WTC / Pentagon attacks

[SigmaChiCard]

How'd the process of finding out go for you guys....it was strangely in steps for me. Lots of my friends woke to the news, but I was at work, and a guy listening to the radio goes, "There was a plane crash in to the World Trade Center." So we were all like, damn, you know...that is terrible, but seemed likely enough with planes flying around there incessantly...but then he came out yelling the other tower had been hit....and from there on out, as each thing that happened we got the scene by scene take on it....I've been so immensely tuned into it, absolutely overcome by pervasive thoughts on it.

A brother of mine was at a modeling shoot for Mountain Dew about 5 blocks from it and gave us the play-by-play too...that was crazy....can you imagine what you'd think while that shit was going on if you were there?

Anyway....another thing that really made me mad was another fraternity stealing my american flag when I'd laid it down for like 5 minutes at a flag football game, I wanna say names because I'm so enraged..but I won't

[dzrose93]

My prayers go out to all GreekChat members who have friends and family members affected by the events of last Tuesday. I share your sorrow. I am the bearer of sad news this morning as well. Last week, I learned that one of my chapter sisters, Anna, had lost her roommate in Tuesday's attacks. I didn't find out until today that Anna's roommate was also one of my Delta Zeta sisters.

Both girls were flight attendants for United Airlines and were stationed out of Boston. Tuesday morning, the girls got up early for their flights. Anna was, ironically enough, on a flight to Chicago to get her Emergency Flight Procedures re-certification. Her roommate, Alicia Titus, was working on Flight 175 heading from Boston to Los Angeles. Flight 175 never made it to Los Angeles. It was one of the hijacked planes that crashed into the World Trade Center.

Anna lost her good friend and roommate. Delta Zeta lost a sister.

Alicia Titus was an alumna of Alpha Chapter at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. She was 27 years old and Anna describes her as a very sweet girl who always had a smile on her face. Please pray for her friends and family as they struggle to cope with their loss.

Also, please pray for Anna. She is currently stuck in a Chicago hotel, waiting for the airline to send her back to Boston. She is unable to visit her family in Georgia because the FBI and FAA have suspended all free travel pass privileges for the time being.

Finally, please keep the Goodchild family in your thoughts. Lynn Goodchild, a passenger on Flight 175, was the niece of one of my co-workers. She was only 25 years old. Our office is currently collecting donations for the Red Cross in her honor.

Everyone, try to have a good week. Keep your heads up and have faith in America. We'll get through this and become stronger in spite of those who wish us harm.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

[alphachiohmy]

My heart goes out to the victims and families of those lost and injured at the WTC and Pentagon attacks, passengers and crews of airlines across the nation, and to the firefighters and police officers who without a second thought only cared about saving lives.

I also am praying for the people that did this and their families and those who have the same ideals and values as the hijackers or Osama bin Laden. I am praying for our country's leaders and the leaders of other nations who are forced to pick up the remnants and stabalize economies and bring terrorism to extinction.

I was in bed when it happened listening to the radio and not wanting to go to class. I heard beginning reports of a plane striking the WTC, so I turned on my television to see the other plane strike and the towers crumble shortly after. I think I lost my stomach as I sat there in horror and watched Tuesday's events unfold.

Honestly, I am scared for whats to come with the economy, threat of war and nuclear possibilities and scared as to what I want to do with my life or how these events will affect my life and the lives of my family that I want to have one day.

[SSS1365]

Originally posted by SigmaChiCard
How'd the process of finding out go for you guys....

Well I was sitting in class when I sort of found out. The department secretary came to tell my professor, but apparently she had her information wrong because the prof came back in and told us the White House was on fire. So we were all like "Okay..." and we went on with the lecture. Then immediately after class I went to work at the college's information desk, and this girl calls me CRYING because the phone lines were tied up around DC and she couldn't get through. I had no idea what was going on, so finally someone told me what had happened. I live 3 hours from DC but I'm in the Northern VA area ALL the time (my bf lives there). It's like my 2nd home, so in a sense it hit close to home, although I didn't know anyone affected.

I found out a few days ago that an alumna of my chapter lost her mother and her stepfather, who were on flight 77. They had just gotten married and were on their way to Hawaii for their honeymoon. She said she was just glad they were together and didn't have to face it alone.

