Stay Put

9-11 … UNFORGETTABLE-The phone rang at 5 am at my flat in Europe just as I was leaving. The caller said “Stay Put.” I protested because I had been working on something that involved people on three continents. Things were coming together. “Stay Put” was repeated and the phone went dead. I turned on the radio and then I knew why. 

9-11 

I walked up to a tea shop and got a cup of coffee. I sat there. A thousand scenarios ran through my mind. I couldn’t overlook the fact that we let 9-11 happen. We knew it was coming. 

We knew what every terrorist in the world is doing and planning every minute of the day. We knew when Khadaffi ordered out for pizza. Our ground Humint (Human Intelligence) tracked these people and we knew before they themselves knew what they were going to do next. 

The only thing we did not know is that we were dealing with a new kind of nuts. 

I was not aware of what was happening all around me. People were starting their day. They came in to grab a cup of coffee then rush off to their office or shop or store or school. They caught the morning train in one direction or crossed the platform for the other direction. They caught buses to nearby villages. People were starting their day. 

I had completely forgotten about my tasks for the day. My tasks were small potatoes. I was sitting there but I was not there. It reminded me of the 1984 Olympics held at home in Los Angeles. 

These were happy times. 

Carl Lewis and the other athletes were winning medals right and left but I was off in a distant village in Europe and all I could do was sit there in the pub. I could not display outward exuberance or I would have stood out as somebody from the states. 

Later at 3 pm I was still sitting in the tea shop. By then the cup of coffee was very, very cold. 

I could not do anything except Stay Put.

 

(Kay Martin is an author and a CityWatch contributor. His new book, Along for the Ride, is now available. He can be reached at [email protected] )

-cw

 

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CityWatch

Vol 12 Issue 74

Pub: Sep 12, 2014