I was in NYC on September 11.  I remember hearing the fire trucks hurtling down 2nd Ave towards downtown.  I also remember how clear and cloudless the sky was, except for this huge grey cloud that started downtown and spread uptown like a threatening storm.  At first, I thought it was a multi-alarm fire.  But as I walked towards my office on Madison and 59th (Polo's headquarter), I realized that something was horribly wrong: there were more suits on the streets than usual, taxis and limos were pulled to the side, and small groups of people gathered around to listen to the radio.  New York cabbies weren't really known (at least at that time) for hanging out sharing their radio during rush hour.  Everything seemed to be in slow motion.

I wasn't at the office on the 27th floor more than 10 minutes when the security guard came by to tell us that we needed to evacuate the building as terrorists had hit the World Trade Center and they feared that all skyscrapers were targets.  The internet was jammed so I couldn't see what was going on, my cell phone didn't work (busy signal), and when I got back down to the street there were millions more people than before.  It was like rush hour, except it was around 10:15 AM.  As I headed home, fighter jets began to patrol the airspace, and every time they would fly over everyone on the street would run and duck, thinking there were more terrorists coming.  I managed to stop and listen to a cabbie's radio, and the news around then was that there were still a few planes on the air but unaccounted for.

Obviously for days and weeks and months after, there were September 11 stories.  Many people in New York remember vividly what happened that day.  I suppose it's a way of dealing with the trauma of what happened.  I know that I get emotional talking or thinking about it, even now.

Three years since, some of my habits have changed for the "just in case".  For example, I normally travel on a Saturday to either Asia or Europe for business trips.  This time, because September 11 fell on a Saturday, I moved up my flight so that I didn't have to fly on that day.  In fact, I moved my flight up 2 days from Tokyo to Paris, just in case.  Another example, I didn't ride the NYC subway until December of last year.  Every event my team holds I make sure we consider the security angle.

I know that it's important we live our lives "normally"; to not let the terrorists defeat us.  But what is "normal" post-September 11?  When I think about, it's things like alert levels coded by color and heightened screenings at airports among other things.

So, I guess this is the new "normal", at least for now.  I hope that the next generation of leaders, and the next next generation, and the generations thereafter will create and maintain a newer normal.  One that isn't based on hatred and terror, but goodwill and understanding.