In Washington DC on 9/11 - crisp autumn day. First thing I heard was when someone poked their head into my office and said a plane had hit the twin towers. I im

In Washington DC on 9/11 - crisp autumn day. First thing I heard was when someone poked their head into my office and said a plane had hit the twin towers. I imagined some idiot in a Cessna. Things spiraled from there - from my office window could see the smoke from the Pentagon. We heard rumors: the Mall was on fire, there had been an explosion at the state department. We all were terrified that the subways were next, so masses of people were walking to their homes, like a great migration - everyone totally terrified and trying to call their loved ones (cell phones were useless, and the internet had completely crashed in our office). Now, crisp autumn days always bring me back to 9/11.