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Where were you on 9/11? We were on vacation in St. Remy, France and had one more week of vacation to go.
We turned on the TV to see the planes flying into the Twin Towers and watched in disbelief, at first thinking we were watching a movie and then the horrific reality set in.
Our French friend Michel called and told us that we were welcome to stay with them if we could not get home as scheduled. Who knew what was going to happen?
I bought a special card for each of our two daughters and wrote to them just in case our plane might be highjacked and we should not make it home as planned. It was all so emotional.
When we checked out of our hotel in St. Remy, the woman at the desk took my hands and said she was so very sorry
for what happened to our country and this brought tears to my eyes. She was so caring!

A week later our flight home was to go off as scheduled and we got a shuttle from our Paris hotel to the airport.
There were all Americans also going to the airport and there was much chatter about the 9/11 attacks on our country.
And then we stopped to pick up another couple. It appeared that they were from the Middle East and she was wearing a hijab, and suddenly there was a deafening silence in the van.
I felt like I wanted to connect with them in some way. It was not them that caused this atrocity to happen.
As I was exiting the shuttle, I turned to her and simply said... "PLEASE BE SAFE!".
We collected our luggage and headed to the airport doors. Before entering, I turned back and looked towards her on the van and her eyes were locked on me and she waved.
I felt tears well up in my eyes. We are all human and we are in this together.

I yearn for a caring and peaceful world for all to live in.
When we landed at DFW airport, the entire plane broke into applause! Another emotional moment!
And we remember all of those who lost their lives in this terror attack on our country.


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larose forest photos12-Sep-2021 01:31
An emotional and heartfelt memory of a time that nobody ever expected we'd see. I remember exactly what I was doing when I heard the news.
danad11-Sep-2021 16:02
Thank you for sharing your experience during these dreadful times. Your words sounds really moving. After all this time for one week, French Televisions and newspapers focus again on this tragedy, and we feel again the same emotions and sadness as before...
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