Lorrie Sullenberger

Thank you!

October 6, 2016 by Lorrie Sullenberger Leave a Comment

This article was originally published in the April 2009 issue of ALIVE.

By now most of you have made the connection. Before January 15, 2009, you knew me as a fitness columnist for ALIVE East Bay, as a health and well-being expert, and (most importantly) as a Danville mother of two wonderful girls. But all of us who read newspapers and watch TV now know me as Mrs. Sullenberger, wife of the pilot who landed a suddenly powerless airplane in New York’s Hudson River. May I beg your indulgence this month as I use my fitness column to send a much needed thank you note?

In early January, my family was just like any family in our nation. We were deeply concerned with the state of the economy, and how it would impact our family, our lives and our children’s futures. When Sully and I need to work over troubling thoughts, we turn to the beautiful hills that our community is so blessed with. On January 11, as Sully was about to depart for a four-day work shift for US Airways, we hiked up to our favorite local spot and looked out over the valley. I clearly remember Sully saying to me, “looking out there makes you feel like anything is possible.”

Little did we know that just four days later how those words would hauntingly prove true.

I don’t need to recount what happened during the flight. And I am certain that most of you by now have seen the media frenzy that swelled up after Sully and his crew landed the plane and got the passengers out safely. It is still difficult for me to sort out the emotions and events that all seem to blur together in the following days and weeks. This experience has been like an onion – it is multi-layered and peeling back the layers has taken much time and will take much more, I am sure. For me, of course, there was the accident itself, the huge media interest and then the amazing, never-ending, beautiful, emotional mail.

It’s interesting how our brains are wired to protect us from trauma. After Sully called to tell me the news, I don’t remember feeling panicked. I had a weird, out of body feeling. I could not really believe that the images I was seeing on the TV were my husband’s airplane. I know intellectually, and believe with all my heart, that commercial aviation is the safest form of travel, so I had never been afraid of Sully’s career. (When we were much younger, I used to tease Sully that I wasn’t afraid of his travels, but I was worried about the fact that he was spending every night in a hotel with four flight attendants!) So how incredible were the odds that my skilled, talented, professional husband was involved in an airline accident? The odds were impossible–and yet they were not.

Shortly after Sully called me, our home became besieged with media from around the world. It is hard to recall exactly when, but I believe the first calls began within two hours of the accident and quickly began to swell. By that evening both phone lines, all our cell phones and the fax were all going off simultaneously in our house. My friends called with offers of assistance, which I declined – I could not foresee that we were headed towards uncharted territory. But soon after I realized that I was dealing with dozens of calls an hour, and that the tsunami wouldn’t end sometime soon, my friends kindly decided to ignore my refusals of help. My beloved friend Margret Combs slipped in the door, sliding past the handsome CNN reporter who was using all his experience and charm to convince me to let him in for an interview. Right on her heels, my childhood friend Tamara Wheeler arrived. Margret and Tamara went into full “women in charge” mode, answering the door and the phones, turning away the media horde, taking messages and feeding my kids. I had no idea how much I needed this assistance – it gave me a chance to sit in a chair, to breathe for a moment, to let the enormity of what had happened wash over me, to start coping with the unbelievable story that had hit my family.

And with the story swelling, the news agencies and networks didn’t just have the producers calling us – but the on air talent started dialing us up, as well. It’s a bit odd to answer the phones and hear, “Hi, Lorrie, this is Diane Sawyer/Katie Couric/Matt Lauer, how are you?” It became clear that this story, transpiring at this difficult time in our nation’s history, had somehow struck a universal chord. Shortly after returning home, Sully told me, “I think this will change our lives forever.” Of course it would, but we had no idea how that would happen, or what it would mean.

