Where were you six years ago today?

[swampwitch]

We were living in Berkeley, and we got up early (PST) to watch The Today Show (EST). Our daughter's ballet class' teacher was going to be featured, and our daughter was supposed to be in some clips. The show aired Eastern Time but then the breaking news took over so we never saw it. It was a very depressing way to start the day. Our daughter was three and still remembers "the burning buildings."

 

[rapunzel47]

Rob had just got up, I was still lying in bed, half-listening to the radio, when the reports came on the news. At first it was being reported as an accident, but as events progressed and the second tower was involved (by this time we had the TV on too), it became quite clear that it was no accident.

 

[jcat]

My time zone is GMT +2, so I was just getting out of school. I walked into the central train station, and saw throngs of people standing in front of the giant video screens there, which were tuned to CNN. I remember thinking, "Oh, no, the WTC is on fire!" and then the second plane hit. People screamed, groaned, cried, or were just struck dumb. I watched for a while, and translated for some others who didn't understand English, and then took a train home. The engine driver was following radio reports, and kept everybody more or less up to date via intercom, something I'd never experienced before.

My husband was home and napping on the couch, so I woke him up. I grabbed my cell phone and took Jamie for a quick walk. I talked to a colleague - I don't know who called whom - who was also already home, and he told me about the Pentagon.

We watched CNN and some German stations (all of them were reporting on the attacks) the entire evening, just utterly in shock. I remember going into the kitchen to make some dinner, turning on the stove, and watching it go up in flames, and couldn't even get upset about it. We put the fire out, made some sandwiches, and just stayed glued to the TV.

 

[ckatz]

I live in northern NJ-I have an amazing view of the Manhattan skyline outside my window. I was on the phone that morning starting to get ready to go to work, I got a call telling me I would have trouble getting into NYC cause a plane had hit the WTC. It was a beautiful clear September morning, and I remember thinking " What idiot couldn't see that building?". I thought it was a small plane. Then I looked out the window and there was the 2nd plane and I knew it wasn't an accident. I watched as the towers burnt and then fell both on TV and in front of my eyes.

At the time everyone thought there would be at least 10,000 people in the buildings. It was horrifying-the fires smouldered for weeks. There was ashes on the cars and in the air. You don't have to imagine very hard what those ashes were made of. Luckily I wasn't close enough to see the people jumping out of the 100 plus story windows but I know a lot of people who were, they've never been the same.

New Yorkers are tough. We have rats the size of cats on the streets and in the subways. I've lived and worked in this area for 30 years. I had never seen NYers scared before, they were scared then.

The one good thing about that time 6 years ago was how the rest of the country responsed- I always had the feeling that New York wasn't really part of the rest of the country, that no one really cared what happened in NY obviously not the case.

Sorry this was so long but that's my story of 9/11.

 

[jcat]

Originally Posted by ckatz

New Yorkers are tough. We have rats the size of cats on the streets and in the subways. I've lived and worked in this area for 30 years. I had never seen NYers scared before, they were scared then.

One of my first reactions to the attack was, "New Yorkers are tough, and if anybody can get through this, it's them!"

Much of the horror people all over the world experienced was that the quintessential U.S. city was attacked. There are some cities, like NY, London, Paris, Beijing, Tokyo, Moscow, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Madrid, Rio, Beirut, Jerusalem, Baghdad, Sydney, Athens, Saigon, Mumbai (Bombay), Lima, Capetown, Lagos, Nairobi, Tehran, etc., etc., etc., which everybody in the world has grown up hearing about all their lives, so we identify with those cities, and the countries they're located in, by our conceptions of those cities. In addition, the populations there are pretty international. They "belong" to the global community, in a way that any sort of "hicks' town" can't, so attacking them means that everybody is under attack.

Does that make sense?

 

[tara g]

Originally Posted by ckatz

I live in northern NJ-I have an amazing view of the Manhattan skyline outside my window.

My grandma had an awesome view of the Manhattan skyline as well from the top of the hill of the street she lived on. I remember seeing a big cloud blocking the skyline for the longest time.

For as long as I could remember, every time we'd visit her when we were kids, my mom would stop at the top of the hill and we'd point out the twin towers and the Empire state building from there.

One thing I regret is not going to see the twin towers. I always wanted to, but could never make the trip myself. Rob & I visited NYC in June, but didn't get a chance to go to Ground Zero.

 

[ckatz]

Originally Posted by jcat

One of my first reactions to the attack was, "New Yorkers are tough, and if anybody can get through this, it's them!"

