On Sept. 10, 2001 I was in NYC for the day on business. I remember flying in and out of National (DC) via LaGuardia. The takeoff and landings were always great because you would be staring right down on the Pentagon and always had the great view of the NYC skyline (including the Towers). I did not know that I would be spending the last day of the 20th Century two blocks from the Towers– but we… all awoke on 9-11 and the 21st Century was ushered in on that day in the most horrific way possible. I saw the smoke billowing out of the Pentagon as I was starting to drive into DC from Alexandria, and turned around for home as the newscasts on the radio were relaying the events that were unfolding. We all held our breath as we waited for the fourth plane to hits its target– the White House or the Capitol, but a band of brave Americans (among the most heroic in history) fought for control of that final plane and took it down to stop another suicide attack from happening. The war on terror was declared, it has not stopped, and the 21st Century continues onward making many of the things that we feared during the post-WWII era quaint by comparison.

Chris Orestis