On the eve of the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the United States, as President Barack Obama addresses the nation to announce the US strategy intended to defeat and destroy ISIS, I cannot forget that seemingly impossible blue sky on that Tuesday morning 13 years ago tomorrow. It was a beautiful September morning in New York. I remember well how when leaving my apartment in midtown Manhattan to catch the Number One train heading down to the World Trade Center, I noted to myself how amazingly blue the sky was. And, as I exited the subway and walked to 2 WTC, again as I glanced at the sky I could not help but be struck at how blue the sky was. On that morning, I was employed by the largest tenant in that building. A large financial firm. Normally I would not be in that building as my office was located in the firm’s corporate headquarters in midtown, but on that morning I was attending a training class that was being held in the firm’s training center on the 63 floor of the south tower. Sitting in that conference room at 8:30 AM, I could never have imagined the absolute horror that soon would come shooting out of that amazingly blue sky. Nothing could have prepared me for that sudden loud noise I heard and never did I think that frightening sound was from American Airlines Flight 11 crashing into the north tower. Despite others being told to remain where they were, those of us in that conference room were told to immediately evacuate the building upon hearing that bang. And because of that we all got out safely before United Flight 175 hit the south tower. We were lucky, but so many weren’t. So many life’s were lost. So many life’s would be changed forever. The world as we knew it would never be the same again. A blue sky would never be as blue again. And never again would I hear the voices of some I so much long to hear.
onemoreblogforya 