After the story below, the three of us were stranded in Seattle with useless plane tickets and a hotel that seemed to think that their next guests would be arriving soon. The train down the coast was booked by noon, so we were wondering what we were going to do. Called Hertz, as we had one of their cars, due back that day, and asked them if we could drive it to LA and drop it off there.
Surprisingly they said "No Problem," and further that they were waiving all dropoff charges for the next week, as there were a lot of people in the same boat. All they wanted to know is when we'd be dropping the car off. Took us 18 hours of straight driving, but it sure beat sleeping on couches.
So, I just wanted to belatedly thank the Hertz corporation for some pretty quick thinking and an enlightened response to their customer's needs. Needless to say, our company prefers to use Hertz to this day.
I've resisted posting this story for several years now, since it seemed that where I was and what I was doing on September 11, 2001 is really immaterial in light of the terror and tragedy of that day. There was also a bit of reluctance as it necessarily involves others who might not want to be associated with my blog. But it's been five years, and the story has a point, so here it is anyway:
In 2001 I was a partner in a small engineering firm developing a unique radio chip and broadcast communications network for Microsoft Corp. It was easily the largest and most difficult project our company had undertaken. Needless to say, the company's fortunes were closely tied to the project's success.
Now, Microsoft has an interesting procedure for project reporting. Every 3 months or so, the project status has to be reported to Bill Gates personally, along with a demonstration of any in-process hardware or software. As Der Tag approaches, the most amazing pressure is generated to have the best possible report.
Our report date was the afternoon of September 11, and as of the morning of September 10th we weren't ready. Our hardware didn't work, and it really had to. We were up in Redmond at Microsoft Research, working with equally motivated Microsoft people all day and late into the night. It wasn't until about 4AM PST (about the time that Mohammad Atta was getting aboard UA175) that we knew how to fix it. But 4AM isn't the time to start cutting up circuit boards, so we all went off for a few hours sleep, figuring we could get the job done in the morning.
At 7:30 AM (PST) my hotel phone rings and my partner tells me that "Tom Clancy was right." I say "mumble, huh?" And he tells me to turn on the TV. I ask "What channel?" and he says "Whatever." Shit. The second tower had just come down, the world seemed about to blow up, and it was 50/50 that someone was going to get nuked before the sun set.
And we still had to get our board fixed, as the meeting was still on. Apparently Bill Gates' schedule is not easily changed. So me, my partner (who is the guy who actually has to present to Gates) and our lead technician trundle off to MS and try to get it finished. Needless to say, there was a lot of distraction. If there is one thing you can get at MS Research, it's a good Internet connection, so we were constantly interrupted by the latest bits of news and every last wrong rumor.
Somehow, though, we managed to focus on what was in front of us, got it done, and my partner went off with a MS VP to do the presentation to Gates, and it all went just fine. They left our air turned on, and about a year later we delivered the product, which Microsoft is still using in several hardware devices.
It would have been so easy to throw up our hands that day and give up and try to put it over to another day. We might have even got away with it, given the enormity of the events, and the fact that our project was championed by Gates himself. But I'm glad we didn't and Gates didn't. I'm glad a lot of people didn't, with whatever they had to do that day.
And maybe that's the real story of 9/11.
One of the more vociferous critics of "The Path to 9/11" has been Sandy Berger. After viewing the unbowdlerized version at Red State (clip 1 of 6), it's pretty clear what he's upset about. Basically he's been caught with his pants down. Again.
According to the film, US Special Forces had Osama surrounded in remotest Afghanistan and were preparing to capture and/or kill him in the late 90's. But when the commandos reported they were in position and requested the final "GO" order, National Security Advisor Berger temporized, and suggested scheduling a meeting with the President. He wouldn't take responsibility. The mission was aborted and the rest, as they say, is history.
Now an LA Times columnist thinks that this controversy will backfire on ABC. Interesting spin. Like most attempts at censorship, it will only get more people to watch. If the rest of the film is anything like the clips at Red State, it won't be ABC being grilled all next week on CNN and Fox.
Note to the RNC and various Senate campaign committees: I'd use that letter threatening ABC's broadcast license as reason number one that Reid and Pelosi shouldn't be let anywhere near power.