I was approaching Manhattan's Queens-Midtown tunnel when I first heard the news on the car radio. The horrific events occurring in New York and Washington were simply unbelievable, the devastation unfathomable. As I sit here and write this column, everything in my little daily life seems incredibly trivial. Last week we were buzzing at the news of the HP-Compaq merger. This week it seems so unimportant.
There is no doubt that these events will transform our country and our very lives. Personally, I feel incredibly vulnerable. I fly out of Boston's Logan Airport almost every week. I flew on Monday out of the same terminal. And I'm sure that I, as well as many of you, have actually taken those ill-fated United or American flights to Los Angeles. But I also feel immensely lucky to have the opportunity to review my life with a critical eye and see what is important. We all get wrapped up in day-to-day stresses. I hope these events will help me and others keep things in perspective.
This is not only a history-altering event; it is a very personal tragedy. Everyone will know someone, or know someone who knows someone, who was in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon or on those planes.
But at the same time we must go on. And, for me, the only way to do that is to look at the good in humanity. I'm overwhelmed by the number of people who have given blood and who have volunteered, and by those emergency rescue workers, police officers and firefighters who are willing to risk their lives to save others. We cannot imagine the horror they have seen.
And for those not trained to be on the front lines,the businesspeople,they, too, have rallied together and are offering their services to help in the rescue and recovery efforts.
There are no adequate words to explain the devastation, the human loss, the enormity of the attack. For that reason, CRN editors have decided we need no headline on our cover. These actions are unspeakable. Even though we try, there are no words.
We here at CRN offer our thoughts and prayers for the victims and their families.
