My 9/11 Morning

I told my sister this little story about my morning of 9/11 2001 yesterday that I figured might be worth writing down. This is where I write stuff down.

I never turn the TV on before work, but for some reason, I did that morning. It was just after the 2nd tower fell. As i'm sure it was with everyone in the country, it took a little while for the gravity of it all to set in. I remember robotically getting ready for work and walking out my apartment door. A girl that lived down the hall walked out her door and we walked towards each other to the stairs. I had walked past this girl 40,000 times without a smile or even a glance from either one of us. We had tacitly agreed that we didn't need pleasantries. There would be no "Good mornings" or "Happy Holidays". We didn't dislike each other as far as I know. We just had no interest in interacting. You go your way and i'll go mine. 

This morning was different. When we got to the stairs, we both slowed down and stopped. This girl with whom i've never spoken a word to meekly said, "Are... are you ok?". I said "Yeah, are you?". She said, "Yeah." and we walked silently down the stairs to the parking lot. When we got to the bottom she stopped again, turned and said, "Be safe."

I know that is a pretty lame 9/11 story, but it's mine and i'll never forget it. Our relationship got upgraded to smile status from that day on.