Sunday, September 11, 2011

That Day

My career was in flux. I was closing my law practice on Revere Beach Parkway in Everett and leaning toward a real estate business full time. I thought this was the most important thing there could be and, in retrospect, was extremely self-absorbed.

I was walking out of the Gold's Gym across from my office and saw people staring at the TV's. A plane had hit a building. I had headphones on so I couldn't hear the commentary. I saw a replay, but noticed the building was already on fire? That didn't make sense. I took off my headphones and was told it wasn't a replay, it was a second plane hitting the World Trade Center in New York. I said, "Oh shit." I left and headed for Seabrook, New Hampshire where I was starting a new real estate endeavor. I was listening to Howard Stern which was riveting as they were there and giving a front-line, second-by-second report.

I called my wife, who was working in a high-rise in Boston and told her to get out immediately as it wasn't safe. She said she would not leave until everyone else was leaving. I told her that would happen within the hour. We hung up. She called me back 5 minutes later and told me that they were being evacuated and she was concerned for me.

In the interim, I was hearing the second tower was coming down (Tower 1 had already collapsed), there had been an explosion at the Pentagon, and more planes were unaccounted for. Howard Stern was yelling that we knew it was Bin Laden and that we should flatten most of the Middle East (I'm paraphrasing). Some New Yorkers were already heading down to volunteer, while others were walking over the bridges, briefcases in hand, covered in ash.

As Flight 93 was going down due to the bravery of its passengers, the Pentagon was in flames, firemen and volunteers were running toward the carnage in New York, and my phone rang. My wife now was leaving Boston on foot and wanted to know I was in a safe place. I told her I was on Route 286 in Seabrook and that I was as safe as I could be. I hung up, looked to my left, and was staring at the nuclear power plant less than a mile away. I stopped my truck in the middle of the road. I thought about where was safe and realized safety had become a fiction. I went to my destination and carried on with my life.

Ten years later, the question remains...where is safe? This is my answer.

The United States remains the greatest, strongest, most philanthropic - and yes, safest - country in the world. Where are we safe? Where we see our military, police, firemen and generally brave brothers and sisters such as those on Flight 93. Where are the terrorists not safe? Where they don't see our special forces and government operatives.

As Ronald Reagan said in his farewell address, "God bless you, and God bless the United States of America."