My September 11th, 2001

Tuesday, September 11th, 2001 started like any other ordinary day for me.

While on my short commute to the office (8am CT), I briefly heard on the radio that a plane had hit the World Trade Center (no detail). Once in the office, I prepped and dialed into a conference call to activate a new PRI and Internet circuit for a new customer that had been rescheduled twice prior (8:30am CT); myself, my support manager, our end-user customer and our provider were all on the call. Without a television in my office (at the time), I wasn't able to see what both my customer (Les) and support manager (Darren) we're seeing unfold on television from NYC and told me "Adam, something is going on in NYC and we have to end this call." I remember telling them both, that "this was the third reschedule of this activation and it needed to be done". Then my customer (Les S.) told me, "Adam, this is serious, go watch a television" and then hung up from the call, approximately 8:40am CT.

I walk outside my office and then open the door to the hallway down the second floor. Six feet from my office door was the door to the Houston office of Cantor Fitzgerald, where over 50 television screens were tuned to CNBC and MSNBC showing the planes flying into the World Trade Center buildings, first, then second. Their executive team, in Houston, visiting from New York were wondering up and down the hallway with pale white faces on trying to contact people in NYC to no avail.

After listening to the news and learning of the scale of the attacks, which included NYC, Washington D.C. and others unknown; I called my friend (Rick D.) on his cell phone who was in Washington, D.C. at the time for a Channel Partners tradeshow and asked him if he and his contingent were OK. After hearing that they were OK, at their hotel, I heard the loud sound of an airplane flying over their hotel, which to learn shortly thereafter, hit the Pentagon.

Before leaving the office to go home to decompress from the buildup of unpleasant emotions, I called two of my life-long friends with active-duty (U.S. Army) military family members based at Fort Hood in Texas. While on the phone with the first (who was giving me a rather frantic 411), the second called in. While putting the first on hold, the second call opened with a silent background, then a calming, non-frantic voice, I knew all to well. "Adam, We're here, this 'is' what we 'train' for, and we'll take care of it. We know your mad, everyone is and should be. Go back to your day job and support what we do." "I will and I do, God speed."

It was reassuring to hear, what I new to be true. In that, whoever hit us that day (UBL) would pay dearly, which he/they ultimately did. Watching the world change to adapt to needs of better security was fully evident on Thursday, October 11th when I landed in San Francisco, CA for a trade-show (with approximately other 15 passengers) and deplaned to the site of US Army National Guard walking around in teams of three with their M-16's ready to go. Not to strangely (for me), I felt safer and more comfortable now than before. To this day (in 2021), the Houston police patrol the airports with long-guns (M-16's+) ready to go, which makes me feel safer in that 'when' something happens that requires such a response is at hand, we won't be defenseless or complacent.

It is difficult to comprehend the level of hatred involved in planning and executing the 9-11 attacks, but it exists to this day and beyond. I hope that through this time and commemorating this day (9-11) that people across the globe can see that such hatred has no place in modern society and is based placed in distant history.

To the heroes of 9-11, including all first responders; Medical, EMS, FD-NY Fire-Fighters, NYPD Law enforcement, Port Authority, it is through your efforts and example that our countries 'remains' what is always has been, 'Great'.