Man's inhumanity to man

I have been at a loss today as to what to post.

Not that I have anything especially profound to say.. Just my own story.

But even my account of 9/11 is part of the history of that day... so I guess I will offer it up in testament to the event that changed view of the world.

That Tuesday was pretty much the same as the others that year. Fun Daddy was out of town. He left the day before for Omaha, NE (ironically where the current POTUS ended up that day). He was visiting some factory. Fun, generally speaking.

That morning, I got up at the crack of dawn got myself ready then got up Les petites to prepare them for the day. Imelda was in grande maternelle (kindergarten), the Angel was in CE1 (first grade). Oh, this was still when they went to French school... just to explain.

As I was driving them to ecole, I heard the first report. Small plane, World Trade Center. Honestly, while upset, I was not freaked out. I always figured given the location of the building and the amount of air traffic in the area, that was eventually inevitable. (I just don't like big buildings as a general rule). I called Fun Daddy, told him what was up.. his approach was like blah, blah, blah.. gotta go on this tour. and he hung up.

I dropped the girls off and headed home. That was when I heard the report of the second plane. Whoa. Ok.. try to call Fun Daddy for the update. Straight to voicemail. Typical.

I get home. Turn on coverage. Call my soeur (currently referred to as 'La Chienne'). Checked on where her husband (currently referred to as 'My Asshole Brother-in-law'). He was on a plane and taken off. Home safe. Typical.

I called my Dad. My mom was in Hawaii.. just checking to see if she truly was safely there.. check.. well, he ended up waking her up in the middle of the night to let her know.. which scared the crap out of her as she thought something that happened to us. She was fine.. we were fine. Yet all was not right in the world.

I called a girlfriend whose husband travels a ton. She had finally heard from him. He landed at LaGuardia that morning and watched the events from the air. Fun, eh?

Then I watched the first tower fall.

This freaked me out. I tried Fun Daddy again. Nothing. No doubt he is ignoring me.

Then I got a call from his best friend. He was calling from the American Express Building. Three blocks from ground zero. He told me that he could see nothing out his window (he was a Vice President, hence a window office). He said that they had no TV or Radio coverage as the antennae were on the tower. It was cloudy, dusty, and full of litter. He was trying to get calls out, but got through to us. He told me that he was safe. That people told them to stay put. But he was no fool, he reminded me. He had heard a huge noise. He knew that one of those buildings had fallen. I confirmed it to him and then tried to make the small talk that allows humans to get through their days. To try to buoy his spirits while he was in the midst of a terrible trauma.

Then he said, "Oh wait, there is a noise.. I better go..." And before I had a chance to say, "Take care, we love you!" The line went dead. I looked at the TV and saw he source of the noise... the collapse of the other Tower.

This made me wild. I called La Chienne who talked me through while I drove wildly down Irving Park Road at an exceptional speed to retrieve my children. The streets were empty, but at those points where the El crossed the road there were small pockets of people who were disgorging themselves from trains heading north away from the Loop.

When I got to the Lycee, I ran into the office, told them in the midst of weeping women (American mothers, not the French ((the French are much more practical in the face of terrorism than we are.. as they have faced it more)).

I ran up the stairs and checked the first classroom... for Imelda.. empty. GRRR. Ran to the second. The class was empty except for the teacher, Mme. Do. I have to say, I loved Mme. Do. She told me where les enfants were. Both were in the gym, then made me stop and slow down. "You must stay calm," she told me. "The children are depending on you." And Mme. Do would know. She was raised in Vietnam, then a French colony during the Vietnam War.... I will always love Mme. Do for that moment. I pulled myself together (somewhat) and continued on to the gym (3rd floor naturally).

I rushed into the gym to surprise of the maternelle teachers. They demanded to know what had happened, that I could only spit out in fits and starts. The teachers, were stunned to hear about the demise of the World Trade Center. The French love their landmarks and fear their destruction as well...and they pressed me for every detain that I could pull out of my confused brain. My sweet filles, ran to me when they saw me there. They seemed to know something bad had happened for me to come to school in the middle of the day. Eventually, I satisfied the teachers the best I could, explained that I needed to track down family and took my sweet girls home.

When I got home were sat for a while, as I tried to track down Fun Daddy. Our friends, Richard and Charles, invited me over, so we didn't have to be alone. I forwarded the phone and we all waited for calls from our loved ones. As the day advanced and all air flights were cancelled, the guys and I took the kids and dogs out to run in the yard. The silence was profound. Generally speaking we live along the preferred flight path to ORD. (you airline geeks know who you are)

Eventually, I drove home through the eerily empty streets with my beloved girls. Fun Daddy finally arrived home the next morning. He and a co-worker shared a car. He got dropped in Chicago as she continued on to her home port.

We were safe. Everyone that we knew? No.. Friends of friends was the closest of our tragedy.. Fun Daddy's best friend ended up being safe. He walked with thousands across the Brooklyn Bridge on his way home. Safe. With a lung full of asbestos? Time will tell. But I got the invitation to his wedding. To a woman that I introduced him to.. So for now? All is good.

That is all I can do.. move on to the future. It is only bitterness about the past and a lack of hope that leads people to such acts as we experienced that day, five years ago.

I never want to go there


Again.