I remember my mom calling me, and turning on the tv just in time to see the second plane coming in and hitting the second tower. It was all so unreal that the tv announcer said something like, is there something in those towers attracting those planes? Even though I had the tv on to see the second plane strike, it took a few minutes for my brain to process that 2 planes had hit the buildings, not just 1.
I was booked on United Flight 93 on 9/11, 2001, flying nonstop from Newark NJ to San Francisco CA. Around midnight the night before, a coworker called me urging me to change my flight to fly into San Jose instead. This meant I had move to a flight that boarded 20 minutes later (from the same gate) with a stopover in Denver. I was very reluctant to do it but I did.
When I got to the airport, I watched people boarding flight 93 and I was upset that I was not leaving earlier, in my 1st class seat on a direct flight. I didnโt notice or care about the people as they were boarding, only myself.
When I finally boarded my plane, we were 7 planes behind flight 93. When we were 3 planes away from we taking off, the pilot told us to look out the right side of the plane because it appeared the Twin Towers had been hit by a plane. I thought it might have been a small Cessna until I saw the second plane strike the other tower. We were grounded just before taking off.
I changed that day. I now take every opportunity I have to watch and if possible, get to know the people Iโm boarding a plane with. I never hesitate to give up my seat for a later flight if requested. Iโve had two children since 9/11 and went to multiple mission trips to war torn countries. Every day I wake up breathing is another gift from God.
Never forget ๐บ๐ธ๐บ๐ธ๐บ๐ธ