Catman,

I was so worried about my friends and relatives, I didn't know whether I was coming or going.
While I'm not in the 1st ring(no members of my family or friends died or are missing), this New Yorker has 47 names on the list from the 2nd and 3rd ring. And that's getting a little too close for comfort.
I won't post some of the heartbreaking stories. The terrorists, while they didn't kill all of us, certainly broke our hearts on Tuesday September 11, 2001.

Dan

Yet another postscript to this epic...

Honoring Two of New York's Bravest

After another few rounds at work, I was in the need of chicken wings and a beer. So I found it on West 23rd Street, an Irish Pub called Limmerick's Cafe (Think that's the name.) The place was deserted except for a lady bartender from Ireland with a laryngitis touched grog (accent.)

Then two of New YOrk's Bravest came in. They just finished over 30 hours at the WTC site and were ORDERED by their commander to go earn double snoring miles. I smelled the dust and dirt off their clothes but Tom (who was shockingly Geo1004's twin) and Kevin his supervisor were in good spirits.

They wanted beer and I told the bartender to put it on my card and give them whatever they want to eat. I said it was to thank them for saving so many lives. TOm and Kevin said it was just their job.

They kept declining my offer to buy but eventually gave in. Kevin insisted on buying me a whiskey (I passed) but he talked me into a Murphys (like a Guiness.) It was pretty good.

We started talking of the WTC disaster and told of our experiences teh day off. Then to despirately get off the WTC thing we talked of Ireland and Long Island and they asked about what I do at New York 1 and, being guys, of the girls we loved before.

The boys were on teh verge of going off to dream land at the bar so they called it a day. I gave them my business card and said we should do Sparks or Ruth's Chris sometime to just go out and LIVE. They said they were stunned at everyone's generousity.

MY HERO

HOLLY was planning to come to New York to see Claire this weekend. THose plans fell through but HOlly decided to come up anyway. Partly to show she was not afraid. and partly as she told me later because she was worried about me.

We did talk of WTC but decided to spend the day LIVING, doign the things we always loved to do: shopping, Book store browsing, wandering around NYC, and to tp it all off, going to the Blue Water Grill for our favorite seafood delacaies (and a bottle
of Estancia, one fo HOlly's favorite wines.)

The visit was too short, but I will never forget it or what HOLLY did.

It was so good just to see someone who was NOT someone I worked with at NY1. Or see the images of the disaster or be reminded of it.

She would say "whatever" but HOLLY is my HERO!

TOO Close to HOME!

I get this e-mail from our own RICH G:

"I just saw a story on Ch. 2 to the effect that the FBI had searched an apartment in Jersey City in connection with the two suspected terrorists detained off the Amtrak train in Texas. One of the shots in the v-o story showed the intersection of Tonnele Ave. & Van Reypen Street."

That intersection is the corner where MY apartment sits. The apartment where the arrests occurred is 5 doors down.

That's WAY TOO CLOSE!

I first learned of this about an hour into my sleeping time when Agnes called to say me up an hour into my sleep to tell me about it.

Could not sleep since.

It makes the cabin in South Dakota even more attractive.

Catman,

Sounds like your weekend has been a bit better than your week. You may be interested to know that a gentleman named Peter Landis from NY1 (identified as "News Director") was briefly interviewed on one of the major French network evening newscasts tonight - TF1 (Channel 1). Spoke about the the incredible amount of work involved in the continuing coverage of the WTC.

Take care.

Great to read your reports Mark, and thank you and the staff at all the networks and news organizations that kept up so informed of this truely tragic time in our history.

Mark,

We will be drinking many brews to dull the pain in a few days. I will even buy you a real Canadian beer, eh?

Dave

Five doors down? Oh...my...God!

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's been thinking about you a lot these past few days, Catman. Thanks for buying the drinks for the firemen. I know there are a lot of us who wish we were there so we could have done the same.

[b] Found some wandering notes so I thought I should add them on to this story.

And I am doing better now but I still can't look at the NYC skyline. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

Telepathic Cats

A few days after “the tragedies” (as I will now refer to them) Agnes told me around 8:30 in the morning Yaz got up on top of the television set and let out their repeated death howl (as she called it) It was loud and scary. Around the same time, Eddie started running around the house and then stopping and rolling on the floor and doing it for like a half hour, on and off. Yaz howled for about an hour. Could it be the cats sensed the tragedies were about to unfold?

