I’m sure almost everyone in the US remembers where they were on September 11, 2001. I was working for Kimberly-Clark at the time and had flown to Fargo, ND for a gown trial in an operating room there. I don’t know exactly how many nurses were working for KC at that time but probably six to eight. There were only two of us out that week, myself and my friend Kelly who was in California.
The operating room had stationed me at a table in the hallway with my gowns so I could convince staff and surgeons to try the new product. As I sat there I began to hear snippets of conversation, whispered, scared conversation. No one stopped to tell me what was going on and after a while I became concerned—there was a TV in the staff lounge, I walked to the door just in time to see coverage of the second plane hitting the tower. I didn’t leave the lounge for a long time—gowns were forgotten. I went outside to call Michael—we had no TV so he was getting his info from the internet. I wanted to go home.
In my hotel there were lists at the desk of people going one direction or another and willing to take someone else along. I had a Hertz rental car—it was an independent franchise and the agent said, “I would love to let you take the car to Billings but then I would have to fly there to get it.” He told me the Thrifty counter had two cars just a few minutes before I called. When I called Thrifty they had one car left and were willing to let me drive it to Billings—I gave them my credit card information and drove out to the airport to make the switch seeing the newly installed concrete barriers in front of the airport.
I drove home, 14 hours—when I rolled into the Billings airport I was stunned to tears. Our little airport is small, friendly—parking is literally right out the front door. No more—concrete barriers were in place, armed National Guard soldiers were searching every vehicle which entered the airport driveway and there was no more up front parking. Those rules have relaxed a little—the parking is back but the concrete barriers remain.
Michael received several calls from friends who knowing I traveled extensively wanted to know my whereabouts. We had friends working for Northwest—he a pilot, she a flight attendant. We could not reach them—we later learned they were in Europe and of course could not get back to the US. One of the other KC nurses was on vacation with her husband in Canada—they stayed a few extra days.
Those were very difficult, trying days post September 11—our world was changed forever, our country is still fighting a war as a result of those terrorist attacks. May we never forget the men and women who died on September 11, 2001. May we never take that part of our history for granted.
On the home front, a very cool day (high of about 65 degrees) but so very smoky—UGH!
No mountains again.
Emmi had to see the vet this afternoon for her yearly checkup. She begins to shiver and shake the minute we walk in the door. Our vet insulted her today—“Emmi, your teeth look great but you need an orthodontist!” When Jim started to exam her she crawled up my chest and onto my shoulder trying to get away. Guess she doesn’t like having her temp taken that way!
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