I had just driven the kids to school and was pulling into the driveway. Billie Holliday and Mad Dog Michaels were hamming it up on 92.5 as usual. I didn’t hear the first part of what Billie said. Her voice had kind of a giggle in it, which I now realize was nervousness or fear, as she told us that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. I can’t remember what crossed my mind, whether I felt that it was terrorists or not. I don’t think I realized that the plane in question was a full-size people-carrying jet airliner.
I didn’t pause on the main floor for any length of time, instead I raced down to the family room to catch the news on CNN. For the next few minutes I sat stunned as I listened to the coverage. At some point, the second plane hit. I can’t remember if I actually saw it or just heard the announcer say it, but at that point in time I knew it was terrorists.
Immediately after the second plane hit I called in to work. At that time I was a kitchen designer for the Home Depot. Coincidentally, the person who answered the phone was Faiika, a very conservative Muslim. I didn’t say much, just that she should tell the store manager to turn on CNN in the meeting room. We had a satellite dish that was connected to the Home Depot network but we could also get CNN. Faiika put up a bit of resistance but I insisted that she tell management to get the hell into the meeting room and hung up.
The full impact of what had happened gradually set in as the day wore on. We heard about the other planes, the other crashes and there seemed to be constant threats and rumours every few minutes. Most of this is now a blur, except for the part where the two towers fell…like vertical domino stacks with one floor knocking down the next. At that time we didn’t know about the asbestos that was being blown across Manhattan or the poor souls who jumped from above the flames to their deaths. None of us knew much about anything then, it was a simpler time, a time when we trusted governments and trusted each other. It’s all different now.
As the lists of the dead came out over the next few weeks, I checked the names of the Canadians who were missing or certified as being lost forever. One name popped out, that of Ralph Gerhardt. Back in my car sales days, I had sold the Gerhardts two cars, and remembered them very well. Hans, Ralph’s dad, had even sent me a Christmas card or two after the sales. Part of the reason I remembered them was that the whole family seemed to be very together, very close and exceptionally polite. Hans was the manager of the Sutton Place Hotel at that time and I could sense his professionalism as well as his strong influence on his sons, Ralph and Stephan. The two boys were car nuts and one of them, perhaps it was Ralph, used to visit me every time he brought the car in for service. His loss brought the events of that day much closer to home. When I think of 9/11, I think of the Gerhardt’s loss as well as the unimaginable pain that these events brought to the world. I’m sure we will all take a moment to reflect on 9/11, not only this year but every year.
Thanks for reading.