- The Washington Post reports on the 2 F-16 pilots who were scrambled to take down United Flight 93. The only problem was, they had no artillery or missiles. The plan, therefore, was to ram that plane with their own.
- The Boston Globe reports on the workers at Logan airport in Boston who, on that morning just like every morning before, checked in their passengers with a smile. A decade later they're still reeling from the shock and guilt. How would you feel to know you'd helpfully checked in four hijackers? That because you called in sick someone died in your place? That because you handed over Mohammed Atta's luggage to the FBI you might be on an Al Qaeda target list. Riveting and disturbing.
- The edition of The Onion that was published 2 weeks after the attack (one week after they published nothing. Nothing was funny for the first week, so that's what they published) remains the most cathartic funny-because-it's-true laugh-out-loud-to-release-the-tension thing I've ever read. I remember the photograph of a woman with a cake labelled, "unsure what else to do, woman bakes American flag cake." But the article, "God Angrily Clarifies Do Not Kill Rule" bears ample rereading. Make sure you read through the final two words.
If you want my thoughts on the anniversary, have a look at either:
- Yesterday's post: Everything I Need to Know About 9/11 I Learned at the Last Night of the Proms
- My 2009 anniversary post: 9/11/09
Stay safe. Be well.
