It was 7 years ago today...

I remember it well. In Charlotte, the weather was much the same as it was in New York and Washington: sunny and clear skies. It was a little after 8:30am, and the kids were off to school, the wife was off to work, and I was on my way to my favorite bagel shop for a quick breakfast sandwich before I start my visits to various business partners. My partners don't normally get started before 10am, so I knew I had some time to take in a few newspapers and trade magazines. As I was driving into the city, I tuned my radio to the local AM News/Traffic station, to get an update on the traffic congestion. The morning team was moving along with their usual cheery, light-hearted banter. "Today is National 9-1-1 Day,", the radio dude started to say, "in recognition of phone number used for emergency purposes"... as if this ironic statement was a precursor of what was about to come. My eyes were rolling in the back of my head as I heard this -- yeah, like we need another National Recognition Day, soon every little thing will have their own "national" day, what's next? Is this the best you've got for me? Where's the traffic report so that I can switch back to the morning sports radio station?...
The radio chick interrupts her partner: "this just came across the wires -- there is a report of a small fire in one of the World Trade Center towers, and some are saying it may be the result of a small plane possibly hitting one of the towers"...Hmmm, I thought, it's possible, and we haven't heard of this happening in quite a while...the radio voices continue: "you remember the Empire State Building was hit years ago by a small plane, I wonder if this is the same thing...we don't have a lot of information to pass along to you, but as soon as it comes to us, we'll get it to you"...the normal stuff you hear from news programs -- serious but still nothing to worry about as you make your way into work...
Then it all became clear, at 9:04am: "we have just been informed that another plane has crashed into the World Trade Center, and now both towers are in flames..." Wait, what? I turned my car around and raced back home -- this didn't sound like your ordinary small plane event, and I'm sure this would be thoroughly covered by all television news sources. Plus, I knew it would impact the markets, which would impact the rates that affects my livelihood, so I had a vested interest in getting more info -- and these local deejays were clearly in over their heads on this and couldn't get out of their own way with the various reports coming in.
Once at home, I tuned the TV to Fox News -- at the time, Fox News was new and trying to establish an identity, so I had a hunch that they would work harder to get the more unique visuals that others would not get, and I was right. The Big 3 and MSNBC were broadcasting traditional views, but Fox was getting better shots. I turned on my Picture-In-Picture and put on CNBC for that side, and I was equally rewarded: the financial markets were directly hit, and who better to report from their perspective than the financial news network? So there I was, toggling between Fox and CNBC, and I was amazed that CNBC had views that no one else had. The point was made when they showed their everyday opening show shot of the WTC skyline, the skyline we took for granted every day, only this day the skyline was covered in smoke, something we had never seen before. The CNBC announcers were visibly shaken. Suddenly, on Fox, there was the report that the Pentagon had been hit, and early feeds were coming in. My cell phone rang -- it was the wife, and she was frantic. No hello, no what's up. "Are you watching this? What's going on?" She was clearly agitated and was borderline frantic (as we all were). I told her the Pentagon just got hit, and she immediately repeated it loudly, as if she wanted the others in the office to hear her. "Where are you hearing this? What channel are you watching?" she shouted back to me. "Turn to Fox News or the local Fox channel", I said. I heard her repeat the instruction to others in the room, followed shortly by gasps from her and the others. She continued, "are we under attack? I heard that we are under attack! What about the children? Should I go get them?"...Oh my. I wasn't expecting this, I was so mesmerized by what I was watching that I wasn't prepared to discuss the kids' situation, but I knew I had to snap out of it. "Call the school to see what they are doing and if they're letting the kids out", I suggested. "I'm closer to the school so call me back and I'll go get them asap." "I'm scared", she said to me. "What is going on?" Her voice was shaken, and it was in the tone that none of us want to hear. "There's nothing going on here, it looks like it's only in New York and Washington. I'm watching it and I'll let you know if I hear anything that we need to know or do locally," I tried to assure her. She sounded more calm as she hung up, and I went back to the TV.
I was glued to it, like a bad car or train wreck that you just cannot stop looking at or turning your head from. "This is crazy", I thought...and just when I thought it couldn't get any crazier, the towers fell down. The phone rang again -- the wife is calling back. "I just called the school. The kids are alright, and they haven't said yet if or when they'll let school out early. Did you see the towers fall?"....yes, I said, I did. And it was then that I knew the world would never be the same.

What's your memory of that day? Has it changed you? I'll be discussing that question in a later blog -- it's amazing to me how deeply this event has shaken people -- it certainly warrants a more in-depth examination of the psyche that is forever etched in many minds and policy-makers going forward...