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flying on 9-11
Flying on 9-11
I got up early the morning of 9-11-2006 and took the shuttle to the Phoenix airport. I am not one who worries much but I was curious as to how flying on the 5th anniversary of the NY disaster of the planes being crashed into the World Trade Center would be.
The airport was absolutely quiet, almost like people were observing the anniversary with reverence. One place that wasn't quiet was the Tequila Bar and Grill restaurant which serves breakfast at the Phoenix airport. There were quite a few people there and believe it or not most were drinking tequila for breakfast. I decided it mighit not be a bad idea myself so I had a tequila sunrise; orange juice with tequila and some grenadine syrup. Along with my eggs and sausage I was now prepared to get on the flight.
The flight to Washington DC was completely full. I had thought maybe people might not fly but we all probably had reasons we had to fly. As we flew the path to Washington that some unfortunate fellow travelers flew with terrorists in control of the plane I tried to imagine the terror they must have felt as they realized that something was amiss. From up in the air, the world is a gentle and peaceful place with large soft clouds seemingly hanging in the sky. I always imagine that you could sit on them but realize they are just clouds of water.
We landed in Washington 4 hours 5 minutes later and slowly people got off the plane and went on their daily routines. We live in a safe and orderly country that rebounds from disasters. I was way back in the end of the plane and noticed there were 4 middle aged men behind me with fanny packs around their waists. I had sat in front of the 4 air marshalls on the airplane who were there to protect our plane. I was glad to see them and even unseen one can safely assume that we are safe in the US when we fly.
Our country is a safe one. Terrorists didn't bring us to our knees and they won't. The American way will prevail.
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