Repercussions of Sept. 11, 2001 | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Richard Mason’s column revisits the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001 by describing a trip into New York and how the attacks altered movement and routines. Mason flew into the area on American Airlines from Little Rock and said he felt safer after noticing an iron bar securing the cockpit door from the inside—protection he credits to American Airlines. He landed at Newark International and traveled into Manhattan by cab, catching a view of Ground Zero as the skyline gap showed debris still smoldering. Staying at the Four Seasons, he was offered a discount for rooms above the 11th floor, an early sign of economic and travel disruption. He recounts long walks home when public transport shut down, a Sunday morning lineup at Brooklyn Tabernacle Church, and the church’s decision to distribute cold water to exhausted bridge-crossing pedestrians.