Flight 93: Who Would You Have Called To Say Goodbye?

As I have been following the overflowing descriptions and commentaries to the national tragedy of 9/11, I have asked myself the question: If I had been on Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania, who would I have called to say goodbye? Who are the most important people in my life, and what would I want to tell them before the end came? We have all read about the heroism of the passengers on ill-fated Flight 93 on 9/11. Some of the men on board planned and carried out a counter-attack against the Muslim terrorists (Todd Beamer's phrase "Let's Roll" has become part of our national memory and vocabulary), And we now know that some of the cabin attendants were boiling water which they poured on the terrorists to paralyze them and stop them. All of these plans were heroic, even though the enemy prevailed and they all died.

We also know that many phone calls were made by passengers on Flight 93, final calls to those they loved. Some of these calls included valuable information on what the terrorists were planning and what their Arabic conversations revealed about who they were and where they came from. Some of the conversations were to office-mates, supervisors and bosses, to review projects for the last time. Jeremy Glick, a salesman for an Internet services company, also managed to phone. In a long conversation with his wife, Lyz, Glick said the hijackers had "put on these red headbands. They said they had a bomb...they looked Iranian." The "bomb" was in a red box, he said. The couple told each other how much they loved each other. Glick said, "I don't want to die," and his wife assured him that he would not. She urged him to keep a picture of her and their 11-week-old daughter in his head, to think good thoughts. But by far, the most emotional phone conversations on Flight 93 that day were the ones to spouses and family members. Public relations man Mark Bingham got through to his aunt's home in California. "This is Mark," he began. "I want to let you guys know that I love you, in case I don't see you again." Then, "I'm on United Airlines, Flight 93. It's being hijacked."

We listened in on these and other conversations, as it were, as we read the transcriptions and listened in to their actual words, and our hearts were filled with pain and suffering as we realized that this was the last phone call that they would make: between husbands and wives, parents and their kids, adults and their own parents, lovers and friends. Most said goodbye, and spoke of their love for each other. Some talked about being together one day in Heaven, others shared poignant moments of shared memories. It was hard for me and for you not to cry, as the words and the emotions were so loving, and so raw, as to almost overcome us. They have gone from us, even as someday we will be gone from those we love. Perhaps we should spend more time with our own loved ones before we have to make the "final phone call." When will that time come? No one knows, that is why we must make every moment count.

Find Rabbi Mel Glazer at http://www.yourgriefmatters.com/ and http://www.andgodcreatedhope.com/. After spending over thirty years as a Rabbi and Grief Specialist, Mel Glazer is now a recognized expert in the areas of grief, loss and hope. He is widely published, and his award-winning book "And God Created Hope: Finding Your Way Through Grief With Lessons From Early Biblical Stories," follows in the footsteps of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross in helping grievers journey "from mourning to morning." He has lectured nationally to religious organizations, philanthropic groups and public and private schools to convey to them the importance of accepting the reality of death and loss. Mel lives with his wife Ellen in Colorado Springs, CO, where he is the Rabbi of Temple Shalom and the Board Co-Chair of the Center for Christian-Jewish Dialogue.

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