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September 11, 2001

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Since we retired this year we've been focused on getting this place we got in NC to our liking. The wife has been busting her ass dealing with painters and contractors for renovations. I just pushed a bunch of new topsoil over 20K sq ft of yard.

We decided to 'skip out of work early' on Wednesday. Ended up belly up at a bar and listening to some live music. Guy sitting next to me mentions the coffee shop across the street as being a place that a bunch of vets hang out, etc. I've been looking for opportunities for volunteering / coaching / etc when the work on the property wraps up. The guy told me that every Thursday a big group gets together.

Little did I know that the place is basically a private military museum that has a kitchen and serves coffee. So, yes... it's a coffee shop. Managed and staffed by volunteers. The original owner passed away a few years ago but wanted a place for veterans to be able to go / congregate. With him passing, apparently someone wrote a check for the mortgage so the place just needs to cover costs.

I'm learning that the place is not only a coffee shop but also a place for vets to go to help get back on their feet or if they need assistance. The proceeds and donations from the coffee shop obviously go to cover the costs for the shop, but they also use these funds for support / outreach as needed.

Went in yesterday (Thursday) full guns blazing to volunteer. I was told to get a coffee and enjoy the morning with the vets... and if I was still interested come back to talk to them. After coffee was over (they close at 1:00 PM), I went to the counter and asked when they wanted to see me in the morning for the 9/11 breakfast and silent walk to the memorial service.

Rolled in the shop at 7:30 this morning and finished up around 1:00 today. Best use of my time in a long time.

For those of you who have served or are first responders... it was a pleasure to serve your brothers and sisters today. Apparently, I must have worked out at some level. They asked me to come in twice a week to help. One day up front and one day in the kitchen.

I'm looking forward to continuing to serve these men and women for a good long time.

For those interested... 5 minutes of explanation:

Humbled beyond words. I don't expect that to ever change.
 
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Another experience here .. if you draw a triangle with points on Phila airport, Newark, LaGuardia and JFK I'm pretty much in the center
so I see commercial flights galore.. especially if airport delays because the flights circle above me

so I could visibly see the traffic cease and soon to be zero

but Maguire is a hour south and some serious bad ass fighter jets were all over the sky within minutes

that all added to the tension


I had to find transportation for my pals which rapidly dried up..
airlines, trains and busses shut down immediately
had to find misc boat and ferries to get them from Manhattan to Jersey
was somehow able to get a few car rentals in 3 diff NJ towns which was monumental
but then had to help them get back to Ohio while all the interstates were shut down
all backroads from Weehawken and Hoboken and Princeton to Ohio

Meanwhile trying to keep in touch got more difficult because cell towers were
becoming overloaded or non working.. but was able to find my cousin
in some hole in the wall bodega 1 mile from the towers.. till his phone went out
was able to tell his mom.. he's alive

Local mayhem went on for weeks...
 
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Buckeyeskickbuttocks said:
I didn't know that this existed....

The ad in this link ran on May 2, 1968.

www.ksat.com

1968 ad claimed World Trade Center would pose ‘risk to air navigation’

As the 20-year anniversary of the tragic Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States approach, many will find themselves thinking about that day a little more deeply, perhaps, and certainly more frequently.
www.ksat.com www.ksat.com
Click to expand...

I was in the shadow of the Sears Tower. Our office was on the other side of the river from the CBOE. Bunch of us went out on the walk way that overlooks the river... it must have looked like the ending of Ocean's 11. Every one of us looking up at the Sears Tower. Thinking... is this one next?
 
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sparcboxbuck said:
I was in the shadow of the Sears Tower. Our office was on the other side of the river from the CBOE. Bunch of us went out on the walk way that overlooks the river... it must have looked like the ending of Ocean's 11. Every one of us looking up at the Sears Tower. Thinking... is this one next?
Click to expand...
I was working in a government building thinking the exact same thing.
 
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I also have a picture of my son, in utero, from 7:58am 9-11-2001.

I was at that appointment with my then wife. Doc came in and mentioned a "small plane hit one of the towers " and we "joked" about how in the hell such a thing can happen.

I went to work after. Listened to CD music on the way (Allman Brothers, Blue sky, live) didn't know we were under attack until I realized i was alone in my area. By the time I got to the break room area, where there was a TV, the 1st tower was down.

Never will forget that day.
 
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