I Was Crying This Morning

My dear readers September 11 is a day with special meaning in my life. Please let me review with you my most memorable September 11's as follows:

September 11,1973: I was a young man of 24 in Santiago, Chile on Business. Unbeknowst to me a military coup was brewing. General Augustine Pinochet lead the armed forces of Chile in a revolt against the democratically-elected government of President Salvador Allende. I was staying at the Sheraton Hotel. Some 1,000 feet from me was a young man of 17 named Pablo Gallyas Puffe. His mother and father were in Lima, Peru. As the violence erupted, he grabbed the family rifle and stood by to defend his younger brothers and sisters. It was a sureal day of violence and terror. One's senses and mind could not process what was happening. Events moved very fast but everything seemed to move in slow motion. Both Pablo and I could have died. God protected us and we can talk about this day some 36 years later. Ironically Pablo and I did not become aware of each other until 1999, We were both amazed that we had been so close to each other on that fateful day. Many other people were not so lucky including two other Americans who were shot dead in the infamous soccer stadium round up. I was crying this morning for the peope on both sides who did not make it that sad day.

September 11, 1996: I arrived in San Jose, California from Houston, Texas. Thus began my thirteen years in the San Francisco Bay area.

September 11,1998: It was a hot afternoon. I was sitting in a Mexican restaurant having a Margarita and delicious dinner when six US Marshals came in and grabbed me. It seemed that I was some dangerous and violent criminal to the shocked patrons in the restaurant. I was told that I was under arrest for contempt of court. I had refused to release sources on a book I had written about the CIA and drug dealing. I ended up spending six months in jail for defying the authorities.

September 11,2001: This was the day of the terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington and the sad Flight 93 in Pennsylvania. I was at work at Telewave, Inc. Someone turned on the TV to watch what was happening. I saw airplanes crash into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. I was sure that this was part of some large-scale attack to bring the United States to it knees. When the shock wore off, I called my wife Elena to make sure that she was all right. She thought I was joking. I also called my stepson Pedro in Toronto to make sure that he was all right. I later found out that two incredible women had close brushes with death that day. The first was Kelly McKean. She was in New York City to go to an appointment with an investment client in one of the Twin Towers at 9:30 AM on that fateful morning. Kelly called her client to reconfirm the appointment. The client warned her not to come up as something awful was happening in the building. The client later became one of the 3000+ fatalities. Kelly's life was spared. Barbara Arietta was the other amazing lady. Her son was supposed to be booked on a flight from Boston to San Francisco that crashed into the World Trade Center. When she saw the disaster unfolding and heard the flight numbers, she cringed in horror and started to cry. She was sure that her son had died as one of the planes crashed into the World Trade Center. Some time later she got a phone call. It was a miracle. Her son was on the phone talking to her. He had taken his mother's advice and booked a different flight. He was alive and well!!!

Today is a day to remember all who died and to give thanks for all we have