Earlier in this article, I mentioned the mail we’ve received. It has been life-affirming, amazing, touching, emotional. The letters and cards we have received, from every corner of the world, have made the biggest impact on my life. We have received literally thousands and thousands of pieces of mail, some with thanks, some with encouragement, but most with personal, heartfelt stories of how this event has touched their lives. The people of our nation and our world have chosen to communicate with my family, speaking simply and with great eloquence. Some days when it all seems too much, but the tears are stuck inside and won’t come out, the letters help. Through the words I read, I can grasp the enormity of what happened that day and how it has touched people.

I have read letters from wives of pilots whose husbands are gone, but the story of Flight 1549 reminds them of their loved ones and their commitment to civil aviation. I have read letters from servicemen reliving great and harrowing moments in their youth; I have read letters from young people who tell Sully that he has inspired them to do their best; I have read letters telling Sully and his crew that they have created the possibility of a long life and of extraordinary accomplishment for not only those on the flight, but their children – and their children’s children. I don’t know how to answer thousands of heartfelt, personal, lovely letters—but we feel a responsibility to somehow respond to all of them, somehow. It may take us some time but I can’t stop thinking of those people, as they have given us an extraordinary gift of love.

We have tried to answer some of the hundreds of calls we’ve received. We’ve written a few thank you notes as well. But to all of those we have not yet gotten to who have called, e-mailed or sent cards, please know that our hearts are overflowing with a huge THANK YOU! Our family is tremendously fortunate to have been so embraced by our neighbors and friends, and please know that we are grateful indeed.

As you face the challenges that confront you and your families every day, I hope that you will keep in mind Sully’s words from January 11, 2009. I hope that what comes from this dramatic, riveting, amazing event is that people remember “that anything is possible.”

Warmly,

Lorrie (and Sully, Kate and Kelly) Sullenberger

True to Myself

February 1, 2010 by Lorrie Sullenberger

My mission when I started writing these articles two years ago was simple. As I have told you, my fitness and body confidence did not come easily and I wanted to help other women who felt disenfranchised from the fitness movement or business to feel inspired. I did not want to sell a fitness program or package because there are a million ways to lose weight and get in shape. That is not where the problem lies. I believe it is only when women feel they are worth it that they value themselves enough that they will stick with a program.

My heart breaks every time I encounter a woman in a social setting who tugs at her just slightly too-tight clothes. That blouse that pulls under the arms or the buttons that gaps just a bit; or holding her jacket, purse or arms just so, to cover up a bit of a tummy. I have said it before and I will say it again: being fit is not about size but feeling comfortable in your own skin.
Even the most confident looking among us can feel insecure about how we look.

I have written about one of my personal heroes, Maria Shriver, before and the wonderful Women’s Conferences she has done as First Lady in Long Beach every year. The theme is always the same; be an architect of change. She has spoken so openly of her insecurities, under the weight of expectations and trying to find out who the real Maria is. She has moved me in so many ways, as I have hoped to do in a small way for you.

But the events of 2009 with Sully’s landing in the Hudson River, and the year-long media attention that followed, has left me profoundly changed. There have been so many changes in my life, that the time has come for me to end my monthly writing as a fitness columnist for Alive Magazine. I won’t be leaving altogether, but will now only be contributing feature articles from time to time, on an occasional basis.

I have to thank Eric Johnson for giving me the opportunity to find my voice. Although I was passionate about women’s wellness, I did not think of myself as a writer. I am a much better oral communicator. I like eye contact—gesturing of hands and immediate feedback. For me, getting the thoughts in my head, of which there are many, to proper sentences on a page is a monumental leap. I told Eric this section would not be your usual “exercise” section, but my voice talking to women. And he readily agreed. And so it was a great pleasure when out on a hike I would pass a woman and he would turn back and say “I enjoyed you last article, I can really relate”.

No matter how pulled together one may look on the outside, I know we all have those inner doubts; those secret thoughts we share with few, if anyone. My goal is that if I share, I reveal myself, and you can feel more comfortable and realize we are all far more alike than different.

So before I close, let me share one more story with you.

