The day was 9/11/01. I had been at my new job at HSN for exactly one year to the day.
I had vacation planned. My family (my son and his mother) were flying to Daytona for a 2 week vacation at my parents place. (They had a condo at one of the Ocean's towers right on the beach)
We were going to fly to Daytona. Leaving Greensboro. Flying into Atlanta. Then from there into Daytona.
My grandparents rode with us to Greensboro and were going to take the car back to Roanoke so I didn't have to pay for long-term parking.
Our flight was scheduled to depart around 9:30. (I have the 3 boarding passes put and saved)
We arrive at the airport. We check in. Pass security and go sit at the gate.
My grandparents were with me. This was before only ticket holders could be in the gate area.
There was an odd vibe in the airport. I could just feel it. Crowds started gathering around TV's at the newspaper/book stores and bar/restaurants. A plane had already hit one of the Twin Towers.
Not much later, another plane had hit the other Twin Tower.
Shock and disbelief by all that was watching. I went back to where my family was sitting at the gate and told them what happened. No one could believe it.
Afterwards there was an announcement that all departures were going to be delayed for 2 hours.
Ok. This wasn't going to be so bad. Just hoped we made our connecting flight in Atlanta.
After some time passed, another announcement came over and said the delay will now be 8 hours.
My son was not yet 2 years old. 8 hours in an airport was probably going to be more than he could handle at that age.
I started to do some thinking. Roanoke is two hours from Greensboro. Daytona is 10 hours from Roanoke. So that means Greensboro is 8 hours away from Datyona. So why not get a one-way rental and drive to Daytona and just fly back at the end of our vacation.
So I told my grandparents this and we made our way to the car rental area. Ok...so I must have been the last one to think of renting a car because as we rounded the corner to that area, it seemed like the entire airport was there.
We get in line at one of the rental places. I think it may have been Hertz or Avis. I can't really remember now. Then the announcement came over the airport that all flights were grounded indefinitely
As we were in line to see if we could get a one-way rental to Daytona. Then a person with a mega-phone made an announcement that anyone with a reservation would still get their rental but not sure when it will be available. And that there will be no one way rentals.
As we stood in line to decide what we were going to do. Thinking of maybe renting a car, drive down and then drive it back to Greensboro and meet my grandparents there with the car and then go back to Roanoke.
Then suddenly, one of the people behind the counter had just hung up the phone and said a plane had hit the Pentagon. At this time, a huge sense of urgency came over me to get my family out of that airport. I wanted them out NOW. So we decided to leave the airport, get back in the car. We then drove back to Roanoke, (listening to the radio along the way listening to the events unfolding. We heard about the plane that went down in PA. This of course, was Flight 93, the first strike back, where in my mind, was the US retaliation, was made by civilians. God Bless those extraordinary people) as we decided to take my grandparents back to their house and then drive to Daytona.
When we got back to Roanoke, we went to Wal-Mart and got snacks, drinks for the now Road Trip to Daytona. Dropped off my grandparents at their house. Went back to our apartment to get and pack a cooler). One of the ladies I worked with at HSN lived in the same apartment complex and was walking out when we pulled up. She had known we were going to fly to Daytona and was concerned if we ever made it onto the plane.
We then started our trek to Daytona. Listening to various radio stations along the way. Just shocked in silence of what we were hearing. We eventually made a stop in Georgia to get some late dinner along the way and to fill up the car to make it the rest of the way to Daytona.
I received many calls on my cell phone from friends calling to see if we were ok. Many fellow wrestlers, and a promoter from WV who knew that we had planned this vacation because we would not be there for APW's weekly Tuesday show for 3 of them.
It was a long trip and to make it even longer, we got stuck on 95 South in Jacksonville, FL due to a car wreck. We were stuck in traffic for about 2 hours.
We eventually got into Daytona and at my parents place. I forget the time we arrived. I want to say it was about 2am or so. I know we were tired. But I was too wired to sleep listening to what had happened that day. I turned on the TV and watched some of the coverage of what had happened on 9/11.
Looking back, that was a scary time for everyone. Even more so for me being with my family in an airport during that time.
We must NEVER FORGET the events on that tragic day. We must NEVER FORGET the victims on that day. And WE MUST NEVER FORGET the heroes, especially those that gave their lives to help.
NEVER FORGET 9/11/01
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