It just doesn't feel right to say I was "lucky" to have witnessed the attack almost from the start, but as far as watching history unfold right before one's eyes, I would certainly have to admit I was fortunate in that I just happened to email somebody about ten minutes after the first plane struck and was immediately informed something crazy had happened in New York City, at which point I flipped on the TV.
Like President Bush's advisers, everyone in the TV studio just naturally assumed it was some small plane whose pilot had conked out. When the news came in that it was an actual airliner, it was still assumed that the plane had suffered some kind of terrible mechanical mishap.
Of course, that all changed when the second plane hit.
As you might recall, Bush was in a Florida elementary school classroom at the time. There's a video of him here as he describes the moment.
One interesting background story I recently learned about is that Ari Fleischer, the White House Press Secretary, was also in the classroom when news of the second plane arrived. The original plan, when they still assumed it was an accident, was for President Bush to speak briefly to the cameras, assuring New Yorkers that the federal government would provide whatever help was needed.
Just before he was set to address the press, the second plane hit and Bush's staff was immediately notified. Ari grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled down a large 'DON'T SAY ANYTHING YET' on it, then held it up to the Prez, who gave him a brief nod of understanding. It was a minute later that Bush was quietly approached with the bad news. There's a video of Ari relating the story here.
This quick thinking on Ari's part might have saved President Bush a gaffe that would have endured throughout eternity. Imagine him suddenly turning to the cameras and saying, "By the way, we've been informed of that unfortunate little incident up in New York City. If you folks need any extra blankets or band-aids, just let us know."
Another story I found interesting was that the two Air National Guard pilots who scrambled that day to ferret out any other bad guys in the sky went up unarmed.
Well, not exactly 'unarmed'. They did have one weapon at their disposal:
Themselves.
The story is here, another version here, and a 1-hour video interview with her here. (h/t Judith in the comments for the vid)
Never forget.
