I was in Pittsburgh when the first plane hit. More specifically, I was sitting in the hotel lobby of a Hampton Inn. I flew to Pittsburgh the night before, and was met at the airport by a colleague of mine, Bill Keyes. Bill lived in Florida and arrived earlier in the day. We had decided that renting two cars was probably not very efficient, so he made arrangements to get the car and would shuttle the two of us around for our day of meetings.
I was still relatively new to business travel at this point in my career, so Bill (who is several years older than me and a seasoned traveler) booked our hotel rooms too.
This was supposed to be a quick trip. A meeting in the morning at the hotel with a new client from UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center), a meeting with UPMC's IT department, and a brief meeting with UPMC extended care team (nursing home team). At the time, and for seven years more, I worked for a company called ECIN. ECIN sold software to hospitals and to extended care providers. The software helped automate a manual process of getting patients out of the hospital and into the next "level of care." Bill sold the software to hospitals that needed to send patient information to the appropriate care level. I sold the software to the extended care providers to receive the patient information. The UPMC deal was the largest in company history. They were a big client and the meeting was an important first step for everyone.
Early that morning, I was getting ready in my room. The TV was tuned to the "Today Show" and I was happy to hear that the weather was going to be great all over. This meant I would be less apt to be subjected to any flight delays later in the day.
The meeting in the lobby was uneventful. We talked about plans to implement the software, and how we were going to inform my potential customers about the new change in process; things like that. It was a strange place to have a meeting--the lobby of a Hampton Inn. Business and vacation travelers were eating breakfast all around us, the TV was on (also the Today Show), and hotel business was being conducted.
After the first plane hit the tower, our meeting immediately shifted focus. We saw the footage of the burning Tower on TV and began to formulate a hypothesis on what caused the damage. Mostly people in the lobby were convinced that it was a small commuter plane that veered off course. We felt bad for the few people we assumed that would be hurt by the accident.
As soon as we began hearing words like, "possible terrorist attack" and "possible hijacking", we could no longer focus on the issues at hand. We concluded that it was probably a good idea to call an end to the meeting.
Then the second plane hit.
Bill and I packed up our things and loaded up his rented SUV. We were still unsure about the magnitude of the events, so we thought we would simply continue with the day. We drove to the building where the UPMC IT department was, and by then had learned that things were getting worse. That meeting was immediately cancelled.
Bill and I drove back to the Hampton Inn to assess our next steps. He had to get back to Florida, I had to get back home to Illinois. We only had one car between us and it wasn't rented to me.
Outside the Hampton Inn, several police officers were storming a building directly across the street. It was chaotic. Guns were being pulled, caution was being taken. Bill and I hustled inside for protection. It seemed as though a drug bust or some kind of criminal activity unrelated to the events going on in NY was being thwarted.
We had to refocus our efforts. We heard that a plane had hit he Pentagon. We heard that a plane had gone down in a field some 70-80 miles from where we were. Getting home was the only thing on our minds.
I began making phone calls. I let Cyndi know I was okay and learned that she and Frederic were too. I called my dad to see what he knew. Being that he worked at O'Hare airport, I figured he might have some insider information. All he was able to confirm was that there was no way I was flying anywhere at any point in the near future. I had no interest in getting on a plane anyway, but that option was out either way.
I learned that bus and train travel were not options. I began calling rental car companies at the Pittsburgh airport. No one had a vehicle. I was led to believe that I would be able to secure a car, but that information quickly proved to be false.
My options were extremely limited.
I tried to see if Bill would be interested in taking me back to Chicago. The thought was that by the time we reached Chicago, which was only about nine hours away, things might be better. Bill considered this, but his wife immediately put the kibosh on that. Rightfully so. She wanted her husband home and had no interest in unnecessary diversions.
My cell phone battery was quickly draining as fast as my travel options came to an end. The only solution was going to be for me to hang out at the Hampton Inn for the unforeseen future. It wasn't the option I wanted, but the only one that seemed plausible.
Then, the thought of a lifetime hit me. I went to the front desk, asked for a Yellow Pages, flipped through the thick book until I found what I was looking for: Moving Trucks.
I called the nearest U-Haul and was able to secure the smallest truck they had that offered one thing I felt was necessary: a cigarette lighter. I needed juice for my cell phone. Their smaller vehicles came unequipped with lighters.
Bill took me to the gas station that housed the trucks. I gave the attendant my ID and credit card information and was given a 16' moving truck. I didn't care if it was a semi, it was a way for me to get home.
Dressed in my suit (sans, tie and jacket), I set-out for my journey home. I didn't have a GPS. I didn't have a map or specific directions. I simply got in the truck, found my way to the Turnpike and proceeded to drive, hopped up on caffeine and chewing tobacco.
I left Pittsburgh at 2:00pm EST and barely remember the drive home. It all seemed to go by so fast. I listened to AM radio the whole way, made phone calls to ensure that family and friends were safe, stopped twice to go to the bathroom, and was in my living room by 10:30pm CST.
Cyndi grabbed me at the front door and didn't let go. The TV was on in the background, the events of the day repeating themselves over and over, reminding everyone that our lives were completely changed forever.
I was one of the lucky ones. But even though my day had an ending that was less tragic than many. my September 11 story is one that I think about often.
Often.
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