Where were you on 9/11/2001?

What are your memories of that day?

Like many people, I was at work. When I heard the first report of a plane crashing into the World Trade Center, I thought, "That's odd. Why would a commerical plane be flying so low?", but I never thought it would be terrorism. Someone in the office was surfing the Net, and told us about the second one. That's when we got a bit scared. I work in a library, and since the Net was clogged with traffic, his was the only pc in the building we could get into any websites to get news. Every time we got info, I'd run down to the Reference desk, and relay the info for the staff and patrons. Meanwhile, my assistant was uspet, as she knew her son, who is in the Navy, was to be at the Pentagon that morning, and she couldn't get any info. My friend, also in our office, knew her niece and her husband worked at the WTC. Fortunately, all were ok, but it took all day to find out. (The son had just left the Pentagon 15 minutes before the plane hit; the niece & her hubby were both sick that day; he stayed home; she left for work very late, so she missed being there. She had to walk all day to get home.)

I later emailed my ex-boyfriend, who worked next door to the WTC. Luckily, he was on a training trip all that week, so he wasn't there. A reenacting friend's car had broken down over the weekend, and she had just left to pick it up. She had been due to give a lecture in the WTC at 9 AM...

The library closed at noon, and we all went home.

Please take a moment today to think of those who died and their families today. Thank you.

I was at school...the teacher turned on the TV to CNN and later on parents started picking up their kids from school...
I don't remember a whole lot because I wasn't paying attention at the time. I just thought "more bad things happening in the world, what's new"
I guess since I wasn't paying attention that day about how this is a terrorist act and was done deliberately, I didn't get that sense of panic many people felt...

I think of those who died that day very often, not just today. I think of their families who remain here. I was at home that day. My friend called and told me turn on the T.V. when the first plane hit. I was standing in the middle of the living room floor watching when the second plane hit. That day was a real shock to me. It was an eye opener to the fact that the United States is a hated country. I guess I never felt the reality of it until then. I always looked at the good things like how America is always quick to the aid of others in need. God bless every person who is hurting today because of their loss. Our hearts are broken for you. America will forever have a sore place in her heart because of this injustice that attacked our country.

I was a freshman in high school, ~40 miles from NYC. I hated my 4th period class and was daydreaming when the announcements came on. Our principal always sounded serious about things that usually weren't, so everyone started groaning while he went over all cancellations after school - then told us about the planes hitting the WTC. Many classmates had family who worked in NYC. We were put under lock down but they never turned TVs on for us or anything.

I called my parents when I got home from school, my dad had his tv on in the back room of the shop and the people where my mom worked all had tvs on in their offices. It was crazy seeing a plane hit the tower. I miss seeing the towers in the skyline from my grandma's house. I always had said when I was a kid that I'd visit when I was 17 and had my license. I was 14 when the attacks happened. I saw smoke hovering over NYC for at least a week from my grandma's house.

Last summer, hubby and I went to NYC during our vacation to NJ. I wanted to visit Ground Zero, so I picked a hotel in the financial district since we were walking from Penn Station. We got much more than we bargained for when we got into our room on the 22nd floor of the Millennium Hilton. It was directly across the street (3 lanes away) from Ground Zero. From our room, I could see over the blue tarp fencing around it. I sat there for a few hours just watching them dig up rebar and concrete and carry it away in a line of dump trucks. I couldn't believe they were still digging up stuff from 8 years earlier. I tried to imagine myself sitting in that exact spot on the morning of September 11, 2001, and it was a heart breaking thought. The buildings/memorials they are in the process of building look beautiful in the pamphlet we were given in the hotel room.

I have a hatred for those who did this, and those who supported it.

I was in school at the time, in history. The teacher turned on the news, and that is what we watched all through class. We also thought it was accidental until we saw the second plane. Sadly, one of the teacher's friends was in the WTC that day, so as you can imagine, he was incredibly upset. Our area was near an air base, so my father insisted that my grandma picked us up from school- there was a lot of panic about that, where they might hit next.

That was definitely a very scary day. My great grandma was supposed to be on the plane that crashed in the field in Pennsylvania, and my aunt and cousin were going to NYC for an acting class. They were going to tour the WTC, but decided to skip the class that day. We were very lucky in both situations. It's hard to believe that it was that long ago. In ways it feels like it was very recent, in others it feels like it was forever ago.

I was out doing yard work all morning, so no radio or TV. I was a little irritated because my father had said he would come over to help me around 9:00 and he hadn't shown up. When he finally got there some time after noon the first thing he said was "The World Trade Center towers are gone." Needless to say, the yard work never got finished. I spent the rest of the day, and most of the next week glued to the TV.

