Where were you at 9/11/01?

[Peaches-n-Cream]

I was safe and hoping my friends, family, and neighbors were also. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Two years ago the only son of family very close to mine lost his life serving as a member of the FDNY. Since then, both a street and a local public school have been named after him. Two of his sisters have gotten married, one of whom is currently serving our nation in the Army. I think of him often. What a devastating tragedy. He was only 23 and a recently college graduate.

[sigtau305]

I was at work at the Coffee shop when it happen. I had a couple of my regular customers called me and asked if I heard anything about the attacks. I said No. I thought It was a sick joke. I close the store early since it was a slow day. When I got home, I turned on the news and I saw the pictures of two planes crashing into the WTC. What I saw, I could not believe. I was sad and angry at the same time. that day made me realize we're not invincible at all.

[CatStarESP4]

I was at home enjoying a day off from classes and planning what I was going to do that day. When I heard that two planes crashed into the WTC, I was in shock and disbelief. Then there was news about a plane crashing into the Pentagon and I was scared. Finally, the fourth plane that went down in Pennsylvania. My plans went down the drain when I was ordered to stay home. My mom saw the Twin Towers collapse while she was at work in the midtown area. She and her coworkers were sent home early that day. I couldn't sleep that night.

I sent out an email distribution to my sorority sisters expressing my anger, sadness, shock and outrage. I also shared a moment that I went with my cousins to the observation deck several month before the tragedy. One of my sisters responded in anger that I didn't know what it was like to lose friends or family members. I almost responded by saying that I nearly lost a friend (she is a flight attended formerly with Pan Am, now with Delta) who is like my big sister on Pan Am Flight 103 (she was assigned to that flight) if it weren't for a switch that saved her life (I felt so bad for the girl who took her place on that ill-fated flight). She is probably dealing with survivors guilt, but lucky to be alive. I was also afraid for my ex-boyfriend since he has family in Scotland, but not in Lockerbie. I was afraid that I would lose both my parents in the first attack of the WTC in 1993 since the had to catch their subway trains there, but it happened after they arrived at work (mom - midtown and dad - uptown). I didn't respond to her angry email, don't ask me why. She later apologized to me saying that it was the media coverage that disturbed her and that she didn't mean to take it out on me.

I thought I didn't know anyone directly who was killed that day until my mom told me that a young friend whom I had since in about thirteen years at the time was one of the victims. He was a firefighter who joining the FDNY after working for several years as a paramedic. They never found his body and his mother has a container of ash instead of burying him. He was supposed to get married the following year. His fiancee was pregnant, but soon lost the baby.

My alma mater lost a total of 21 alumni on 11 September 2001. Two of them were in my graduating class and I never knew them in life.

I apologize for the length, but I needed to get it off my system.

[Rudey]

Remember to observe the moment of silence tomorrow.

-Rudey
--I hope they do this outside of NYC.

[honeychile]

I had just parked my car in front of my office when the news director came on the radio and said in a confused tone, "A plane just flew into the World Trade Center." I ran across the street; the tv was already on and we saw the second plane hit. My mama called my dad (who was golfing with my brother & sister-in-law), and we were talking about how I had lived at the foot of the WTC (John Street) while taking some training. Then the plane hit the Pentagon. My mama called my dad again, keeping him posted. They announced that a plane was flying almost out of control near Pittsburgh, and I said, "Dear Lord, can that be connected, too?" My mama called my dad, and this time, my brother took the phone & asked what was going on. My sister-in-law said words she will never live down, "Are you going to talk on the phone all day or golf?" Just then, they saw a large plane flying very low over them - Flight 93 crashed minutes later about 30 miles away from them, in Somerset.

My mama & I got on our knees to pray. For the people, the country, the President, the military, and all those who would forever be affected by this tragedy.

I had no power nor phones most of the day, and my fiance was beside himself. The national report had just said "South of Pittsburgh" and that's where I (currently) live. He finally got through around midnight, and just sighed with relief - but he had the best word for the day: surreal.

I had been in DC just days before, and making a long story short, was wearing a Chicago Fire (soccer) polo when a Fairfax fireman stopped me, thinking I was a fireman's wife. Since some some alecks around us were giggling over his mistaking the MLS shirt of a firefighter's shirt, I ignored them, and refused to embarrass this kind man. We talked, and as we went our separate ways, he said, "You take care of your man - we all need our families' support & love." Three days later, on 9/12, I saw him as part of the Pentagon footage - exhausted, tears streaming down his face through the soot as he took a much needed break. I lost it at that point.