Much of the horror people all over the world experienced was that the quintessential U.S. city was attacked. There are some cities, like NY, London, Paris, Beijing, Tokyo, Moscow, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Madrid, Rio, Beirut, Jerusalem, Baghdad, Sydney, Athens, Saigon, Mumbai (Bombay), Lima, Capetown, Lagos, Nairobi, Tehran, etc., etc., etc., which everybody in the world has grown up hearing about all their lives, so we identify with those cities, and the countries they're located in, by our conceptions of those cities. In addition, the populations there are pretty international. They "belong" to the global community, in a way that any sort of "hicks' town" can't, so attacking them means that everybody is under attack.

Does that make sense?

It does make sense. I think when you live here there is a feeling of isolation from the rest of the country. How we live and think doesn't make any sense to people outside of the NYC area.

New Yorkers are tough but it's nice to know that people care about what happens here, at least to a certain extent.


We have moved on-Ground Zero is a tourist attraction-a stop on the double decker buses around the city.

Broadway survived. Times Square is a zoo. And the rats are still huge.

But every year you remember and see those eerie lightbeams they shoot up from the footprint of the WTC. I personally don't have any friends or relatives who died on that day but I still get scared on this anniversary and I mourn their loss.

 

[ricalynn]

I had just arrived at the real estate agency where I was receptionist, and our president was in the conference room watching CNBC as he always does, to keep track of his stocks. One of his friends called in and told me to tell him to turn on CNN, because of the first plane. We were speculating about the cause of the crash when the second plane hit. That's when I knew my life had changed: this was an act of war, and I was a military wife.

One of our agents had been planning a family trip to NYC for later that week, and commented how he and his wife had been planning to take the kids to the observation deck at the WTC, but that wouldn't be happening now. That was shortly before the collapse of the first tower.

Initial reports were made that a third plane had struck the Pentagon and another had been hijacked and presumed headed for DC. As soon as I knew that report was for real, I got on the phone to my mother-in-law; my sister-in-law worked on Capitol Hill at the time, and I needed to know if she was OK. I knew if she could call anyone she'd call her mother first, so I told MIL to call me as soon as she knew (it would be at least 6 hours before we heard, because the cell service was so jammed up, but we knew it would take some time).

I lived on Fort Campbell Army Post at the time, and the post was on complete lockdown from the moment the report went out; wait time to get thru the main gate was 5+ hours, as they were doing complete searches of every vehicle. I called my husband at work (on post) and told him I would be staying the night with friends off-post to avoid the traffic. I stopped at Walmart to pick up the bare essentials and stayed with a fellow military couple that night. I remember it was difficult to sleep, thinking what might be happening with our husbands in the next months.

 

[samantha1979]

I was at work in Wisconsin shortly after I moved there from Tennessee. I worked in the back office of a broker dealer. The lady next to me always listened to the radio on a head set. She stood up looked over into my cubicle and told me about the first plane. I was shocked. Thought it was an accident. We had CNN running on all of the TV's because we had active stock brokers. I cleared my head, and went back to work. Then she stood up and told me about the second one. I was watching when the towers fell. It still brings tears to my eyes when I think about that day. All I could think of was wanting to be with my family, and all of those who couldn't. I still don't handle this well.

 

[carolpetunia]

I had just arrived at my office when my mom called and told me a plane had hit one of the twin towers. Since I was on my own schedule, I dropped the phone, picked up my purse, and ran to the car.

My apartment was just four minutes away. The first thing I saw was what I thought was a replay of the plane hitting the tower -- but then Charles Gibson said hesitantly, "That... appeared to be... a second plane..." and I felt that sick, chilling realization.

After the first report of "something burning at the Pentagon," I remember finally breaking into tears and saying out loud, "Dear god make it stop" as I ran down to my car and raced over to my parents's house to be with them. The streets were almost empty, and as others have said, the sky was so strangely silent and still.

I watched with my parents all day and into the night. My brother joined us late in the day, and we all just sat there in shock. I remember feeling so hurt -- all the good we Americans had tried to do in the world during the previous eight years, and this was how they felt about us?

[Of course, as I later came to understand, it was not the world that hated us then; it was just a small, backward faction of religious fanatics who hated us. Now, though... now it probably is the whole world.

]

Finally, after dark that night, the shock began to fade and the rage came, and that was easier to deal with.

The next morning, I went down to the blood donation center. There were at least a hundred grim-faced people standing in a silent line all the way down the sidewalk, waiting to donate blood for the survivors.

