Five years earlier a tragic event had ended any secret-sharing by the former lovers. Five years a highway in the Dulles Corridor in Herndon had felt the tires of a car that held a group of hijackers. Those hijackers later seized control of a plane after it had left Dulles Airport. The hijackers then flew that plane into the Pentagon. All of the passengers on that plane perished. At least one of those passengers had almost certainly visited one of the popular dating spots in Herndon.
One of those passengers might have enjoyed a date at the Hyatt Regency Reston, one of the popular Herndon, VA hotels. The Hyatt Regency Reston offers a bar with live jazz music on weekends. Dating couples can go to a movie at the nearby theater and then visit the bar at the hotel. Because the movie theater has 13 different screens, a couple can plan a variety of similar but different dates.
Perhaps one of those who died on that hijacked plane had once sent a loved one a package from Herndon. Perhaps they had mailed that package from the Kinko’s and Fed-Ex in Herndon. That Kinko’s and Fed-Ex can be found across from another of the Herndon, Virginia hotels. It is a hotel on the Dulles Corridor—the Washington Dulles Marriott.
Some of the young people on that hijacked plane never lived to see the day when they would go out on their first date. At least one youth of that plane had won a trip from National Geographic, and he had boarded that targeted plane with hopes of taking that trip. That youth would never be able to enjoy the fun of going on a date in Herndon or in a different city of Virginia.
On that fateful September day, at least one official in Washington, DC had to abandon hopes for a future date with his wife, one of the passengers on the hijacked plane. The love those two must have shared on previous dates could be discerned from the note reportedly left by that departed wife. She had left a love note for her husband on her pillow that morning.
Their story, while sad, reminds all of the importance of a date, whether it is in Herndon, VA or in any other city. A date can be the start of a strong and enduring relationship.
A date provides two people with an opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings.
A date can sometimes demonstrate the ability of two people to work together to solve a problem.
When a man and a woman have learned by dating to work together, then they are ready to do more than beam lovingly at each other. Then that man and that woman are ready to tackle the everyday problems that can challenge a married couple. If necessary, the love they have acquired during a series of dates could later help one or both of them to deal with a tragic loss.