"I'll see you when you get here..."

What would you say if you knew that whatever words you spoke were going to be your last?  Twenty-two years ago this morning, United Airlines Flight 175 passenger Brian Sweeney tried to call his wife at 8:59 AM on September 11, 2001.  His wife did not answer, so he ended up leaving a message telling her that his plane had been hijacked.  He called his parents shortly thereafter and told his mother about the evolving situation.  He mentioned that the passengers were considering an attempt to storm the cockpit and take back control of the airplane.  He also said that he was worried that the hijackers would return at any moment and that he might have to hang-up quickly.  After saying their goodbyes to each other, he did hang up.  Minutes later, at 9:03 AM, United Flight 175 struck the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.  The airplane crashed nose-first into the South Tower's southern façade at a speed of around 590 miles per hour, striking through floors 77 and 85.  At that same moment, multiple media organizations were covering the first plane crash into the North Tower that occurred about seventeen minutes earlier.

Brian Sweeney's wife Julie was teaching in her high school classroom when she was pulled away to answer a telephone call from her mother-in-law.  Brian's mother, Louise told Julie that Brian was on a hijacked plane that eventually struck the South Tower.  When Julie returned home, there was a call waiting for her on the answering machine.  From Brian:

"I just want you to know I absolutely love you.  I want you to do good, go have good times.  Same to my parents and everybody, and I just totally love you, and I'll see you when you get here."

Julie would later say in a video produced by the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, "When I got it, it was just so Brian.  I’m thankful for it. So thankful for that message. Because, at least I know, without a shadow of a doubt, what he was thinking. The calmness in his voice soothed me… And it’s very powerful. He made very powerful statements with that message."

Brian’s answering machine recording is now a part of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum’s collection.  In that brief moment of absolute terror, there's not a trace of anger, despair, or fear.  Just love.  As the ancient Greek Stoic philosopher Seneca said, "Pure love, careless of all other things, kindles the soul."

Today, I want to remember 9/11 with Brian Sweeney's message of love.  We need more of that in our world today.