On a side note, I wrote to my English friend that night, pouring my soul out to her, my views, my fears, etc. My house is in the military flight pattern, and the only planes I heard all day were the planes headed towards Washington.

Tomorrow morning, 9/11/2003, I will fly my flag at half-mast. It is my sincere hope that Americans will forever see this day as our Wake Up Call, and will never forget that, as mighty as the United States truly is, we must always be diligent in maintaining our security.

God Bless the USA!

[tinydancer]

I was on my way to work, listening to a friend of mine on a local sports radio station. They always have CNN on in the studio, and one "sports guy" said "Oh, man , there is a fire at the WTC!" The others commented that it looked bad, and they hoped no one would be hurt, and then went back to sports. I got to school, went in the library, and didn't really think any more about it.

A few minutes later, our attendance clerk came screaming into the library and said "turn on the TV - the WTC has been bombed!" So I put it on, and we watched as things unfolded. It was so eerie and unreal, but we were glued to it. Teachers came in all day to see what was happening. Many parents came and took their children out of school. They were really frightened.

That evening, we were rehearsing for the musical "Mame." No one wanted to be there; no one wanted to sing and dance and be funny. One of my friends said he could not go on that night and went home in the middle of the rehearsal. When we opened the show the next week, we ended each performance by singing "God Bless America" after the curtain call.

Strangely enough, the sports radio station had the very best radio coverage of all the events. They dropped sports entirely for several days.

[AOII_LB93]

Originally posted by Rudey
Remember to observe the moment of silence tomorrow.

-Rudey
--I hope they do this outside of NYC.

At the school where I work we are planning a moment of silence as well as a memorial.

We shall never forget.

[PsychTau]

I was at the dentist office about to get a crown put on. I was sitting in the chair and one of the hygenists said "He'll be here in a minute...he's watching the TV". I asked why the TV was more important than my tooth (I have a great relationship with everyone in my dentist's office) and she said "Some plane crashed into the WTC". I thought, "Well, not too good of a pilot, then" I had no clue it was a big jet...I just thought it was a charter plane or something.

I listened to the radio on the way home and they were talking about the second plane hitting....it being a terrorist attack....and all planes were ordered out of the sky. I was driving over the river bridge when I saw a plane flying low and I about spazzed out. Until I realized it was coming in to land at our airport.

I went home and watched the rest of it on the news until I had to go to work (at a psychiatric hospital....it was an interesting day there).

[MTSUGURL]

September 11 is also my former roommate's birthday. All she kept saying is, "Now my birthday is ruined." She refused to watch the news, or talk abou anything except her birthday, and didn't understand why no one felt like partying. She still to this day refers to 9-11 as "that thing that killed my birthday. No one ever thinks of me anymore."

[TriDeltaGal]

I was sleeping when the first plane hit. My mom came in my room telling me I need to get up because a plane hit the WTC. Since I am on the West Coast, I was only up for a few minutes before the second plane hit. My mom was still getting ready for work and when the second plane hit and I told her to come in, she couldn't believe me and thought they were just replaying the first attack. I remember I called my best friend and woke her up, telling her what happened since we were suppose to go outlet mall shopping in Palm Springs (100 miles away) that day for rush outfits. We were both too scared to go and I just went over to her house and watched the TV all morning. My dad works in downtown LA in a highrise and I was so scared that we wouldn't be able to get home but luckily, he came home in early afternoon. My best friend and I went to go give blood but they were already so packed that we were not able to even get in. It was very surreal to be here on the West Coast and watching all of that horror ensue across the country. A lot of people here just went about their day like nothing was wrong which is so unimaginable to me. I just remember feeling so helpless and I don't think I really hit me until a couple months later what had actual happened when they were talking about all the individual families' stories and their losses especially the People magazine article about all the babies born to fathers that had died in 9/11.

I don't think for the rest of my life I will ever forget watching those people trapped in the upper story windows and then many of them jumping out the windows. It was like a nightmare...I just remember screaming and my best friend and I sobbing, we just couldn't believe it was actually happening.

[AEPhiSierra]

I live and go to school in Brooklyn about 45 minutes from the WTC and had an 8am lab that morning. I got out of lab a little after 9 and since my mom works on campus i stopped by her office. On her computer screen was a short news article and a picture of the 1st tower. She was busy on the phone calling my sisters who live upstate and in NJ and then she told me about the 2nd tower. I immediately went to the quad to look for my sisters. Being so nearby everyone knew someone who worked downtown or in the WTC so everyone was trying to call family and friends but getting busy signals. I went to HS about 5 blocks away from the WTC and was worried about all the teachers and kids from my school. Brooklyn sometimes feels a world away from Manhattan but everyone felt so close cuz military jets we flying over the quad and you could see and smell the smoke. Later that day I found papers from Cantor Fitzgerald in my front yard - almost an hour from the WTC.

