trifectarich
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2003
- Messages
- 4,844
I was on the golf course, covering a tournament, and though I thought about saying to myself, "Screw this. I need to go into the clubhouse and see a television to know what's going on," I didn't.
When I heard that a plane crashed into the WTC, the first thing I thought was that it was a small aircraft, perhaps one doing local traffic reports or something. Then I knew something much larger was happening when I heard about a second plane and they were larger, commercial planes. One could be a terrible accident, but not two.
Later that morning someone said that one of the towers had collapsed and, having been in those buildings dozens of times, I immediately dismissed that as bad second-hand information. "No," I told myself, "that's just not possible." Only when I finally found a television a couple of hours later did I fully realize the horror.
Later that day, when all the airports were closed and no one knew how long air travel would be out, I called Hertz and told them I wasn't returning my rental car to the airport where I picked it up; I was driving 1,300 miles home and would return it there. To my great surprise, the agent on the other end of the phone said that would be just fine and that there would no additional charges for turning a same-airport return into a one-way. Since then, that very nice customer service has always made Hertz my first choice when needing a rental.
I remember driving home a couple of days later, listening to the national memorial service on the radio, exchanging stories with other travelers in the same kind of situation when we stopped for gas or to eat.
I also remember that I had to travel early the following week, and I distinctly recall boarding early because I'd been upgraded to first class. I remember looking at each and every passenger who boarded and telling myself, "Yes, he's OK . . . she doesn't look dangerous . . ." The last couple of people to board were Army reservists or some kind of military personnel, and I remember feeling better about having them on board.
I always carried a corkscrew in my toiletries kit, and it wasn't until a trip I took at Christmas that an airport security person noticed it.
When I heard that a plane crashed into the WTC, the first thing I thought was that it was a small aircraft, perhaps one doing local traffic reports or something. Then I knew something much larger was happening when I heard about a second plane and they were larger, commercial planes. One could be a terrible accident, but not two.
Later that morning someone said that one of the towers had collapsed and, having been in those buildings dozens of times, I immediately dismissed that as bad second-hand information. "No," I told myself, "that's just not possible." Only when I finally found a television a couple of hours later did I fully realize the horror.
Later that day, when all the airports were closed and no one knew how long air travel would be out, I called Hertz and told them I wasn't returning my rental car to the airport where I picked it up; I was driving 1,300 miles home and would return it there. To my great surprise, the agent on the other end of the phone said that would be just fine and that there would no additional charges for turning a same-airport return into a one-way. Since then, that very nice customer service has always made Hertz my first choice when needing a rental.
I remember driving home a couple of days later, listening to the national memorial service on the radio, exchanging stories with other travelers in the same kind of situation when we stopped for gas or to eat.
I also remember that I had to travel early the following week, and I distinctly recall boarding early because I'd been upgraded to first class. I remember looking at each and every passenger who boarded and telling myself, "Yes, he's OK . . . she doesn't look dangerous . . ." The last couple of people to board were Army reservists or some kind of military personnel, and I remember feeling better about having them on board.
I always carried a corkscrew in my toiletries kit, and it wasn't until a trip I took at Christmas that an airport security person noticed it.