I don't think I knew anyone personally who was in the WTC towers, but a friend's brother was one of the first responders (fireman) who died that day. My mother's cousin was writing letters on the balcony of her Brooklyn Heights apartment. She heard the first plane hit, then watched the rest of it from her balcony. It was especially hard for her since she had worked there for a number of years before she retired and still new a lot of people there.

Originally Posted by Tara & Rob

I have a hatred for those who did this, and those who supported it.

Click to expand...

As an American it is hard not to feel that way. I just watched the clip on tv of Mr. Bush standing on top of that rubble saying, " I hear you, the rest of the world hears you, and to those who knocked those buildings down, you are going to hear all of us, very soon." I think he must have felt that way too.

Is anyone else watching it on television today.

First hour algebra class. I was a sophomore in high school. I had no idea what it meant, or how big a deal it was when I saw it on TV. It was like watching a movie or something. I gradually got more worried as the day went on when I saw the teachers' reaction, and my World History teacher started talking about war and all we did was watch the news coverage.

That was the first time I remember hearing the word terrorism. And I heard a lot more after that.

I was taking my daughter to preschool, and heard it on the car radio. In my mind, I pictured a small private plane, maybe with 1 or 2 aboard. I came home to get ready to go see a patient, and turned on the TV and by then the second plane had hit and realized that these were BIG COMMERCIAL AIRLINERS. I was watching and saw the first tower collapse and called a friend---"Was this really happening?"

I finished getting ready for work and by then the other tower had fallen, the Pentagon was damaged and as far as we knew, there were many rogue planes that could hit anywhere. I drove to work and noticed the faces of the others on the road: SOMBER.

When I got to my patient's home, he was unable to participate much at all. He was a veteran as well as a Native American, so his past and his heritage made him very aware of how bad things could be. He looked so sad and I tried to do my work with him extra gently, so not to make things worse. I let him talk, but mostly he was silent and worried.

By the time I picked up my daughter at noon, the other parents were all discussing what this could mean. Boy, we had NO idea how bad it would get...and it's still not over by any means.

I'll never forget that day.... I think it was the day I truly became an adult--at age 37!

Cally

Originally Posted by ut0pia

I was at school...the teacher turned on the TV to CNN and later on parents started picking up their kids from school...
I don't remember a whole lot because I wasn't paying attention at the time. I just thought "more bad things happening in the world, what's new"
I guess since I wasn't paying attention that day about how this is a terrorist act and was done deliberately, I didn't get that sense of panic many people felt...

Click to expand...

This was me too. I was in Geometry class (High School Sophomore) and the teacher came in and turned on the news, all the teachers were panicked and upset. Most of the students didn't really "get it". I certainly didn't. We were watching the news when the 2nd plane hit, and when the towers collapsed. Before then I didn't even know what the World Trade Center was, I had seen it on TV or whatever but not put much thought into it. Some of our teachers were trying to talk to the kids and help us understand what was going on, others were in such a state all they could do was sit there and stare at the TV open mouthed.

Parents started picking up their kids from school, everybody was worried because nobody was sure if or where another plane was going to hit, and a lot of people were concerned about the CDC getting hit. We didn't live far from there, but the school decided it would be better for kids to just stay put than to have parents taking us all over the place, so the school put a ban on them checking out their kids unless they had a doctor's appointment, which had to be called in by the doctor. My parents came to the school and raised a huge fuss to get us out of there, because my mom was in total panic over not having us with her.

I was in my 10th grade history class that day. I remember earlier that morning on my walk to class how beautiful it was that day; I remember thinking to myself, "wow, it's gorgeous outside". The sky was soo blue that morning...

Once I got in class, my teacher took roll and began teaching. I remember our principal comming over the intercom to tell us about what had happened to the first WTC tower. My teacher went to the storage closet and wheeled a tv out so we could watch the news coverage. We turned it on in time to see the the second plane hit. It was at that point we knew it wasn't an accident- before that day, terrorism wasn't even a word in my vocabulary. I went to a small private high school- I remember that entire day that almost every single teacher had the tv's on so we could watch the coverage. Everyone was just stunned and devistated. I remember everyone gathering in the outside amphitheater near the chapel to pray that afternoon.

When I got home that day I remember hearing local politicians talking about protecting all of the FedEx hubs (Memphis is the internatial headquarters) , the Pyramid, Beale Street...it was scarry; we were not even close to where the attacks hit, but because nobody knew when all of the attacks/etc would end, everyone was in panic mode. I remember the local news stations listing off a lot of potential targets and telling everyone to stay home. I'll never forget that day.

I was in my bed and woke up to a friend calling me and telling me to turn the TV on.........I was in shock, I looked out the window and saw hundreds of people walking down Houston with suitcases, thick clouds of smoke and what looked like snow but was ash falling from the sky. The following weeks only grew more terrifying and haunting......

