Five years ago this morning the day dawned clear and cloud free.  Another gorgeous day in what had been another gorgeous D.C. summer; my wife and I were eagerly awaiting the birth of our first child.  In preparation, we had enrolled our wonderful black Labrador Retriever (Gen. P.T. Beauregard of McLean, or Beaux for short) at the Old Town School for Dogs in Alexandria, VA (I wasn’t happy at all with the training he received, and won’t give them a link here, but the reason why is a post for another day).

On the way back, listening to Howard Stern interview Pamela Anderson or someone else, just seconds after driving past the Pentagon, he interrupted the skit to report that something serious had transpired and it appeared that someone had flown a plane into the World Trade Center.  There was some back and forth discussion and the whack pack was generally still goofing around for a few more minutes when, as I drove up to Arlington and began to cross the Key Bridge they scowled and said a second plane hit.  Desperate to catch a real newscast, I quickly scanned the radio for someone else doing any reporting – both am and fm.  Nothing.  Only Howard Stern was on the air providing any kind of coverage – and his coverage was worthy of whatever awards the radio industry hands itself.

A few minutes later, though it seemed like an eternity, It was only a few minutes later that I had raced to my building and as I was walking in the front door of our small law office saw all my colleagues huddled around a television. Moments later, shock as we learned the Pentagon was hit.

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