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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2001)
19 news p a t ’ s c r a n k y A H ero A mid H orror IF S H E M ISSES A C L A S S . (H E R f a m i l y m a k e s s u r e SHE D O E S N ’ T .) . Gay passenger might have foiled hijackers by Tom Musbach A mid sketchy reports about the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 on Sept. 11 in Penn sylvania, friends and relatives of a gay passenger think he might have tried to thwart the plane’s hijackers. Before the crash, Thomas Burnett of San Ramon, Calif., called his wife and said that he and two other passengers were prepared to take action against the men who had seized control of the plane, which was en route to San Francisco from Newark, N.J. “I know we’re all going to die— there’s three of us who are going to do something about it," Mark Bingham he told her, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. overpowered the hijackers but were unable to Mark Bingham, a 31-year-old public rela maintain control of the plane. Friends of Bing tions executive, also made a call from the plane. ham, a former Division 1 rugby player who also He told his mother, Alice Hoglan, about three played in San Francisco’s gay rugby and basket men who claimed to have a bomb before the ball leagues, think he might have been one of the people who confronted the terrorists, but phone connection failed. they acknowledge they might never be able to What happened between those calls and the plane’s nose dive into a wooded field near Pitts prove it. “I have no doubt that if there was an oppor burgh is still a matter of speculation. Nobody tunity to save lives that Mark would have initi survived the crash. ated action," said Lloyd Kinoshita, who played Counterintelligence experts speculated the pickup basketball games with Bingham. “He was plane was headed toward a Washington, D.C., a competitor and leader, but even more so he landmark before it crashed. Moments before the tragedy, three other hijacked planes, also travel was a caring individual." Friends said Bingham vfos a large, athletic ing from the East Coast to California, destroyed the World Trade Center in New York and a por man who once was gored in the leg while run ning with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. He was tion o f the Pentagon. the type of person, they said, who wouldn’t be “This was the only flight of the four that did afraid to take on the hijackers. not reach its target, which they believed to be “Today, in the face of this great tragedy, I am Camp David, and that gives us reason to taking a small amount of comfort in the growing believe that perhaps Mark was able to help body of evidence indicating that Mark was a save the lives of people on the ground,” hero," said Bryce Eberhart, a PlanetOut Partners Hoglan, a United Airlines flight attendant, employee who played rugby with Bingham. told N B C ’s Today. A senior U .S. intelligence official told M SN BC.com that mobile phone communica T om M usbach is news director of tions from Flight 93 suggest three passengers Gay.com/PlanetOut.com Network. quickly became apparent that paralysis of the air of a generation ago is that today many people can openly acknowledge the partners and fami transportation system made travel impossible for others. lies they have lost, no longer having to suppress The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education those ties or the reasons for their sorrow. It does Network, citing safety concerns, canceled its not lessen the loss, but it does help in the “Teaching Respect for All” conference Sept. 21 process of coping with it. Today organizations are around to help peo to 23. It had been booked into a hotel just three ple through the times of trouble. Some legal pro miles from the Pentagon. The nearby Reagan National Airport, which many of the nearly tections are in place, blood relatives often are 1,000 participants would have used, remains more knowledgeable and accepting, and it is less closed. likely that survivors will be thrown out of their The 41st Interscience Conference on homes, compounding the personal losses they Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, a have suffered. Many members of the community are help leading forum focusing on AIDS research, has ing console friends in their grieving and main been moved from Sept. 22 to 25 to Dec. 16 to 19 in Chicago. tain the routine of daily life. Christopher During a Metropolitan Community Church Goeken’s work for a New York state senator has service Sept. 16, one worshiper told of losing a taken him into the residential complexes of the dozen friends in the attack. Among the injured war zone at the southern tip of Manhattan. is member Renee Barrett, who remains in a Electricity and phone service are still out in coma with severe bums and lung damage. much of the area, fixxl supplies are mnning low, Multiple skin grafts will be required if and and seniors in particular are having a hard time when her condition improves enough to allow coping with the deprivation and isolation. Even those prcKedures. Her spouse, Enez Cooper, and the simple act of refilling a medical prescription teen-age son are keeping a bedside vigil. is a challenge. Two AIDS fund-raisers did move forward Numerous events across the country were during that first weekend in San Francisco. One canceled or rescheduled because of the attacks, was a fash ion-oriented event, the other a five- including all professional sporting events and kilometer run. most charitable events. They prompted outrage from activist The National Minority A ID S Council can Michael Petrelis. “I’m sickened by the greed of celed the U.S. Conference on AIDS. Some attendees already were heading for the event j A ID S Inc. in San Francisco during this time of scheduled for Sept. 13 to 16 in Miami, but it I turmoil. ”jn m North Portland Veterinary Hospital Visit our website or call 5 0 3 -2 8 9 -2 2 0 9 for the class nearest you. $ 7 P er W eek We are committed to providing loving, compassionate medical care for your pet. 8 week minimum purchase New customers only Mon-Fri 7am -7pm Sat 8am -5pm •N o experience necessary. • N o contracts o r membership fees. ( 5 0 3 ) • Convenient times/locations 28 5-0 462 3000 N. Lombard • W e fit every body. Jazzercise www.jazzercise.com POWER TEAM R E /M A X - EQUITY G R O U P , IN C . 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