Life really was different before 9-11-01. Just a couple years before that day, I remember showing up to O’Hare for a flight having lost my paper ticket and not having ID on me (don’t worry, that little tid bit has nothing to do with how I handle cases :)). Of course I was able to get a new ticket and walk on the plane.
One the morning of September 11th I arrived at the Illinois Worker’s Compensation Commission in Chicago. Around the time I arrived, it was being closed down for the day and no one knew why. That had never happened before. I’m sure that there were some irate people who didn’t get to trial that day who were pissed off, only to later discover that this was of course a very reasonable thing to do.
I got back to my office and a bunch of attorneys and staff were gathered around a TV, watching the news. It was so surreal and unexpected that we just assumed a pilot had made a really awful error. None of us thought immediately that this was an act of war against the USA which certainly changed how we first viewed this terrible day.
When the 2nd and 3rd planes hit, we certainly knew this was no accident. Our building quickly closed as did every building around us. The trains were packed and since I had been planning on running after work, I decided to run home that day. I found myself glancing back over and over at the Sears Tower and Hancock Building, hoping and praying that I wouldn’t soon see a plane hit one of them.
I quickly got home and no matter how many times we saw those planes hit the buildings and the tragic losses of life, it never got easier to watch.
It’s amazing to think that 10 years since that day have passed. Here’s hoping that in our lifetimes we never have to deal with such a tragic, unjust day again. And here’s hoping that our Government steps up and finishes the promise to take care of EVERYONE who became ill or injured due to their selfless, heroic actions that day.