This last year has afforded our family many amazing opportunities. Ironically, two happened to be doing pieces for national magazines. First I did a piece for Shape Magazine and secondly, Woman’s Day asked me to write an essay for their November issue. So remember I am not a writer, but being an “Architect of Change” in my own life I thought I had to step up. The piece was about gratitude, of which I felt much, and about the thousands of letters that had come to our house. The piece came together fairly easily. But before I sent it off to the editor of Woman’s Day, I sent it to our public relations firm that now handles all of Sully’s “stuff.” I told them I had no pride of authorship and to edit away. “Add or subtract as you see fit,” I told them.

When the essay came back I sent it straight way to Woman’s Day. A few days later the editor, named Ellen, e-mailed me and said they had a few paragraphs that did not sound like me and they wanted to revise or edit and wanted my input. When I read the passages they were talking about it was the specific changes I let someone else make for me. I was in a pickle. Do I admit my lack of confidence or do I try to make the edits? I decided to send her my original essay and tell her I had run it through the PR Company and see if they liked that better. What I got back was a profound lesson for me at the age of 51. She said, “You have a wonderful ‘voice.’ You don’t need anyone else—you can do this on your own.”

So here I am, still learning that lesson and sharing it with you, with the hope that you can see part of yourself in there. You have what it takes; you just have to be confident that it is in there.

I am excited to say I have been invited to speak at the East Bay Women’s Conference Monday March 1. You can find out more information by going to the Walnut Creek Chamber website: chamber@walnut-creek.com or by calling 925-934-2007. I hope to see you there.

It has been my great privilege to share with you and I wish you all success. I hope to see you on a trail sometime!

Are You Ready?

January 8, 2010 by Lorrie Sullenberger

As I sit to write this article I am acutely aware that this will appear on the newsstands on or about Jan 15. It is hard to fathom what has happened to my family in this past year. On January 11th I was like a lot of other people in the country, our family was uncertain about the economy and how it was going to affect us. We had a commercial property that had been vacant for several months and we were worried. So on that Sunday afternoon Sully and I took to the hills that we love so much, to hike that evening. It was a beautiful evening with clear skies and a slight breeze. As we stood on that hill looking out over the beautiful valley, Sully turned to me and said, “looking out there makes you feel like anything is possible doesn’t it?” We returned home and he left early the next morning on his trip as usual.

On the afternoon of January 15 I had gone to Starbucks for my usual cup of tea. I had stopped at Ann Taylor in the Blackhawk shopping center and gone home to an important conference call. I had been working with a producer in Los Angeles and we had a pitch meeting that afternoon with Oprah Winfrey’s new network, OWN. We were on the phone when Sully started calling home. His first call was on my cell which I promptly ignored as I was busy! He proceeded to call our phone lines back and forth which I ignored until about the fourth call. I told Dan, Sully was going crazy on the phone and maybe I should take the call. “Oh sure” he said, go ahead and call me back.

As I had expected Sully home that night and we knew it was a close connection and the weather was bad I was expecting to hear from him. His first words were… “I just wanted to let you know I am ok.” I thought that meant he was going to make it home that night. Ok, I said ready to get back to my important phone call. He then said there has been an incident. Ok again, I thought, that meant he was not going to make it home. Clearly I was not getting it and he asked me if I was watching TV …and as I turned it on he said we hit a flock of birds and I had to ditch the airplane in the river—“I am ok but I have to go now.”

Wow… how do you absorb that kind of news? My body started to shake violently as I sat on the chair uncertain what to do next. I called my long time best friend and told her what had happened and said what do I do now? She said go get the girls and so I did. When the three of us got home we turned on the TV and sat in silence as our world as we knew it started to shift.

