I forgot to mention a very interesting side trip I took while criss crossing the country this past weekend. As you may know, I have been to "Ground Zero" twice. I was in New York again this weekend, and visited it for a third time with some flight attendants who had not yet been. When we arrived, one of the flight attendants with us went up to a cop and showed her American Airlines I.D. and he invited the four of us to an escorted tour. The four of us plus two cops hopped on a six person golf cart and started driving down Broadway. As has often been said, there are no words to describe the devastation we saw. I thought I could see a lot from the perimeter the police had set up, but once inside, you see a whole lot more. Those buildings hide a lot.

I can't imagine the clean up effort underway. They have already gotten to the underground part of the south tower, but the north tower is still standing in it's skeletal state, about seven floors high. There are numerous buildings around the twin towers that are so damaged, they will have to be demolished. Perhaps the most interesting part of the tour was the memorial set-up for family and friends of victims, which can only be reached by escort; it is not open to the general public. There was a big banner on a fence from the American Airlines flight attendants thanking the NYPD and FDNY for their hard work and bravery. Around it were hundreds of flowers, teddy bears and cards. One of the flight attendants with me (JoAnn) was reading a card on top of the pile, and she quickly told me to come read it. I bent over and started reading, "Dear Kevin, we miss you so much. We promise to take care of Beth...." I couldn't believe it. It was probably the single most serreal experience I have ever had. Tears welled up in my eyes, as they did JoAnn's, as she has met Beth before. It was a small glimpse that made me realize how lucky I really am, and how thankful I am for those around me.

We didn't get to stay at the memorial for long, as there family members of the victims getting a tour, too. They wanted to keep us at a distance, so we moved on when they headed back to the memorial. The memorial is set up facing the Hudson River. It is a beautiful place to be able to reflect and grieve for the ones who died.