that my father passed away unexpectedly. Medical examiner said it was a massive heart attack and nothing could have been done to save him even if we had been standing next to him when it hit. He was in his favourite chair, watching his favourite channel. Sometime in the night he thought that he had heartburn and took two alka seltzer tabs. He was in good health and it was quite the shock.
It was just a few days before our family vacation and the first I would be able to attend in some years. I was really looking forward to it. I managed to get a ride home on American Airlines, literally the last seat that was available on the plane. Flying into Philly, I went through the most security I had ever in my entire life of flying (was flying a lot back then, up and down the east coast).
After the funeral we managed to convince my mother that we should go on the vacation. It was to be a week at the beach and it was non-refundable. The rental house was nice and not overly priced. She agreed and we headed down. Family and friends dropped by to visit. It was fun going swimming and also taking in sights and sounds that I had missed since I moved away. Of course there was a very sad undertone since my father was not there with us.
I still remember the one morning I woke up and turned on the news (for those who have not been able to tell, I am a bit of a news junkie). They had just started to broadcast the pics from the first plane crash into the WTC. At the time they were saying is was a small plane and had no idea how it could have happened. I walked upstairs to join the rest of my family and they asked if I had seen the news. I said that I had and said out loud, "how did he not see the big buildings in front of him?" It was a very sarcastic tone.
We kept getting ready for the beach and kept the news on in the background. I was seated in front of the very large television watching the coverage when the second plane hit. At that point there was absolutely no doubt in any of our minds what was going on. I tried calling contacts I had within the government at that time, only to find no one was available at all. No internet was available where we were at so I could only watch in horror as the news coverage continued. Then the pentagon was struck. A friend of mine lost a coworker there that day, a civilian IT contractor.
We did go down to the beach that day, eventually. There is only so much news coverage one can take in when it concerned the death of so many and in such a violent manner. Schools were being shutdown in New Jersey and friends and family made their way to the beach. The skies were empty except for the F16s and occasional military helicopter that flew by. The lack of planes really became apparent that night when the skies were completely empty and the noise was deafening. Many roads were also shut down that day and there was a feeling of isolation with the many levels of sadness that we were feeling.
I called into work to let my boss know that I might not be back there on Monday. He wanted to know why. I asked if he had been monitoring the news that day. He had but was being a jerk. He told me that everything would be back to normal by the weekend, when I was supposed to fly back to NC. I remember informing him that there were men with machine guns on the road and it was currently quite impossible to journey back down to get to work. Of course by Saturday there were limited flights. I was told to show up at the airport 4 hours early and even then I could be informed that the flight was canceled. I ended up borrowing my father's truck to get back home. I found out later that my flight was canceled at the last minute.
So today is the anniversary of that week for me. It is not an extremely difficult day to face but I will never forget that week and everything that happened.
