I don’t need bumper stickers or constant replays on television to remind me of the horrors of 9/11.   The evil, fear and panic of that day will stay with me forever.   Instead of sharing where I was when I heard of the terrors, I try to keep in my mind the joy of coming home.    I worked in New York City on that awful day, and wondered how I would get home, as the trains and buses  were not running and all the tunnels were closed.    I waited with what seemed like thousands of others for a ferry, feeling like a refugee headed for a safer land, New Jersey.    After an hour we boarded a ferry across the Hudson River to Weehkawken, where rows of ambulances and fire trucks were waiting to board the ferry in on the return trip.  After a bus to Hoboken, a train to Newark and then a train to Montclair, the first sight on the platform when I stepped off the train was my husband, waiting for me.   As I sobbed into his embrace, I knew that the power of love was greater than any of the evil I had seen that day.   I was home.

In the days that followed, the world gradually started turning again.   I returned to work on Thursday, where we still managed to get out all of the tax returns due September 15, in spite of the fact that we could have taken an extension until December due to the terrorist attacks. On Sunday night, the non-stop television news coverage began to cease, channel by channel.   On ABC, they made the transition by running a special on the life and accomplishments of Walt Disney, a man who brought so much joy and magic and wonder into the world and into our lives as regular visitors of Disneyland and Walt Disney World.   Walt believed in a “bright big beautiful tomorrow” and I began to have hope that his legacy would inspire hope in overcoming the evil of the world.   He also loved and believed in America, had been a veteran, and believed in the best of this country and the world.

Later that week, Disney Vacation Club sent us two pins, American Flags in the shape of the traditional Mickey Ears with a note of sympathy for all those who were lost that day and a simple message: “Please come home.”

The homecomings in those weeks are what I keep in my heart, the power of love over evil, the message of hope, and belief in a better future.

It’s the third day of our Disney vacation. After spending the morning at Disney Studios, lunch at the Prime Time Cafe, afternoon at Downtown Disney, and dinner at the Cape May Cafe, it’s time to put up our tired feet and relax and enjoy the EPCOT view from our balcony. In two hours we will be able to see the fireworks in all their splendor.

Surely two of the happiest words in the English language are “Disney Vacation.”