MEK
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 8, 2005
Well, I'm not gonna lie. I originally had a little hesitation about flying on 9-11. I'm not really superstitious, but the enormity of that day makes it very difficult not to think about flying. I originally booked my flight for 9/12. When I looked at the 9/11 flights they were the same price and there were ONLY 4 flights on SWA from Philly to Orlando. I guess that proves that a lot of people don't want to fly on 9/11. Ultimately the 9/11 flight prices dropped and I rebooked to save $50 and to get an extra Disney night!
I will always remember where I was on 9/11. I remember the patients' rooms I was in when the first tower fell and when the second tower fell. I remember a patient coming out of his room to announce that a second plane hit. It was pretty difficult to concentrate on work when the enormity of the situation became apparent. Reading about 9/11 and seeing documentaries always produces a visceral response in me. I am fascinated by the events of that day. Its so hard to conceive of all the tiny moments the make up the time from the departure of the first flight to the fall of the twin towers. So many things went wrong that day. Not just the terrorist attack that rocked the nation, but the inadequate response of EMS. The efforts of the police and firefighters in NYC were extremely uncoordinated and surprisingly ineffective for what was require to respond to an event of this magnitude. I am not criticizing either the police or the fire fighters. I am just saying that none of their well intentioned efforts could have resulted in a better outcome. Their radio frequencies were different and one group had no idea what the other was doing. They were ascending dark stairs carrying 50lbs of equipment without any effective means of communication. All this unfolding in a building that was supposed to be fireproof.
I bought a book sometime during the past year. It was on the discount rack at Borders. It was an extremely well researched and well written book that compiled thousands of phone records and hundreds of personal accounts in order to tell the real story of 911. There were behind the scene heros, there were people who responded with profound inner strength, and there were people who crumbled under pressure. There were survivors through a combination of sheer will and lucky timing and there were people who were doomed from the first impact. There was miscommunication and delays in emptying both the buildings. There was no way possible that helicopters could reach roof-top inhabitants. In some ways it was a day of Russian roulette.
For many months after 911 I hung a full size newspaper clipping on my refrigerator. It listed the names of every person who perished in NYC, Washington DC, and Schwenksville, PA. I told myself I was never going to part with it so I would always remember those people. But I guess one day Denny took it down and before I realized it was missing, it was out in the trash.
One of the first pieces of music I wrote was after 911....
Sometime ago we saw a firery ball from from the sky
The buildings fell and so much innocence died
We shook our heads in disbelieve
Our mouths opened wide
Then we paused to ask the Lord the question
"Tell me why? Can you tell me why?"
Hard to believe people among us live such lies
They hide it well, the evil glazed beneath their eyes
Do they ever feel sorrow?
Do they ever feel pain?
And even though we think we know the answer,
the question will always remain
The soldiers, they march to the front line
They hide it well, the fear etched beneath their eyes
They pray for their children and those yet to be born
But most of all the prayer that mankind will end,
end all war
So on 9/11 I was set to fly and for me I had to pretend it was like any other day. That was hard to do because Denny always has the Fox news network on. Every time I walked by the TV I saw video recaps on 9/11. I finally asked Denny if he wouldn't mind turning it off.
I finished my morning chores and then stopped by Walgreens to buy a Disney gift card to support my drinking habit. When I got home I made a serious rookie mistake. I got out my DME labels only to realize that I only had 1 left.
I gave one to Jen weeks before and there was one left for me. I had originally thought that it was actually 2 tags. After I cut the tag in two, I found out my original thinking was incorrect. DOH! DOUBLE DOH! I had two pieces of luggage and only one tag - and now that tag was in two parts!
I texted Jen to tell her that I wasn't going to use the DME luggage delivery and I told her I hoped she wasn't mad at the inconvenience.
I left for the airport shortly after 10am. I needed to do a Costco drive by to return the memory card I bought - yeah I bought the wrong size. Easy to do, but this is the second time I have done that. Sheesh! All I can say is they all look the same size on that cardboard picture. I got in the return line and Denny ran in and bought me the correct memory card. Thank you Denny.
On the way to the airport I had a momentary feeling of panic. I had texted Jen twice that morning and I still hadn't heard back from her. Just as I was starting to think she dumped me, she finally texted me back explaining that she just got a new cool phone and forgot to turn the sound up!
Jen was almost at the airport and I was still at least 20 or 25 mins behind her.
9/11 was a ghost town at the Philly airport. Seriously dead. I didn't even see any sky cabs outside and I LOVE those guys. I will seriously tip them any day over standing in the regular line. There was definitely a strong security guard presence at the airport. Once we checked our luggage (which took all of 30 seconds) we headed to the gait and grabbed some lunch at Mickey D's. We were both hesitant to take any pictures before the flight because we both felt uncomfortable.
Our flight left right on time and we were off the plane shortly after 3pm. Of course, SWA lands on side A and DME is on Side B, so we had a little back tracking to do after we got our luggage.
