Saturday evening at Diane Benson's house, part 1: Vanessa recalls the burn victims coming in on 9/11; 10,050 flag ribbons

Saturday evening at Diane Benson's house, part 1: 9/11 remembered. Before Diane gave a handful of friends a private premiere of the play she will be doing in London this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, we snacked on halibut she had caught, along with chili, veggies, breads, cheesecake and strong coffee. As we did, Phillip Charette listened as Vanessa Salinas recalled how she had been working in DC at Washington Center Hospital on 9/11. When she first heard the news from a coworker, she did not believe it, but then she looked out the window and saw smoke rising from the Pentagon. Immediately, she joined in to help prepare for the patients all knew would soon arrive at the emergency room and burn unit, where she was stationed.

After the partients were brought in and their care had begun, she was given the task of getting 10,000 red, white, and blue ribbons made in just two days. She found a place near DC that agreed to do it. Then, a nurse who had lost her husband in the bombing asked if she could get 50 ribbons to give to family and friends. Salinas called the ribbon makers, who added 50 more to the 10,000.

Salinas was there when President George W. Bush, who so far had kept a low profile, arrived without media to visit the wounded. The man who she saw enter the hospital looked frightened and unsure. Later, when he came out from the hospital rooms, she saw a President who had completely changed. He was resolute. The next day, he went to New York, stood in the rubble of the Twin Towers and gave his famous speech. She was moved by what she saw, but it didn't stop her from carrying signs to protest some of Bush's later actions. 

Text added at 9:56 PM. The Squarespace nightmare continues.