Special Note
Support for the American
Red Cross
We want extend our condolences to the victims
of the terrorist attacks of September 11th and extend our support for
the search and rescue teams working at the sites of the attacks. Here
is a link to the website of The American
Red Cross. For donations to a wider array of relief organizations,
including the International Association of Fire Fighters, click here to
go to Helping.org. Both sites have
contact numbers for volunteers, and those seeking information from hospitals
and airlines.
September 19, 2001
Lost in America
This past week, everyone's been telling stories
about where they were and what they were doing and how they were affected
by the terrorist attacks on America on September 11, 2001. We hope to
share a few of them with you. Here's Joe's:
I was with two other employees of Consolidated Home Decorating –
our alias for Joe's long-time employer – in Bentonville, Arkansas
for a meeting with America's Largest Retailer. And what took place over
what could arguably be called the longest four days of our lives was nothing
short of life changing and life affirming – and we found that keeping
our sense of humor was crucial. A journey home, even in the most trying
of times, is always the most rewarding. No matter what it takes to get
there. This isn't about the NJ Nets, but simply about the after-effects
of tragedy on three regular people far away from home (and Ground Zero)
and trying to get back there.
Oh The
Places You
Will Go!
Bentonville is located in the extreme northwest corner of Arkansas, above
Fayetteville, and is famous for exactly one thing: it is the hometown
of America's Largest Retailer. Direct flights from the New York area,
to my knowledge, don't exist. There are plenty of hotels and fast food
restaurants located in Bentonville, for the simple reason that everyone
in America who does business with Retailer #1 MUST make a stop and bow
at their shrine. But there is not too much else in the way of activities,
or culture, in this little corner of America. For the most part, is still
a small farming town.
On September 10th I'd flown with my co-workers at Consolidated from Newark
to Memphis, then caught a connecting flight to Bentonville. First class
upgrades on both flight made thing easier, even if first class on Northwest
is approximately the equivalent of having box seats at a baseball game
on a rainy afternoon – hard to appreciate but you're happy to have
them nonetheless. A lovely red Oldsmobile Alero was waiting for our team,
as well as a room at the Marriott for each of us, followed by dinner at
a decent upscale (for Bentonville) restaurant. We held a meeting in the
early afternoon, then I left my companions watching Monday Night Football
at the bar.
Memories Fade,
But The
Scars Still
Linger
I was in my hotel room that morning watching the Today Show on
NBC. In the moments after the story broke and the first images were presented,
I had already packed my bags. Several people were talking in the lobby
about "The World Trade Center," but I wasn't paying enough attention
to any of it for it to register. At the breakfast area, everyone sat stunned
watching a television tuned to CNN. That's when the second plane struck.
Uncomfortable silence followed and extended for what seemed like hours,
as everyone, it's likely, struggled to comprehend the magnitude of what
we'd just seen.
An hour later, still too shocked to make much conversation, we continued
with our routine, heading out to Fayetteville to check out some of our
other retailers' local stores. On the ride down it was reported that the
Pentagon was hit as well – now reports came fast and furious, the
panic level rising quickly. Finally, I got a cell phone call through to
home, where Mrs Netsfan was once again left to face a major calamity without
Joe, who always seems to be on the road when disasters strike. We discovered
that one of the three of us was going to need at least one more night's
clothing, and where else to get some cheap than from WalMart? And what
better way to outfit ourselves than as fans of the Arkansas Razorbacks?
Our thinking: Razorbacks t-shirts might come in handy when we were breaking
Arkansas State Highway speed limits in the very near future.
We had a quick meeting that nobody could concentrate on, then ate dinner
together and hashed out our escape plan. We agreed that the best possible
way home was to start out in the morning with a rental car, and drive
at least as far as Memphis. Before I'd even completed my request to extend
the contract on our Oldsmobile for another day, the rental agent knew
we were headed out of state, and asked us to stop in and trade in for
a "one way" rental from off their lot. So the next day at 8
AM, we had the keys to a Chevy Venture minivan in hand. We were off.
Pure Americana
We headed straight for the interstate towards Memphis. The plan was to
check for Memphis-to-Newark flights, then camp out there for the day if
it looked promising. No dice. We stopped for lunch just outside Memphis
in Germantown, Tennessee, where a waitress told us succinctly that "Memphis
people suck. I used to live in Knoxville, the people there are much nicer."
Uh, OK. We continued on, past Nashville and Knoxville, before putting
down near Pigeon Forge, Tennesee around 10PM. Pigeon Forge, birthplace
of Dolly Parton, home of Dollywood, the amusement park...as well as the
Lee Greenwood Theater, the Louise Mandrell Theater, and something called
the Comedy Barn.
We got back on the road early on Thursday, after breakfast with the geriatrics
at the economy motel. A straight shot east and then north through the
mountains of southern Virginia. Quick stops for bathroom breaks, gas and
lunch, but otherwise straight on home to arrive in New Jersey. Returning
home always feels good, but in this case it never felt better to see daughter
Vanilla Thunder, son Truckman and my wife, Mrs. Netsfan.
