A series of essays….
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FLIGHT PATHS OF THE FOUR PLANES USED ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 |
….as seen through my eyes!
By: Jacqueline E Hughes
The day began, like so many others, with waking-up and getting ready to drive to work. The Florida sun was already raising the outside temperature on this Tuesday, September 11, 2001, and all I could think about was celebrating our wedding anniversary on Saturday. Fortunately, work was something that would fill most of my time until then.
“Good morning, Sandy. What goodies did you bring in for us this morning?”
“Good morning!” her smile radiating throughout the reception hall. “One of your favorites today. Go and see for yourself. They’re back in the break room.”
Walking by several other office spaces that were waiting to be awakened by their daily occupants, I entered my own, flicked on the light, walked around the desk to place my purse in the lower, left-hand drawer before turning on my computer for the day. The tightly wound rolls of house and condominium blueprints were standing upright in boxes along my office wall and reminded me of small children waiting in line for a movie or treats. A portion of my job description at Landstar Homes was to compile all essential paperwork, blueprints and fees, and submit them to local County personnel in order to acquire the legal permits that would move us forward with each structure to be built.
Coffee was an essential part of my morning ritual and Sandy was a gem at having a fresh pot ready before eight o’clock in the break room located just down the hall from my door. She designated Tuesdays to be her ‘made from scratch’ baked treats day and believe me, her talent never went unappreciated.
Grabbing my mug from the dishwasher, I turned to see Chris Johnson, my supervisor, slip through the door at around 7:50 AM, according to the large clock hanging on the wall. “Hi, Jackie,” he said. “Really need my coffee right now. I have a feeling it’s going to be a very long day.”
“Good Morning, Chris. Are we still on for our 10:00 conference call? Go ahead and pour yours. I’ll be right behind you,” I said.
“Yes, 10:00, in the conference room. Oh, I’d better grab one of these before they’re all gone. Sandy outdoes herself every week, doesn’t she?”
Before I could turn to see what they were, I was filling my mug as other co-workers, bleary eyed and zombielike, entered the small room just as Chris was leaving it. ‘Good Mornings’ were exchanged all around as Lisa, our Spanish speaking coordinator and customer service liaison, switched on the small television to catch-up on the news. Pounding the top of it with her closed fist she exclaimed, “This thing is almost a goner. Look at the picture, it’s all fuzzy and green. Well, at least we can hear the news, I suppose.”
Why even have a television in here in the first place, I often thought. Especially one that turns humans into the Hulk walking around in a snowstorm! The break room was too small for it, anyway.
Luckily, through gesturing arms and the aroma of freshly toasted bread, I spied Sandy’s tray with three pieces of blueberry cheesecake bars left on it. Better move fast, I thought. Moments later, I was walking back to my office with my treasures in hand and happy as a child who, finally, received her treat after standing in line for so long.
Consumed by my work, I barely noticed the time slipping away. I had my notes ready for the conference call and didn’t think much about anything else other than my permit packages that needed to be completed and taken over to the County offices later in the afternoon.
Looking at the time on the top of my computer screen, I marveled at how an hour could fly by without even realizing it. That’s when I heard the commotion coming from down the hall. Doors were being flung open, feet were scurrying from all directions down the carpeted hallways, and subtle gasps emanated from the direction of the little break room. I was thinking that someone had just turned-up the volume of that poor, broken, little TV and I should close my door in order to shut out the sound.
Someone shouted, “Everyone get in here! You won’t believe this!” Another voice cried out, “This can’t be real. It has to be a joke or a prank made for TV. But listen, that’s Tom Brokaw speaking, I think!” “Damn this old piece of s—t,” declared someone in earnest.
Terry in Accounting stuck her head in my doorway, saw me still sitting there, and proclaimed, “You’d better come right now and see this for yourself. It’s difficult to make any sense out of it…”
By the time my feet caught up with my thumping heart, it was fairly obvious that our little break room was not meant for occupancy by the entire office staff! I squeezed through in order to see the small screen before deciphering what was being said by Mr. Brokaw and other reporters. I realized that everything and everybody was in a state of chaos as blurry scenes of a jet airliner repeatedly flew into a tall tower of concrete with multiple windows. Even Mr. Brokaw was losing his cool which struck me as even stranger than the looped scene before me.
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Every soul in that little room was in shock and/or disbelief. It took quite some time before many of us could even grasp the concept of what was happening in real time in New York City. The frustration of not being able to see everything clearly on that damn little screen, only compounded matters. So many questions floated among us while watching this scene that, I know, was being viewed all around the world by this time — whether the people were just waking up or had been up for hours.
“What a horrible accident!” and “Oh, those poor, poor people!” Echoed sentiments from inside the room. Like many others, I’m sure, we felt that this was a huge mistake or a mechanical error of some kind. It’s amazing how, only twenty years ago, our innocence, naivety, and thoughts of anyone attacking our precious land literally blinded us from the truth…
…until someone yelled, “Oh, My God,” as a second plane crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. I looked up at the clock. It was 9:03 AM.
By this time, some of us were holding hands and openly crying.
“What the bloody hell is going on?” Pete Gallagher, our development manager, yelled from out in the hall. By the look of shock on our faces, he knew better than to expect a calm answer.
We all huddled together throughout most of the morning; supporting one another and taking turns running back into offices to make phone calls to loved ones and friends and asking, “Do you see what’s happening? Are you okay?” No one asked us to disperse. Nothing was expected of us. Morning conference calls were canceled and eventually rescheduled.
By 9:37 AM, another plane crashes into the western side of The Pentagon. Little did we know that yet another plane had been hijacked over Ohio and was told to turn around and head for Washington D.C. or that the civilians aboard this flight would revolt against the hijackers in an attempt to take back the plane. This plane crashes into a field 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh shortly after 10:00 AM. We did not know at the time that the brave souls aboard that flight who resisted the hijackers and forced them to abort it, may have saved either our Capitol Building or the White House, as well as many thousands of innocent lives due to their heroism.
Were we even hungry for lunch by noontime? No, but we were starving for conversation and being able to express our feelings after one of the most horrific mornings experienced in our lifetime.
Living nearby two major international airports in and around Orlando always offers views of planes taking-off or landing from almost anywhere you stand outside. Loving airplanes as I do, this was a treat for living in such a busy metropolis that is interconnected to every compass point in the world.
By 9:45 AM the United States airspace is shut down and all operating aircraft are ordered to land at the nearest airport.
Walking outside our office building was like entering a vacuum; an apocalyptic nightmare. The sky was void of the silver beauties that usually swept over our heads. It was eerily still and quiet among the fluffy clouds and brilliant blue sky above us. We instinctively knew that the comforting feeling of normalcy was going to be lost for a very, very long time.
Copyright © 2021 by Jacqueline E Hughes
All rights reserved
