9/11

[Deckard]

I was in a design agency in London, finishing off some artwork for a pitch the following day. It was a classic last minute rush atmosphere, made more urgent by the importance of winning this particular contract. Just after midday, several people went out to get lunch. I stayed behind with a few others to try and stay on top of things. Taking a break and browsing the news, one of the guys on loan from our Chicago office looked up from his desk and said something like "Oh man, that's one dumbass pilot!" prompting us stragglers to head over to the BBC news website to read something about a small light aircraft having ploughed into one of the towers. It was obviously news enough for me to stop listening to the communal music and stick my headphones on instead to follow events, where they were discussing how puzzling it was, given the clear air and blue sky over NYC right now. The instant we heard the first tower had collapsed, all of us in the studio swarmed down to the middle floor glued to the big TV, and just watched open-mouthed. Didn't get as much work done that day as we'd intended. I remember the journey home was weird. Commuters everywhere on their phone. A very odd atmosphere.