Ten Years After Our World Was Changed

It is hard for me to believe it has been ten years since the World Trade Center was attacked and the world we knew was changed forever. Like most of you, I remember exactly where I was when it happened. I was in Boston attending the CorelWORLD Conference. Tony Severenuk was a few minutes into his keynote address when the first plane hit. I asked him about his story in an interview I posted soon afterwords. You'll also find a few of his thoughts about the future of CorelDRAW (from ten years ago). Those thoughts are still valid today.

Less than a year before the attacks I had spent several days in and around the World Trade Center as I introduced my mom to New York City. I wrote about my thoughts in an October issue of the Graphics Unleashed Newsletter. I will include my original thoughts below and then I'll reflect on my thoughts as the tenth anniversary has arrived.

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Our World Has Changed

Three weeks ago, our world underwent a dramatic change. Instead of an easy flight home from Boston, I had a very roundabout trip. Altogether I visited 12 states and went through four flight itineraries before I got home. But I got home and there were thousands of people who didn't have that chance. I want to tell you a story of a time not long ago when things were more innocent and you'll hear of just a few of those people who were taken from us on September 11th.

I've gotten the opportunity to visit New York City on several occasions. My last trip there was special as my mom joined me for four days of seeing the city. We stayed at the Marriott World Trade Center, a hotel that was crushed when the towers fell. We were there in a more innocent time. But the staff was dedicated. They made sure that all guests were evacuated on September 11th. Every guest survived the terrorist attack. Two of the hotel managers did not survive as they were only concerned for their guests' safety.

On the third day of our trip, we really didn't have an agenda. We would just go around the city to see some of the sites before taking in a Broadway show that evening. To get to our destinations, we took the C train. Our stop was located deep in the basement of the World Trade Center complex. Lunch was the first thing on our agenda. We stopped in the lobby of the North tower as my mom had forgotten her camera in our hotel room. So I waited in the lobby until she returned. While waiting, I saw a sign that we could get a ride to the top if we would have lunch at Windows on the World.

After my mom returned, I told her about this and she was pretty excited. We checked our coats at the coat check in the lobby. Did the lady who took our coats make it home that day? I sure hope so. Then we climbed onto the express elevator for our trip to the 103rd floor. Did the man running the elevator make it home that day? I fear that he didn't.

We were so lucky. We got a table with a window overlooking Battery Park and the Statue of Liberty. That's the tiny thing in the left window pane of the picture. I think of all the waiters, waitresses, bus staff, cooks and other employees that never had a chance when the first plane hit the tower. When I saw them, they were as nice as they could be. Many were probably students just trying to work their way through college. September 11th took that all away from them.

What about the hot dog vendor that got me a hot polish sausage on my arrival to the city? His stand was in the courtyard of the World Trade Center complex. And what of the Krispy Kreme that served us those delicious donuts on our first morning? It too was just off the main courtyard. I think of all those people who were just doing their job that don't have that opportunity any more.

Then I flash back to my youth. Every year a big red fire truck would come to my school. The firemen would talk to us and then they let us climb all over that huge truck they brought. Back then, they were heroes to me. In college my dog ran away and I got a call from the firehouse a few blocks away. They had found my dog and took care of her until I could come retrieve her. Again, the firemen were my heroes that day. But like most Americans, I forgot. I can't imagine the dedication to your work that makes you run into a burning building to save lives. They didn't think of themselves, only that there were people who needed help. Many of them never got the chance to save themselves and showed just how heroic they were.

On my first trip to NYC, I got kinda lost. I knew the subway station had to be close, but I couldn't find it. So I asked a cop on the street and he helped me. I once heard rumors about New Yorkers being rude, but that just wasn't true. I'll never know where that cop was on September 11th. I do know that many of New York's finest didn't go home that night because they were just doing their jobs.

Some of you undoubtedly know people who were lost in this tragedy. I fear that there may be subscribers to this newsletter that were lost. I am lucky that I don't know of anyone that died at the hands of a few sick terrorists. But it still hurts. I've never been afraid to fly and it took all I had to get on a plane to fly home from CorelWORLD. I made sure to say hi to the flight crew and to treat them better than I ever had. After all, they were the ones getting me home safely.

Now we have to try and get our lives back to normal. It won't be easy. But we will get it done. We will not let a bunch of lunatics take our lives away from us. New Yorkers have led the way and the rest of us should follow their lead. Our economy is hurting and we need to do what we can to get it healthy again. So if you can find a little extra money to buy something you need, please do it. And if you need some graphics training, we'll be glad to help you out.

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For many years I avoided going back to New York. I had great memories of my previous trips and just wasn't ready for another visit. I got the opportunity to go two years ago and I again enjoyed my visit. While it was a great visit, I wasn't ready to go near the area of the towers.

Here in the US, the Discovery Channel has shown a multi-part documentary about the rebuilding of the area. Yes, the show can be depressing at times. It is also very uplifting to hear the stories and see the work being done. Before I saw it, I didn't know much about ironworkers. Now I know they have a special ability to put their lives on the line every day trying to rebuild the new World Trade Center. The memorials are absolutely beautiful. Items being placed in the museum show just a little bit of the destruction that happened. There were also many stories about the people who were lost on that day. I am certainly excited to return to New York to see it all. I know Discovery is planning to return the entire series again today (9/11/11) so you might want to watch or record it if you have the chance.

Please take a moment today to remember those we lost. Renew your vow to do whatever you can to make sure such a tragedy never happens again (anywhere in the world). Remember that vow when you have to deal with security at airports or elsewhere. Learn more about other cultures in the world and embrace the similarities and differences we all have.

I certainly will never forget 9/11. I was just happy that I was around my "Corel family" and then my own family in the days afterwards.