9/11

This day never loses its punch for me. One story, and I am right back to that day when so many lost their lives in that terrorist attack. Even though I did not know anyone personally who died in the Twin Towers, Pentagon, or Flight 93 crash, I knew many folks who lost friends and family.

I am reminded of a four-day-weekend Bob and I took to Washington, DC one November before we retired. We stayed in the most fabulous Bed & Breakfast in a historic building. This was a place I had read about in Oprah Magazine, and it did not disappoint. Our hosts had converted the building from a warehouse into a veritable art gallery with paintings and artifacts from their travels all over the world. It was a popular place to stay for people in the know, and around the breakfast table were foreign politicians and US public servants.

One couple at the table described being on a White House tour on the morning of 9/11. They were walking through rooms when their tour leader put her hand to her ear to better hear a communication message through her headset. “Ok, folks, we are going to walk a little faster now,” she reportedly told the group. As they turned a corner, she encouraged them to walk faster still. And then suddenly a look crossed her face as she received another message and she shouted, RUN!” The group dashed outside to the White House lawn and they saw a helicopter take off over the building. A plane had just crashed into the Pentagon building and it was assumed that the White House was the next target. A scary time.

Bob and I have spent the last several days traveling across Iowa and Nebraska and today we will be in Golden, CO for four nights. I look forward to a rest from traveling and a chance to visit some of the sights in Golden and Boulder, CO. We have some fun things planned.