Jen is really good at making friends with people and she was already striking up a conversation with a fellow passenger as we were leaving the plane. While she was yaking it up, I took this picture of the pretty tile floor at MCO. I love this floor and I have always wanted a picture, so I finally had time to grab my camera,,,,,,,
The woman that Jen met was on her way to her 14th DVC member cruise. 14????
She told us that she had a total of 1600 points spread across the majority of DVCresorts. I thought Melissa was the point Czar, but I think she has us all beat in combined pointage. When Jen asked her if she visited the DIS boards she clammed up a bit and said she used to frequent the boards but she stopped because there was too much "misinformation". Uhmmm? Oooooooh Kaaaaaaaaay? So when we got to the monorail she got on her car and we got on our car and our paths never crossed again.
I actually took some pictures from the monorail. Might as well since I already had the camera out to take pictures of the floor.
Harry Potter is clearly well represented at MCO.....
One of these trips I AM going to get to Sea World.....
Finally Jen and Sherpa Mary Ellen made their way to this sign........
We were ushered into a line with POR, SSR, and Fort Wilderness passengers. We didn't have to stand too long until we were seated in a nice comfy bus. And with that Jen gave the Day 1 Sign
I'm not gonna lie - I completely stole this idea from Dawn's TR. But I love it so I made Jen provide daily sign language everyday.
Our bus driver was......
And he announced that he would be dropping off passengers in this order......
POFQ
POR
SSR
Fort Wilderness.
When I texted that information to cynthia she texted back "DME Rockstar". Yup, that's us! We totally rock.
In Case you forgot what a DME bus looks like, here you go......
We sat and looked at this screen for too long before the actual movie started....
And when it did I couldn't resist but take a few select pictures.......
This next picture will illustrate why you MUST sit in the front of the bus (not the back) if you want to get a decent picture of this........
Finally we have arrived at POFQ and despite the fact that our bags were the last to be unloaded, Norm did give exceptional service.....
Next Up.......Let's take the Bus, I mean boat, to DDT!
I will always remember where I was on 9/11. I remember the patients' rooms I was in when the first tower fell and when the second tower fell. I remember a patient coming out of his room to announce that a second plane hit. It was pretty difficult to concentrate on work when the enormity of the situation became apparent. Reading about 9/11 and seeing documentaries always produces a visceral response in me. I am fascinated by the events of that day. Its so hard to conceive of all the tiny moments the make up the time from the departure of the first flight to the fall of the twin towers. So many things went wrong that day. Not just the terrorist attack that rocked the nation, but the inadequate response of EMS. The efforts of the police and firefighters in NYC were extremely uncoordinated and surprisingly ineffective for what was require to respond to an event of this magnitude. I am not criticizing either the police or the fire fighters. I am just saying that none of their well intentioned efforts could have resulted in a better outcome. Their radio frequencies were different and one group had no idea what the other was doing. They were ascending dark stairs carrying 50lbs of equipment without any effective means of communication. All this unfolding in a building that was supposed to be fireproof.
I bought a book sometime during the past year. It was on the discount rack at Borders. It was an extremely well researched and well written book that compiled thousands of phone records and hundreds of personal accounts in order to tell the real story of 911. There were behind the scene heros, there were people who responded with profound inner strength, and there were people who crumbled under pressure. There were survivors through a combination of sheer will and lucky timing and there were people who were doomed from the first impact. There was miscommunication and delays in emptying both the buildings. There was no way possible that helicopters could reach roof-top inhabitants. In some ways it was a day of Russian roulette.
For many months after 911 I hung a full size newspaper clipping on my refrigerator. It listed the names of every person who perished in NYC, Washington DC, and Schwenksville, PA. I told myself I was never going to part with it so I would always remember those people. But I guess one day Denny took it down and before I realized it was missing, it was out in the trash.
One of the first pieces of music I wrote was after 911....
Sometime ago we saw a firery ball from from the sky
The buildings fell and so much innocence died
We shook our heads in disbelieve
Our mouths opened wide
Then we paused to ask the Lord the question
"Tell me why? Can you tell me why?"
Hard to believe people among us live such lies
They hide it well, the evil glazed beneath their eyes
Do they ever feel sorrow?
Do they ever feel pain?
And even though we think we know the answer,
the question will always remain
The soldiers, they march to the front line
They hide it well, the fear etched beneath their eyes
They pray for their children and those yet to be born
But most of all the prayer that mankind will end,
end all war
So on 9/11 I was set to fly and for me I had to pretend it was like any other day. That was hard to do because Denny always has the Fox news network on. Every time I walked by the TV I saw video recaps on 9/11. I finally asked Denny if he wouldn't mind turning it off.
I finished my morning chores and then stopped by Walgreens to buy a Disney gift card to support my drinking habit. When I got home I made a serious rookie mistake. I got out my DME labels only to realize that I only had 1 left.