So my heart has really gone out to my sister (who I've never met by the way) as well as all of those who were affected.

[aephi alum]

I know I started this thread, and it's gauche to reply to your own thread... but a lot of people have asked, "How did you find out?" And I didn't address that in my initial post. So ~ the short version ~ I had just gotten to work when the second plane hit the WTC. We have a bank of TV monitors at work, and I saw a lot of my coworkers gathered around them... so I came to them and asked what had happened, and that was how I found out. I watched both towers collapse. My office closed early ~ and it was all I could do not to cry for the innocent victims as I drove home.

I know this is a memory I will hold forever, just as I will remember exactly where I was when the Challenger exploded (in religion class, ironically enough) and just as how some of the older members of this board will remember where they were when they heard Kennedy was shot. It is, indeed, a day that will live in infamy.

Once again, God bless America.

[newbie]

DZRose, was Alicia Titus from San Francisco, or based in San Francisco, or something like that?? I remember the local news channels reporting her name and her age. Whether she is from SF or not, my heart goes out to you and your friend. My deepest sympathies are with Alicia's family and friends.

I've been numbed by these terrorist attacks. It's also hit so close to home...my friends lost loved ones in the WTC collapse and also on Flight 93 - the one headed to San Francisco. I know that we all should head back to normalness, but I for one am not ready, as my friends are grieving and extremely hurt/angry/sad/frustrated...everything. And I am, too. Both ways were such a tragic way to die...whether thru the WTC collapse or through the hijackings (or the Pentagon attack). I have all these nightmares about the hijackings....it just hurts to have known someone who died probably in the most horrible way...to be on that plane for so long ( Flight 93 headed to S.F. was in the air for more than an hour...that was the longest of all the 4 planes), to know that your life was fragilely in the hijackers' hands, to know that you really couldn't do anything about your fate...and yet I am SO proud of those heroic passengers on Flight 93 who thwarted the hijackers' attempts to crash into either the Capitol or the White House.

This event is definitely the biggest thing in my life so far...and will probably be for the remainder of my life. It has really made me reevaluate which things are truly important. What I thought was important last Monday is surely not important now...I have been a die-hard baseball fan since I can remember, and yet, I don't even really care about baseball anymore. Shows which I thought I couldn't live without - I just feel awkward watching them again. The heroes that I wrongly worshipped (like Barry Bonds - don't get me wrong, I still admire him, but not in the capacity like before) before have been replaced with those true heroes of the NYPD and the FDNY. God, how they risk their lives for complete strangers! I am in total awe and in appreciation for what they do. What ANGELS sent from God!!! Their courageousness, their love for mankind...wow.

I was also soo very angry when Tues. morning (the day of te attack), ppl in my school rejoiced b/c school was let out. BUT AT WHAT PRICE?!!! So many lives lost...so few have been found...but if any good has come out of this at all - I'm so very thankful of those volunteers who've risked their lives for complete strangers, and as I said before, I'm so grateful for the police officers and firemen.

Please hold your loved ones tight and tell everyone who you love that you love them. Please also pray for my friends, who are my age-- HS seniors...so young to have lost so many loved ones, and so young to have lost all their innocence.

I'm also praying for those who have yet to be found, and for the families of those who perished. To those who were also directly affected, my greatest sympathies are with you. Please find strength in your friends, your family, your clergy, etc., and take care of yourself.

[AlphaChiGirl]

I found out at 10:30ish...I was walking by a store when I passed by a picture of a plane that had crashed into the Pentagon. I honestly thought it was an accident. I've flown into Washington-National before, and you get damned close to the Pentagon, so I ended up running an errand (my ID card had broken, and I had to get a new one in order to get into my building). I ran into a friend from Manhattan, who was crying because the Twin Towers were gone...I still didn't know what was up...until I went back by the store and saw what happened. I seriously thought it was the end of the world. It seemed unreal. I went home and tried to call my mother, and I couldn't reach her...so I started freaking out. I went to the sorority house, where everyone was crying and watching TV. We all hugged eachother, reporting on news of family members and friends who were possibly in the line of fire.

[amycat412]

I found out when my alarm went off at about 645 am California time. What I heard was "The World Trade center has apparently been attacked by terrorists"

I sat up and screamed.

