September 11

Nearly everyone remembers where they were when they heard the news about the attack on the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. For me there’s a back story.

Rewind to the summer of 2001. One evening sitting in an easy chair in my living room, I made the decision that I wanted to retire into fiction writing. As a result of this, I negotiated with my boss to work three days a week. This turned out fine for both of us since my primary responsibility at that time was negotiating contracts with customers and suppliers. A number of these entailed night phone calls to Japan, so I could set my own schedule and get the work accomplished in the equivalent of three working days. Then I could spend the equivalent of two working days jump starting my writing.

I also had learned that if you’re 55 or older, you can attend any course at the University of Colorado for free with the instructor’s permission. I availed myself of this program and signed up for a fiction writing class that began at the end of August.

Fast forward to the morning of September 11. I got up and didn’t turn on the television because this was going to be my first day to write all morning. I had an idea for a short story for my writing class and was excited to be able to dive in and spend an extended time writing.  I had just settled into the chair at my desk in my home office, when the phone rang. It was the president of my company asking me if I had watched the news that morning. Of course I hadn’t. I ran downstairs, turned on the television, and needless to say, I didn’t get one word written that day.