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How can you help? Get back to living...Sep 28 '01 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Let's get back to life. Don't give the terrorists any more victories. First, I will admit that this is a subject that hits really close to home. I work for American Airlines at Washington Dulles International Airport, which, as many of you know, is where our Flight 77, with service to Los Angeles, took a U-turn somewhere over West Virginia and slammed into the Pentagon on 11 September, 2001 around 9:30am. At the time, I happened to be, in some ways, fortunate enough to be at home asleep when everything happened, for the thought of being at work, checking in people and being one of the last faces they saw is incredibly chilling. As it is, myself and my co-workers are still shaken by the events, and pray that the people who receive their tickets or boarding passes from us will arrive safely to their destinations. However, with that said, I must insist that life as we know it must return to normal. I know many are thinking that are lives will never be the same again. In some regards, they are correct. Our sense of safety and security has been violated, breached, infiltrated, and so forth, and many of us are not sure how to recover from that. Fear is an amazing thing. It can turn regular people into basket-cases, afraid to venture outside of their homes. As many others have said, "Changing the way we live our lives gives the terrorists more victories than we should ever allow." So what does this mean? This means, for starters, we need to go back to the skies. The government, the airlines, and the airport authorities are doing everything they possibly can to prevent this from happening again. Yes, the rumors you have heard, at least in the beginning, are true. When the airports first opened, an on-time flight is one that left an hour and a half late. The lines at security were enormous. The lines at ticket counters often had two hour or longer waits. Now, though, as we have begun to become accustomed to the process have made these sorts of issues less of a problem. At Dulles, for example, we no longer ask people to arrive four hours ahead of time. Two is sufficient, and at certain points of the day, even that is unnecessary. 80-90% of flights are still running at all airports across the country (with Washington National being the prime exception), so the fear of cancellations and problems should be decreased. Have some faith in the staff at airports: WE WILL GET YOU THERE, "come hell or high water," as the popular saying goes. It may not be on the airline you booked it on, but we will get you there somehow. This is not to say that people should not look toward other means of transportation. I just want to make it clear to everyone that planes are as safe as they could possibly be. Even taking into account the events of 11 September, planes are still one of the safest modes of transportation. I understand that it may take a little bit of time to become re-acclimated to the idea of taking to the skies for some people, but "when you are ready, don't worry: we'll be there (from a Southwest Airlines advertisement)." Beyond taking to the skies, get back to life. This is not to say forget what has happened, for we can never forget. We do need to get back to our lives. Go shopping, go to the movies, see friends and family (especially by plane....especially on American...I have a job to look out for :-) Take your children to the park, go to concerts, enjoy life. Remember, wasting your lives worrying about what may happen tomorrow isn't worth it. Live for today. If anything, the people who were on those planes, in those towers, at the Pentagon, and the hundreds of brave rescue workers who gave their lives trying to save others have shown us that we should live every day to its fullest extent. You never know what tomorrow might bring. If you have any generic questions about flying right now, feel free to ask, although information is limited. For those flying in or out of the Washington, D.C. area that have flights booked in or out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), either contact the airline directly by phone (American Airlines' number is (800) 433-7300), check with your travel agent, go to a city ticket office in your area, or the closest airport. When going to BWI or Dulles in the DC area, please remember that we are compensating for the shutdown of National Airport.  |
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