Remembering 9/11 From the Other Coast: The Infamous Day None Will Forget

First of all, I want to say that my thoughts, sympathy, and prayers go out to anyone who lost loved ones that day, whether in the Towers or the police and firemen who helped or in the planes involved.

We in Hollywood not only lost valuable countrymen and friends but we also lost one of our own. David Angell, the Executive Producer of Frasier and Wings, and his wife, Lynn, were on American Airlines, Flight 11, the first plane crashed into the Towers.

And my thoughts go out to all those who lived in fear in NY and Washington DC that day, not knowing if they, too, would lose their lives. And all those pets who didn’t understand why their beloved humans didn’t come home to them.

I remember the shock of listening to the news that day. Los Angeles is three hours behind New York so I had the little black and white TV on in my bedroom while I was getting ready for work. It was such a shock to see those images that it almost didn’t seem real. It is so unbelievable that anyone could do that that I just stood there staring at the screen.

At the time I was working in the 35-story building on the NBC-Universal studio lot. Any of you who have come to the Theme Park have seen it. You can’t miss it. It sticks out because, in LA with its earthquakes, tall buildings are a rarity. I daresay there is no other building anywhere near this tall in the San Fernando Valley and it was originally built by Texaco as their corporate offices. My desk was on the 30th floor. I remember how worried I was about our visibility making us another target.

With an anguished heart, I went to work that day, only to discover that they had closed the building and were sending us all home. While we didn’t have the immediate devastation of losing our loved ones, coworkers and friends in a horrendous attack, we also didn’t know if there would be other attacks and felt very exposed.

The days following were also unforgettable. The X-ray machines, the manual inspections of cars, purses and bags that had never been done on the studio lot before were welcome precautions, but also scary reminders of what had happened and could happen.

Watching the guards go around each car, checking underneath with a mirror on a stick, is a sight I’ll never forget. Nor will I forget the bomb-sniffing dogs at each studio gate, sitting patiently and alert on the sidewalks until another car pulled up for them to go over to and check. Or the comforting lecture we got on how well Texaco had constructed the building we were in and its unique design.

I don’t know how many of you have been in the area around Universal City, but the Texaco sign on top the building could be seen for miles every night like a beacon. When Universal took over the building, a Universal sign became the beacon that guided me home. Now it beams NBC Universal up there in the night.

But for months after 9/11 the building was dark. No beacon broadcasting its proud name into the night. And that, too, was a beacon of sorts… one of sadness, hurt, devastation… and concern.

I also have another unforgettable memory of that time, one for which I am grateful. The studio is in a no-fly zone and in our country’s days of mourning, I really didn’t think about not hearing planes, because I never do. A few days afterwards though, we heard the mighty whirr of engines outside our building. Even though my desk is on the inside and has no view to the outside, there was no mistaking a military jet plane, especially when it sounds like it’s right outside the windows. People with offices that had outside windows confirmed it was a military flyover.

It was unsettling to say the least, until I talked to a friend of mine who had a son flying F-16s and learned of the protective and preventative flyovers that were being made over New York and Washington and randomly across other areas of the country. I felt safer and less afraid and ever so appreciative and grateful for them. I know those guys (I’m not sure if women are allowed to fly the fighter jets now, they weren’t when I was growing up wanting to be one) spent many hours up there in the air with no days off and turn-arounds that meant little sleep and to this day, I am grateful to them for my peace of mind. I still feel safer and less afraid because I believe they are still up there… maybe not as often as they were, but out there, letting terrorists know they are watching over us.

Every time I call my friend, I tell her to tell her son and his buddies thanks for me.

So they are one of the silver linings that I will remember amid the tragic horrors of 9/11 which I will not forget either.

My love to all of you whose memories are much worse. Let’s pray we never see the like again.