"He's the man who makes my cup of tea every morning"

January 24, 2009

A nice hometown, respectful welcome for an unassuming man. He truly believes he was just doing his job and they were both happy to get home.

LORI SULLENBERGER: To say that we are completely overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and love and cards - there are no words that we can express to say to thank all of you....We were breathtaken when we walked around the corner and saw all of your faces.

...We love Danville!!

...People have said alot of things about my husband in the last couple of days, so my comments will be brief.

And this is where I cry.

I knew when I married Sully, the one thing for sure, was that he was the most honorable man I knew. I have always known him to be an exemplary pilot. I knew what the outcome would be that day, because I knew my husband.

But mostly, for me, he's the man that makes my cup of tea every morning.

I'd like you to meet my husband, Sully.

They gave each other a really nice hug and a kiss. That said more than any words - especially for a man of few words. I was surprised by the wholeheartedness of it - how he shared his love and respect for his wife with all of us. It was a truly intimate moment that for a controlled, contained man seemed to come easily and unselfconsciously. He is a very curious (in a good way) man. The crowd clapped and started the Sul-ly, Sul-ly chant and he laughed but he looked so uncomfortable they stopped to let him speak. Watch his left hand - he wipes his palm briefly on his suit coat and then fidgets. He can make a perfect landing on an icy river having lost both engines - but standing there makes him nervous.

CAPT SULLENBERGER: Lori and I are grateful for your incredible outpouring of support. It's great to be home in Danville with our neighbors and our friends.

Circumstance determined that it was this experienced crew that was scheduled to fly at that particular flight on that particular day.

But I know that I can speak for the entire crew when I tell you - we were simply doing the jobs we were trained to do.

Thank you.

Not even a word per passenger. Quite a humble man. How refreshing. It seems the rest of his crew is too.

I was watching CNN and after the Sullenbergers spoke - they cut back to the reporter who recapped Sully's 73 word speech. Meanwhile, the Mayor was presumably saying something about who they are and what they mean to the community.


markcurtismedia

this video for body language