The phone kept ringing..Ringing and ringing..Who the hell is calling me? I’m tired, I want to sleep. The cool morning air of September 11, 2001, was an excellent natural sleeping pill. Finally, I answered..“They’re gone,” said the shaken voice on the phone. "What do you mean they’re gone," I said, recognizing my brother Jim’s voice from Los Angeles..“The Twin Towers, in New York, they’re gone.”.“Oh my God,” I said, “what happened?”.He filled me in as much as he knew, and I quickly hung up the phone and ran downstairs to turn on CNN..Dear God, this is bad, very bad, I thought. Terrible. Beyond belief..I knew then, what I had to do. I jumped into the shower, staying under that shower head until my drunken cobwebs were gone. I had had too much wine the night before..Got dressed, raced to work in my beaten up Corolla, ran into the office.. Michelle LangMichelle Lang .A senior desker, my boss, just hit the button on the early SUN edition, as I walked in. It was a small special section, banged out quickly and handed out on the streets of downtown Calgary..Later sections, much bigger, would come of course. It was going to be a long night. I knew I wasn’t going home, until 3 a.m., if I was lucky..Everyone, absolutely everyone, was in shock. One fellow, even had a heart attack on the desk. Thank God, he survived. He was fine..Yes, the day terrorists flew commercial aircraft, full of passengers into the Twin Towers. Like the day JFK died, we all remembered where we were..My friend, Mr. Wolf (not his real name), an operative, let’s just say, was lucky enough to get a tour of the Pentagon, with his dad years later. Normally, this is not allowed. In fact, no foreign visitors — none — are allowed in that building since 9/11..But they owed Mr. Wolf, owed him greatly, and he got clearance..The story he told me was shocking..When they got to the area where American Airlines Flight 77 struck, the guide related a story..One Pentagon worker, whose desk was exactly where the plane struck, had to leave quickly, to catch a flight. Because of that, he didn’t sign out. And, as you can imagine, when the post 9/11 investigation began, his name put him still in the Pentagon. But he wasn’t. He was on a flight..And take a guess, which flight he was on. American Airlines, Flight 77. That’s right. The plane he was on, struck the Pentagon, right where his desk stood..The plane hit the E Ring at the first deck level between Corridors 4 and 5. “His number was up that day,” Mr. Wolf told me..Without a doubt, it was..Truth is stranger than fiction, folks..That week, I watched all the news coverage on TV that I could..One man gave a dire prediction. He said the United States would go mad for 20 years, and that this would not be good for the world. His prediction was completely accurate, almost exactly to the day..The American pullout from Afghanistan would be a shambles, with nothing really accomplished..America did go crazy, launching a war on terror. A war that would ignore the military and economic expansion of China — which has now become America’s Enemy No. 1..The other memory I have of 9/11, and the weeks and months after, was all the fallout..Prime Minister Jean Chretien not buying into the UN clown show of weapons of mass destruction presented by US Secretary of State Colin Powell, prior to the invasion of Iraq. To say the evidence was questionable, would be an understatement. No weapons of mass destruction were ever found..But Iraq was going down — someone had to pay. Big Jean would keep us out of that, thank God..We would later do our part — more than 40,000 members of the Canadian Armed Forces served and 158 Canadian soldiers died during the Afghanistan mission, including one of my colleagues, who was there to cover things..Michelle Lang. She and four Canadian soldiers were killed when their armoured military vehicle struck a roadside bomb on December 30, 2009..Chretien would also give an epic speech to the House of Commons, on September 17..“The world has been attacked. The world must respond. Because we are at war against terrorism and Canada, a nation founded on a belief in freedom, justice and tolerance, will be part of that response. Terrorists are not attached to any one country.”.The other thing I remember, was US President George W. Bush’s amazing Ground Zero speech … now called his “bullhorn address.”.One of the greatest in American history, IMO..Say what you want about George Bush, but he sure did it right that day..America was comin’ … there was no place to hide..The speech still chokes me up, to be honest. Gives me goose bumps.."I want you all to know that America today, America today is on bended knee, in prayer for the people whose lives were lost here, for the workers who work here, for the families who mourn,” said Bush..“This nation stands with the good people of New York City and New Jersey and Connecticut as we mourn the loss of thousands of our citizens.".As Bush continued his speech in the chaotic setting using a megaphone that projected his voice, rescue workers yelled back, "We can’t hear you!"."I can hear you! I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you," replied Bush. "And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.".Man oh man, did they ever. And they still are, today..To get back to Mr. Wolf and the Pentagon..The day ended with hotdogs and pop at Cafe Ground Zero, in the middle of the Pentagon gardens. Macabrely nicknamed because it is believed Russia will no doubt send two ICBMs to hit the spot, should WWIII break out..Folks, let us not forget them. Please take a moment, today, or this week, to remember them. All those who died on 9/11..And let us never forget the lesson, that democracy is not served on a plate, it must be constantly defended, day in and date out..To quote the great John F. Kennedy. “If freedom is to survive and prosper, it will require the sacrifice, the effort and the thoughtful attention of every citizen.”.Not just men guarding the wall with guns, but you and me, folks..You and me.
