It was Santa Barbara on a Monday morning. Windsor Polo (Pat Nesbitt’s Team) was sending a team to Houston for the Texas Open and the Silver Cup with a bout 50 horses. We had just finished loading the horses when Lisa Bosstick called and said have you seen the news as she knew we were leaving. We went inside and while talking to her the second plane hit the towers. The world stopped for a while as we tried to decide whether to get out of Santa Barbara and head to Indio for it was a risk. LA could be a target next. We did and the roads were very empty for a Monday Morning we were not sure what we were going to do, but we knew it would be safer and easier in Indio so in a 4 truck, 3 car convoy we headed East to Indio.
As we traveled we heard all the rest of the bad news, the other places that were hit and then the stories started to fly about Polo people who were moving about the world. Nick Stonnington had just left the Trade Centers earlier that day. Tom Barrack was forced down in Houston by “No fly” and drove to California. Pat Nesbitt was crossing from London and was sent back. We were on the phone … do we head to Texas or stay? It was decided that the intruders were not going to shut down the USA and we were to head that way.
What a trip it was. Very quiet in a weird way. No Planes, no travelers, very little traffic and lot of law and order. It took two more long days to reach Houston and by the time we arrived in Houston People were fighting mad and the flags were flying. The feeling was awesome. The power the comes when you wake up the hibernating bear.
A lot of things have changed since 911. Some for the good and some for the bad. It was the last time I ever enjoyed flying commercial as most people would easily agree. It ruined traveling and killed the hotel business. The bad thing it also allowed the American greed … as seen in the oil companies when they started to control the world. It created the war, which we never will win and the debt may ruin our way of living. It is true that there were some awesome years in between, but it all started there on 9/11/01. The weird thing is I am in Indio tonight for the first time in Sept. since then and I flew from FL on this very day. In Memory of the thousands of lives lost that day and since then because of it.
see ya