[The Runway-notes from a diary, and letter] We were on the runway at the St. Paul [MSP] International Air Port ready to take off on the 11th of September, flight DL 1001/8:30 AM. We were waiting for the go ahead, and at 8:36 AM, we got news that there was a terrorist threat. But that is all we knew. We then were told we had to disembark the plane; so Rosa and I got off the plane and went to the lobby by Gate #15, the gate we went through to get on the plane, and now back in the Terminal.

At the Deli in the waiting area by the gates, the television news was showing one of the World Trade Center's buildings in New York City on fire. And then all of a sudden the second one was hit [by a 767 jet], and that too became a blaze of fire and smoke.

We stayed there for a few minutes not quite believing what we were seeing. Then as we walked down by a coffee bender, about 100-meters from the gates [15] area, another TV was on, and Washington was hit; the Pentagon. Again, we couldn't believe the chain of events we were seeing. We went back to the other section, where we were before, and sat down to watch, see and hear exactly what was going on. So much was unfolding before our eyes; we couldn’t quite put it all together. One of the things I find ironic is that all three or four jets involved, one was scheduled to land in Los Angeles, where Rosa and I were to make connecting flights to Maui [Hawaii] day. After a while, some one said another plane that left Boston, went down in Pennsylvania, this was the 4th plane I mentioned above. I guess it was heading back toward Washington in-flight to San Francisco. The authorities said it was in a direct line to hit either the White House or Air Force One [jet], which the President was on I think.

We tried for two days to get flights out to Maui, but no such luck. Maybe it was for the better. We would have had a stop over in Los Angeles, where all the hijacked planes were headed for, and to be quite honest, it didn't sound all that great. “It has been a trying week to say the least,” I had said to my wife, I can't imagine how it was for those folks in New York City or Washington D.C. “They must be is a state of exhaustion, and I fear Post Traumatic Stress will be part of their end result. But it seems the world has come to consul them, and us.” So I stated at the time.

[From my notes at the time]: “Now the President has declared war on the terrorist. He has allocated $40-billion dollars $20-billion for the airlines, and 20-billion for rebuilding New York. I guess Rosa and I will never forget where we were at on the 11th of September, 2001 at 8:36 AM.

“The United States seems to have become a little closer to their neighbors now. There are flags out all over: News 24-hours a day on this happening. People saying it is another Pearl Harbor; many young people trying to join the Army to go fight the bad guys. Churches are filled with people and prayers.

“The rest of the world seems to be in shock; the Americans in disbelief. Even the Russians seem to be saddened by this atrocity. Israel is also sadden, but I think they think, now you can understand our way of thinking. That is, they live in a world that is hit almost daily by terrorists. And maybe they are right, maybe now we can show more empathy.

“The other thing is that, this new 21st Century war will bring new consequences for all. No one really wins—but then freedom has its own price every decade or so. Peru knows this well. They have fought terror in their backyards like we are doing now (a decade ago). I like how they put Abimael Guzman [head of the terrorist group, ‘The Shinning Path’], in jail with a stripped uniform—a zebra suite—on which shows the world what a helpless individual he is without his Army of thugs. I thought this was great.”

See Dennis' web site: http://dennissiluk.tripod.com

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