this picture was taken on the first day that i met juri, back in july of 2001, two months before "9/11". we were looking through the slats to the cars and water below...you'll see the world trade center in the background.
two months later, i was still sleeping when the phone kept ringing all morning. i was the only one in the house and finally got up to answer the phone. it was my friend sharon, who was calling to see if i had heard from juri. why? i asked. turn on the tv, she said. you know the rest...
i wasn't able to get in touch with juri until much later that day...no cell phone calls were going through, but she called later that evening to tell me she was alright. the next few days were a waiting game. i had plans to fly to nyc on the 13th to see juri...but all flights in the country were grounded. finally, united told me that they were flying again on the 15th, and i was on the first flight out of sacramento. the airport was eerily quiet, the terminal even quieter. there were about 30 of us on the flight, and i still remember the pilot gathering us all together and lecturing us on what we could and could not do. he said that one of the pilots killed on flight 93 was his friend...and that we were not to get up out of our seats or make any jokes about bombs or hijacks. while i understand his feelings, i don't know if he thought we were stupid.
anyway, we flew over the wtc and you could see burning red and pillars of smoke, so dark and thick. everyone in the plane was glued to their windows, all amazed at what we were seeing...we were probably some of the earliest people to have first-hand aerial views of the site. juri and some other friends picked me up at laguardia and we went to a wine bar for dinner...it was my birthday. one of the strangest birthdays i'll ever have, i'm sure. and for me, my birthday will always be linked to that tragic event.
