I NEVER IMAGINED--- MY FIRST TIME WOULD BE MY LAST.

What a ride! I’m not a weakling but I’m also not a dare-devil!

 The second the huge elevator door closed, I regretted my decision to have lunch with my friend, John Ernest, at the World Trade Center’s restaurant called:  “Windows On The World. “   I felt like I’d just been shot from a cannon!

 The enormous elevator was packed with people talking, laughing, excited about their ride to the top while--- here I was---shaking like a leaf, desperately trying to prepare for the ultimate crash.  Nothing had prepared me for the “launch” from Hell.  I was now in complete shock.

 When the elevator-missile began violently rocking from side to side, I knew we were either—about to “land”--or to crash.   I couldn’t wait much-longer to get on solid footing and find a bathroom.  My body told me--- it was only a matter of time before I’d wet my pants.

Yes, the view from the “top” was magnificent. Like the song lyrics sing, “On a Clear Day…you can see forever…and ever..."  But---sitting at the table-- closest to the window-- with only a piece of plate glass separating me--- FROM HERE TO ETERNITY---FEAR kept me "frozen" to my chair.

The table setting was elegant, the food looked delicious, and the service was exceptional-- but for two hours--as I "perched" precariously on-top-of –the-world,  all I could think about was: “What goes up--must come down.”

Life has taught me---- some of us aren’t meant to fly faster than the speed of sound, or venture into space without a steering wheel and brakes, or travel to the top of the world without a parachute--and a diaper.

PS....I could never have imagined the horror that would face The World Trade Center--on September 11, 2001.  God Bless America!