Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Inernational Panic

When I lived in Boston and a plane crashed at Logan airport, two of my international friends, knowing I took semi-frequent trips from Logan, called to check to see if I was okay. I also remember my ex-boss rushing into my office when the victims of the crash in Peggy's Cove was released and pale-faced asked me where my daughter was. There had been a Tara Nelson not a Llara on the plane. The impulse to immediately worry about those you care about, is human.

Thus Monday night when I awoke at three for a piddle run I flipped on the news for a few minutes to learn of the D.C. Metro crash. My daughter rides the Metro. She would have been on it in rush hour.

With shaking hands I dialed her cell, telling myself that a no answer would mean only it was shut off as it often was. It rang, rang, rang.

Then her voice came on the line.

"Mom?" She was amazed I was up and even as a news junkie had heard about the crash. She was home, safe and sound, having come home on other trains.

My relief was only matched by sorrow for the families of people who weren't so lucky.

1 comment:

Sue Guiney said...

I do know how you feel. I did the same thing...ran through my list of DC inhabitants and tried to be sure everyone was alright. of course, the worst for me was 9/11, when my parents and my sister were in Manhattan and the lines were so jammed I couldn't even get through to NY at all. But what can we do? This is the world we live in.