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Some of my clients employees had to make extended treks, many were very very extended. Side note 1: There are many ways for me to get into Manhattan. When I had a client in lower Manhattan, it was a common practice to take a commuter train to Hoboken, and transfer to the PATH train which would leave me off at the lowest level of the WTC. I would then walk through the WTC to either get to the street or to a subway. One morning a section of the plaza level was cordoned off, and as I came up the escalator, I heard great applause. A woman had gone into labor, and a police officer delivered the baby, which was held up for the crowd to see. Side note 2: A former client was the accounting firm of Deloitte and Touche who had offices on the 98th floor of the WTC. I would only get up there occasionally. When I did, I would marvel at the fact that we were above the level of flying helicopters. One day I could swear that the building was moving. It was then explained to me, that the WTC was designed to "give" with the wind, as much as two degrees in any direction. Side note 3: Friends of my mother's came over from England on a tourist trip. I took the elderly couple to the "Windows on the World" restaurant on the top floor of the WTC. I gave the Maitre'D an extra tip to sit up by a window. We had a wonderful time. After I brought the couple back to their hotel, the woman gently pulled me aside, and said "Did you know that my husband is afraid of heights?" Side note 4: Phillippe Petit sneaked onto the roof and attached a tightrope from 1 WTC to 2 WTC, and proceeded to do a tightrope walk from one tower to the other. Upon landing, he was arrested and sentenced to 100 hours of community service. Side note 5: I never liked the architecture. I had always thought that they were two monolithic glass and steel phallic symbols that did nothing to enhance the Manhattan skylite. Now that they are gone, I shall miss them dearly. I shall miss the memories, and the special people who worked there. It is said that one can not be angry and depressed at the same time. I don't know who said that, because that's two of my emotions. There are so many others, I can not begin to describe the feelings I have. I will just leave with the words of a Japanese Admiral who once said "We have awoken a sleeping giant". Dave
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** Cross-Country Driving **
Except for one unavoidable situation in 1983, I have been driving cross-country since 1967. Two to three times a year I drive to Atlanta from Dallas; also, occasionally, a trip to el Cajon near San Diego. These trips take the better part of 2 days each way. re: Moto's thoughts after Pearl Harbor, A Japanese acquaintance says a better rendition into English would be: "I fear we have awakened a sleeping Ogre and filled it with great remorse." Japanese view of Americans is not much different than that of Palestinians; It is said that the number of volunteers for Kama Kazi was a hundred times the number of planes available for such missions. Moreover, our incredulity at that Japanese tactic is just the same as that for the Muslim suicide bombers and pilots: total, obstinate disbelief and disconnect from reality. bobh -
** Cross-Country Driving **
Did anybody else have to do any cross-country driving this week ? On Tuesday the 11th we happened to be at the AS/400 Technical Conference in Orlando and were due to return to Minneapolis at 5:00pm. I was walking down to the conference area in the morning and saw a row of TV's lined up and a number of people surrounding them. Initially my thought was that there was someone giving some sort of presentation in the lobby area. Unfortunately that was not the case as we all now know. I will never forget this tragic day or this particular user conference because this was a day the world as we know it changed forever. We subsequently had to drive our rental mini-van 1600 miles/27hrs back to Minneapolis on Wednesday since there were no flights leaving for anywhere. During the drive home I had a lot of time to reflect on how lucky I am to be alive and not to have been in one of the buildings stricken or aboard one of the flights that crashed. This tragedy is another reminder for all of us to make sure to take time during each day to enjoy the fact that we're alive and also make sure to share that joy with the ones around you. Regards, Richard Schoen RJS Software Systems Inc. "The AS/400 Report and Data Delivery Experts" Email: richard@rjssoft.com Web Site: http://www.rjssoft.comComment
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