It was a mental game I'd play at the turn of the century. My porch in Natchitoches Parish had a good view of the sky and I'd look at the contrails crossing the sky. Southwest to est northeast? Probably the Houston - Atlanta route. Southeast to Northwest, probably New Orleans to Dallas. It was just a mental game, wondering where all those people were going.
On the afternoon of 9/11 I went back to work, doing a night shift before a couple of days off. Getting off work on Wednesday morning, I stopped by Wal Mart to buy an American flag, but they were sold out. I headed home, ready for a nap, and when I got out of the truck, I looked up at the sky. Nothing. No contrails at all. The FAA had closed all the airspace on the United States.
Growing up in central Louisiana, there was always something in the sky. Commercial air, military traffic, general aviation. Even little crop dusters buzzing around. For the first time in my life I was looking at a sky without aviation. It was decidedly odd, and quiet.
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