september 11

[nycgirl]

It has been three months to the day since my life and the lives of everyone in my community were changed forever. For the first month afterwards I literally thought about nothing else. Life has returned to "more normal patterns" but it still permeates every part of life, even the little things are not the same. I was born and raised in New York and have only left once since the buildings fell (to me this whole war seems besides the point, i am preoccupied by what happened here). I want to know what people from other parts of the country feel and how/ to what extent it affected your lives.

Never forget

[aephi alum]

I will never forget.

I grew up in a suburb of NYC and went into the city all the time. I moved away when I left home, but not far away (Connecticut). I was actually in Manhattan the weekend before 9/11, and it was just "the city" - for the last time. I remember thinking nothing of the skyline, driving over the bridge. It was there - it would always be there. And then it wasn't.

A couple of weeks ago, I had to fly out somewhere for work. They had us fly out of LaGuardia. It was the first time I'd flown since 9/11. When I flew home, they put us into a holding pattern over the East River. I looked out of the window, and saw the Empire State Bldg lit up in red, white, and blue. And then I saw ground zero from above. I can't begin to describe it.

I was scared to fly, but I'm glad I did. Take that, Osama.

[damasa]

I lost my uncle in the 9/11 attack.
I will not forget.

I WILL NEVER FORGET.

d

[greeklawgirl]

I just got back from NYC this week. It was a lovely week, but I won't lie...it was a difficult one. I haven't cried so regularly in a long time. I went nearby Ground Zero several times. All you could see was rubble everywhere. The cranes kept clearing the debris day and night...the floodlights completely lit the night sky. You could still see smoke rising from the crater. My stomach is knotting up and I'm holding back tears thinking about it now.

I cried driving on the BQE on my way to the Brooklyn Bridge. I couldn't recognize the skyline without the WTC there. I cried at Radio City Music Hall when I saw everyone going on with the show despite everything that's happened. I cried at Rockefeller Center when I saw the tree lit up in red, white and blue.

But despite the fact that I was a mess, one thing was really evident to me. New York is a wonderful city filled with wonderful people. They took the worst that humanity could do and responded with the best acts of all. Although I haven't lived in New York for several years, I am first and foremost a New Yorker--and I have never been more proud in my life to call myself one.

New York is not alone. The whole world stands with you. We will never forget.

[KillarneyRose]

I lived in NYC for a few years out of college but now only get back once every few years. Last December, my husband and I decided to take our daughters (5 and 3 at the time) into the City to see the tree as Rockefeller Center and on a whim we decided to take them to to the observation level of the WTC.

I remember how my younger daughter cried because of the pressure change in the elevator and the young man who operated the elevator was trying to comfort her and gave her some gum to chew. I remember the people we talked to who worked in the gift shop and the snack bar. The fellow who ran the "virtual tour of NYC by helicoptor" tour. The elderly gentleman who greeted us at the bottom when we walked out of the elevator and told us to "come back next year". I pray that they are alive and well, although I realize that odds are at least some of them aren't.

My daughters loved their visit to the WTC that day and know what? They have NO IDEA that it's no longer standing. Sure, they know about the mean men who flew the airplanes into the buildings, but they don't know what buildings they were. I can't bring myself to tell them, although they will certainly know someday when they are older.

I guess the thought that it could have been us is too terrifying for me to face.

Oh, when I was home in Pittsburgh last month, my mom showed me a brochure we had gotten the very first time they took me to NYC in 1981. It showed the twin towers and the headline said, "The Closest Some of Us Will Ever Get to Heaven". It gave me a jolt, for sure

[DeltAlum]

How COULD we forget?

It's been about a year and a half since I was last in New York. I used to get there every month or so in a previous job. The previous company has a facility at 17 Battery Place, just down the street from WTC, and had a condo in Battery Park City where I stayed a number of times. When the condo was busy, we sometimes stayed at the Marriott at WTC.

I was supposed to go back to the city two weeks after 9-11, but the clients I was going to call on cancelled (CBS and NBC) for obvious reasons.

On our last trip there the ticket booth at Times Square was so crowded that we went out to WTC and bought show tickets there in the lobby.

The people of New York have demonstrated to us in no uncertain terms what being an American is all about. What bravery. What determination. All mixed in with the grief and terror. How will we ever see the letters NYPD and FDNY again without remembering the courage, the sacrafice and the anguish?

I really want to get back because it is such a great city, but I can't help wondering how I will react on the way into Manhattan from LaGuardia when I look at the skyline...

[SigkapAlumWSU]

I will never be able to forget. The 11th is my anniversary, so every month, isntead of counting how long we've been together, it's counting how long it's been since the attacks. But I'm beginning to associate he date with something else now. Love and rememberance, for both. I was very screwed up for a couple of weeks afterwards, but my friends helped me though it.

I've never been to NY but my Dad was born there. I want to go visit someday. I am so touched with the entire world feeling the same things that we are: fear, sadness, but love and bravery as well. Everytime I see a police or fireman, I think of NY and those who gave their lives to save others. I have never felt more connected with complete strangers than I do now. I notice people saying hi to strangers, and helping out more than they normally might. I know that this has changed the way we live and interact forever. I can't take anything for granted now.

I do have a question though. I have heard different rumors for what they are going to do when ground zero is cleared. I have heard that they are going to put up two giant spotlights, shining straight up. It will look like two silver ghost towers at night, and very breathtaking. What have you heard?