The phone kept ringing..Ringing and ringing..Who the hell is calling me? I’m tired, I want to sleep. The cool morning air of September 11, 2001, was an excellent natural sleeping pill. Finally, I answered..“They’re gone,” said the shaken voice on the phone. "What do you mean they’re gone," I said, recognizing my brother Jim’s voice from Los Angeles..“The Twin Towers, in New York, they’re gone.”.“Oh my God,” I said, “what happened?”.He filled me in as much as he knew, and I quickly hung up the phone and ran downstairs to turn on CNN..Dear God, this is bad, very bad, I thought. Terrible. Beyond belief..I knew then, what I had to do. I jumped into the shower, staying under that shower head until my drunken cobwebs were gone. I had had too much wine the night before..Got dressed, raced to work in my beaten up Corolla, ran into the office.. Michelle LangMichelle Lang .A senior desker, my boss, just hit the button on the early SUN edition, as I walked in. It was a small special section, banged out quickly and handed out on the streets of downtown Calgary..Later sections, much bigger, would come of course. It was going to be a long night. I knew I wasn’t going home, until 3 a.m., if I was lucky..Everyone, absolutely everyone, was in shock. One fellow, even had a heart attack on the desk. Thank God, he survived. He was fine..Yes, the day terrorists flew commercial aircraft, full of passengers into the Twin Towers. Like the day JFK died, we all remembered where we were..My friend, Mr. Wolf (not his real name), an operative, let’s just say, was lucky enough to get a tour of the Pentagon, with his dad years later. Normally, this is not allowed. In fact, no foreign visitors — none — are allowed in that building since 9/11..But they owed Mr. Wolf, owed him greatly, and he got clearance..The story he told me was shocking..When they got to the area where American Airlines Flight 77 struck, the guide related a story..One Pentagon worker, whose desk was exactly where the plane struck, had to leave quickly, to catch a flight. Because of that, he didn’t sign out. And, as you can imagine, when the post 9/11 investigation began, his name put him still in the Pentagon. But he wasn’t. He was on a flight..And take a guess, which flight he was on. American Airlines, Flight 77. That’s right. The plane he was on, struck the Pentagon, right where his desk stood..The plane hit the E Ring at the first deck level between Corridors 4 and 5. “His number was up that day,” Mr. Wolf told me..Without a doubt, it was..Truth is stranger than fiction, folks..That week, I watched all the news coverage on TV that I could..One man gave a dire prediction. He said the United States would go mad for 20 years, and that this would not be good for the world. His prediction was completely accurate, almost exactly to the day..The American pullout from Afghanistan would be a shambles, with nothing really accomplished..America did go crazy, launching a war on terror. A war that would ignore the military and economic expansion of China — which has now become America’s Enemy No. 1..The other memory I have of 9/11, and the weeks and months after, was all the fallout..Prime Minister Jean Chretien not buying into the UN clown show of weapons of mass destruction presented by US Secretary of State Colin Powell, prior to the invasion of Iraq. To say the evidence was questionable, would be an understatement. No weapons of mass destruction were ever found..But Iraq was going down — someone had to pay. Big Jean would keep us out of that, thank God..We would later do our part — more than 40,000 members of the Canadian Armed Forces served and 158 Canadian soldiers died during the Afghanistan mission, including one of my colleagues, who was there to cover things..Michelle Lang. She and four Canadian soldiers were killed when their armoured military vehicle struck a roadside bomb on December 30, 2009..Chretien would also give an epic speech to the House of Commons, on September 17..“The world has been attacked. The world must respond. Because we are at war against terrorism and Canada, a nation founded on a belief in freedom, justice and tolerance, will be part of that response. Terrorists are not attached to any one country.”.The other thing I remember, was US President George W. Bush’s amazing Ground Zero speech … now called his “bullhorn address.”.One of the greatest in American history, IMO..Say what you want about George Bush, but he sure did it right that day..America was comin’ … there was no place to hide..The speech still chokes me up, to be honest. Gives me goose bumps.."I want you all to know that America today, America today is on bended knee, in prayer for the people whose lives were lost here, for the workers who work here, for the families who mourn,” said Bush..“This nation stands with the good people of New York City and New Jersey and Connecticut as we mourn the loss of thousands of our citizens.".As Bush continued his speech in the chaotic setting using a megaphone that projected his voice, rescue workers yelled back, "We can’t hear you!"."I can hear you! I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you," replied Bush. "And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.".Man oh man, did they ever. And they still are, today..To get back to Mr. Wolf and the Pentagon..The day ended with hotdogs and pop at Cafe Ground Zero, in the middle of the Pentagon gardens. Macabrely nicknamed because it is believed Russia will no doubt send two ICBMs to hit the spot, should WWIII break out..Folks, let us not forget them. Please take a moment, today, or this week, to remember them. All those who died on 9/11..And let us never forget the lesson, that democracy is not served on a plate, it must be constantly defended, day in and date out..To quote the great John F. Kennedy. “If freedom is to survive and prosper, it will require the sacrifice, the effort and the thoughtful attention of every citizen.”.Not just men guarding the wall with guns, but you and me, folks..You and me.