Crew Lounge

If you have a September 11 story or thought you'd like to share with your fellow Crew Lounge readers, send it to us for posting here. Send all stories to support@jumpseatnews.com or use our feedback form.

My 9/11 Story: D. Michael Sawyer - SFOSW

Date submitted: September 7, 2006

The Enemy did not mass on our borders with infantry and armament, or we would have been there to defend our country against them. Instead, they snuck in unobtrusively and wove themselves into the fabric of our society. In our naivete, we trained them in the use of our technology, never realizing that one day they would use that training and technology against us.

I was in bed when I got the call from a buddy. "Turn on your television," was all he said.

"What channel?" I asked. "Any channel. . . it doesn't matter."

"Thunderstruck" best describes my state of mind when I turned on the television. For most of the day I sat transfixed in front of set. I was too numb to do anything but watch as the events and facts unfolded.

It was early evening when I suddenly thought to call my family and re-assure them. I also needed to check on the welfare of my extended Flying Family. I went online and got nowhere. Predictably, Flight Scheduling was a mess. So I began making phone calls. Ma Bell was having a bad day too. Many of my long-distance calls did not go through.

I was able to get hold of my old roommate in Chicago. His wife was flying in from London, and had been diverted to Montreal. She was safe, and that was all he knew. Two days later, I discovered she and her crew were laying-over at a ski resort in the mountains. There were no rooms available in the city.

It took me about a week to finally begin grieving for everyone impacted by the heinous events of 9/11. My anger had been evident from the very outset. I was ready to go to war with anyone and everyone who had perpetrated this atrocity on America.

Today, my anger has abated somewhat. I have settled into the airport security checkpoint routine: "empty your pockets, take off your shoes and uniform coat. Step through the metal detector". But I still get a twinge, a quick reminder, that a group of misguided fanatics in a far-off country have engineered this process -and it rankles me.

I proudly wear a red-white and blue ribbon on my lapel in remembrance of 9/11. Lest I forget, or become complacent.

My 9/11 Story: Ralph Karp - SFOSW

Date submitted: September 8, 2006

I just saw the movie "World Trade Center". Months ago I saw "United 93". Nobody wanted to go to the theater with me.

I need to understand and remember that day I was in New York laying over at the Helmsley when I got the call from my flying partner. She was not making sense at 8:30 in the morning. I turned on TV and was transfixed. Was it real or just a movie? Were those constant sirens an accident on the street or something much greater? Unfortunately, it didn't take long to find out the answer. Crowds of people were walking in only one direction, uptown.

Streets were jammed with traffic going in the same direction. There was electricity in the air, a bonding of understanding, empathy for each other. We were all thankful to be alive. Our crews met in confusion looking for answers. We only had each other. Some AFA members gave us unconditional support, offering money from a 'B' scale reserve. I tried to maintain the closeness of our crew with our daily briefing from company reps and trying to do meals together. I wanted everyone to be together and not alone. A friend wanted me to go to a movie and forget what was going on.

I couldn't. I was suffering a loss.