As I mentioned before, I work for a division of Cantor Fitzgerald and our offices were in tower 1 of WTC on the 101, 103, 104 and 105th floors.

My boss, who I am good friends with, usually works out of the 105th floor of WTC.

So I ran to living room, turned on TV and called my Dad, who gets to work early and asked him what happened.

And I was HYSTERICAL, thinking Brian was there. HYSTERICAL for all my co-workers.

But my asst. called about 30 minutes later to tell me Brian was in LA -- I had been out of town on Monday, so didn't know.

But still, not one Cantor employee that was at work that morning has been found alive, or found to have escaped.

Out of 1000 people, we only have found 300.

And I am still in shock and still cannot believe all that has happened, is happening. I feel so deeply for the families and friends of the victims and for the survivors as well and what they are going thru.

This is such a horrible tragedy and I still keep wanting to wake up and find out it was a nightmare and that life has returned to normal, that the people I talk to and email with every single day, that the rest of my department are still with us. I am, so far, the sole remaining member of my department in all of Cantor and that is something I am having a very hard time coming to terms with.

I know we are all affected by this, I am sorry to rant on about my sorrows.

I just can't believe this.

Amy

[newbie]

Amy: I'm praying for you and your co-workers. Please take care of yourself at this tragic time. I'm so sorry to hear of all that has happened to you and your company, and your friends.

And please everyuone be aware that Sep. 22 could be the next target. Be careful...and tell loved ones to be aware of where they are on Saturday. And of course don't stop telling the ones you love that you love them. Life is just way too short.

[vanda]

I was watching Good Morning America and they interrupted the commercial break showing that something had hit one of the towers of WTC. And that they weren't sure what it was. I start to get ready for work and my cousin screams "another plane just hit!" I thought she was watching a replay until I came to the tv and saw what happened. I was like not again! They then showed the top of a building smoldering and you could see the flag, I tell her, it must me an embassy or something near WTC but the screen suddenly says Washington. It totally took me by surprise. My mother then calls me about an hour later to tell me about the collapse. Never have I felt so vulnerable in my life like I did that morning. In Chicago there has been so much talk about how we could be next because of our large watr system and economic status.


By the way, did you hear that the guy Angel, that won the "Murder in Small town X " game is one of the missing or dead Or that the girl from Brigham Young on Real World New Orleans was supposed to be on one of the flights but changed mind? It shows how your life can change in a moment's notice

[spinner]

I woke up, stumbled out of bed, and out of impulse, just turned on the TV a little after 6. ( for some reason I wasn't sleeping well). Well, the news is feeding a picture of one tower of the World Trade center, thoroughly on fire, and saying that there had been a plane crash. My thoughts were, "ouch, that's too bad, but planes do crash, I wonder what happened?". and then, another large plane flies into the other tower.

After that, I was just hit with this sick realization that this was all too real, an insane scenario out of a Tom Clancy novel come to life on national television.

I felt like I lost whatever remained of youthful innocence that day...more like, had it torn away from myself.

[Tom Earp]

Well for the most maturiest ole fart on this site, I was listening to a rock and rocll station when this came on!

It was like a small plane hit the tower and then it was damn another plan hit.
One of my best freinds just left a police officer had just left and came back to tell me to check it out! He went to division and I rememberes that my employee had a TV in the shop! I dug it up and turned it on>

Since then, I have found 5 of my Brothrs and failitys safe but have E_M 2 that have not heard from, one in each area and worry like hell aboout them!

This is a big mistake by some man men and retribution is Hell!

But do not take is out on the innocent who are just like us!

It was not just Ammericans who were in thse Toweres, It was Humans from ALL over the world working there!

[moe.ron]

I found out while working. The first thing I thought of was my best friend and my sister. My best friend worked in WTC and my sister across the street. It was godsend that my best friend, for the first time in his life, came to work late that day. That would have probably saved his life. As for my sister, as soon as the first flight hit, her boss told everybody to get out and go home. Probably the wisest decision ever. I called her cellular phone and couldn't get to her. Panic begun to strike. But then I received an e-mail from her telling me that she is all right. But for that half an hour, my heart stop and I was prepared for the worst. My parents were even worst. They are currently residing in Indonesia and were panicking. I called them and told them she was all right. They were relief. Unfortunately two of my brothers were killed and four are still missing.