By that afternoon, though, it was becoming clear that there were almost no survivors. The blood center staff finally asked everyone to wait and donate later for general use, rather than let their donations be wasted.

It was heartbreaking -- everyone wanted desperately to do something, but there was nothing we could do. A piece of America had been neatly sliced right out of the map, people and all, just gone, and there was nothing we could do.

 

[norachelhere]

I was walking into my second period English class, and they had it on TV. I thought it was some memorial of the last time it was bombed in the 80's but then realized it wasnt when we watched the second plane hit live.

I was so upset. I have family and friends that live and work there and one of my friends was in tower 2 when it was hit. She said she was sitting at her dest when the plane hit. And it hit so hard she hit her head on the side of her cubicle. She said it was terrible. She had to walk for over 9 hours over Brooklyn bridge, feet bloody, just to get home.

 

[crazyforinfo]

Recovering from minor surgery. Just dumped my BF cause of it and started talking to my ex for support who is now my hubby.

 

[margecat]

I was at work (I start work at 8:30 AM). I was on my pc, typing, when a co-worker, whose son lives in New York, came over and told us that a plane crashed in the WTC (he had just called her). We all naturally thought it was an accident, though a weird one.

Someone else in the office got into Yahoo news on his pc; then told us about the 2nd plane. That's when everyone's blood ran cold. THAT couldn't have been an accident. This was the only time I ever, in 15 years, had seen my boss get emotional. No one else could get into the news on their pcs, even the Reference dept. We only had his pc to glean bits of news; it was scary. I called my Mom to ask her about the news every so often, and would relay it to folks downstairs. So many rumors: a bomb in a car near the State Dept., etc. When the plane hit the Pentagon, my assistant started crying--her son, who was in the Navy, had an appointment there at that time, and she couldn't find out that he was really ok for HOURS. Meanwhile, my other friend was crying: her niece and her hubby were to be at the WTC that morning, at 9:00 AM; again, she didn't know hubby had stayed home sick, and the niece had to walk all the way home from the city, but was ok.

The library closed at noon; before I left, I walked across the street to a mall to get a slice of pizza for lunch. Never saw the place so empty.

When I got home, I didn't know if we'd be evacuated to a shelter (we live near 3 nuke plants, and near Philadelphia, which closed down for the day). I tried to gather together stuff for Mom, myself, and our cat. It sounds silly now, but we didn't know what was really happening.

Later, I emailed a former boyfriend, who lived new the city, and worked next door to the WTC. Thankfully, he was ok--that week, he was in NJ, training, and not there! Another friend was schedule to be in the WTC to give a lecture--thank God her car had broken down in Maryland over the weekend, and she was on the subway, going back to get her car when it all happened.

Later, I hoisted our American flag outside. It just seemed the right thing to do. Remember how hard it was to buy a flag for a few days after? I actually had to make a small one out of patchwork, so I could put it by my desk at work! I still have it.

 

[margecat]

Originally Posted by CarolPetunia

I had just arrived at my office when my mom called and told me a plane had hit one of the twin towers. Since I was on my own schedule, I dropped the phone, picked up my purse, and ran to the car.

My apartment was just four minutes away. The first thing I saw was what I thought was a replay of the plane hitting the tower -- but then Charles Gibson said hesitantly, "That... appeared to be... a second plane..." and I felt that sick, chilling realization.

After the first report of "something burning at the Pentagon," I remember finally breaking into tears and saying out loud, "Dear god make it stop" as I ran down to my car and raced over to my parents's house to be with them. The streets were almost empty, and as others have said, the sky was so strangely silent and still.

I watched with my parents all day and into the night. My brother joined us late in the day, and we all just sat there in shock. I remember feeling so hurt -- all the good we Americans had tried to do in the world during the previous eight years, and this was how they felt about us?

[Of course, as I later came to understand, it was not the world that hated us then; it was just a small, backward faction of religious fanatics who hated us. Now, though... now it probably is the whole world.

]

Finally, after dark that night, the shock began to fade and the rage came, and that was easier to deal with.

The next morning, I went down to the blood donation center. There were at least a hundred grim-faced people standing in a silent line all the way down the sidewalk, waiting to donate blood for the survivors.

By that afternoon, though, it was becoming clear that there were almost no survivors. The blood center staff finally asked everyone to wait and donate later for general use, rather than let their donations be wasted.

