Given the events of this past weekend, featuring the demise of the mastermind behind 9/11, it took me back to the events of that watershed week in September almost ten years ago.
We all have stories and strong memories or feelings tied to that chapter in our history, so here's mine.
I was fortunate. I did not lose any loved ones or dear friends in that catastrophe. In fact, my life was largely unaffected, compared to many people. But I still remember in vivid detail. I was working for Kerry Ingredients in downtown Beloit, WI, in an old converted bank building (our departmental area even had an old vault where we hid our contraband). We were in a meeting that morning, reviewing booth design plans for the upcoming Worldwide Food Expo to be held later that month in Chicago. That's when the news reached us. Like everyone else, we stopped, found a TV, and spent the next couple hours in complete disbelief, followed by intense concern for our family and friends' welfare and safety.
Once we had all verified that our families were secure, our thoughts turned to our department's fearless leader, Jim Andrews, who was at the time, attending the International Baking Industry Expo (IBIE) in Las Vegas.
The IBIE is a worldwide show that comes around once every few years, and 9/11 fell on day #2 of the 5 day show. Instantly, everyone at the show along with several thousand other folks vacationing in Las Vegas realized they had to somehow get home. If you recall, all flights were grounded for several days across the US, stranding countless numbers of travelers. As the realization began to sink in of severity of the disruption 9/11 would ultimately cause, Jim (along with the rest of us back in Beloit, WI) started to plot how he could get himself home.
What followed became known in company lore as "The Odd-yssey". And to this day, we all laugh about it whenever we get together.
By the time Jim realized he had to "get out of Dodge", all the rental cars in Las Vegas were gone, all bus tickets sold out, and of course all flights were grounded. So we all began widening our circle of options. Finally, Jim found a rental car in Laughlin, Nevada, some 95 miles to the south of Las Vegas. So, he reserved it. He then hailed a cab, and said, "Hertz Rent-A-Car .... in Laughlin, if you please". After a discussion regarding the proposed fare, the substantiation of Jim's bank account, and another few remarks about his sanity, they set out for Laughlin. Total cab fare = I recall it being around $475.00 one way.
I love Jim dearly, he's one my best friends. But frankly, he's not very good with directions, and 9/11 occurred during the pre-GPS device days. So Jim would call us in the office, and ask for directions. Things like, "is Chicago east or west of Las Vegas?" So we decided to track his progress on a big map of the United States in one of our offices. We'd add a pushpin whenever we heard from him, and then fill in his route by marking pen.
Jim is also a very realistic and pragmatic guy. He knew nobody was getting any work done anywhere following 9/11, so he decided to do a little sightseeing on his way back to Chicago. At one point, we got a call from Jim's cell phone -- sort of. Apparently, he had sat on his phone while having a cup of coffee at the Grand Canyon. So we listened to several minutes of conversation about sugar, cream, the weather, etc.
His ordeal getting home helped us to focus, restoring some reality to our lives that week. As you may recall, college and professional sports all cancelled their games those first couple weeks. However in the northern Illinois area, high school football went on as usual. As many of you know, I've been refereeing high school football for the past 20 years, and my crew was scheduled to work the game at Crystal Lake Central High School that week. That experience was one of the most memorable of my officiating career. Tears flowed freely during pre-game ceremonies, and I choked up several times trying to get through the coin toss. However, once the game started, both teams played with pride and dignity, and every single player, coach, and fan demonstrated the highest degree of sportsmanship and respect for each other, their schools, their opponents, their communities, and the country they represented. At game's end, everyone was completely drained, physically and emotionally, and feelings of patriotism ran very high.
Now, nearly ten years later, I'm reminded to look back, and try to restore that same feeling of dignity, citizenship, and righteous pride in my country to all aspects of my life. I hope I can live up to that.
TSB
Bob's Best Bites
Since the IBIE took place in Las Vegas, today's Best Bite comes from my good friend and colleague Marc Goldberg of Marketech. It's called Makino, a neighborhood sushi joint at the corner of Decatur and Flamingo (well off the strip). This is BY FAR, the best deal for sushi and oriental food in Las Vegas. For about the same money as you'll pay for a stale hamburger at the Mandalay Bay food court, you'll eat like a king/queen (all you can eat for one price) at Makino. The place is usually only attended by locals, and you're liable to be the only person there who speaks English as their primary language, but for quality, selection, price, taste and value for the buck --- you can't beat it. The only downside is --- they close at 9:30pm, so get over there right after your day is done.
TSB
1-888-9-ASK-TSB
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