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Excerpt from Barbara Bush's book 'Reflections'

We flew to Washington on September 10, 2001, to attend several meetings and a dinner, spending the night at the White House. This house is completely secure and save us having to stay at a hotel. We sometimes use to stay at the nearby Jackson Place, a townhouse reserved for the use if former presidents when they visit Washington. But the White House is much more comfortable. Beside that, we know the very generous inhabitants.

The President was in Florida, but <b>we had a nice visit with Laura. On September 11th, George and I kissed her good-bye early as we were flying back to Houston via St. Paul, Minnesota[/b], where we both were to speak. Then we would go onto Texas for the kick off of Houston's new professional football team, the Texans. <strong>Laura was to leave the White House an hour after we did for the Capitol, where she was going to testify before Congress about educational funding. </strong>

We had settled down comfortably on the plane, drinking coffee, reading the papers and working on the computer <strong>when the co-pilot came back and reported that a commercial plane had flown into one of the World Trade Center buildings.</strong> While we were absorbing this--- wondering how it could be--- <strong>the pilot came back and said we had to land at the nearest airport as the second World Trade Center building had been hit. All planes were being grounded</strong>. Now we knew this was not an accident but a terrorist attack.

We landed at the airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and were driven outside the city to a motel. Like everybody else, we spent the day glued to the television. We watched in horror again and again and again the replay of the attack on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, and heard rumors of a plane downed in Pennsylvania. We feared for our children and grandchildren. We were no different then most Americans with one huge exception --- we had Secret Service, and so knew that George W., Laura and the girls were safe. We talked to several of our children. Bobby Koch was in California on business, and Doro was alone with four worried kids. We talked to Jeb, and he and his family were immediately secured by Florida state police. We could not reach the others. Of course, phone lines were jammed with frantic parents and children and spouses checking on each other and seeking comfort.

We later learned that Marvin had been in NYC on a subway under Wall Street, on his way to a meeting. The train came to a stop and they had no idea what had happened. Eventually they were evacuated, single file, onto a platform and then out of the subway. They were told to either walk to the Brooklyn Bridge or walk uptown; but get out of there. Marvin said smoke and debris were everywhere. He walked 70 blocks back to his hotel, stopping in front of an electronics store to watch TV footage of what happened. Marvin told us the people of New York were very supportive, offering water and encouragement along the way. Needless to say, we were pretty shook up when we learned how close Marvin was to the disaster, and grateful he was safe.

I also learned that my nephew, Jim Pierce narrowly escaped injury or possibly death. He was scheduled to attend a meeting on the 102nd floor of the South Tower, which was the second building hit. However, the night before, the meeting was moved to an adjacent because the group had outgrown the conference room. Jim later learned that twelve people were in the room where he was supposed to be, eleven died.

Many Americans told similar stories of narrow escapes. Unfortunately, the nearly 3000 people who died that day were not as lucky. America --- and the world --- had been attacked.

After about five hours in our hotel room, we left searched for walking shoes in a totally empty, closed down mall. We finally found some in an almost empty sports store. (So much for spending all day glued to the TV.)

We took a long walk on a public golf course, across the highway from our motel where people were playing golf. They were shocked to see George, and they were so nice. I walked a hole or two, but couldn't manage much more due to recent back operation. So I sat on a bench has George charged around the course talking to people. It all seemed so normal. I wondered if they knew exactly what had happened that morning.

I think now that I didn't really understand the ramifications of the attack. I know George realized that the world had turned totally around and upside down. I know he knew of the huge problems that faced our son, the President of the United States. It took me much longer to realize that September 11, 2001 was the day the whole world changed; certainly for the United States of America.

As we drove back to the motel, we saw an Outback restaurant and realized we had not eaten all day. So we immediately went in. We have eaten in Outbacks before and know that they have good food and the service is fast. It was there that the nicest thing happened. It was a really hot day, and people wandered in dressed in informal clothes --- well, that is a master of understatement. There were men in shirts with no sleeves, their arms covered in tattoos; others with body piercing on every known place that we could see. There were also well dressed families. A preacher and his wife told us, "We hate to bother you, but please tell your son we're praying for him". As we sat in a booth, one by one, men and some women came over to talk to George; "I'm a truck driver. Tell your son we're with him." I was in 'Nam and I'll go again." This is a great country.

The next morning we got permission to fly back to Kennebunkport, where the Secret Service were set up with full protection. Flying from a totally closed down airport, through a totally empty sky, to a totally closed down airport was eerie. But it was nice to be home.

The days after 9/11 were confusing for us all. How could people accept our hospitality over the years, be educated at our universities, and live among us while planning to kill us?

Both George and I were deeply disturbed by the prejudice that emerged during this time period. So was the president, and he went out of his way to remind all Americans that racism and prejudice of any kind, at any time is wrong. Since 9/11, I've been trying to make the point in my talks that it's more important then ever to remind ourselves that tolerance is one of the most important of human qualities. We need to learn to appreciate and celebrate the differences in people, rather then fear or resent them. I agree with the teacher who said we can all learn from crayons: Some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors... but they all have to learn to live in the same box.

from Reflections by Barbara Bush