My story is like most everyone else's, but with a little bit of a twist.
I was in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia a city about 8 hours train ride east of Moscow. I was sitting outside in the afternoon sun (8 hours difference between Moscow and New York) with a Military Doctor friend's mother in law when a Russian man came out from the "Flat" speaking about something and all I could catch was, something bad in America and to come inside.
I went inside and saw on Russian CNN the first tower smoking and within five minutes the second plane crashed into the other tower. Everything was in Russian and I couldn't keep up with it, but I knew what it was. I knew as the towers came down, my heart wrenched as I knew my compatriatriates in EMS were dying as well as others.
I was scheduled to leave in a week and it was clear that we were not going to be going anywhere soon. Word had already gone out that there were no flights going from Moscow to anywhere.
I called my wife and she had not even heard about the news.
For the next week we waited and it wasn't until we got to the airport did we know that we would be able to fly into Amsterdam. The news filtering through was still sketchy as to the extent of things in terms of the long term affects. We expected a war would break out somewhere. At times I wondered if we were going to be able to get home, surely there would be a back log of travelers so I was not sure what would happen.
Got to Amsterdam, and security was as tight as I had ever seen it anywhere, even in Rome after the Terrorist attack in the Rome Airport the security wasn't this tight. I thanked them for frisking us three times! We were going to be the first plane from Amsterdam to be let back into the States. They asked if anyone wanted to sell their tickets and they airline would pay for them to stay in a hotel and give them another ticket at another date. I just wanted to go home.
It was the most interesting flight I had ever been on. Everyone, was friendly to one another, everyone! Somber, yet conversing quietly as if old friends. When a plane lands, Europeans cheer. For the most part, Americans don't do that. This flight we all did. We were glad, no, so very grateful to be home. Everyone got up at the appropriate time to gather their luggage from the overheads, calmly, with overt courtesy. Saying good-by and good luck to one another in a quiet, heart felt manor. It was incredible.
Looking back the waiting doesn't seem like such a big deal. But then, it was the longest week, waiting and wondering when I would get to see my family. Grieving for what we saw and what we did not know. In the end of things, if something ever happens again, no matter what it is. I want to be near home where I can be with my family.
