Just to add to my previous post...Do all of you remember how disturbingly quiet it was by mid afternoon on 9/11/01 with no aircraft overhead?...
Distinctly my friend...distinctly
CTSLICK, I just read your blog entry.... I'm sure of anyone you can appreciate the quietness of that afternoon.
Several friends back in Dallas that morning have talked about watching the plane-after-plane landing at DFW as they tried to get all the hardware on the ground then it suddenly was quiet.
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There's one other thing about that day I will never forget...
I realize that during those early hours and days we had no idea of the magnitude and implications of the event. But, even as the day unfolded, my employer (I was in IT consulting) made a strong point about "staying at the wheel," "working through the hardship," and "we have clients who need us."
The events DID have ramifications for IT systems, to be sure, but I can't think of a single thing I was working on that day that couldn't have waited a few hours, until we caught our breath and maybe lit a candle or two.
I promised myself that I would NEVER imagine my job to be so important that it interferes with my ability to empathize with others' tragedy.
__________________ Old Market Researchers never die...they just get broken down by age and sex.
The events DID have ramifications for IT systems, to be sure, but I can't think of a single thing I was working on that day that couldn't have waited a few hours, until we caught our breath and maybe lit a candle or two.
I promised myself that I would NEVER imagine my job to be so important that it interferes with my ability to empathize with others' tragedy.
Depends...communications would need to be of utmost importance. Finality/ knowing is always better than imagining the worst. Maybe their cell is off and they didn't go to work today... What if?
I do not think the problem was empathizing, it was trying to get through the day without letting everything go to heck...Grief over this was overwhelming to even the most distant corners of the world. Perhaps your employer meant well...by giving you something to do...it perhaps prevented you from dwelling on an event you had no direct influence over. Being a lowly retail sector guy, I can't think of any way that my job had even the slightest connection to the tragedy. I can also remember anger/ frustration at not being able to help...watching helplessly as video after video showed innocents suffering. A tsunami/hurricane/? is an act of the Cosmos, you can simply endure and then rebuild as able.
This was man-made and preventable. That anger/frustration needed a channel. For me, I think I needed the familiar routines of work/ family to center myself.
I was a 4th yr medical student in OKC, 1 mi away from the Murrah Building when it was bombed. I was an Ob/Gyn resident on Long Island when TWA flight 800 went down. I was in the Navy, stationed in DC when the Pentagon was attacked. I also got to experience the DC sniper, and the anthrax scare. (currently living in DFW metroplex, in case you want to move... :wink: )
However, I'm not scared. The terrorists, home and abroad, want all of us to be frightened. No, my friends, it should create resolve in us. Resolve in us to stand up for who we are and the freedoms we enjoy. I am hopping a flight tonight, and will do so comfortably. (of course, the DFW to Houston is probably not a high profile flight....)
...Perhaps your employer meant well...by giving you something to do...
That's a valid point. However, I think the better thing to do would have been to provide empathetic words of support, a pledge of ongoing sensitivity to the effects of such a life-changing event and the recognition that some of us might be deeply affected. At that time, nearly all of the 400 people that boss was addressing worked from home offices, so it bothered me that the firm trusted us enough to work remotely, yet didn't trust us enough to decide for ourselves whether or not we needed a couple of hours to absorb it all.
Anyway, enough of my rant. I think this just helps to point out that this was a very personal event and each and every individual had -- and needs -- his own, unique way of dealing with it. Myself, I remember moving through all the classic emotions -- shock, denial, fear, hurt, anger, etc. -- within a very, very short period of time.
Thanks -- to you, Cybrid, and everybody else -- for sharing your own thoughts and feelings.
__________________ Old Market Researchers never die...they just get broken down by age and sex.
Wow. Thanks for your comments. I've not lived in OK, but I have dozens of family members in and near OKC.
And now, if I might use a bit of levity to deflect some of the seriousness of this discussion...
MWFIELDER, you've really been close to a lot of horrible events. I don't believe in luck (good, bad or otherwise), but remind me to never travel with you or live near you!
__________________ Old Market Researchers never die...they just get broken down by age and sex.
Just to add to my previous post... Do all of you remember how disturbingly quiet it was by mid afternoon on 9/11/01 with no aircraft overhead?
That's another thing I never will forget.
Being a Campus Police Officer/EMT at the time my partner and I were down there immediately. The lack of planes in the air bothered us more and made us wonder what else could happen. It was rather un-nerving if you thought about it to much.
The nicest thing I remember was all the people on the West Side Hwy lined up each day cheering with signs stating "Thank You" to all Emergency Response Agencys and personnel that drove by.
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Making use of mobile tech like no other.
I spent the whole day today attending various 9/11 events including the physically and emotionally draining ceremony at the World Trade Center site.
5 years ago today I was at work at my desk on the 49th floor of the North Tower. When the plane struck the tower at 8:46 am I had just been discussing an Internet access problem at the trading floor with a co-worker. My initial thought was that Manhattan had just been struck by a massive earthquake. The building trembled hard and I felt the foundations of the building move just as if an earthquake was taking place. The subsequent swaying of the tower continued to lead me to think it was an earthquake. However, when I heard the explosion above my thoughts turned immediately to a bomb.
After the swaying of the building stopped I got up from my desk and headed quickly towards the nearest emergency stairwell. I found out that a plane had hit the tower only by someone in the stairwell who received the news on his pager. For various reasons, it took me about an hour to finally get out on the streets. From there I went two blocks east of the towers and stopped a bit to rest. Somewhere between 5 to 10 minutes later, the South Tower collapsed forcing me to flee once again. This time against a rapidly advancing cloud of dust and debris.
Needless to say, my life changed dramatically that day. I am no longer working in IT. That type of work had no meaning for me anymore even though I admit I still love computers and gadgets (especially the pocket pc). I am currently enrolled in a Masters degree program in Emergency and Disaster Management.
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