On this day seven years ago, two of my very favorite people in the world, Carl and Sue Hammond, lost their only son Carl Max Hammond Jr., as his plane flew into the second tower of the World Trade Center.
Max had a doctorate in physics from UCLA and worked for Los Alamos National Labs and then MITRE Corporation doing top secret research. Our country lost such a brilliant mind when we lost him that day.
But much more importantly, his mom and dad lost one of the two loves of their lives. Sue’s face always lit up when she’d talk about Max and his sister. You could feel her excitement build as each holiday season approached because no matter where Max was living or working, he always, always came home for Christmas.
I went to his memorial service soon after 9/11. Travel was still difficult at that point and people were understandably nervous to get on planes. But the little church in south Alabama was full to overflowing on that beautiful fall afternoon. Friends and family had come en masse from every part of the country to be there to celebrate what a good man he was and mourn what a good man we lost.
I started this day thinking about him – about how much he liked my stuffed pizza. Such a silly thing to remember, but even now it makes me smile. I’ll end the day saying a prayer for him, and for all the people lost on this day seven years ago, and most especially for the families they left behind.