We don’t know exactly how the media got a hold of Sully’s name: but the first media call that came into our house was from the New York Times on my daughter’s cell about 45 minutes after we got home. And once that happened all whats-it broke loose. Shortly after that the first reporter from CNN (and might I add the best looking of the bunch) showed up on my porch. Followed closely by two friends who slipped past the “Mr. Good Looking” reporter at the door to help answer the phones. By that time both our land lines our fax and cell phones were all going off simultaneously. It is funny, the little things that stand out in my memory. Like later that night one of the girls wanted to go to her dance class as usual; the place was crazy and she needed to get out of the house. On her way back the mom that was driving stopped at Costco and bought us some premade pasta and salad. I remember thinking… how odd; you take food when someone has died. And thank God no one has died. Little did I know that with the crushing media we were going to be house bound for several days and that was all we had to eat!

That night I lay awake in my bed listening to the hum of the generators of the big new satellite trucks in our court. With the occasional phone call from a news outlet from the other side of the world. Sully called later that night and said I think this will change our lives forever – but I don’t think we knew what that meant exactly at that moment. Funny enough I do remember calling some of my personal training clients the next day and telling them I did not think I was going to be able to meet with them for a while.

By the next morning we were answering the phone to Katie Couric, Diane Sawyer and Matt Lauer. We had some light moments, like when I was on the phone with the Jay Leno people and my older daughter Kate came into the room with her phone. I hushed her with my finger and told her who I was on the phone with. With her hip cocked out to the side and her finger pointing to the phone she said, “Yeah, I’ll have Matt Lauer!” Ok you win.

Because of the media work I have done for ABC-7 I had some media connections and so I made phone calls the next day to try to get us some help. Alex and Libby arrived by Friday night and were fielding over 250 calls and requests a day that went on for months.

In the last 8 month’s we attended countless black tie events from the Inauguration and Presidential Neighborhood Ball to the Emmy’s.

So what do I make of all of this? As I have said in several articles, there is power in a worldwide feel good moment. Sully, and to some degree our family,are the public face of that good news –that feel good moment. And now I am left trying to reconcile our old life with our new life. And what I have come to is this.

As you may know I AM a passionate advocate for women’s wellness and the power of exercise. I had owned a women’s gym and was continuing my career in television. Over the years owning the gym and talking with women about their fitness I had heard every excuse in the book. They were going to get in shape: for their son’s wedding, their daughter’s wedding, a class reunion, family reunion… And I don’t have time to work out, because the kids are out of school… because the kids are in school… because of work… because I am out of work…you name it they were waiting. Well I am here to tell you to stop waiting.

On January 15th thank God my roots were touched up and I was not waiting to lose that last 10 pounds, I was ready. My belief in the power of exercise and my self improvement quest made me ready when my moment came. We all know Sully was ready. He had spent a lifetime readying himself; reading and studying being ready on all fronts. Little did I realize, my media training and contacts were going to serve us well that day. As Sully was looking to his career beyond flying in the future he had recently completed his Safety website and just launched it a couple of months before. Like the pinnacle of a mountain top all of our collective life preparedness came into use on that day and the months to follow.

So my question to you… Are you ready? If your career is slowing with the economy, ready yourself for the next big opportunity. Don’t wait to focus on your personal fitness; your big moment could be just this afternoon. If you are a mother, your family’s health depends on your health. And if you are single…what if the man of your dreams is in the produce aisle of Safeway tonight.

None of know what tomorrow will bring…be it good news or bad. Are you ready?

Thank You Hardly Seems Enough

December 10, 2009 by Lorrie Sullenberger

thank_you Autumn has always been my favorite time of year. The angle of the light and the colors of the fall foliage make the world feel warm and embracing. It is always a period of personal reflection, and I frequently mail pre-holiday gratitude letters.

But to reflect back on 2009—to encapsulate this particular year in a page or two—the task seems monumental and leaves me wondering where I should start. As the wife of Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the captain of US Airways flight 1549, my year has ricocheted from one emotion to another. I look back to the simple days of the new year when our family, like so many others, was settling into that familiar post-holiday routine. Our daughters returned to school, Sully and I put away the Christmas decorations, we celebrated our younger daughter’s 14th birthday. Sully left on one of his four-day trips. But then in an instant, my husband and his crew had to emergency-land their plane on the Hudson River, and our lives were suddenly turned upside down.

