Never Forget?

Let me pose a hypothetical question to you…

Would you, today, on the ninth anniversary of 9/11 fly on one of the hijacked routes?

You can see my answer below.

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It never even really occurred to me when I booked my flight from Washington Dulles to Los Angeles International for early Saturday morning that I was: a) flying on 9/11, b) flying one of the highjacked routes, or c) traveling nearly the exact same path at the exact same times as five hijackers arrived at Dulles International Airport that Tuesday nine years ago.

I’m not really sure what to make of the fact that at no time did anyone I encounter today mentioned or even notice this. In fact it didn’t really occur to me until I woke up this morning. Perusing through the Wikipedia entry on American Airlines Flight 77 I was struck by the times noted. Those were the times I was going through security and my departure gate was a stone’s through from theirs. I rode the same People Mover tram to the D gates which are not served by the new Dulles rail system.

I’m writing this in Los Angeles, aware of the uniqueness and significance of my chosen travel plans, but hopeful that I had traveling companions who would remember the lessons of United Flight 93 (and others afterwards), and who would have, like me, made the ultimate sacrifice if the situation had warranted.

For me that’s been my standard on every flight I’ve taken since 9/11. So in that respect it was just another day; just another flight.