I don’t personally know anyone who died on 9/11 but every time the date comes around, it is a reminder of where I was, what I was doing and how the tragedy of that day has affected my life. On September 11th, 2011, I was a 22-year-old kid looking for a career (Funny how little changes in a decade because the job market still sucks today but I digress). It was the awkward transitional period of my life of fresh out of college to a hopeful professional career. To earn some money while I while I awaited calls from HR departments, I decided to work for a caterer.
This caterer, Gourmet Vendor, was also a reliable source of income for me while I was in college too. It was a great part time job, which was now leading to more hours since I had more available time. On this gorgeous Tuesday morning, I was assigned to work at an open house for a newly constructed housing division in Suburban Philadelphia. On the menu was popcorn, cotton candy, soft pretzels and soda. On this particular job, I was assigned to work with Mike Cotellesa, a quiet and very likable co-worker for this particular job. We were expected to meet at the catering warehouse a few hours prior to the job taking place so that we could pack up the truck and prepare for the event. My reporting time was 10am.
Because mornings and I rarely agree. My plan was to wake up at 930am, leave the house at 9:45am and arrive at the warehouse at 10am, When I awoke that day, I was completely unaware that death and destruction had already struck in America. Since Philadelphia and New York are 100 miles apart, there was no way for me to know what has already taken place. Being tired and limited on time, I never bothered to put on a television. When I jumped in my car, I immediately blasted my Meatloaf CD to wake me up a bit in put me in a good frame of mind for that day.
I arrived at the warehouse at precisely 9:59am. This is when I first learned of the terrorist attacks. My boss, Brad, had a small TV at the warehouse. Mike had already arrived and the three of us watched endless replays of the towers collapsing. Even still, I didn’t know the facts nor did I comprehend the magnitude of the situation. My thought process was that that most people had exited the buildings before they had collapsed. I also thought the flights were not commercial airliners but smaller airliners. My initial thought was that the death toll was less than 100 people, which is still tragic but not enough to change the world.
There were virtually no calls coming through to my cell and there didn’t seem to be any panic or urgency from what I can see. Mike and I packed up the truck and headed to the job. On the way, we put on the radio but every channel was overtaken with national news services. This was the first time I ever experienced this kind of thing in my life. The fact that the news took over all of our rock stations led me to believe that this was much bigger then I initially suspected. I recall hearing early reports of 10,000 + deaths. I remember looking at Mike and thinking, how can we even serve at this event? Not to mention, will anyone even show? After we finished setting up, we stood there paused in time. We were worried about finding a plug for a portable popcorn machine and in New York, Washington and Western Pennsylvania; people were worried about whether their loved ones survived the horrific events.
After about 45 minutes, the host of the open house soon realized what we had already known…no one wants to see or buy a home when our country was under attack. We began to pack things up and head back to the warehouse. The next few hours were a blur, we were captivated by the news reports but we both decided that we need to quickly clean up the supplies and head home. When I arrived home, my parents were not back from work but I was able to reach them on the phone. My sister was at her boyfriends at the time (now husband) and my brother had just arrived back from his day at work. At the time, he was just a few weeks into his new relationship with his girlfriend (now wife). I remember sitting on the sofa and flipping through the channels. ESPN had now focused on how the attacks would be affecting sporting events; MTV suddenly became a news reporting channel. Even the premium channels changed format. It became all 9/11 reports all the time. This continued for at least a week.
The visions constantly replayed in my mind for the next few weeks. I remember the first time I saw actual footage of the planes slamming into the Twin Towers, I remember seeing hoards of people running down the streets of NY to avoid getting hit with the mushroom clouds and I remember seeing people place missing person posters in and around the destruction and damage. Deep down, they knew what we already known along but they just wanted the world to see that the deceased had names, fruitful lives and families who loved them.
3,652 days have passed since September 11th, 2001. From a personal standpoint it’s been the busiest 10 year of my life. I aged from 22 to 32 really quick. I have lived in 5 different places. I have since had 6 full-time jobs, 10 girlfriends and one wife (I got to stay committed to something). I didn’t even meet my wife till 3+ years afterwards. Now, I’m months away from having a kid of my own. My brother and sister who were each early in relationships with their respective girlfriend and boyfriends at the time, I have since married those individuals and have each had two children since 9/11. People have come and gone in my life, including my grandmother.
Ten years is a long time but for those who lost loved ones on 9/11 it probably still feels like yesterday. It’s a day that may have not changed my life directly yet it still has a profound personal effect. The way we profile people, the method of how we secure public passageways, the way we invest our money. It all stems to the events of that one day. It stings but there is still a moment of thankfulness. I am fortunate to be able to live my life and progress in my life but for many others, their lives will never be the same. I remember 9/11.
