September 26, 2001

The Vail Daily 
Vail, Colorado

Day in infamy (Malaysia time)
By Polly Letofsky

Vail resident Polly Letofsky has been on the road since she left Vail on Aug. 1, 1999, in her mission, GlobalWalk for Breast Cancer, to be the first woman to walk around the world and promote awareness of breast cancer.  From Vail she went to the West Coast, then the two islands of New Zealand, nine months up the eastern coast of Australia  and now well into Malaysia--where she was during the attacks on New York and Washington.  This is her journal of the fateful events.

SLIM RIVER, Malaysia--On that not-unusual night, as the local Ampang Lions Club checked me into a nearby hotel, I immediately switched the TV on to see if there was CNN.  It's always great to catch up on some world news before finishing my day, but this hotel didn't have CNN.

I surfed through the three national channels a half a dozen times and when there were none in English, I gave up, read Readers Digest until my eyes were heavy and turned out the light.

***

At 7 the next morning I had just finished off a quick handful of scrambled eggs in the hotel cafeteria before heading to the front desk to pay my phone bill.  While waiting for my walking buddies to show up.  I stretched out, took my vitamins and geared myself up to start another day in heat-filled Malaysia.

Little did I know at the time that this was not just any other day.  This was a day that would change the world.

As it turns out, last night was the worst night in history to not have access to CNN.

Soong showed up to walk with me and contrary to the enthusiastic person I had known for the past few days he looked rather glum.

"Did you hear the bad news?" he asked

There's  not a lot of news, good or bad, that Soong and I would have in common, seeing that we hardly know each other, so I assumed it had something to do with the weather.  "What?  Is it going to rain today?"

"No, no," he said and in his broken English started to tell me a story where the key words were "hijacked"..."crashed into World Trade Center"..."buildings collapsed" and "watched CNN all night"...

Well, certainly that scenarios was ridiculous.  "Excuse me, I don't understand."

I might not have completely understood what they were telling me, but I did understand that it was big.  Immediately I started racing around trying to find a newspaper.  But it happened late last night Malaysia time, so how much news coverage would there be?

The first papers of the morning were just arriving at the front desk.  They were in Bahasa.  But sure enough the front page spread was of New York's landmark, the World Trade Center, up in flames.

I couldn't  understand the words, so I immediately went to plan B--call Dad in L.A.:  "What in the world is going on over there?"

***

Everyone asked if I wanted to continue walking today or did I want to get near TVs, phones and Internet?  I opted for continuing to walk, but could they help me find CNN access this afternoon?  They would.

In every village, every coffee shop, restaurant and office through this central Malaysian region, people were  were talking about it.  They were in shock.  Stunned.  Horrified with the rest of the world.

TVs were hanging in food stalls and retail shops so everyone could follow along with any updates.  They watched the footage over and over and over again as if maybe the hundredth time the plane would miss.  They were shaking their heads, feeling helpless at the unfathomable evil lurking among us.

My head was spinning all morning, trying to remember the friends I have in New York and would any of them have any reason to be near the World Trade Center?

How are my friends at home reacting to the news?  How will this affect everyday life in Minneapolis and Colorado?

I wanted to be home.  I want to sit in front of the TV news all day and night until it makes some sort of sense, until we have all the answers, to be with fellow Americans while this unfolds and talk, analyze, ask, fuss, cry, bitch and bawl.  But I can't.  I'm in Slim River, Malaysia, miles from nowhere and no closer to answers than anyone else.

***

We found CNN and Internet access with Irene and Rahda who manage a 6000 acre oil plantation complete with monkeys and 5-week-old puppies.  And ironically for this day, they are Muslim.

The are liberal, modern-thinking Muslims.  They dress in crisp new Western styles with no head scarves.  They don't have arranged marriages for either themselves or their children, and find no shame in enjoying a nice cold beer after a long day's work.

They were very welcoming toward me and with great understanding planted me on the couch in front of the TV news for three solid hours until I got my head around what had happened in New York.

Then their 15-year-old son logged me onto the Internet, where i found streams of e-mails being bulk sent back and forth among my American friends.  messages of support and profound words to live by:  "We can make our actions today part of the answer instead of part of the problem."

In on bulk e-mail promoting "Flags Across America Day," everyone was encouraged to go buy flags and display them on their home, car, office bike, anywhere that shows that Americans will stick together.  Retailers around the country were giving away red-white-and-blue ribbons for crafting unity lapel pins.

***

There were e-mails from friends around the world who I've met in the past two years, expressing their grief at the day's events.

From Singapore: "I've tried to call you all day.  Please don't walk alone for a couple of weeks."

From New Zealand:  "Everyone here is stunned.  We're thinking of you."

From  Australia:  "What has happened in your country is just inconceivable."

And:  "Although you're alone in Malaysia, you're not alone.  Australians cheer you on.  God Bless America."

From a friend temporarily in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl:  "I'm stranded at the airport right now until flights start up again...Take care of yourself."

A friend in Minneapolis wrote, "We all need to get up today and sing.  Not to ignore the tragedy but rather to demonstrate and experience our own spirit."

From a friend of a friend traveling in Jordan:  "People here are laughing and rejoicing.  I asked them if they ever saw an American laughing over the deaths of Palestinians.  What did they say?  No, of course.  I'm completely stunned and feel lost in this land that laughs about the death of thousands of American who have no control over the government."

Mom-e-mailed from Arizona:  "I went to donate blood and so many people showed up that there was a six-hour wait!"

And from old buddy Randi back in Vail, being exactly where I wanted to be:  "We're all just hanging around here in front of the TV."

***

Certainly I wonder what repercussions this all has toward my walk.  According to the U.S. State Department, all Americans abroad are advised to keep a low profile, so I will avoid all press interviews for the next couple of months or so.  

The Lions Clubs throughout Malaysia and Thailand will be walking with me every step of the way.

While I am in Thailand, the tour company All Thai Experiences has volunteered to help me with my own personal crew support.

I wasn't around when Pearl Harbor was bombed and I too young to remember where I was the day JFK was shot.

But I'll never forget where I was the day American lost its innocence.  I was on an oil palm plantation Malaysia grieving with Muslims.

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