Dave Myers is the TarheelinNashville

It was a bright and sunny day. We were busy as heck back at the office. I had been working for Enterprise Rent a Car for over a year and a half, and had gotten used to the fast pace. I had recently transferred to an office in where a lot of my friends were working, and was almost enjoying being there. I was living in Fayetteville NC, about 45 minutes from my hometown of Laurinburg. Things were going well for me. I was making decent money for the first time, and I was planning a move back to the coast.
I had just dropped off a lady at LaFayette Ford on Raeford Rd near my office, and was on the way back to the office with a hot Bojangles biscuit in my hand. I loved going to LaFayette Ford, because it was so close to Bojangles.. If you timed it just right, you could drop the customer off, go through the drive thru, eat your biscuit on the way back, and nobody would know you had gotten some breakfast.
Everything was going my way. I had the window down on the GMC Sonoma I was driving and was digging on some Red Hot Chili Peppers on the rock station from up in Raleigh. On a clear day, the signal came in like it was coming from next door.
When the DJ stopped playing ‘Give it Away’, he came back on the air. He had a somber tone to his voice. He then announced that a plane had hit on of the Twin Towers in NY.
In all honesty, when he first said it.. I was kind of shocked, but didn’t know what to think of it. The DJ didn’t go into very much detail at first, so I thought it had been a small 4-6 passenger plane that had crashed. Granted, that is sad, but I had no idea it was major airliner.
He said he would give more details as soon as he got them, and then he played another song. After the song was over, he came back on the air with the same somber tone and gave more details. He then said that it was a major airliner that hit, and said he was watching CNN for the latest updates.
It was then that I had pulled into the back parking lot of the office, but I stayed in the truck trying to take in as much information as I could. I stayed as long as I could get away with, not wanting to turn the radio off. I then noticed one of my fellow employees motioning for me to come back inside.
When I made it back into the building, it was what everyone in the office was talking about. We did not have a radio in the office, because Enterprise did not allow them. So we got all our information from the car radios outside.
A lady had just returned her vehicle, and needed a ride back to the body shop, so I grabbed the keys and offered her a ride. We remained silent as we listened to the radio. The station we were listening to was broadcasting ABC News live.
In the middle of the broadcast, the late Peter Jennings said “Oh no… it seems another plane has hit the second tower”.
Keep in mind, until this time.. I thought (and probably a lot of people thought) that the first plane hitting was some kind of freak accident or something. It was inconceivable to think of a terrorist attack. But when the second plane hit, it was obvious something even more horrible than we originally thought was happening. It looked like it had all been planned out.
I didn’t know what to say as we listened in the car on the way to the body shop.
“Oh God” was all I said under my breath.
The lady riding with me heard me and said “That’s right… we have to look to God”.
She then asked me if I was a Christian. I told her yes. We then held hands and began to pray together. I had one hand on the steering wheel, and the other hand in the hand of a stranger as we prayed to our God for clarity, relief, and for the families who were all being affected that day. By the time we were done, we were at the body shop. She simply got out of the car, gathered her things, and said thank you for the ride without mentioning our prayer session.
As I backed out of the parking lot, a friend of mine called me. She was watching the coverage on CNN. She told me about watching people throw themselves out of the windows of the building as an alternative to being burned to death by the inferno that was rising throughout the towers. I could not imagine the sights she was describing over the phone, through her heavy breathing and sobbing.
Fayetteville (for those who don’t know) is the home of Ft. Bragg, one of the largest Army bases in the country. It (at that time) was also home of Pope Air Force Base as well. When the Pentagon was struck, the mood in the city went from crazy to chaos. The government had grounded all planes, and they were shutting off every military base in the country. Because of this, the traffic on all the main roads leading to the base were parking lots. No one was going anywhere. That made my job quite difficult.
When I finally made it back to the office, someone had brought in a small radio to play in the office. It was against the rules normally, but these were extreme circumstances. We didn’t have any customers at the time, so we all crowded around the tiny radio for any ounce of information we could get. We were all standing together when we heard of the plane going down in Pennsylvania. We stood there silent, not know what to say.
A group of grown men, together, feeling helpless, scared, in shock and angry all at the same time. There was no need for words. We were all feeling the same as we stood around the little transistor radio we had bought at CVS.
