Everyone who knows me, knows that I love 9/11 documentaries. I love hearing about peoples last words and how our whole country reacted and came together in a time of panic. I have probably seen every 9/11 movie and documentary ever made, but one always sticks out in my brain; "The man who predicted 9/11".
The guys name was Rick Rescorla, an average security guard who worked for Morgan Stanley in the World Trade Center, but since hearing his story, he became one of my biggest inspirations. Mr. Rescorla had a very strong intuition and had a "gut feeling" that the towers were going to be attacked. He examined the building for security risks and discovered a security risk in the parking garage at the bottom of the building, but he kept his thoughts to himself, in fear that he may be wrong. Though he did not tell anyone, he still took the opportunity to train his employees about evacuation plans.
On February 26th, 1993, Ricks worst fear happened when the bottom of the World Trade Center was bombed. Sadly, 6 people, died, but without Rick's training, It could have been a lot worse. Mr. Rescorla knew that the bombing would not be the end of it, and worked on training more employees on evacuation plans and installing fire proof lights in hallways and stairwells, which helped many firefighters locate the victims. On 9/11, Rick wasn't supposed to be working, but got called in for a colleague.After the planes hit, he evacuated his whole company of 2,600 people and STILL went back inside. His last words were "I'm not leaving until the whole tower is evacuated."
Rick was last seen on the 10th floor and had evacuated more than 2,800 people in total that day and is now known as "The man who predicted 9/11."
"Would I be a Rick Rescorla?" is a question I often ask myself. Would I trust my instincts, when I am in doubt? Would I be courageous and risk my own life for others? I do not know. But, I do try to incorporate some of these principles into my everyday only to better myself, but to honor the hero who inspired me.
