I Haven't Forgotten

I can't believe it has been 10 years. 10 years sounds like forever, and it has been, but at the same time it doesn't really feel like forever. Do you know what I mean? I was reading facebook and some people I've worked with were still in high school when it happened. Crazy. No one will forget where they were that day when they heard the news.

I lived in Tempe, AZ and I was getting ready to head to work when I watched it all unfold. Mako was by side. I worked at America West Airlines at the time. Working in the airline industry on Sept 11th and the following months lended itself to its own version of those historical events. I headed to work soon after the horrific events because as you know the airlines were heavily involved and I was pretty sure they wanted all hands on deck. Planes were still being accounted for and grounded. Everyone was at work trying to do their best to help out in any way possible. I worked at the corporate headquarters and so tasks on my floor were things like press releases, airline partnerships, corporate clients, scheduling, communications, passenger manifests, etc. everyone was pitching using whatever skills they had to ease the chaos. At the same time everyone was trying to understand what was happening and trying to emotionally deal with what it all meant. Just a somber somber day.

For months (years really since profit margins are so slim in the airline industry) the airlines struggled to regain some sort of stability. The travel industry incurred lots of setbacks. Layoffs occurred and occurred again. Really great employees were let go and tough decisions were being made. I was all the way in AZ and it felt like a world away from the twin towers, the pentagon and PA, but lives were being effected everywhere.

Having said that, it pales in comparison to the way lives were changed in NY, DC and PA. What people went through and experienced is unimaginable. Those pictures and visual accounts will never escape our memory. The amount of gratitude you felt for the everyday heroes would be hard to match EVER, seriously EVER. I remember feeling so proud of what people really will do when given the opportunity. People reached in to their souls and pulled out great unselfishness during this tragedy. Human vulnerability was on display and everyone pitched in to heal.

Now, I'd be remiss (because it is just who I am) to not give credit to the 4 legged friends that also did their best. There were hundreds of search and rescue dogs and therapy dogs on scene. Most of these heroes have passed on now, but lots of great stories are retold of their bravery as well. Dogs are trained to find survivors and know and feel when they are failing - the dog handlers had to console these heroes too.

Let's not forget