The events of January 15 and the aftermath brought up emotions that were hard to sort out—our nation and the world were celebrating the good outcome, but my family was in shock. So much had happened, and overnight Sully was catapulted from anonymity to fame. The outpouring of support, the inauguration, the Super Bowl and the media attention were astounding (and surreal), but we were numb from the overwhelming, sudden change.

Starting the first day, the messages began to arrive. The first one was an unsigned, handwritten fax that simply said, “Well done…we needed that.” A few days later, our now long-suffering mailman, Dan, was bringing us the first of an unending river of mail and parcels. Communiqués arrived by mail, FedEx, UPS and every overnight service available.

A few days after Sully came home, we gathered our family together in front of a comforting fire. My two daughters and I took turns reading the mail to him. The letters were eloquent and touching. One woman told my husband, “In the last year I lost my job, my home, my father and frankly my faith. You, sir, gave it back.” Through their letters, our tears could flow.

As we read, we learned that the people of New York and New Jersey, who lived through September 11, feel a special kinship with my husband, his crew and all the first responders. One young mother wrote to say that their neighborhood had lost a lot of wonderful people on 9/11, and they did not think they could take another tragedy like that in their lifetime. On the day I wrote this essay—six months after the landing—we received a letter from another woman who said, “Please accept this very belated thankyou to say how much we admire what you did to land Flight 1549 on the Hudson River. My son ran for his life from the World Trade Center during 9/11 back across the Hudson to Hoboken. The memories of that horror are still fresh with him and all of us in our family. Seeing your plane land successfully on the river with everyone surviving helped to counteract some of those memories.”

These letters were the most wonderful gift of humanity and compassion I could imagine receiving. So, during the few quiet days we’ve had this year, we’ve made it a ritual to gather the four of us together, sit in front of the fireplace and read, letter after letter after letter.

We have received 20,000 e-mails, and tens of thousands of personal cards, letters, packages and faxes. We’ve received letters from every continent except Antarctica and enough flowers to start our own greenhouse. I joke that my husband has achieved Santa Claus status, but instead of “North Pole,” many of the letters are addressed to “Captain Sullenberger” or “Sully.” One of my favorites was from Europe, and was addressed to “Hero Pilot USA.” And written below that, it said, “Dear Postmaster, I don’t know his address but I think you can find him.”

We have received many letters from current and retired servicemen, and what we call the “airline family.” All of us in the industry, regardless of our carrier, share a unique lifestyle and a special bond. One of the most touching letters came from a woman whose father was the first officer on ValuJet Flight 592, which crashed in the Florida Everglades. She said she was compelled to write after watching Sully interviewed on 60 Minutes. She told us she had long agonized over what his final minutes were like. Accident investigators had assured her that he hadn’t died in the grips of fear; that instead he was working hard to keep his airplane in the sky. She hadn’t really believed them until she heard Sully talk about his intense focus on landing the airplane.

Finally, she said, she had peace of mind. I carried this letter in my purse for months.

The messages we receive are funny, sad and profound—but they all convey a life-affirming gratitude. It seems that just when our country and our world needed it most, we had a collective feelgood moment. In all these months since January, I can only recall three days when we had no mail regarding the accident. There are lovely surprises, too: Also in today’s mail was a wedding invitation from a couple who were on Flight 1549. Included was a note that said, “Words cannot express how much we thank you.”

We have read hundreds of letters that say something to the effect, “We know Sully didn’t ask for this and isn’t seeking the limelight, but we need a hero to feel good about.” They urge him to continue serving in this role of hero. What other response can you have to something like that, except to try to rise to that challenge, and gracefully accept that huge responsibility, every day? Sully and I both believe that gratitude is a two-way street, and we do our best to give back the outpouring of support and gratitude we have been so fortunate to receive.

