I always hope for rain on 9/11. Of the images and emotions seared into my mind from this day in 2001, the backdrop of that perfectly blue sky where we saw evil up close and felt the burn of tragedy and loss is something I can’t shake. Clear blue skies amplify my emotions on subsequent anniversaries of that awful day.

It’s hard to believe it has been 23 years. May our children and their children never have to point to a day in their lives when the World changed, and not for the better.

We all recall where we were when we heard the news

For most of us who were alive and active on this day in 2001, it’s hard not to recall what you were doing when you learned a plane hit the North Tower and, shortly after that, the South Tower. The news got worse as reports of a plane hitting the Pentagon and then crashing in a field in Pennsylvania emerged. Most of us watched the towers collapse in real time on television.

Our story

My experience and the experiences of my colleagues pale in comparison to the loss of lives at the crash sites. The heroism of the first responders rushing into harm’s way is nearly impossible to describe.

We were heading to New York City to explore a deal to sell our software company. The planned meetings near the Twin Towers were exciting for the entire team. Our CEO had mentioned in an offhand comment that he wanted to work on his elevator pitch by riding the elevator to Windows on the World at the top of the North Tower and having breakfast before our meeting. It seemed like a good idea.

This happened just one time in over 1 million air miles in my career

A colleague and I boarded a United Airlines jet at O’Hare in Chicago, bound for LaGuardia mid-afternoon on 9/10. We pushed away from the gate and joined the lineup of jets preparing for takeoff, only to return to the gate, with the Captain indicating that the weather on the East Coast would delay us for a while. We disembarked and waited in the Red Carpet Club for a few hours when we tried it again with the same result, except the flight was canceled this time. We rebooked for the 6:40 a.m. on 9/11. In thirty years of business travel, that was the only time I had experienced boarding and entering the taxi line for takeoff two times, only to return to the gate.

As I settled into the flight on this clear, blue-skyed day to travel, at some point, the gentleman in the window seat received a note passed up the row. He reached for the Airphone in the seatback and dialed his office. I watched as he turned pale. I asked him what happened. He responded: “An airplane hit one of the Twin Towers, and my office in the Sears Tower is being evacuated.”

“Thank God we’re on the ground safely.”

I recalled being concerned but uncertain what to make of the news. Was it a small plane in which a solo pilot made a horrible mistake? Suddenly, the pilot came on the speaker and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, we are being diverted to Philadelphia.” He didn’t offer further explanation, and the buzz on the plane grew louder. Soon after, someone said loudly, “The second tower has been hit.”

As we approached Philadelphia, I grabbed my BlackBerry and dialed our corporate travel agent. I recall saying, “Kathy, I have no idea what is going on, but get me a rental car reservation everywhere you can around Philly.”

We landed, and the pilot said words that still haunt me: “Thank God we are on the ground safely.”

Watching the Towers collapse in a rental car line.

My colleague and I disembarked. We were directed out of the airport and made a beeline for the rental car facility near the terminal. As we stood in line waiting for a car, there were none, but people who did not know what was happening were slowly returning their cars. We watched the towers collapse while we waited. I was happy for the first time ever to have a Buick to drive. My hands were shaking. I threw the map at my colleague and said, “Direct us out of here.”

A small footnote

I’ll short-circuit the rest of our story. Some management team members had made it into Manhattan the night before and witnessed the fallout. My colleague and I drove to Harrisburg to pick up our CEO, and then we worked our way home to Chicago. The conversations on this car ride are burned into my brain. Like the rest of the World, we were still in the dark about what had happened and what was next. I recall that we all felt like the World shifted on this day. What the shift meant was not clear.

In the subsequent lousy stock market, our deal to sell our software company collapsed. A minor footnote of this bad day, for sure.

For years, those of us together on this date shared notes. We lost the CEO a few years ago, and the shared e-mail exchange has ended, even though the memories are still as clear as the sky on that day when we all saw evil, felt fear and pain, and learned what heroism looked like. The forecast today in the Midwest is for sunny, blue skies. I, for one, would like it to rain.

Art's Signature