[vanda]

Amycat, I saw the head of Cantor Fitzgerald in several interviews this past week and the pain he displayed brought tears to my eyes. I feel for all of you and hope that some are found alive.

[lifesaver]

On the night before the attack, I had gone to finally see American pie II with my friend Beth. It was late when the movie let out, so she crashed at my place. She woke up before me and turned on the tv, she then woke me up to tell me that something terreble had happened. I wathced for a while trying to figure out what had happened as all I could get out of the news media was the sensational "America Attacked" at the bottom of the screen. All I could think of was "Holy $hit. It's Red Dawn, except this time it was the Chinese or something that had invaded the US." After I found out what had really happened, I went to campus and it was so errie. No one was talking and it was so quiet. The last time I had seen our campus that way was April 1995, after the OKC bombing. Something I foolishly thought I'd never have to experience again.

It was really wierd thinking that I was in the WTC in May. I was at the mall underneath 2 times and the PATH station to jersey 2 times as well. I'll never forget, we had been in brooklyn and took the R subway bac to the WTC to catch the 1&9 train to the village. There is no direct connection, so you have to walk out of one station, go a block or two and then go into the WTC to catch the 1/9 train. I paused for a moment on the plaza surrounding the WTC and did the tourist thing, looking up at the towers and taking it all in. It is the most surreal thing to think that that exact spot I stood, gazing at those towers is now the place the media keeps showing the rescue crews at work. Surreal.

i havent let the attacks get me down, and I only cried once. Not at the realization of the attack, but I think after 27 years I finally understood what it means to be an American. The firefighters and policemen who died trying to save the victums werent heroes. They were brave AMERICANS, who died doing their job - what the loved. If we could ask them now, I bet none of them would be comfortable with the designation of HERO. I am not saying what they did wasnt heroic, but I finally figured out that ALL OF US ARE HEROS, because we are americans and we have come together and will survive this tragedy. There's HEROS in all of us, weither its making your kid feel special after a rough day at school, adopting a pet from the pound, recycling, donating blood, working at a homeless shelter or whathaveyou. WE ARE ALL HEROS. WE ARE AMERICANS. If and when we are pushed, all of us have the capacity to be heroes. And to me I finally got it. thats what America is. Its not a place on a map, or a constitution. Its a belief ststem, and can never be destroyed. Unfortunately, since none of us are really from here, we have no sense of national identity. But its good to see the country uniting. The stupid partisan battles ofver tax relief and budget surpluses seem so distant now. We are focused. i think the most poignant thing I heard was from an email I recieved shortly after the attack. Two things I rember were 1, quoting Admiral Yamamotto (SP) after the message warning the US to end its blockade of Petrolium to the japenese Islands wasnt delivered until after the pearl Harbor attack, "I fear we have woken a giant sleeping dragon. We have sown the seeds of our own destruction." So true, bin Laden. Also #2. You really dont want to screw with America, think about it. We are the only country in the history of the world to use nuclear weapons out of anger, not once, but twice. We are not to be messed with.

I do think we need to reevaluate our foriegn policy objectives in this post-cold war era, and that should come in time, but we gotta take care of Business now. WITH OR WITHOUT THE REST OF THE WORLD. As is ALWAYS the case, the rest of the world will come around when they need cash, or need someone to broker a peace, or need protection. I understand the presidents desire to build a coalition, but to hell with the rest of the world. I could care less what french say, or guatamalians, or Chinese for that matter. like alwas is the case, other countries are gonna bitch (over their mcDonalds lunch none the less), have a rally in the streets denouncing the us (in their Nike's and Levis) and the curse the "evil decidant americans" on their way home to watch Baywatch re-runs. Ya dont like our foriegn policy? Quit buying all our $HIT. It sticks in my crawl to see people bitching about us while consuming voraciously the goods we produce. Its time to carry a big stick again. IMHO.

<lifesaver steps off his patriotic soapbox to rallies and cheers of USA, USA, USA!>

(lifesaver is sick now, and as is the case with all males of our species, is cranky and irritable wile ill)