United 93 - A Personal Remembrance

A very good friend and a terrific guy sent me this e-mail. I'm glad he did and I'm glad he gave me permission to share it with you.

GM, I'm glad you went, I haven't seen it yet, and here's why:

From September 5, 2001 - September 10, 2001 I was in Rome, Italy on a company sponsored trip. Todd Beamer, a co-worker, and his wife Lisa were there too. I knew Todd pretty well - we worked in the same group and, being sales people, had worked on a couple of deals together.

On Sunday evening, September 9, 2001, we attended a black tie dinner which was hosted by our company and held at a spectacular villa on a hill in Rome.

The view was west with the sun setting behind the city. This night was a festive celebration with great food, wine, and company.

On Monday morning the company sponsored part of the trip was over and we all boarded a bus to the airport. Some of us, like my wife and I, were headed to other parts of Italy for a few days. Todd, and some others, were headed home - Todd had a customer meeting scheduled for later in the day of the 11th and wanted to be home to see his boys before he left for the West Coast.

Tuesday my wife and I awoke at our hotel in Ravello on the Amalfi Coast. It is impossible for me to describe what a beautiful day it was. We took the bus into Positano, poked around some shops, had lunch, etc. On our way back to town after a walk we went by a shop and a young-ish Italian woman came out and told us two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center. We didn't believe her. She insisted. I explained that her joke was not funny, was in very poor taste, and we walked away. A short distance later we came upon a sort of bar/restaurant that had a large screen tv tuned to CNN and discovered that she had not been joking.

We were stunned, shocked, angry, and fearful. Many people around the tv were crying. We were mesmerized by the images and stayed for perhaps an hour. I then decided to call into the office to see what I could find out.

Because the planes had left from Boston, our home base, I feared for friends and coworkers who may have had to travel that day.

When I connected with our office administrator she told me the news of Todd's plane. It is hard to describe the feelings - feelings that I'm sure anyone who knew someone on one of the planes or in the Towers felt. The juxtaposition of the joy and revelry of Sunday night and the terror and anger of Tuesday created overwhelming feelings. To this day I can still see Todd and Lisa (who was pregnant at the time) walking out of our hotel in Rome for a day of sightseeing. They were hand-in-hand.

Several months later, I want to say it was April of 2002, I was at a company regional meeting. At one of the meeting breaks the VP running the meeting told us to be back in our seats at an exact time; we were admonished not to straggle in, as sales people are wont to do. She said she had a surprise for us.

Shortly after we were all seated the surprise was unveiled: Lisa Beamer and her newly born baby! Suddenly the room broke out in a standing ovation. Eventually Lisa spoke to us - I am still stunned by her composure, her ability to speak about Todd and the events of the previous 7 months. By the time she was finished speaking there wasn't a dry eye in the place - except for her own.

As is well documented, Todd was fond of the phrase "Let's Roll". In my experience it was not something he said out of false confidence or braggadocio; it was simply a concise and clear call to action.

All of which is to say that I don't need to be reminded of the heroics of the passengers and crew of Flight 93. I trust that Todd was one among many.

I also trust that many or most of us would have done the same in the same circumstances.

We must never forget, and "United 93" is an excellent piece in the puzzle of remembrance. I just don't need reminding right now and don't think I could handle seeing it all over again - at least not right now.

Never forget, Never!