The Lynnertic

Reprise

September 11, 2007 on 5:11 pm | In Family and Friends |

Doug and I first published this letter on our business’ website five years ago today.

9/11/02

Dear clients, family, friends, neighbors and passersby,

We’ve spent an entire year trying to find words to express our shock and grief at “the terrors” of 9/11/01 and the frightening changes to our political climate since. We can’t, and decided instead to share some observations.

We were visiting the East Coast to celebrate Doug’s mother’s 80th birthday and spend a day with a favorite aunt of mine in Brandywine, MD. We had a rude awakening that day, literally: my aunt pounded the bedroom door, hollering, “Get up, get up, you’re not going anywhere!”

We remember that week as a string of amazing and shocking images:

• Swarms of refugees walking across the Brooklyn Bridge.
• The ironic weather: an empty, endless, cloudless sky after a week of oppressive heat and overcast weather. Walking outside, we could hear constant, thunderous sonic booms from sorties leaving Andrews Air Force Base.
• We saw no aircraft in the sky for days.
• The agonizing images of New Yorkers desperately searching for missing loved ones.
• Emergency Room workers waiting for casualties that didn’t come.
• The excitement of rescue workers finding a survivor.
• The practically empty beltway at rush hour on 9/11. I took the photo [above] heading North on the beltway as we approached the Annapolis on-ramp that evening.
• The sudden bloom of cheap American flags, like wildflowers after a hard spring rain.

I personally see things differently than I used to.

Email has never been more important. While phone circuits were jammed or down, my aunt’s house guest was able to reach his family in Japan to let them know he was safe, and by the end of the day we were able to reach all our friends back home. Members of mailing lists we subscribe to wrote personal accounts of their experience that were more powerful than any film could capture.

Cellphones have never been more important. I remember how amazed I was that the victims aboard Flight 93 could report the hijacking and call their families to say goodbye. I bet victim’s families cherish that last conversation. My cousin, who works in the Pentagon, was able to find her partner on his cellphone that morning. That day I called my landlord to let him know he still had tenants (we didn’t tell him we’d be on vacation), and was able to reach my parents in Virginia.

Family has never been more important. While we can’t write about our grief or shock or anger, we can say without reservation how grateful and lucky we were to be visiting our families on the East Coast that day. Our return to California was delayed and it seemed like life was upside-down for a few days, but we were grateful and relieved to know that our loved ones were safe. We found such comfort in spending time with them. Love is the most powerful emotion I felt that week, more than fear or grief or anger. I want to hang on to that.

People can really be so friendly to each other. In the weeks after 9/11, it’s as if we all decided to drop our baggage and just help each other through another day. Doug and I used priceline.com to purchase airline tickets (US Air) and rent a car for that trip (Hertz). Our original contracts were honored, which meant we were not charged for 5 extra days of car rental. Fellow passengers on our flight home got to know each other and shared food. The San Jose International Airport froze parking fees after 9/11.

There won’t be closure for 9/11 yet, and it’s been a hard year for everyone we know. But things are getting better.

All the best,

Collette McNeill
Doug Lynner
McNeill/Lynner WebWorks