On September 11th, 2001

The facts of my life on September 11, 2001 had me a few degrees closer to the event than most watching it around the world.  I was flying on 9/11.  I was flying at 7:55am.  I was flying on American.  I was flying on American from Boston, to New York.  I was in the American terminal with the hijackers, I suppose.  But because the gates were all so busy, hot and crowded, I walked to the Continental terminal and took the puddle jumper to White Plains.  We were the last plane to land in the NYC region before all aircraft were ordered out of the sky.  Soon I was driving to a meeting across the broad, bright Tappen Zee bridge.  Downriver to the south I could see the churning plumes of smoke rising from the Trade Center towers.  I saved my boarding pass from that morning, laminated it and carry it always in my wallet.