Updated: 09/15/2009 9:00 AM KSTP.com | Print |  Email
By: Rebekah Wood

WOOD: Remembering the Unforgettable

On September 11, 2001,  I was actually on my honeymoon  We were on day seven in Maui, Hawaii.  Up until that day, my husband and I had been commenting on how we actually felt like we were in a different country.  Many signs were in Japanese and there were a number of different cultures celebrated on the tropical island.   Since Hawaii is five hours behind Central Time, I was actually sleeping when I got the call from my mom about the attacks.  She had actually forgot about the time change a few times during our stay there so I didn’t answer the phone at 3 a.m. our time.  When I woke up fiver hours later I called her immediately and she told me to turn on the tv when I did, like nearly every American, I was in total shock.  I knew immediately that our country would never be the same.  I sat for hours watching and crying.

Then, when we headed down to the lobby and out of the resort, I was surprised again.  The very tropical paradise was showing it’s true colors with American flags draped over every balcony and flying at every business.  They were Americans and very proud to show it.  I felt comfort seeing that. 

We were allowed to fly out the first day air traffic was open.  When we arrived three hours early to the Maui airport as we were instructed, we found a line of people wrapped around the airport twice.  We waited for two and a half hours, then found someone to tell them when our flight took off and they brought us to the front of the line.  We made it and felt extremely lucky, until we landed in Honolulu and found out that the plane that was waiting to take 25 of us back to the mainland, had taken off five minutes before.  My husband and I were stuck on the island for four extra days with no clothes or sundries.  My husband grew a beard and I now have a wardrobe of Hawaiian dresses.  In face everyone on the island was giving us a break because they knew the predicament we were in.  We were actually lucky to get out in four days, another couple we met, couldn’t get home for two weeks!

So every September 11th, I look back at where I was when our world changed forever, but I also remember the moment I was amazed at how America pulled together in the moments, days and weeks following the attacks.