KRISTIN L. 2002

Kristin is a fellow Pittsburgh-native who I didn't know until we met Freshman year at George Mason University. This picture was taken in February of 1997, our Senior year.

Kristin has one of the strangest perspectives on this situation of anyone I know -- she was in a plane from Pittsburgh to JFK on that morning.

This piece was written on September 11, 2002 -- She had been recently married and was still commuting back and forth from the 'burgh to NYC on an almost weekly basis.

I have saved almost everything you have written about that week and day from a year ago and every time I read your messages, they make me think and in some cases bring a tear to my eye. It is very hard to believe that it has been one year since our worlds have completely changed...with in that year so much has happened that I am not sure I would be as appreciative for if it wasn't for September 11, 2001. Isn't that sad??

All I have been thinking about over the past few days has been what I was doing on the 11th...the time my plane took off, who I had a conversation with that morning on my way to NY, what I had on, what the pilot said about the "burning buildings in Lower Manhattan", flying through the think black smoke 3 minutes after the second plan hit the tower...I could go on and on.

But I have not taken a second to think about what I was doing the day before or even the weekend before. The only thing I can really remember is being with Tom on that Monday, we were still getting to know one another, it had only been 3 weeks since we had met, but we had a wonderful dinner and conversation and then I headed home as I normally do before my trips. But that is all I can really remember...it seems like what I was doing and the direction I was heading was not as important as it is now. I am not saying that I didn't appreciate certain things, I just think that I may have taken some things for granted.
Jamie, thank you for writing this and making me think. I hope all is well with you and Sam...take care of each other. I am looking forward to catching up in person very soon.