Memories of 9/11

I was working on my computer in my small bachelor pad in the center of Amsterdam. A friend of mine was taking a nap in my bed; her toddler daughter was being looked after by their nanny. An ICQ message popped up on my screen --uh-oh!-- from my American e-pen-pal Sean. "Are you watching TV?" "No." "Turn on your TV." That was it. Confused (how could he know what was on Dutch television?) I switched on the TV and watched in horror as the events unfolded. I woke my friend, and for a long time we watched the news. That evening, she was supposed to fly back to France, where she lived at the time. I accompanied her to Schiphol Airport. The airport was packed. All flights that would enter American airspace had been cancelled. I walked around, trying to help people who needed it. Two women came back with me to the center of Amsterdam. One was an American woman --if memory serves, her name was Jennifer Nehf-- who managed to find a hotel in the Nieuwe Doelenstraat. The other was a Finnish woman…