Since we're a commuter school almost all our alums are still local so our advisor started a reply-all email for sisters to let everyone know they were ok. I received many emails from sisters telling stories like how 2 sisters were together running away from the dust cloud downtown when the first tower collapsed and how another sisters fiance was flying to LA that day and another from a sister who was so thankful she had been fired from her job in the WTC 2 months before.

I was lucky that I didn't personally know anyone who was killed b/c so many other people did (the churches in my area had so many funerals for firemen and cops). The part of it that touched me personally was the thought that the home of many of my memories of my youth were stolen from me. In high school I hung out at the WTC so much b/c it was close and they were such central figures. We were always their running around and hanging out there, my first kiss was even in one of the train stations that was destroyed. for month afterwards i would sometimes forget that i could no longer figure out directions based on where i was in relation to the WTC. I can now longer share what was my NY with my friends who didn't grow up there or in the future with my children.

I remember visiting my HS before thanksgiving that year. the school had been closed to students for more than a month while it was used as a rescue center and then cleaned up. there were signs sent from other high schools from around the country showing their support. the most meaningful one had to be from a high school in Oklahoma city - the city at the time which i felt could somewhat relate.


i stood outside my house tonight and looked at the towers of light for a while. i don't know what i will do our how i will feel tomorrow. probably pray a bit and try to avoid too much tv so i don't have re live the images too many times.

[Betarulz!]

I had 8 o'clock class that day, and I sat down in a cafe in one of the campus buildings to read the Daily Nebraskan. I had no clue until I came back to Beta. When I came in the door, there were a bunch of guys in our living room watching the TV, which I remember thinking was very odd for 945 in the morning. I didn't stop and continued up to my room, where my roommate had our TV on, and I saw a replay of the first column collapse...shortly thereafter I guess the 2nd tower collapsed, or I saw a replay of that. I just remember being blown away....thinking it was something out of a movie or something like that.

After that, class was out of the question, and I watched CNN for the rest of the day. A lot of guys decided to go get gas, since there were stories that gas stations in Kansas City had raised prices to over $4 a gallon. Luckily nothing like that happened (and the KS secretary of State prosecuted the stations that jacked up prices.)

But obviously everything was like a dream state...

[absolutuscchick]

Pulling an all nighter at crap whats that library called at USC...not Doheny, but the other one...anyways, I was up all night writing a paper and at the time the attacks happend I was shopping online for a birthday present for my dad. When I got back to the Raddison where I was living that morning and turned on my tv, I found out that there were attacks, and called my mom. That morning I went to my class that I had stayed up all night writng a paper for and we talked about what was going on. Then I went home and to no other classes that day. That was a creepy day.

[Jill1228]

Tuesday 9/11/01

Woke up and the first thing I thought (besides "Dammit I need coffee! and it is too early to get up and go to work"):

"I am exactly 3 months away from my wedding day" (Tuesday, 12/11/01).

I turned on the radio and heard, "If you are going to the airport turn around...don't even THINK about going. "

I then said "Oh hell, something is going down! NOT a way to wake up in the morning"

I knew something went down and turned on the TV and saw the horror and said "Oh S--T!"

Then I saw the Pentagon horror. It hit me. When I lived in Northern VA, I used to work for a defense contractor. I went to the Pentagon every weekday. It was also the main route for my MetroBus and the subway stop was at the Pentagon.

My mom who lives 3 hours away in Virginia Beach, was NOT happy I moved out west. That day changed her point of view REAL quick

Later that evening, I heard my buddy Dennis was missing. He worked in the WTC.

He was confirmed dead a couple of months later

[lifesaver]

My friend Beth and I had gone to see American Pie II at the Dollar theater the night before. She crashed out at my place and Neither one of us had class or work that next day. Were some kids who can sleep in. She woke me up at 11AM CDT after it had all happned. We slept through it all. She just woke me up all somber like, "You better get up. Some shit's goin down." I knew she has to be freaked because she had just moved back from NYC 3 months earlier and worked on Broad Street. I could remember being in the plaza between the towers looking up when I had been there only 3 months before.

We watched TV and she went home. I went to campus. I didnt even have class that day, but I just felt too alone. I needed to be with other people.