Month: September 2019

Today is 9/11/19. I am writing this on a plane as I take a flight for work. Yes, I’m still traveling. And, yes, I wore a mask on the plane. One person took the risk of the aisle seat on my SW flight and they were rewarded with no one wanting to sit next to the creepy chick wearing a black face mask in the window seat.

I’m hoping that just the fact I’m on a plane on 9/11 doesn’t cause too much anxiety. I find it’s the safest day to fly, really, and I have to work tomorrow. We can’t let the past shape our future or how we live our lives by avoiding ‘what if’ things. We need to remember, learn, and live. Nothing is more powerful. If we stop living, then they’ve accomplished what they wanted to do on that terrible day 18 years ago.

18 years. Kids who were not even born yet will be graduating high school this year. For those of us who lived through it, we all remember where we were. I was in the band office at The University of Iowa when I found out. While it was actually happening I was in quintet rehearsal. I found out after. I kept going to class that day. Our music history professor pretended nothing was wrong and we learned about ancient music. My American politics professor excused us shortly after class began. I think he was struggling. Makes sense. Another class I had, I can’t remember the name of it, but it was political science as well, we just had small group classes with our teaching assistants (TAs). No lecture that day. But in that class, we talked about the timing.

The first plane hit. The first responders got there and started working. The news crews got there and started filming. Then the second plane hit. 17 minutes later, allowing the world to see. And then the Pentagon was hit 34 minutes after that. This was no accident. This was planned to perfection. Flight 93 bucked the trend, going down in Pennsylvania. Ruining the last bit of the plan. Thank you to the brave people on board. If they’d had more time, they could have landed that plane safely. I learned this while listening to the coroner who identified all the passengers on the plane talk about the work they did. There was a pilot on board. There were medical professionals. They just needed more time. That breaks my heart.

The coroner was very interesting and proud of the work they’d done. With many of the people on the flight, there was not much left to identify. But they did it. Every last ticketed passenger on the flight was identified. The same day I was listening to the coroner at the Pennsylvania Court Reporters Convention in Seven Springs, Pennsylvania, I also got to listen to someone who was working in the Pittsburgh Air Traffic Control Center on 9/11. It was the highest point between Flights 93’s point of origin Newark, New Jersey – final destination was supposed to be San Francisco, California -- before it was turned around and headed toward Washington, DC, the presumed target of the plane. They had to land all the planes and then get out. That was a very interesting convention, to say the least.

The first time I went to New York City (NYC) was in March of 2001. The Twin Towers still stood, and we were there for the men’s NCAA basketball tournament. By ‘we’ I mean the University of Iowa Pep Band. Go Hawks! We had won our first game and moved on to the Sweet Sixteen, so while the basketball team had to do the practicing stuff and things, we had a free day. We went into the city from our hotel. It was that or the strip club down the street. We went and saw things. Went to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. I need to find the pictures I took. This was pre-digital, so they’re in my closet I’m sure. The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were very impressive. They stood so tall over the city.

Then 9/11 happened. The world changed. I decided to go study abroad in Wales. That’s in the United Kingdom. My parents – especially my mom – were not that excited about it, but I’ve got an independent streak. I flew to Wales in January 2002. Flying had changed. I got wanded on my way through security. That was different. The first bit of time I was there, everyone was very upset by what had happened to us. By the time I left there were peaceful protests in the streets of London since we had decided to take military action in the Middle East. Iraq. Afghanistan. I had studied this area of the world while I was at The University of Swansea, Wales, and my professor from this class was from Iran. I did not agree with the military action taken. Not because of beliefs or anything, but because of my political science education. I can’t change the past. I just wish that so many innocent people didn’t have to die. That’s what war does, though.

The next few times I went to NYC was for work. My most recent trip was in March of 2018. I finally had some free time and took myself to the 9/11 Memorial. It’s very humbling. It’s huge, yet feels intimate. I didn’t have time to go the museum, and I don’t think I’m ready yet. Maybe someday. I went to the top of One World Trade. I didn’t stay long. I don’t think I can ever work in a tall building, the building swaying in the wind does not agree with me, but if you would like unrivaled views of NYC, that’s the place to go.

I never have officially used the education in political science that I received. I do use it quite a lot in day-to-day life since so much of life is just politics. Although, admittedly, I play the game my own way. I’m not one to really follow any rules that are not 100% based in fact.