PSU mural honoring the 9/11 victims who are PSU alumni. Jean is the second one in on the top left.On the morning of 9/11/01, I walked into my office in center city Philadelphia and noticed a bunch of my colleagues huddled around a mini television. They were watching the news and explained that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center. The details had not been known at the time, so I went to my desk to start my day. Shortly after, another plane hit and we all stopped what we were doing and watched these tragic events unfold on the conference room television. I remember watching my supervisor cover her mouth and gasp as the first building began to fall. What a horrible day.
Later that night I got a call from Devon telling me that our sorority sister Jean Roger was a flight attendant on Flight 11 - the first plane into the World Trade Center. I still can't believe it.
A memorial was held for her in Massachusetts that weekend, and all my Philly sorority sisters rented a huge SUV and drove up to honor our dear friend and sister. Passing NYC, we saw the thick smoke that replaced the two buildings in the skyline.
We arrived to the service and the line that went in to the church went on for blocks and blocks. There was such a turn out to honor Jean that we all had to listen to the service in the basement - which also filled up quickly.
It all makes sense if you knew Jean Roger (there should be an accent mark above the e). I knew her because she was in a pledge class above me. What that meant is her class mentored our class and we did pretty much everything with them. Jean was a positive force, had a great perspective on life and was so much fun. She was the girl that could chug a beer like no other and all the guys in the fraternity knew her and respected her. She was just plain cool. I didn't know anyone who didn't love this girl and want to be around her.
Jean wasn't supposed to be on that flight. She got called up due to a sick flight attendant and was actually excited to fill the spot that morning, her boyfriend said. Knowing what a special person she was and how she made everyone love being around her, God must have placed her on this tragic flight to bring calmness to those who needed it. The night before the flight, she celebrated her boyfriend's birthday and in his card she wrote: "May you have love, happiness, and peace of mind because really, in the end, everything else just comes and goes."
9/11 hurts, frightens, saddens, and angers me. But while it hurts and saddens me to remember this horrific day and those that lost their lives, I find peace in remembering Jean and the special person she was.
