us. The thing is I don’t want to forget that day as painful as it was for all of us. The fact that two of those planes took off from Boston and so many people who died were from the Boston area makes me feel very connected to what happened on 9/11.

I won’t forget. I hope you don’t forget either.

Where were you?