September 11, 2001
8:46 am - American Airlines flight 11 - WTC North Tower (1 WTC)
9:03 am - United Airlines Flight 77 - WTC South Tower (2 WTC)
9:37 am - American Airlines Flight 77 - Pentagon
10:03 am - United Airlines Flight 93 - Shanksville, Pennsylvania
September 11, 2001. Where were you?
Where was TB?
He was on his way to work listening to his usual Metroplex talk radio host. It was a little slow, or his mood was a little different, so he popped a cassette into the car radio. He must have pushed it in about the time the first tower was struck. He finished his drive to work, walked in, and everyone looked stunned. "Hi guys. What's up?"
It was eerie. It was the data center for the second largest wholesaler in America. At that time they controlled 28 divisions. Usually there were 6+ tape handlers bustling around loading data tapes into hungry auto-loaders. Continuous clicks everywhere, with people glancing at the displays and running for the next data cartridge. All of the divisions data needs, stores updating inventory, vendors processing, invoices invoicing, forklift drivers being instructed where to load items, etc. But...it was slow now. Just the occasional, single 'click'. No rush to load it. In fact, there were flashing lights all over the floor with drives requesting their next gulp of information.
Looking around the operations room, they had the video conference television rolled into the computer operations room. He soon learned 'what was up'. Staring through the snowy image on the television that wasn't set up for broadcast signals, he saw the burning towers. Everyone was just stunned. Silently staring. Dwight, one of the operations supervisors, decided to go across the street to Circuit City to see if he could get some of the old 'rabbit ears'. Successful, he plugged them in and the horrifying images cleared. Silence. Very few words were spoken that day. Eventually TB slid back toward his cubicle. Three desks in a big L shape and filled with file cabinets. He doesn't recall doing anything that day. He just kind of pushed his mouse around, glancing at his monitor. He slid a file drawer open a few times, but never pulled anything out.
It seemed that the $100 million dollar data center was just...'there'. People on the docks at the divisions from Florida to Hawaii weren't waiting for their instruction to direct products for shipping. Like everyone else in the country, those people were just...there. Staring at the images on television, or just staring blankly into space. Products didn't move. People barely moved.
Eventually he left. Did he leave early? He doesn't remember. The day was a fog.
As he pulled up to his apartment, he listened. Nothing. Nothing? There was never 'nothing', especially if you live under the flight path of the D/FW airport. But...silence. He shuddered...it was like the horror was just beginning.
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Please use this page for your thoughts and feelings about 9/11. This isn't for political discussions. Continue to keep those going in the regular Wednesday page, and in the Thursday page when it posts this afternoon. This page is to remember. We must keep it the memory alive. It's something that, for a while, brought everyone together in the way that Americans are SUPPOSE TO work together.
Never forget...
Reborn - A New Light
