9-11

[THEericstrattonrushchairman]

we remember

 

[FreeLunch]

My next door neighbor in the office was scheduled to meet a client for breakfast at the Windows on the World restaurant on 9 / 11.

As it turned out he came down with a bad cold or flu the day before and cancelled the trip.

Wow.


In the past we would routinely take clients to Windows on the World when we did NY trips. They would arrive in the morning and the first meeting would be at lunch at this famous restaurant. It was obviously an impressive way to get things kicked off.

We would also stay at the Vista Hotel which was on the World Trade Center property. It was convenient to Lehman Brothers headquarters in the World Financial Center -- which was just a couple of blocks south and west of the World Trade Center.

There was a bridge over the West Side Highway that connected the hotel (or the building next door) to the World Financial Center complex. I can't tell you how many times I stood underneath that bridge waiting for a cab or town car to take us to our meetings.

Fortunately (I suppose), the infamous Gwinnett Water / Sewer Authority fiasco cut out the New York boondoggle bond rating trips some time in the 1990s. So I missed 9 / 11 in person ... (and ended my run of seeing "Cats" at 13 times.) -- both good things. But one was obviously more important than the other.


So dayum.

 

[2forheels]

5 relatives of mine, aunt & uncle and their 3 children, all of them high-ranking military members at that time, were in the Pentagon when the plane hit it. All but 1 are retired now. Their offices were on the opposite side thankfully, but I still am affected by the ones that were killed. May God watch over the families of the deceased.

 

[lakelawyerheel]

I posted this in the Yankees thread so 2for had already seen it, but want to include it here:


know a gentleman (and he personifies that word) that was the Under Secretary of Defense for, I don’t remember exactly, Cimputers and Technology basically, on 9/11

In the days that followed 9/11, he personally took GWB’s cell phone from him and gave him an uber secure cell to replace it

Anyway, his office was obviously at the Pentagon. He had to testify/report to a House sub-committee that morning so he left the Pentagon literally just moments after the first plane hit the WTC. He was driving to the Hill in traffic when the Pentagon was hit. As DC was shut down, he was stuck in his car. He couldn’t call his wife to say “I’m fine” because cell service was overloaded

Soldiers literally were sent out to find him and get him to a secure location. They pushed his car off the road and it was left there for several days. He was finally able to call his wife later in the afternoon to tell her he was fine but “it’s gonna be several days before I get to come home” as all Defense Dept execs were working 24/7 for days

He was also offered a contract by the Orioles when he was young to play ball but took a prestigious overseas academic opportunity he was presented instead

He’s a multi multi multi millionaire and served on the Boards of numerous technology companies. So, as he told me once, “I think I made the right decision….but I really did love playing baseball”

 

[lakelawyerheel]

9/11/2001 I had to be in Iredell County Superior Court. My then business partner was getting sworn in to the Bar that morning and I was presenting him to be sworn. Driving up the courthouse I heard the first news regarding a plane hitting WTC. Judge Erwin Spainhour was presiding that week. Judge Spainhour was old school and honestly could be a tad gruff. But he knew my business partner’s dad and was excited to preside over his swearing in. We discussed the news in Chanbers briefly but it was still only about 9:15 AM so there were still questions

Court started at 9:30. Judge Spainhour informed everyone there would be a swearing in first and then normal court business would begin. He made a statement mentioning the events of the morning but that “court business WILL go on in my court.”

We did Tom’s swearing in and I have to say Judge Spainhour really did it right. He made it a truly special event for Tom and his family. As soon as it was over, he immediately went back to stern “now to normal business.”

The second he said it a bailiff sprinted into the courtroom telling everyone to leave immediately, all government buildings were being evacuated, and all courts were cancelled…immediately. GET OUT NOW!”

It was truly one of the most surreal experiences, maybe the most surreal, of my life. I barely remember my own swearing in ceremony. I remember every minute of Tom’s swearing in and I know I always will.

We will never forget.

 

[kik84]

My next door neighbor in the office was scheduled to meet a client for breakfast at the Windows on the World restaurant on 9 / 11.

As it turned out he came down with a bad cold or flu the day before and cancelled the trip.

Wow.


In the past we would routinely take clients to Windows on the World when we did NY trips. They would arrive in the morning and the first meeting would be at lunch at this famous restaurant. It was obviously an impressive way to get things kicked off.

We would also stay at the Vista Hotel which was on the World Trade Center property. It was convenient to Lehman Brothers headquarters in the World Financial Center -- which was just a couple of blocks south and west of the World Trade Center.

There was a bridge over the West Side Highway that connected the hotel (or the building next door) to the World Financial Center complex. I can't tell you how many times I stood underneath that bridge waiting for a cab or town car to take us to our meetings.

Fortunately (I suppose), the infamous Gwinnett Water / Sewer Authority fiasco cut out the New York boondoggle bond rating trips some time in the 1990s. So I missed 9 / 11 in person ... (and ended my run of seeing "Cats" at 13 times.) -- both good things. But one was obviously more important than the other.


So dayum.

Thanks for sharing that.

I was attending a business meeting in Manhattan that morning, at The Metropolitan Club on the Upper East Side.

Family friend's son died that day (RIP, Chris Allingham), and the man who bought my best friend's house in town in 1996 also died. RIP to all.