By New Year’s Day of 2002 my life had completely changed. I was remarried and had seen the fall of the Twin Towers, after being on the observation deck the year before. I was running WLFI-TV in Lafayette, IN and had watched the final collapse in the lobby having just arrived at the office after my hour-long drive from our Zionsville home. I had spent the commute listening to the radio reports and monitoring our TV coverage on the way into town. My wife had gone the opposite direction into downtown Indianapolis for her job. It was a huge news day for the television business, as people watched in disbelief while the tale unfolded. We moved a TV into the kitchen and couldn’t keep our eyes off the footage. My staff worked around the clock and extra security was added. An armed guard greeted me the next morning, with concerns about terrorists taking over the air waves. These measures lasted for about a month.

We had been married about six months when this attack on our freedom took place. Our Las Vegas wedding in April and September 11th are two of the most memorable events in my life, outside of the birth of my son 27-years before. Every trip to New York City from that point on included a visit to Ground Zero and eventually the reconstruction of  the World Trade Center. 

Today is another quiet “Matinee Monday,” and certainly not as eventful as those that happened in 2001. The Batman seems to be our only choice now that I no longer have to pick up my grandson this afternoon that had originally disrupted our movie plans. Tomorrow, we’re headed to Sarasota for the van Gogh Immersive Experience and dinner at an old favorite, Michael’s on East. We also need to plan a drive up to Leesburg to see my sister before she heads back to Indiana. I still have baby sitting duties on Thursday morning with my grand daughter. Friends arrive on Friday for the night and the kids will be over Saturday morning for an Easter Egg hunt. Next week, we leave for Singer Island and our 21st wedding anniversary celebration. I’m currently watching the newest episode of “Winning Time,” after finishing Season 2 of “Bridgerton” last night. Tonight, we’ll continue with “Killing Eve,” as the excitement of retirement continues.