They did sense I was hurting so both of them put off their catfights over who would sleep in my bed, and stayed with me for several days. I could not sleep that well anyway.

Dated Material

While I was riding the PATH train to the Flyertalk dinner Thursday night, I went through my mail and found two things that are now “dated material” and left me with a haunting memory:

*An Oppenheimer News letter with a picture of the New York City skyline with the Twin towers in it.
*A J Crew catalog with a message saying something like “to check out the latest styles visit our store on the World Trade Center Concourse.

Very haunting. And as I looked at it I wished it were not dated.

Therapeutic Dinner

I was glad that I could have old friends and new friends come to Cite for dinner, Cite where I had one of the happiest nights of my life.

What we ate is probably irrelevant. But the talk covered everything, not so much on the tragedies but more on everything from keeping Rudy Giuliani mayor to why this will NOT stop our travel to our security experiences in the new era to what the airlines might do (bonus wise) to get us to fly again (Everyone at the table was flying again or had flights set) to Flyertalk CLASSIFIED gossip! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif)

For me to just ESCAPE for a few hours and have a fun dinner was the best medicine. It also made me think on how LIVE CHAT has helped some flyers express their frustrations and concerns and fears and emotions.

Thanks to Rich G who first proposed a gathering of Yawkers for a recovery from WTC dinner, Larry U for suggesting we get together and Trans World One for doing a local stopover… Larry U’s purser for letting us say thanks for all the “flight Angels” (my new name for Flight attendants) yummyham for coming to her first (of many I hope) dinner and 2 Many Miles for joining us and Dhammer for adding his own touch to gatherings as he only can.

Talking is the best medicine. And writing about it too.

The “New” Newark Airport

I made it an effort to make it to EWR two hours early because of the government saying lines would be long and bags searched. I was taking my rollaway bag and my computer bag with my trusty MAC. Decided ahead of time to check the rollaway so I didn’t have problems. With its size or with security.

Here’s how my “longer than usual” check in took:

*Ticketing: about 5 minutes including security questions of “did you pack your bag yourself” and “do you have electronic gear.” I showed them the big adapter I put in my rollaway and she said it was ok.
*Going thru x-ray to the Red Carpet Club: 15 sec.

A Middle-Aged G-I Joe

Right before I was to go into the Red Carpet Club this fat guy in fatigues with a mustache stands in my path and says, “I need to ask you a few questions.” So he asked where I was born (Jersey City) and then asked, “Are you a U.S. Citizen” (duh) and then asked to see Identification. Presented my Passport and then GI Joe flips through it and says “I see you have been to Hong Kong, India, Nepal” and then asks if I travel a lot and why. I told him “to escape” he thanked me for my patience and let me go in the RCC.

Listening is the Best

My good bartender friend Maria was there as usual and she told me of EWR being shut down and then her working like 7 hours for all of last week. She said a lot of people were coming in depressed and confused and needing someone to talk to. Maria said she did the best she could to listen and offer support while trying to deal with her own shock and depression over the tragedies.

It still was hitting me hard and Maria told me there were Red Cross people going around the airport to listen and offer comfort. John with the gray beard and kind face came in for some water and I went over to thank him and the Red Cross for their work in helping people deal with this tragedy. He asked how I was dealing with it and I said it was really tough.

So John and I went outside and spent the next 15 minutes of me talking of my physical and emotional exhaustion from this story and from work, my shock, and my disbelief over what happened. I also said I broke down earlier when I saw the Towers gone.

John was very very understanding, like a good psychiatrist or religious leader or good friend: listening and offering comfort and great advice. He said it’s ok to feel emotion over this, to grieve and be angry and just express my emotions. He said the trip I was taking was probably very good just to get away and focus on LIVING.

My flight was near and we had to cut our talk short but John and Maria also helped in my healing process, and I’ll be thankful to them.

Life Now Must Go On

A bit off-topic, but it reminded me of something. I happened to give a speech in Karachi, Pakistan a few years ago. In order to get there, you need a visa, which takes up a full page in my passport (you can't miss it). I certainly have been asked about it before a few times but now I am wondering if that is going to "haunt" me for a while. Coincidentally, I have an ORD-CDG trip this Thursday, so I will see how ORD and CDG security will react to it.