I was living in Calgary with my ex, getting ready for work. I was on the other side of the country from my family and absolutely heartbroken for everyone in the US. I was literally in shock and all I wanted to do was go home and hold all of those I loved very close to me.

I will never forget that day...

I normally do not turn the TV on before work since I am so rushed. So I didn't know about it until I was in my car driving to work and had turned on the radio. It was amazing I didn't get into an accident on the freeway.

When I got to work, the people on the earlier shifts were talking and crying about what was going on in NYC. I got so angry at one girl that thought it was no big thing since she didn't know anyone in the Trade Centers. I asked her why she didn't care that the US was under attack, and she just shrugged her shoulders.

The supervisors were running up and down the aisles and then were in groups talking. A Bit later, they told all of us to go home. Rumor had it that a plane was heading toward Los Angeles and since we are a government agency (sort of, as we are contracted by the Dept of Ed) they were sending us home to be on the safe side.

When I got home, DH and I were in front of the TV watching them rerun the tape of the second plane hitting the tower. It was such a shock that someone would do this to us since we have always come to the aid of other countries.

I also remember that a contestant on Big Brother had a relative that was in the towers. They had debated on if they should tell her or not. I think they did end up telling her but I don't know if she left the show or not.

I was at home, I remember it well as I was heavily pregnant with my daughter and it was just when I turned the tv on I saw what was happening and it made me go into shock, just truly awful. I saw a programme last night and I cried when it showed a picture of a four year old girl that had been on one of the planes. Things like this greatly upset me as to how anybody could be so heartless and just think nothing of causing grief and sorrow and for what reason? x

I woke up at 6:00 a.m. (Berkeley time) because our daughter was supposed to be on "Good Morning America" and I was going to record it. Never did get to see her since the breaking news had already cut in. It was quite the shocker since I was still half-asleep at first I thought it was a hoax.

I have not turned the TV on yet today, I don't know if I could stand to watch it over and over, or hear the devastating stories of victim's families. I watched a little video on facebook earlier that got my eyes watery.

My kids were 7 and 3. 2nd grade and last year of preschool.

Got my oldest off to school. We were just beginning to get back into the school mode- my youngest was up so the 2 of us went to the grocery store. I think I was playing a kid CD- never turned on the radio. Then we went to the park.

As we walked to the park- I noticed that the sky was just quiet. We got there and there was a city worker sitting there stunned. Let my daughter go over to the swings and we started talking. She said "I guess there's going to be a war now". HUH? Then she told me what happened. I said "NO WAY".

Dtr and I walked home. I put the TV on- and sure enough there it was. I didn't leave it on for long b/c a 3 year old would just have NO CLUE and get scared. My oldest's teacher said they really didn't talk about it that day. They did wear red,white and blue at school. I don't think my oldest really understood what was going on then.

I had friends from a playgroup talking about how their little boys would stack up blocks and then "pretend" a plane was hitting them They had no clue

It wasn't to "shelter" them. I just felt that they were way too little to understand. Over the years we've talked about it (and they've discussed it in their various history classes) They get it now

The kids next door were in middle and high school then. I remember the youngest coming over that afternoon and talking to me- he was kind of scared. They'd put the news on during his second bell (I think it was history) and the kids watched it. Tried to talk to him the best I could (his dad was military but I think at that point he was about to retire)

Cheryl

I came out of the subway just after the first plane hit. I was on my way to work, about ten blocks from the WTC. I got to the corner of Church & Lispenard Sts. and looked up to see the gaping hole in the north side of the north tower. My first thought was " :censor%

I had walked to my parttime job, (in Midtown) and for once I was early. I got there about 10 minutes before 9 and was greeted by someone saying, "We have the TV on - a plane hit one of the towers at the WTC." I kept thinking, "Wha....?!" and then went to see what they were watching, and asked what kind of plane it was, thinking it was a private plane. When they said it was a commercial jet, I got this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. I went to my cubicle, and a little later heard them shouting, and they had all seen the other plane hit. I immediately started re-packing my bag and said, "This must be a terrorist attack." I was sick to my stomach.

Then people were saying some planes had been hijacked, one was heading to Washington, all air traffic was being grounded, and they were closing the office. I immediately walked to my church. The feeling outside was surreal. People hurrying along, trying their cell phones, I glanced downtown from Fifth Ave. and 53rd, and saw all the smoke drifting east. I kept thinking, "If they're going to destroy the city, I have to be in church." No one was in the sanctuary when I got there, my friend and pastor, Mandy, sat down next to me and said, "Are you okay? Did you know anyone there?" I said I didn't know, but I was scared. He told me I had come to the safest place. I stayed there for 3 hours.

I couldn't get my head around the hatred that would lead people to do this.

I haven't watched anything today. I was disturbed by the news of protests going on today near Ground Zero. Protests....*sigh*...on a day that's supposed to be reserved for somber remembrance.