9/11

I always feel like I get over the feelings of 9/11 until the next September rolls around. It was a great loss of my fellow employees, the airline industry, New York City and to the US. I just ask everyone to be a little kinder to each other and reflect on all the blessings in your life today.

It is very hard to talk about what I went thru on 9/11 to anyone that isn't in the industry, but here goes. I was jolted awake by a phone call from a friend who is an early riser. He called to ask my husband where I was. Paul said I was laying right next to him...why? He told him to get up and turn on the TV immediately. We got out of bed, turned on the TV and watched the events unfold. Then the phone calls started non-stop inbound and outbound. I call my best girlfriend, who also flys and told her to come over. She came over in her PJ's and we stayed in PJ's all day and the following day.

We cried and tried to get as much info as possible about who the crews were on our planes. The airline automatically locks the names of crews so that next of kin can be notified. There was at least a dozen very dear friends that I was unable to get a hold of because the cell towers in NY were overloaded or my friends were not in the country. My girlfriend and I started drinking margaritas with a splash of amaretto at about 10am (not my normal routine). To this day we still refer to those drinks as "disaster relief margaritas". We cried and prayed and were glued to the TV for 48 hours. We finally were able to pry ourselves from the TV, take showers and get dressed. My husband made sure we were fed and took care of any & everything else around the house.

I had just returned from JFK late Sept. 10, so I called my Captain of the flight home to thank him for getting me home safely to my family before my world changed. Finally the names were released, but it was no real relief because now the names & faces are forever etched into my memory. I still get chills thinking about how those brave Flight Attendants called operations to give names, seat number & descriptions before they ever had a chance to call their loved ones. The crew members lost their lives to box cutters.

Even though it has been 9 years the feelings are still so fresh and the memories are still so vivid. My job, my life and my outlook on the world has changed forever. However, I still love my job very much and I love that I have the chance to change peoples lives, for the better, each and every day I go to work.

Thank you for reading my blog.
God Bless America and all of our service members.
Sincerely,
Penni P