One boy wrote to Sully, saying his family had to cut back on gifts this year. He said his dad was a huge fan and asked if we could surprise him for Valentine’s Day lunch. While lunch with the family wasn’t possible, we thought it would be a nice surprise to call. (We can’t respond to every letter, but this plea somehow touched me in a special way.) Though I was across the room, I could hear the boy’s shrieks of joy when he heard Sully introduce himself. Sully spoke for a time to the boy and then to his father, telling him what a thoughtful son he had. I think everyone on that call was extraordinarily moved by the conversation. I remember crying that night, thinking how such a simple act on our part had made them so happy.

I still have to write my personal gratitude letter this year. Even after writing this essay, I hardly know where to begin. But I want to give my heartfelt thanks to all those who wrote to us. And I must echo the words in so many of the letters we have received: “Thank you” hardly seems enough.

This article originally appeared in Women’s Day Magazine.

Workout Buddy

November 6, 2009 by Lorrie Sullenberger

to_your_peak
From time to time we all need a little help to keep us motivated in our quest to stay fit and healthy, so this month I am dedicating my column to my workout friend who has hiked hundreds and hundreds of miles with me in the local hills. She is a great sounding board, always the unconditional listener. She encouraged me to get out on days when I did not want to go and kept me hiking longer and farther on days I was tempted to stop short. She was a beautiful blonde with soulful brown eyes and her name was Twinkle. You might think with a name like that she was a go-go dancer but no she was our beloved yellow lab from Guide Dogs for the Blind and she passed from our lives recently.

I know from hiking and walking our local streets and trails there are a lot of people out there like me who love their dogs like one of the family and it is a tremendous loss when they pass. As a trained Guide Dog she was the top of her class and pulled into their breeding department where she would contribute to the program by having litters of puppies. And so she came into our lives in May 2001. As a guide she thought I was supposed to be her partner and so she followed me literally from the toilet to the closet, to the sink, to the kitchen, and the computer room, looking at me longingly when I had to leave the house for errands.

And like so many of your pets too, she knew all too well when I started to clothe myself in any type of workout gear…because that could only mean one thing, A HIKE! It is common knowledge that pet owners get out more and thus are fitter because they engage in regular outings. The Royal Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) says it is more than that; it has more to do with the quality of the outing than simply the cardiovascular benefits. As a matter of fact, recent RSPCA research in Australia found that more than a third of people would sooner dump their partner than their pet. Now, I am not sure that I would go that far, given he is a national hero and all, but I have to say my first outing without Twinkle, I took Sully and told him he was my second choice!

Interestingly, when veterinarian Dr Marty Becker, correspondent for Good Morning America, got together with physician Dr Robert Kushner they discovered their patient’s obesity problem mirrored one another. The reason for excess fat in people and their pets is the same cause: too much food and not enough exercise. In their research for the new book Fitness Unleashed, they discovered the motivation the people will stick with. It seems humans will take more responsibility for helping the pet they love get healthy and end up helping themselves in the process. Ironic isn’t it?

Study after study reports the positive motivational benefits of having a dog. But it goes farther than that. In his book The Healing Power of Pets, veterinarian Dr Marty Beck reports that heart attack sufferers who own a dog do better in recovery. And tests show that simply petting a dog will flood the body with many beneficial hormones. In addition, they say couples who own pets are more satisfied in their marriage and have closer relationships. Go figure.

We were recently asked to participate in a new book coming out for the holidays called Top Dogs and Their Pets. It is a beautiful coffee table book of celebrities and their pets. At that point we were over scheduled and I was not exactly keen on taking the time to take pictures with our animals. But with Twinkle’s passing now I am so grateful to have it.

So in this glorious autumn season, do yourself and your four-legged friend a big favor and get out there. I wish you both many happy trails.

To find out more and watch the fun video for Top Dogs go to www.topdogspets.com. We are also big supporters of Animal Rescue Foundation or ARF and you can find us on the cover of the 2010 calendar with Twinkle and “The Kitty” go to www.arf.net.

TO YOUR PEAK
LORRIE SULLENBERGER