I always thought it was strange that the terrorists chose 9/11 as the date for the attack. I usually dont put much stock in number coincidences but this one was poignant indeed. It seems like just yesterday and also seems like a million years ago. Waking up on the West Coast to the emergency on every channel of the news we watched at first thinking it was an action movie. It took several minutes to just realize that what we were seeing was really happening. And then the second plane hit the second tower. Strangely enough we had several friends in the towers that day. Some we knew then and some I met later. One friend, an investment banker, was in the first tower but below the initial impact. He said all the building announcements told them to stay where they were and not to crowd the stairway exits or the stairs. He had been in the building in 1993 for the first terrorist attack so he and his good friend decided to leave the building no matter what was being said. They survived. Everyone else they knew and worked with, an office of almost 100 people, were killed. I knew that Windows on the World was above the first impact and I was sick about the restaurant workers who were in the building that day. Amazingly the Executive Chef had a problem with his prescription glasses so he went down to the lobby to have them adjusted at the optometrist there. Just a silly errand but it saved his life. Everyone else was killed who was there that day including former Boulevard (SF restaurant) Pastry Chef Heather Ho. I dont like to think about that part too much but for a long time I had a list of every one of their names framed and on my office wall. Im proud of my friend Trish Flores, who survived that day and has worked hard to recover her life and her center. She is an inspiration to me and much admired for her courage and especially for her smile and warmth. 13 years is a while but my eyes still sting when I think about that day and about the days that followed. Im also very proud of my restaurant community and the way we all stepped up after it happened, the way we all tried to help, running fundraisers for the families of the foodworkers, Windows of Hope, and the months and months of meals and countless hours the community offered to support rescue and salvage workers. I wish I had something wise to say about it all. But I dont. I just wanted to offer this remembrance and a prayer that all who were murdered that day may rest in peace and that all who survived that day may find peace here in this life. And I still say God Bless America. God Bless the Firefighters and the Police who rushed into the buildings. God Bless their families and all the families and friends who were so very hurt that day.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 00:51:15 +0000
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