A young lady came in to break the silence. I got to the counter first to help her. She had tears running down her cheek and her eyes were red. She wanted to rent a car to drive to Maryland to see her family. She was a young girl, couldn’t have been more than 20. Her husband had just been shipped off to Korea, and she was in Fayetteville alone. She was alone and scared. She didn’t have a credit card; she only had $100 on her check card, and under normal circumstances would not have qualified to rent a car. After hearing her situation, I threw the rule book out the window and rented her the car. I knew I could possibly get in a lot of trouble for doing it, but in all honesty, I really didn’t care. It was the right thing to do (she brought the car back on time, full of gas, and with money in hand to pay the entire bill when she returned).
After renting the young lady the car, I went to my desk to call home. My mother answered the phone (as always). I was expecting her to be crying and upset but she wasn’t. My mother tends to get emotional very easily, so I was very surprised. I asked if she was alright. She said she was. She was just worried about me being that close to Ft.Bragg. I told her not to worry; I was going to be fine. She said she just had to turn the TV off, that she just couldn’t handle watching it anymore. My Dad was on the way home from work, so I knew I didn’t have to worry about her. I told her I loved her as I hung up the phone, like I always did. On that day however, I wanted to make sure that she knew it.
I thought of all the folks who had started there day off like any other day, only for it to be the last day they would see there loved ones. I wondered how many of them told their mother, father, wife, or husband they loved them; it was a sad thought.
I went back over to the desk with the radio to listen to Peter Jennings. More destruction, more lives lost. You could hear the pain in his voice as he witnessed what was happening. Over the radio, you could see what was going on, just by his description of the events unfolding, and the sound of his voice cracking with emotion.
Not long after that, we received an email from the president of the company. He told us that effective immediately all branches across the country were to close so the employees could be home with there families. I am glad he made that decision; it was the right thing to do.
So, we all packed up and closed down for the evening. This is something that simply doesn’t happen with Enterprise Rent- A- Car. I my total 7 years with the company, it is one of the VERY few times I can remember leaving early.
I listened to the radio as I drove home. I heard of the chaos in the streets of NY. I heard of the destruction. I heard the cries of people, the sounds of sirens, I heard it all.
It wasn’t until I got home that I saw any of it.
I watched in horror on TV the replaying of it all. It was the first time I had actually seen any of it. I got teary eyed as I watched it. I have heard lots of folks my parents age talk about how they can remember every detail of where they were and what they were doing when President Kennedy was shot. This was going to be one of those moments in American history that would have the same affect on my generation.
In the days that followed and as the answers to our questions were answered. I saw a bonding in this country that I did not think was possible.
There were so many stories that were touching that I can tell you about firsthand.
Their were people who handed out free water and lemonade to the soldiers who were stuck in traffic, just trying to get into base at Bragg where they worked.
Thousands of people stood in line for HOURS just to give blood. I remember hearing a story about actor Robin Williams doing the same thing… he wasn’t a pampered celebrity who wanted to cut in line, he just wanted to do his part like everyone else.
I remember driving down the road to work, seeing the countless American flags in the windows of houses.
I remember the disappointment of going to Wal Mart and Target trying to buy a flag of my own., just to find out they were on back order for over two months. With the disappointment, came a sense of pride.
There were so many people whom I had argued and squabbled with before that became good friends during that time. Whatever differences we had didn’t seem as important anymore.
I remember for the first time in my lifetime, that prayer was allowed in school again. People talked openly of God like I had never heard.
I actually pulled for the NY Yankees for the first time in my life as I watched them take the field for the first time after 9/11.
It was impossible not to pull for NY that night. During the 7th inning stretch when they sang “America the Beautiful” for the first time, I got chill bumps as they showed the crowd all waving American flags.
It was a time when NYFD was the most popular logo to wear.
Red white and blue were the colors of choice.
I remember watching the Senators on Capital Hill of both parties standing together to sing ‘God Bless America’
There was NO Democrat or Republican, NO Black or White, No differences whatsoever. We were all just Americans. We were people of the same homeland who both grieved and supported each other.
We were ALL one Nation under God, and we weren’t afraid to say so.

So, as we reflect back on the events of 9/11, let’s remember who and what we lost. We need to do that.
But try to remember the events that followed and all the great things we witnessed, did and felt. Let’s hope it doesn’t take another event such as what we had to endure that day to help us find that feeling again.
9/11 was a day that I prayed with a stranger.
9/11 was a day that I basically trusted a complete stranger with a $25,000 automobile when she had only $100 to her name. I gave her the keys because I wanted her to make it home to see her Daddy.
9/11 was a day that I cried and grieved for thousands of people I never met.
9/11 was a day that made me thankful for all that I had, and all that could just as easily go away in a moments notice.

Love Y’all
D