2001 was a year of change. It was the year I headed for warmer climes in the south. That was a good thing. No more snow shovels. No more watching a depressed Northeast Pennsylvania try to find prosperity like most of the nation had at the time. It was time for a new beginning.
But it was also a time of tragedy-9/11 and the death of Dale Earnhardt, and it's hard to say which was the bigger shock. For America, of course, it was 9/11. I made my last trip to New York a month after the towers fell. The fires had stopped and heading toward the Lincoln Tunnel, there was nothing to show the devastation at ground zero..Just the lack of two buildings that used to tower over the city, two buildings that were not necessarily loved by New Yorkers. I have some pictures lying around somewhere of me standing on the bow of the Staten Island Ferry looking toward Battery Park. At the time, the towers were probably only 20 stories high and New Yorkers were already complaining about the blight on the skyline. And that complaint would get louder as each story was added. After they were completed, the towers were accepted but not necessarily loved. The observation deck had a spectacular view although I never had the urge to go to the top, even though I parked in a parking garage a block away on many occasions. I always preferred the observation deck of the RCA building, and when relatives came in from the old country, the Empire State Building.
I was also surprised at the 9/11 souvenirs that had already hit the street. I bought "Never Forget" and "FDNY" sweat shirts and saw a city that hadn't lost it's uniqueness. The street vendors were out in force with Rolex knockoffs, restaurants were packed with the lunch crowd, Wall Street was back in business, trying to recover from the 20 percent drop in value, and the people of New York City were as loud and animated as I had come to know and love from my youth. Sinatra called it the "City that never sleeps". I call it the city that never dies.
Also, in 2001, millions of us watched the most thrilling and tragic of all Daytona 500's. Michael Waltrip won his first race in over 460 tries. And as he was charging for the checker, Dale Earnhardt made a tiny mistake. He lost traction, ever so slightly, and went sideways and was T-boned by Kenny Schrader. As far as Daytona accidents go, this one really was minor. Not like Richard Petty's number 43 do cartwheels and totally disintegrated his car where only the roll cage remained. This one looked minor..until the ambulance left the speedway at a very slow speed. Michael was in victory lane celebrating, oblivious to what had happened just a third of a mile from the end of 500 miles. I've watched replays of the wreck numerous times and I still say that it shouldn't have ended that way. Dale should have dropped the net and run to victory lane to congratulate his driver, his protégé, his friend.
The events of 9/11 and the 2001 Daytona 500 show that in an instant a sport, and even a nation can be changed in an instant. 10 years seems like a long time, but it isn't. Events from 40 years ago seem like only yesterday. Life is that short. Live it to it's fullest. You never know what the next second will bring.
