What still resonates with me today is the eerie silence. We had no concept of how much noise jets made because the sound was always there in the background. Then the FAA grounded ALL flights for days. Those days it was profoundly quiet. Until then, We had no idea that we could hear those jets even though we couldnt see them. The silence was profound. even living in the big city away from the airport (Near St Vincents hospital), walking outside the noise level difference was obvious.
The silence was deafening. I was at Langley AFB in Newport News, Virginia. A long way from Eglin AFB in Fort Walton Beach, Florida where I was stationed. My boss and I drove to Norfolk International Airport to swap our rental car for one we could drop in Florida (we were making the 18 hour drive home 9/12 since nothing was flying.) It was eerie quiet. When you expect the sounds of jet engines and support equipment, eerie quiet is something you remember.