Remembering 9/11

There is no doubt 9/11 was a pivotal moment in history, who doesn’t recall where they were and what they thought?  Having spent my first career on Wall Street, a good portion right around Ground Zero working for the American Stock Exchange, I was glued to the TV for days waiting to see or hear a snippet about anyone I knew.

I was there for the first World Trade Center bombing.   I was in the middle of giving a leadership presentation when a large rumble interrupted us.  Upon exiting the building a the strange quiet permeated the walk from downtown to the Holland Tunnel.  I didn’t know where I was going I just moved with droves of people in a zombiesque state walking north.  Our feet moved, but our minds were numb.  Soft snowflakes fell as an indication the world was still moving.

This was nothing like what those experienced on 9/11.  I am thankful I was not there, but my heart was with every person I ever met who was.

Faces of people I hadn’t thought about for years flashed in a continual loop in my head.  People I didn’t even remember the names of emerged from my mind’s database.  I wondered about every one of them.  I cared about every one of them.  I did contact one of my old bosses, who was there and provided the little information he had.  The people I worked with, who were still at the Exchange were okay.  Though a very good work and weekend pilot friend had been initially buried in some debris close to Trinity Church, but he was home now and fine.

My heart is still in Manhattan with the Wall Street crowd and all the people I ever encountered from the trading floors to the offices of brokerage firms throughout the area and especially those in the World Trade Center.  On this day my thoughts and prayers are with every family who endured the pain inflicted on this day 10 years ago.  I will never forget.