09-12-2012, 04:16 AM
I'm going to reply to today's blog here.
It's a day I will never forget. I was driving truck that day, and when the World Trade Center went down, I was in Hunt's Point Produce market. That's in the Bronx, NY. I had a load of cantaloupe that I had picked up in Yuma, Az just over 48 hours before. Now it's a 43 hour drive on just drive time alone, so I'll leave it to you to figure out where my head was.
They were unloading my truck, and had about 2/3 of the load off when all hell broke loose. Anyway short version, I wan't hanging around. A few quick pull ups and reverses managed to get most of the rest of those melons off my truck, and onto the ground.
As you know, people tried to get out any way they could, many on foot. Being a semi, the police were letting us through the toll gates at the George Washington bridge (The GW to those familiar with it). It was a huge traffic jam, but really not that much worse than any other rush hour going over the GW. Well on the way to the bridge, I had picked up a young woman who was trying to leave on foot, or at least that's what she initially told me.
As we sat in traffic, she eventually told me that her husband had been in the Trade Center, talking to her on his cell phone when it happened. He was killed. I figured she wanted to get out of the city and, get to a bus station to go to family or something. I didn't press her for much information. We got through the toll booth and onto the lower deck of the bridge, the upper was closed for security reason and, only commercial traffic was being allowed across the lower deck. Half way across or so, without a word, she opened the passenger door and jumped off that bridge to her death. I was her suicide ride. (If you've seen some of my other posts, you have a good idea of the impact that had on me.)
So No I don't think we can forget, but I do think we need to tone it down, focus more on what's ahead instead of what happened that day. I know today drags me back to that woman, and to a time in my life before that where I don't need to be, it's a fight not to let it get to me too badly. And all of the recounting and stories of those that dies in there just makes it harder. I imagine it's the same for the families of the victims.
It's time we stopped looking back and, looked forward, focused more on the lessons we learned, and the strength we all gained going through that horrible day.
On a side not of sorts, the days following 9-11 were an amazing experience as a truck driver. No trains, no planes, no one but us moving the freight, and keeping this country going. Stores only have enough inventory for three days on average, yet did one of you outside of the main impact areas even notice that the shelves were never empty, that it seemed not to effect commerce very much at all? I'll always take pride in being one of the drivers that kept those shelves full and, kept the freight moving when no one else could.
It's a day I will never forget. I was driving truck that day, and when the World Trade Center went down, I was in Hunt's Point Produce market. That's in the Bronx, NY. I had a load of cantaloupe that I had picked up in Yuma, Az just over 48 hours before. Now it's a 43 hour drive on just drive time alone, so I'll leave it to you to figure out where my head was.
They were unloading my truck, and had about 2/3 of the load off when all hell broke loose. Anyway short version, I wan't hanging around. A few quick pull ups and reverses managed to get most of the rest of those melons off my truck, and onto the ground.
As you know, people tried to get out any way they could, many on foot. Being a semi, the police were letting us through the toll gates at the George Washington bridge (The GW to those familiar with it). It was a huge traffic jam, but really not that much worse than any other rush hour going over the GW. Well on the way to the bridge, I had picked up a young woman who was trying to leave on foot, or at least that's what she initially told me.
As we sat in traffic, she eventually told me that her husband had been in the Trade Center, talking to her on his cell phone when it happened. He was killed. I figured she wanted to get out of the city and, get to a bus station to go to family or something. I didn't press her for much information. We got through the toll booth and onto the lower deck of the bridge, the upper was closed for security reason and, only commercial traffic was being allowed across the lower deck. Half way across or so, without a word, she opened the passenger door and jumped off that bridge to her death. I was her suicide ride. (If you've seen some of my other posts, you have a good idea of the impact that had on me.)
So No I don't think we can forget, but I do think we need to tone it down, focus more on what's ahead instead of what happened that day. I know today drags me back to that woman, and to a time in my life before that where I don't need to be, it's a fight not to let it get to me too badly. And all of the recounting and stories of those that dies in there just makes it harder. I imagine it's the same for the families of the victims.
It's time we stopped looking back and, looked forward, focused more on the lessons we learned, and the strength we all gained going through that horrible day.
On a side not of sorts, the days following 9-11 were an amazing experience as a truck driver. No trains, no planes, no one but us moving the freight, and keeping this country going. Stores only have enough inventory for three days on average, yet did one of you outside of the main impact areas even notice that the shelves were never empty, that it seemed not to effect commerce very much at all? I'll always take pride in being one of the drivers that kept those shelves full and, kept the freight moving when no one else could.
![[-]](https://gayspeak.com/images/duende_v3_local/collapse.png)