I gave one to Jen weeks before and there was one left for me. I had originally thought that it was actually 2 tags. After I cut the tag in two, I found out my original thinking was incorrect. DOH! DOUBLE DOH! I had two pieces of luggage and only one tag - and now that tag was in two parts! I texted Jen to tell her that I wasn't going to use the DME luggage delivery and I told her I hoped she wasn't mad at the inconvenience.
I left for the airport shortly after 10am. I needed to do a Costco drive by to return the memory card I bought - yeah I bought the wrong size. Easy to do, but this is the second time I have done that. Sheesh! All I can say is they all look the same size on that cardboard picture. I got in the return line and Denny ran in and bought me the correct memory card. Thank you Denny.
On the way to the airport I had a momentary feeling of panic. I had texted Jen twice that morning and I still hadn't heard back from her. Just as I was starting to think she dumped me, she finally texted me back explaining that she just got a new cool phone and forgot to turn the sound up!
Jen was almost at the airport and I was still at least 20 or 25 mins behind her.9/11 was a ghost town at the Philly airport. Seriously dead. I didn't even see any sky cabs outside and I LOVE those guys. I will seriously tip them any day over standing in the regular line. There was definitely a strong security guard presence at the airport. Once we checked our luggage (which took all of 30 seconds) we headed to the gait and grabbed some lunch at Mickey D's. We were both hesitant to take any pictures before the flight because we both felt uncomfortable.
Our flight left right on time and we were off the plane shortly after 3pm. Of course, SWA lands on side A and DME is on Side B, so we had a little back tracking to do after we got our luggage.
Jen is really good at making friends with people and she was already striking up a conversation with a fellow passenger as we were leaving the plane. While she was yaking it up, I took this picture of the pretty tile floor at MCO. I love this floor and I have always wanted a picture, so I finally had time to grab my camera,,,,,,,
The woman that Jen met was on her way to her 14th DVC member cruise. 14????
She told us that she had a total of 1600 points spread across the majority of DVCresorts. I thought Melissa was the point Czar, but I think she has us all beat in combined pointage. When Jen asked her if she visited the DIS boards she clammed up a bit and said she used to frequent the boards but she stopped because there was too much "misinformation". Uhmmm? Oooooooh Kaaaaaaaaay? So when we got to the monorail she got on her car and we got on our car and our paths never crossed again.I actually took some pictures from the monorail. Might as well since I already had the camera out to take pictures of the floor.
Harry Potter is clearly well represented at MCO.....
One of these trips I AM going to get to Sea World.....
Finally Jen and Sherpa Mary Ellen made their way to this sign........
We were ushered into a line with POR, SSR, and Fort Wilderness passengers. We didn't have to stand too long until we were seated in a nice comfy bus. And with that Jen gave the Day 1 Sign
I'm not gonna lie - I completely stole this idea from Dawn's TR. But I love it so I made Jen provide daily sign language everyday.
Our bus driver was......
And he announced that he would be dropping off passengers in this order......
POFQ
POR
SSR
Fort Wilderness.
When I texted that information to cynthia she texted back "DME Rockstar". Yup, that's us! We totally rock.
In Case you forgot what a DME bus looks like, here you go......
We sat and looked at this screen for too long before the actual movie started....
And when it did I couldn't resist but take a few select pictures.......
This next picture will illustrate why you MUST sit in the front of the bus (not the back) if you want to get a decent picture of this........
Finally we have arrived at POFQ and despite the fact that our bags were the last to be unloaded, Norm did give exceptional service.....
Next Up.......Let's take the Bus, I mean boat, to DDT!
I got Ethan up and we started at the TV for hours, mesmerized by what we saw. To look outside our quiet cottage in upstate Michigan, one would never know such a catastrophic event had occured. We broke away from the TV and went canoeing that afternoon but the serenity of the day was surreal.
So no problem there, we won't use the DME luggage-pick-up service.
I rode the MCO monorail over to the hub just to visit the Earport but I forgot it was outside of security, and I didn't have time to become unsecure, peruse the WDW Earport store, then become secure again and ride back to my gate. So I paced like some kind of rabid cat who spied a mouse just out of reach.
for palm trees! They are sure to put a smile on any northerner's face! 
My heart breaks for everyone who lost a friend, coworker, family member, mother, father, sister, brother, child on that horrific day. I assume you were still living on Long Island at the time. That had to be so devastating for anyone in the region. I can't imagine and yet in some ways I feel so connected, like I should have known someone or I should have been there. It's a strange feeling. I don't know why I feel this connection to the events of 911 because I could have just distanced myself, but I have never wanted to. I have purposely tried to watch documentaries and learn as much about it as I can.
Beautiful lyrics Mary Ellen. I remember exactly where I was as well - and then visiting here 6 months after it happened and then moving here just a few years later...I've met quite a few people who knew someone and/or watched it happen. Horrific stories that bring me to tears every single time.
