Seven
I really didn't know what I was going to write about on this the day of attacks of September 11. Etched in my mind forever is the memory of that day I was living and working in Washington, DC. I am sure you too, remember where you were and what you were doing. It is hard to believe that it has been seven years. Where has the time gone? Why does time move so quickly? They say once you get older that the years seem to peel away at rapid pace. True. But, seven years?
I did reveal my reflections of the day last year on this day, but what I have come to know in this past year, can never compare to what some felt and experienced on September 11. An employee of one of my clients, fi-Plan Partners, was in tower two on the 61st floor the day the planes hit the World Trade Center. As CEO Greg Powell tells the story, after the plane hit the first tower, Mike was making his way down the stairwell to get out of the building. Those according to the story didn't know what had really happened, but they knew it wasn't good. As the story goes, as Mike, along with others in the stairwell made their way down the stairs in a single file line (very crowded stairs) a person on the intercom said over the speaker that it was safe for everyone to return to their offices. Mike kept making his way down the stairs. When he hit the 16th floor, he felt a movement in the building and it felt like to Mike, that his knees were giving out. What was concluded later is that there was a shift in the building as the second plane hit tower two. Those on the stairs fell forward. A woman on the stairs panicked and tried to walk over the others. Two men at the front of the line took charge and most in the stairwell made it out safely. Mike did, but his life was changed forever. I don't know that I could have been that brave if I were in that stairwell that day.
Since I have been back in Birmingham, I have had the pleasure of getting to know better a reporter at The Birmingham News, Roy Williams, whose brother Army Maj. Dwayne Williams was killed in the Pentagon on 9/11. There was an article in the newspaper last Sunday's that revealed how Roy and his family have handled the tragedy. The article is poignant and really gets to the heart of what he has dealt with and how he has healed from that day. One quote at the beginning of the article sums it up: Seven years ago this week, on a tragic day many remember simply as 9/11, life as I know it changed. I don't simply remember it as 9/11 either, those of us who were trained to work in disaster relief never imagined in our wildest dreams that we would work a disaster such as this. I worked with Roy's brother's family as an employee of the National Headquarters of the Red Cross to help them with whatever they needed after that day. Roy and his wife Patrice are very special people. The strength, faith and valor that they have has allowed them to overcome this devastating tragedy and to reach out to those in our community who are in need. I don't know if I could have had the same strength to overcome if one of my family members were killed on 9/11.
Getting to know these two people has made a tremendous impact on my life. We are, in some sense, interconnected because of the tragedy of 9/11. Our lives that day changed and there is no way to turn back the hands of time. Each of us, I am sure, will always carry a memory of the day that changed our lives forever.
To read Roy Williams' story click here.
I did reveal my reflections of the day last year on this day, but what I have come to know in this past year, can never compare to what some felt and experienced on September 11. An employee of one of my clients, fi-Plan Partners, was in tower two on the 61st floor the day the planes hit the World Trade Center. As CEO Greg Powell tells the story, after the plane hit the first tower, Mike was making his way down the stairwell to get out of the building. Those according to the story didn't know what had really happened, but they knew it wasn't good. As the story goes, as Mike, along with others in the stairwell made their way down the stairs in a single file line (very crowded stairs) a person on the intercom said over the speaker that it was safe for everyone to return to their offices. Mike kept making his way down the stairs. When he hit the 16th floor, he felt a movement in the building and it felt like to Mike, that his knees were giving out. What was concluded later is that there was a shift in the building as the second plane hit tower two. Those on the stairs fell forward. A woman on the stairs panicked and tried to walk over the others. Two men at the front of the line took charge and most in the stairwell made it out safely. Mike did, but his life was changed forever. I don't know that I could have been that brave if I were in that stairwell that day.
Since I have been back in Birmingham, I have had the pleasure of getting to know better a reporter at The Birmingham News, Roy Williams, whose brother Army Maj. Dwayne Williams was killed in the Pentagon on 9/11. There was an article in the newspaper last Sunday's that revealed how Roy and his family have handled the tragedy. The article is poignant and really gets to the heart of what he has dealt with and how he has healed from that day. One quote at the beginning of the article sums it up: Seven years ago this week, on a tragic day many remember simply as 9/11, life as I know it changed. I don't simply remember it as 9/11 either, those of us who were trained to work in disaster relief never imagined in our wildest dreams that we would work a disaster such as this. I worked with Roy's brother's family as an employee of the National Headquarters of the Red Cross to help them with whatever they needed after that day. Roy and his wife Patrice are very special people. The strength, faith and valor that they have has allowed them to overcome this devastating tragedy and to reach out to those in our community who are in need. I don't know if I could have had the same strength to overcome if one of my family members were killed on 9/11.
Getting to know these two people has made a tremendous impact on my life. We are, in some sense, interconnected because of the tragedy of 9/11. Our lives that day changed and there is no way to turn back the hands of time. Each of us, I am sure, will always carry a memory of the day that changed our lives forever.
To read Roy Williams' story click here.
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