That's what I said as I walked into the hotel room in Skopje, Macedonia where my cinematographer and friend Don Piper was watching what was obviously a staged CNN newscast inside a movie. On the screen was what appeared to be an Irwin Allen disaster movie. A towering New York skyscraper descended from the skyline in a billowing cloud of smoke. The special effects were more realistic than anything I'd ever seen. But it WASN'T a disaster movie and there were NO special effects. It was real. I was watching the World Trade Center collapse on itself in the aftermath of the only foreign attack on American soil since the War of 1812. It was still morning in America on September 11, 2001.
I doubt many Americans cannot recall precisely where they were on that fateful morning, now more than a decade ago. My friend and cinematographer / editor Don Piper and I were in our fourth week of an around the world shoot for what would become a six part biographical documentary tv series called "GREAT SOULS", based on the book and hosted by veteran journalist DAVID AIKMAN. We had come to Skopje because it is the birthplace of Mother Teresa, one of the six remarkable individuals profiled in the series. This was our last stop before our final shoot in Poland to film segments for episodes on Pope John Paul and Holocaust survivor / Nobel Laureate Eli Wiesel.
I had gone into the city for some souvenir shopping for the family back home. My first encounter with this tragic day in America was when I walked into Don's hotel room and saw the World Trade Center collapsing. Don looked up, an ashen expression on his face as he said, "America is under attack". Still, it took awhile for me to accept the fact that it was really happening. We soon learned that all international flights into the United States were cancelled as well. Thousands of Americans were trapped in Europe for weeks. As it turned out, the ban was lifted on the very day of our own scheduled flight to New York.
I will never forget the conversation I had with an Airline representative when I went downtown in Warsaw to reconfirm our flights home. The young woman was not unkind when the 9/11 attack came up in conversation, but her comment surprised me. She said, "I'm sorry for those people who died. But maybe now you Americans will appreciate what the rest of us in the world go through all the time." She made me appreciate how protected we Americans really are from the conflicts of the world. May we remain vigilant so that we never have to experience ANOTHER 9/11 on our shores. May we never forget what an incredible place of safety we have in America and determine to always honor it, protect it, and serve it. And may we be equally dedicated to care for the suffering of those around the world who have yet to taste the freedom under God that is at the core of what makes the United States of America still the most wonderful place on earth!.