Discoveries
During the long two-days drive we'd made a few discoveries in and about
this country of ours. For what it's worth:
1) Delays Most of Arkansas' and Tennessee's
interstates are under construction. Arkansas is a one-lane state (somehow
fitting, methinks), and Tennessee sure is supporting its proud share of
construction workers on coffee breaks. Ditto Pennsylvania.
2) Disparity, subheadings Wealth...and Style
It's next to impossible to find a German sports car in Arkansas or Tennesse
- we spotted our first BMW of the journey outside of Knoxville, TN, which
is close to the Virginia line. Pickup trucks are another story. Even the
old ladies are driving around in old Chevys.
3) Religion
Approximately one out of every 2 cars on the road in Tennessee and southern
Virginia has a "Jesus fish" on the back. We searched in vain
for a "Darwin fish" for counterbalance.
4) Different wavelengths
We never heard a Beatles song on the radio until we entered Virginia.
Ditto Southern Rock, Elvis or anything by Sting.
5) Different rules
We passed through 2 speed traps, one of which it seemed certain would
be our downfall. But the nice Tennessee state trooper continued on ahead
of us to "catch the rabbit" that was leading the pack. Guess
that minivan didn't seem that threatening. Hell, in NJ they would have
pulled over the whole pack.
6) A Chevy Venture can hit 95mph
Here I must mention the superhuman efforts of my colleague Bob, who refused
to let anybody else take the wheel and drove the entire 1500 mile, 22
1/2 hour journey back to New Jersey himself.
7) Fear A
2 x 4 fell out of the back of a landscaper's trailer and headed straight
for our windshield. Emergency maneuvers took care of the problem.
8) The not-so secret lives of long-haul truckers
Multiple "dispensers" located in restrooms across the southeast
contain items that we can't even begin to discuss with you. But let's
just say they weren't selling air fresheners.
9) Nostalgia
Did we really see that VW Thing?
10) Impatience
Never let a New Jerseyian drive in the south. No one moves fast enough
for you, no one drives smart enough, and for crying out loud, when I come
up your ass at 90 mph, move out of the way!
11) How to think American
There we were, shopping in a WalMart again.
Mike to Bob: "Look at that $30 (2.5 inch) TV. I've got to get me
one of them."
Bob to Mike: "Why would you want one of those? What would you do
with it?"
Mike to Bob: "That's not the point. At that price, how can I afford
NOT to?"
12) Who cries for the WalMart fish?
Back in Arkansas, wandering the WalMart aisles, I noticed that there was
a rack next to the cash register that contained small jars of tropical
fish for sale. Ever the inquisitive fellow that I am, I asked the buyer
"who feeds all these fish? And do they have to unscrew all the caps
off the jars to do so?" To which the WalMart employee said that she
doubted that they stayed in inventory very long, and therefore would be
no reason to feed them. The MOMENT she was out of earshot, we all looked
at each other and Bob said, "They don't feed them because if they
don't sell, they throw them out in the garbage."
13) We should all go on a diet and keep regular
hours After checking into our Tennessee
motel and eating at the ubiquitous TGI Fridays, we headed over to WalMart
again for another round of clothes shopping. At 11:30pm the place was
packed (is there NOTHING else to do at that hour in the middle of nowhere?).
Overheard in the front of the store, from a 300 plus pound wife to a 300
plus pound man with two children under the age of 7 in tow: Wife: "The
baby's getting tired. We should go home." I turn to my colleague:
"It's midnight and you're frigging clothes shopping with a 5 year
old! Of course he's tired. What clothes shopping do you need to do at
midnight?"
14) And lastly, tolerance
From a parking lot altercation, which we witnessed upon leaving a Wendy's
in Virginia. Two parties were arguing about who knows what. But it went
something like this:
Party One (to his friends as he walked away): "I don't know what
the fat guy's problem is"
Party Two: " See, there you go again. Every time you open your mouth
you show your ignorance."
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, work and basketball and sports aren't very important in the
scheme of things. In the wake of such awful events, engaged in a war,
is a new arena really so necessary? Couldn't we put all that money and
energy to better use? The NBA will have a new season beginning on October
30, and we'll be there to cover the Nets and the league. But, somehow,
I'm not in so much of a hurry for the season to start. I went to college
4 blocks from the World Trade Center, and used to come in from New Jersey
via the Path train underneath the WTC itself; I know that area of downtown
NYC pretty intimately, the way so many of us in this area do, which really
brings the reality of this horror home. Sports can wait its turn, I suppose.
Joe Netsfan will go on. But with a little less joy and passion and a whole
lot more uncertainty. Not really for Joe, but for the future, for Vanilla
and Truckman.
My sincere condolences to the friends, the neighbors, and the families
of the vicitms of the tragedies of September 11.
Peace,
Joe
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