8 years ago today...

[texas*princess]

It's so crazy how vividly I can remember 9/11, but I can't even remember what I wore a week ago.

I remember it was a Tuesday. I didn't wake up in time for my 8 am class, so I figured I would go to my 9:30 class which was Poli-Sci. I got to class a few minutes before class started and our professor wasn't there yet. My friend Michelle - who I had known since Jr. High- sat in front of me in Poli-Sci class. As soon as I sat down, she said "Did you hear?" And I asked "hear about what?" "The planes.." she said and just in that moment my professor hurriedly walked in. He was an older man - tall & skinny with white hair. He had this weird crazy look in his eyes and before my friend Michelle could say anything else or finish her sentence, he told us to get our belongings because we were going to the student union building.

No one said a word on our way to the Union. I still didn't fully understand what was going on.

When we got to the Union, all of the people who were normally hanging out there playing pool or just hanging out were all gathered in a room. The TV there wasn't working, so everyone sat there silently listening to the radio over the speakers. We heard when the towers fell.

I remember my professor saying "this is going to be a war" over and over. I just couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was a college sophomore then, and I had so many HS friends of mine that joined the military out of high school. People were crying.. it was pretty surreal.

That afternoon I went into the college radio station for my DJ shift. What was normally a fun experience was so awkward. What the hell do I do? What do I say? We didn't play music. We had a feed from a sister station that was all-news. I'd cut out occasionally for commercials or to do the time/temp/station ID. I remember after 9/11 being handed a list of songs I couldn't play on the radio due to the senstivity of the whole 9/11 thing. It was just so weird.

That night, there was a social in my residence hall. I was an RA and helped plan it with another RA.

Instead of doing the activities that we had planned for our social event, we gathered around the TV and watched G.W. Bush's speech. There were so many tears. We were near a military base and I think everyone there knew at least one or two people that would be shipped off.

It was a really sad day.

[Boodleboy322]

We have similar stories:

I remember that day clearly. I got up a little late as well and was headed to class. I still remember what I was wearing that day. I wore my black Phi Mu Alpha Polo and Khaki Ralph Lauren shorts to class. I left my dorm room, an apartment style dorm where you open the door and you're outside, that morning and was walking to my history class when I came across Clyde the custodian in the parking lot of the residence hall. He began telling me about some planes crashing. I too was running a little late and figured it was just some type of small private plane, like a Cessna, so I pressed on. I got to class a few minutes late and the lecture had already begun but I didn't hear anyone mention anything about what was happening. After class I headed out to the student union because I needed to turn in some paperwork to the student org office on behalf of our chapter of Phi Mu Alpha. When I walked into the union I saw a lot of students glued to the television sets like it was a scene from some type of movie. When I realized what was happening I was just in shock. In light of the event, the university ended up closing at noon that day so students could go home. One of my fraternity brothers that knew I was a weekend warrior in the Air National Guard called me up that afternoon and asked if I'd meet him at the local college bar. As I walked through campus and headed out towards the bar I remember seeing a guy seated on a bench playing a trombone. He looked kind of like a hippie with a beard and baseball hat and played very solemn, calm, almost weeping style music through his trombone. He was unaccompanied and seemed to be playing for himself. I got to the bar and saw my fraternity brother. We hung out and talked about the 9/11 event, war and wondered where the country would go next.

Check out this 9/11 conspiracy clip. You may need to cut and paste the link and put it on your browser.

http://www.freedomunderground.org/me...tagon.php#Main


Regards,

Boodleboy322

Originally Posted by texas*princess

It's so crazy how vividly I can remember 9/11, but I can't even remember what I wore a week ago.

I remember it was a Tuesday. I didn't wake up in time for my 8 am class, so I figured I would go to my 9:30 class which was Poli-Sci.

[EtaPhiZTA]

We had just started back to school the Thursday before 9/11. I was teaching second grade at the time. One of my volunteer mothers Lori, who I knew very well came into my classroom right before 8:00. Her husband was a pilot for American Airlines and he was also a member of their crisis team. Her face was white; I asked her what was wrong and she confided in me that her husband had just gotten a call to report to work because one of their planes had just hit one of the World Trade Center towers. Something in her voice told me that this was more than an accident.

Shortly after 8:00, my principal came over the intercom and called for a "Code Red" lockdown in our school. I had to lock my students, Lori, and myself into my classroom, close the blinds over our windows, and take attendance which would be sent to the office. I was then to continue teaching "as normal." Our principal then told all teachers to not turn on televsions or radios in our classroom and to log in to our computer for an email message that would be coming shortly.

My students understandably became alarmed during our Code Red. I reminded them of the fire drill we had just had the day before and explained that we were practicing a different type of safety drill. I remember changing my schedule to allow the students time to do their learning centers so that I could monitor the computer for the message my principal had promised.

Finally, about twenty minutes later, I received the email. The teachers were informed about the two planes hitting the World Trade Center and the fear that this was an act of terrorism. We were reassured that Chicago and its suburbs did not appear to be a target, but that we would continue a modified Code Red lockdown for the rest of the day. We were told to keep the blinds closed and that students would not be allowed outside for recess or p.e. classes. However, we were now free to move around in the building -- this was a big relief because as soon as the lock down was called, my students all decided they needed to use the restroom.

I continued my day as "normally" as I could with my students. When lunch time finally came, I was able to go to the school office to find out more about the situation. At that time, I found out about the plane that hit the Pentagon and Flight 93 which went down in Pennsylvania. During this time, I also heard that the White House was on fire, which of course turned out to not be true.

Going back to spend the afternoon with my students after finding out all of this information was very difficult. The decision was made by my school district administration that we were not to share information about what had happened with our elementary students; that delicate task was left to their parents.

I remember leaving school immediately after getting word that all of our school buses had made it safely back to the transportation department. I went home and sat in front of the television watching the news coverage for hours. I remember sitting and crying but not being able to pull myself away. I kept praying that an announcer would come on and explain that this was all a mistake and that none of it had really happened.

It was very difficult teaching in the classroom on September 11th; however, it became even more difficult in the days that followed because my students were confused and wanted an explanation of why these terrible things had happened.

Being in my classroom yesterday on the eighth anniversary of September 11th, it struck me how odd it was that none of my students have actual memories of 9/11. They were all born after that day. The students know only what they have been told. My school had our first spirit day of the year and asked students to dress in red, white and blue to recognize Patriot Day. The principal started the day with a reading to commemorate the anniversary over the intercom followed by a moment of silence. During the day, I read the book On That Day, A Book of Hope for Children to my class to discuss why we celebrate Patriot Day. We followed the story up with a social studies lesson from our curriculum about what we can do to be good citizens.