Traveling
the Heartland of America
The Days
After 9/11
by Cecile Page Vargo
On
September 11, 2001
, I was awakened by my son with a phone call to turn on the television;
the United States of America
was under attack. I spent
that day as close to a tv as I could, watching as the tragic events
unfolded. I also was
preparing to leave for Mammoth, as my husband and I had to be up there
that weekend for a 4-wheel drive tour that we lead
for Ecological 4-Wheeling Adventures. I
had all three tv’s on in the house so I could pack and watch tv,
depending upon which part of the house I needed to be in.
I also was back and forth from the tv, my packing, and my
computer, e-mailing a friend who was at work and did not have a tv or
radio available. I was
able to keep her informed, and we shared our sorrowful feelings of the
day.
On Friday, September 14, my husband and I woke up about
7:00AM
and ate a leisurely breakfast in front of our little kitchen tv.
We watched as much of the National Church service as we had time for, then
left for Mammoth at 9:00 a.m. Fortunately, we were able to listen to the church service as we
headed up Highway 14. At
this point in time, not many people were really back to their real
lives, but there were a few venturous souls like ourselves.
You could tell by the somber faces of the people in the
vehicles on the highway that they too
were listening to the National Memorial Service.
Somehow, I think we all felt linked together by the tragedy.
As we traveled, it was touching to see that other people had
managed to find flags for their vehicles, as we had.
There weren’t many out yet, and the stores had sold out of
what they had, but at least a few of us were able to proclaim our
patriotism and our grief by displaying the flags on our antennas.
Along construction sites on Highway 14, much of the heavy
equipment already had flags as well.
An overpass displayed a huge patriotic banner.
We were overwhelmed with emotion seeing this.
Progressing from Highway 14 to Highway 395, we were impressed
that every little town, Lone Pine, Independence, Big Pine, Bishop, was already decked out like the Fourth of July.
After our gas stop in Bishop, we deliberately
drove through the Indian reservation, not only to avoid traffic on the
main street, but to see if the Indians had been hit as hard as we had
by the tragic events. Many
of the homes there did display flags, and the irony hit me,
considering what
America
did to the Indians. The
eeriest site we saw was an Indian home with a van parked in front of
it reading in big letters "World
Trade
Center". This really hit close to
home. Then I remembered
that this van is always parked there, it just hurt more to see it this
time around. These people
also proudly flew a United States
flag on their home. Back
on to Highway 395 , and turning north to
Mammoth, the streets were lined with flags.
Before I had left home, I had searched for flags at all of the
local stores, but not one was to be found.
Unless it’s the Fourth of July, United States
flags, at least until 9/11 hit, are not readily available.
Fortunately, I had several flags from a Fourth of July party,
and I bought up every bit of red white and blue ribbon that could be
found at my local Hallmark store.
At the condo in Mammoth, the first thing I did was decorate the
front door with red white and blue ribbons.
I also put one on our deck, and I decorated the metal bird wind
chime that was hanging there with
blue ribbons and a tiny flag as well.
The bird looked sort of like a dove, so this made it all the
more meaningful to me.
I spent that evening preparing for our 4-wheel drive tour that
would begin the following morning.
While my husband reviewed his notes for the historical lectures
that are a big part of our tour, I made red white and blue ribbons to
tie on the antennas of all of the SUV’s that would be with us.
Our 4Runner, and our sweep’s Tacoma
displayed the ribbons and flags on our ham radio antennas on top of
our roofs. I also had the
foresight to buy the last flag stickers available at my home Hallmark
shop. These I stuck on the
name badges for our tour participants.
Saturday morning, September 15, we officially
started our Bye God, To Bodie tour at the Mammoth Ranger Station.
I was happy to see that our guests had not let the attack on the Twin
Towers keep them from enjoying the back roads
of
America. Everyone that had signed
on showed up! I passed out
the flag-stickered name badges, and tied the ribbons on to
everyone’s radio antennas. We said a few
words about our feelings of the events.
We were all pretty much still in shell shock over things, and
there was still an element of fear as to what events were yet to come
for our country.
The first day of our Bodie tour, takes us through some of the
old stage routes and along the old Bodie railroad, we don’t actually
go to Bodie. Sunday,
however, we would travel to the ghost town itself.
We also visit more obscure places like the town of
Masonic
and the Chemung Mill. At
the Chemung Mill, while exploring, we heard the first jets flying
over. We all stopped in
our tracks, and looked up. I
remember saying a prayer to myself and including the words “God’s
Speed” at the end. It
was quite an emotional moment for all of us.
It was also a sign that the rest of the country was trying to
come back to some state of normalcy.
Sunday afternoon we drove into the ghost town of Bodie
State
Historic
Park. What a site, and what a
better place to be after 9/11. The
parking lot was full, and several people in Jeeps and SUV’s had
managed to find flags and ribbons as we had.
I’ve been going to Bodie long before the general tourist
discovered it and usually am disheartened by the crowds that ruin the
true ghost town flavor.
This
time, however, the crowded parking lot symbolized our rights as
Americans. None of us had
allowed the terrorists to stop celebrating our history and our basic
rights as Americans. The
site made me very teary eyed, and proud.
The tragedy also seemed to bring us all down to earth, and made
us all friendlier towards each other.
As we walked the dirt streets of this old gold mining town
and
stepped back into time, everyone we passed would smile, and say a
friendly word. It really
touched me that it took something as horrific as
September 11, to make the human race stop being
rude to each other, and it made me wonder why we couldn’t be this
way all of the time.
In Bodie, and throughout the Eastern Sierras, there were a lot
of European tourists out to experience “The Old West”.
In the
Mammoth
Vons
shopping
plaza
, we saw a bus full of European tourists, being let out to buy snack
and lunch supplies for their tour.
What a strange feeling for them to be here in the most free,
safe country in the world, and suddenly finding out that it had been
attacked, and they could not fly home so easily now.
I wished I had been able to speak to them and hear their
perspectives.
My husband and I spent the entire week after September 11
in Mammoth. We explored
back roads for future tours, following our Bodie tour, then hurried
back to the condo each night to turn on the news.
We had to make sure the rest of our country was still there,
and we were anxious to know what our president was going to do.
We also participated in a national candle lighting event.
Emergency
candles that had been left in a drawer in the condo’s kitchen came
in quite handy for this.
We
invited friends of ours, Mammoth locals, over for a meal that evening.
After the meal, when it got dark, we took our candles out on
the condo deck, and solemnly held them in tribute to the victims of
the 9/11. I’m sure each
of us said a silent prayer to ourselves as well.
As the week went on, the flag manufacturers managed to get
their flags out to the communities throughout the United States. More people displayed
flags on their vehicles, and their homes.
The following weekend, driving along 395 to start a our Golden
Leaves and Golden Trails tour to more obscure ghost towns in the
Eastern Sierras, we passed Smokey at Smokey Bear Flats.
Falcons were flying over him, and Smokey the Bear himself was
holding the Stars and Stripes in his paws. What a
sight!
Going through these thoughts and
remembranes from my e-mails of
September 2001, I realize
it’s time once again to start thinking about my tours and preparing
for them. My flags and
ribbons from last year are faded and worn.
I think I need to buy some more to put on everyone’s antennas
again this year in rembrance.
We must never forget what happened on 9/11 and we must continue
to pray for our country, and the world, that we may learn to live in
peace.
