Grounded And Frightened
By Corey Lyons
Contra Costa Newspapers
Sept. 26, 2001
ANTIOCH -- As the kaleidoscope of horrors unfolded on the East Coast, Galiena Gully feared for her life while scrambling through a Baltimore airport.
When word leaked that the second hijacked jetliner had plowed into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, a clamor of fear swept through the terminal.
Passengers dropped their bags and fled, while security personnel shouted for people to evacuate.
During the surreal minutes that followed, Gully probably never felt so isolated.
A 33-year-old hairstylist with a kidney transplant, she had to track down her luggage to fetch the medicine that would keep her alive.
Gully was one of six hairstylists from Wild Orchid in Antioch who flew to Baltimore to attend a two-day business seminar.
They were scheduled to leave on the same day hijackers seized four jetliners and turned them into bombs. More than 6,000 people have been reported missing since the attacks.
The harrowing experience left the group feeling vulnerable, but lucky to be alive.
"I definitely felt that, being on the East Coast, the mood was very intense," Gully said. "I didn't feel distanced. We were right there, up close, and I felt that fear."
The drama began as the group checked in their luggage about 9:30 a.m. at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. They were trying to board an America West jetliner to return home.
When details surfaced that the first plane had crashed, airline personnel and passengers knew nothing about a hijacking and tried to resume their business.
"When we were standing in line, a clerk was telling us about the crash," said Tamara Lopez, 21, whose mother owns Wild Orchid. "We were like, Can you be quiet? We're about to board a plane.'"
That mood changed in a hurry, however, when they watched the second plane rip into the World Trade Center on grainy airport TV sets.
"It started a kind of stampede," said 19-year-old Negan Kolbach, one of the hairstylists.
As the airport was being evacuated, Gully pleaded with airline officials to fetch her luggage. She and her friends were told that no one was available.
Ultimately, she returned to a local hotel to begin a frantic round of phone calls to track down more medication. Finally, a local pharmacy mixed up a batch, and Gully had to borrow $800 to buy it.
Meanwhile, the group spent the next several days marooned in Baltimore, just 30 minutes from the Pentagon. The city was shut down.
They soaked up the horrific images that flickered across the TV, and checked with the airline daily to see when they could come home.
On Sept. 13, they were startled to hear a plane roaring overhead, ending two days of eerie silence in the skies.
"At first we were thinking that, possibly, more bombs were on the way," Gully said. "But 10 minutes later, when we heard more planes, we all cheered."
Kolbach said the experience of being stranded in a strange place left her cautious about future travel.
"My new rule is that, if I can't drive back in a day and a half, I'm not going anywhere," Kolbach said while combing a client's hair.
She said the hardest part was walking down the ramp toward the plane that would finally take her home.
She found herself scrutinizing the pilot and the passengers. She then realized that the experience of flying had changed forever.
Kolbach said she couldn't help but pay extra attention to the three Middle Eastern passengers on board, each of whom was interrogated by U.S. marshals.
After returning home, Gully said while she attended St. Paul's church in Walnut Creek, she broke down. "I mourned for everyone who was affected," she said. "I just let it all out."
Contra Costa Newspapers
Sept. 26, 2001
ANTIOCH -- As the kaleidoscope of horrors unfolded on the East Coast, Galiena Gully feared for her life while scrambling through a Baltimore airport.
When word leaked that the second hijacked jetliner had plowed into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, a clamor of fear swept through the terminal.
Passengers dropped their bags and fled, while security personnel shouted for people to evacuate.
During the surreal minutes that followed, Gully probably never felt so isolated.
A 33-year-old hairstylist with a kidney transplant, she had to track down her luggage to fetch the medicine that would keep her alive.
Gully was one of six hairstylists from Wild Orchid in Antioch who flew to Baltimore to attend a two-day business seminar.
They were scheduled to leave on the same day hijackers seized four jetliners and turned them into bombs. More than 6,000 people have been reported missing since the attacks.
The harrowing experience left the group feeling vulnerable, but lucky to be alive.
"I definitely felt that, being on the East Coast, the mood was very intense," Gully said. "I didn't feel distanced. We were right there, up close, and I felt that fear."
The drama began as the group checked in their luggage about 9:30 a.m. at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. They were trying to board an America West jetliner to return home.
When details surfaced that the first plane had crashed, airline personnel and passengers knew nothing about a hijacking and tried to resume their business.
"When we were standing in line, a clerk was telling us about the crash," said Tamara Lopez, 21, whose mother owns Wild Orchid. "We were like, Can you be quiet? We're about to board a plane.'"
That mood changed in a hurry, however, when they watched the second plane rip into the World Trade Center on grainy airport TV sets.
"It started a kind of stampede," said 19-year-old Negan Kolbach, one of the hairstylists.
As the airport was being evacuated, Gully pleaded with airline officials to fetch her luggage. She and her friends were told that no one was available.
Ultimately, she returned to a local hotel to begin a frantic round of phone calls to track down more medication. Finally, a local pharmacy mixed up a batch, and Gully had to borrow $800 to buy it.
Meanwhile, the group spent the next several days marooned in Baltimore, just 30 minutes from the Pentagon. The city was shut down.
They soaked up the horrific images that flickered across the TV, and checked with the airline daily to see when they could come home.
On Sept. 13, they were startled to hear a plane roaring overhead, ending two days of eerie silence in the skies.
"At first we were thinking that, possibly, more bombs were on the way," Gully said. "But 10 minutes later, when we heard more planes, we all cheered."
Kolbach said the experience of being stranded in a strange place left her cautious about future travel.
"My new rule is that, if I can't drive back in a day and a half, I'm not going anywhere," Kolbach said while combing a client's hair.
She said the hardest part was walking down the ramp toward the plane that would finally take her home.
She found herself scrutinizing the pilot and the passengers. She then realized that the experience of flying had changed forever.
Kolbach said she couldn't help but pay extra attention to the three Middle Eastern passengers on board, each of whom was interrogated by U.S. marshals.
After returning home, Gully said while she attended St. Paul's church in Walnut Creek, she broke down. "I mourned for everyone who was affected," she said. "I just let it all out."
posted by Corey at 3:31 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home