It was heartbreaking -- everyone wanted desperately to do something, but there was nothing we could do. A piece of America had been neatly sliced right out of the map, people and all, just gone, and there was nothing we could do.

I wanted to donate blood so badly; but I'm not allowed to. At the same time, a jerk of an (now) ex-boyfriend said he wouldn'tdonat eblood, and the Red Cross handled it in his area. I thought, "What an a-hole! A national tragedy, and all he's worried about is who takes the blood!" That really was the beginning of the end for us.

 

[norachelhere]

I cant donate sometimes either, but I am anemic. Its kind of depressing not being able to help. . .

 

[calico2222]

I was living in Guam at the time...about as far as you can get from NY and DC. My boyfriend of the time was a dive instructor and was teaching a class of submariners. A few from the class woke us up by knocking on our window about 2:45 am 9/12 (Guam is over the international date line) with their gear in hand saying we can't finish the class...the US is under attack. Their exact words were "we gots to go!".

We were watching the news...by that time, the towers had already collapsed and it was just unreal until they mentioned the plane that crashed in Somerset PA. That was only 20 minutes from my parent's house. That is when it became real for me. I kept thinking it was a hoax, or a movie...but what movie or hoax would mention someplace as small as Somerset?? That is when I started bawling.

It took me over an hour to get to work the next day because I had to drive past the gate to the Navy base and security was unreal trying to get in. No one got any work done that day anyway. It was just so eery...There is a Navy base and an Airforce base on Guam. ALL the ships were on alert and circling the island. No cargo ships were allowed entrance for over a month, so the stores were bare after a few weeks. Luckily, I was stocked up on cat food (had 3 cats at the time) but ended up bringing in sand from the beach for kitty litter.

I remember sitting at work watching the Navy ships go surround the island. And, the only planes you heard was the Air Force fighter planes making recongnance (sp?) over the island. It was just freaky. It ruined the island's economy for a year because their main industry is tourism from Japan, and no one wanted to come and visit.

My mom was so worried about me, but I told her I was safer in Guam than in the states, with all the Navy and Air Force. Besides that, most American's didn't know where Guam was....why would Bin Laudin know???

A very sad day for America, but I was amazed at how much people cared about each other, and America as a whole, after that. I think people should remember that feeling and keep it with them always.

 

[sofiecusion]

I lived in the dorms. I woke up, went to my US History class (noticed a lot of people in the lounge watching TV) They told me about it. I went to class. It was all anyone talked about. A girl I had classes with's aunt worked there. I remember her uncontrollable sobs as the towers collapsed. Classes were canceled at noon. Most classes were let out before ours was. Finally a lady left to pick up her kids from school and class broke up. I remember the professor telling us everything we were experiencing would be in a paragraph in a history book someday....6 years later and taking the 2nd part of US History....she was right!

 

[lonelykitten]

I was at work and went next door to get a pack of cigarettes. The guy behind the counter told me about it so I went and turned on the tv when I got back to the store and watched the recaps. I was so freaked I locked up and went back to my apartment. I was suppose to open the store that afternoon and called the owners and said no there is too much going on and I'm not going to make anyone come in I think today is a day that they should spend being with their families and friends.

 

[pjk5900]

I was sleeping when the first plane hit.
My daughter and then boyfriend were sleeping in the living room.
My friend Wendy called and I didn't have a phone with me in the bedroom. When no one picked up she left a message. "Patty, WAKE UP, we're at war!!"
My daughter jumped up and came and got me and my husband.
We watched thinking it was an accident at first maybe, not sure what was happening. It looked like a movie playing. Then we saw the 2nd plane hit and like everyone else knew we were in trouble.
I remember just feeling numb and tears rolling down my face.
We sat on the couch with our blankets and watched all day & night.
I remember trying to go to bed and being so scared what we were going to wake up to next. What if that was only the beginning?
I remember thinking about all those people trying to get out and all the fireman/policemen beeper things going off in the mountains of rubble.
I remember watching what looked like 2 women holding hands jump out of a window way up there, and so many other devastating sights.
I knew our world could never be the same after that.

God Bless all those affected by this tragedy!
Patty & family

 

[pat]

I woke up early, came out to the den, turned on the tv, to Fox, and saw the announcer talking, black smoke, NYC, and as I watched, live...I saw the second plane turn and head into the building. It was horrific, I ran for my bedroom to wake up my husband, and spent the rest of the day watching the live film of what the rest of that day was like.

I get goosebumps whenever I remember and see it again in my mind, and still tear up as I remember seeing the people jumping, the people running down the streets...