10 years ago

Seems like a very long time ago, but on 11 September 2001 I was checking into a hostel in Pompeii. I was backpacking in Italy with a couple of friends, and attempting to converse with the guy in the hostel about how many beds we needed and for how long... he was getting a little distracted, looking over my shoulder to the TV, and then started waving his arms, talking very loudly, drawing a couple of rectangular objects on a bit of paper, with a plane shape near them... I though he was talking about some movie, but then turned around to the TV.

Pompeii seemed like a fitting place to be, to witness (albeit through the media) the disaster that happened that day in New York. We later found an Irish pub run by a Ukranian guy, who had CNN up on the big screen, and sat and watched the unfolding mayhem, stunned and terrified at the same time. I remember thinking that the world would be different afterwards.

When I woke up this morning, it was pouring outside, then 10 minutes later the sun was coming in the window... I'm going to hope that this is an omen for the next ten years.