About two week before 9/11 I went to England to visit a friend. My friend showed me his hometown of Richmond, North Yorkshire and environs and then we took a 4 day tour of Scotland. On 9/11 we were sitting in a tea shop in Inverness, Scotland. We were sitting with some of the tour people next to a window onto the street. Two policemen walked by. They were wearing yellow bulletproof vests. I was astonished! How could they have 2 policemen in such armor in such a peaceful place? The next moment the tour guide came to our table and told us that New York had been attacked. I was the only US Citizen at the table and only one of two in the tour. I was in shock and disbelief. Someone suggested we walk over to an electrical appliance shop just up the street that had a TV in the window. The pictures showing on the TV were of the planes going into the Twin Towers. I still couldn’t believe it. It looked to me like a “B” movie. And then I saw a young lady sitting on the pavement sobbing in complete breakdown. And then I knew she was probably from New York and possibly had someone in the Twin Towers. The tour, consisting of mostly UK people immediately embraced myself and the other American. I was offered phones for calls home, complete support and comfort. Naturally all the phone lines were useless. I was finally able to get a message through to my daughter via email. It was a sad, sad day. A week later I went to Heathrow for my flight home. It took me 23 hours to get home to Metropolitan Detroit because of all the delays and security checks. I flew for the first time this last March since that trip home.