9/11/01 Where were you?

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  • DinVT
    DinVT Posts: 3 Member
    I was working on the new shaws supermarket in Concord Newhampshire.
  • Mustang_Susie
    Mustang_Susie Posts: 7,045 Member
    I grew up on Long Island. I was in 11th grade and just sat down for Spanish class. The principal came on the PA and told us that planes flew into the WTC and Pentagon in an apparent terrorist attack. He then said if anyone has relatives working in lower Manhattan that they should come to his office. Almost half of my classmates in the room slowly got up with blank looks on their faces and left. I remember initially imaging in my head that it was a few small planes with minimal damage. However, it really hit me when my Spanish teacher, trying to hold back her tears said, "it's really bad...really bad" and then just broke down. We sat in silence for about 30 minutes. Everyone had scared and shocked looks on their faces. We were not sent home and no one was really sure what was going on during the rest of the school day. The rumors were flying around that Epcot, the Sears Tower and the Seattle Space Needle were hit too.

    When I got home my mom said, "Did you hear about the twin towers?" I said "yeah" then got to the living room where the TV was on and just saw a cloud of smoke over the entire city. I said, "wait, they're gone!?" My mom and dad didn't answer. I sat there the rest of the day watching in disbelief the replays of huge commercial jets crashing into the buildings. The absolute worst part was watching people jump out of the buildings.

    Four kids at my school lost their fathers. A bunch of other kids lost aunts and uncles and other relatives. My late uncle was a funeral director in Queens. He was a complete mess for the weeks and months to follow burying victim after victim including emergency workers.

    I never will forget that day.


    :cry:
  • Myhaloslipped
    Myhaloslipped Posts: 4,317 Member
    I was in a hotel room in San Francisco. My best friend and I had spent the night hanging out in the city and slept there so we didn't have to drive back to San Jose after we had been drinking. She was screaming when I woke up because she was from New York, and I guess she went into shock, because she just froze as I was trying to tell her we needed to get the hell out of there. My thinking was that we were in a city that could have been a huge potential target, and it wasn't safe. I nearly had to throw her over my shoulder and carry her, but we quickly got out of there.
  • 5ftnFun
    5ftnFun Posts: 948 Member
    I was doing laundry while the TV was on "The Today Show." My 9 year old son was at school. I saw the 2nd plane hit on my TV screen and gasped, literally, and said "Oh MY GOD" even though I was home alone. My husband got stuck on base when they locked it down. I remember carrying a basket of laundry upstairs and thinking "Why am I taking laundry upstairs?" Seemed very trivial and meaningless with the destruction that was taking place. Very sad day.

    Edit for typo
  • KristysLosing
    KristysLosing Posts: 683
    I was sleeping in my dorm at UW Superior. A friend came pounding on my door to tell me. I was actually kinda irriatated because I didn't have class until noon, which was cancelled anyway. I also remember the panic over gas prices in the days that followed. I was 4 hrs from home and there were crazy lines of people getting gas before prices skyrcoketed to $4 and $5/gallon. Look at that...it happened anyway.
  • Lucy_6678
    Lucy_6678 Posts: 63 Member
    Teaching 8th grade social studies as a first year teacher.
  • Pangea250
    Pangea250 Posts: 965 Member
    A little humor to lighten the mood. No offence intended.


    In a way, aren't we all 9/11 survivors?

    'A' is the 1st letter of the alphabet and 'H' is the 8th letter, right?
    9/11 = 0.81818181 = HAHAHAHA

    What did Osama Bin Laden cook on Iron Chef?
    Big Apple Crumble.

    Why is everyone on about 9/11?... It's not for another couple of months. (November 9th)

    This won't end well...

    She's just trying to interject some levity, and judging from the last comment, she's not an American, so there isn't a visceral connection.

    Take it for what it was, this is heavy **** man, she's just trying to crack a giggle while we're pissing in our own cheerios.
    I understand what you are saying in defending the writer of those comments, but there were plenty of people around the world who have visceral connections to what happened 12 years ago. There is stuff you just don't joke about, particularly on this day and particularly if you take a moment to read the things people are writing here now.

    Would I ever joke about the bombing in London in 2005? The 2004 bombing in Spain? The 1988 bombing of a plane over Lockerbie? The 2004 hostage takeover at a Russian school?

    Some things should not be made light of, and this is one of them. I believe the poster did this for fun. I believe they did it to get a rise out of the people posting here. To make us feel bad. To point a finger and laugh at the silly Americans who write their dates wrong and still hurt after 12 years and feel a burning need to share their pain and listen to the pain of others, if only to know we are not alone in how we feel.

    (walking away, shaking my head in disgust)
  • Swissmiss
    Swissmiss Posts: 8,754 Member
    This question is asked once a year, evey year.

    I was at work in a mail center. We didn't have a TV in the room but was allowed to go to a room with one.
  • mem50
    mem50 Posts: 1,384 Member
    At work building cashboxes for bill changers. We were listening to our radios when it was announced and everything came to a halt as we all gathered round to listen in total shock and disbelief that something like that could have truly happened. They cancelled work for the day.
  • auntiebabs
    auntiebabs Posts: 1,754 Member
    The thing I rember first about that day was how clear the sky was, I had remember thinking that to myself as I walked out of the WTC at 7:45am. A crystal clear day always brings me back to that morning.y

    I had a hangover actually because the Giants had played the night before so I dragged my self into the office when my buddy called from his window we could see the first building burning, we had no clue what was going on but we decided to get out off our building right away.

    We went outside and walked to Battery Park (about 3 blocks away) watching the first tower burn someone said a plane hit the tower... what do you mean a plane... just then the second plane flew over our headns and I watched it fly right into the tower and the giant fireball shoot out of the building. every single person standing there said Holy *kitten*.. the entire builing flexed and I thought it was coming down right then so I took off running.

    It was mayhem. I watched a woman get car jacked and people going crazy. I wanted out of the city and headed to the ferry. The doors were locked and the terminal was filling... crowded... when the ground shook, I did not know it at the time but the first tower came down. People started shoving and screaming and the doors to the boat finally opened. It was a sea of people fighting to the boat when I saw a woman get knocked down.. I yelled for people to be calm and I stood between her and the crowd until she got to her feet... as we got onto the boat the cloud of smoke covered us...

    I did not even know the towers were gone until I landed in Staten Island... the rest of that day I spent trying to get home... which was an adventure in its self... including hitch hiking with a Hazmat crew..

    Two days later I was working with the fire police and emts on making maps of ground zero trying to find where oil tanks, gas lines, electrical mains or any other potential dangers were as they searched. The people who went into those buildings to save others are the bravest people I could ever imagine.

    Wow! I was in Union Sq. what a difference a couple of blocks makes. Glad you're safe. I'm sure you still feel the effects of that day.
  • ajaxe432
    ajaxe432 Posts: 608 Member
    I was stationed in Miami at the time and had duty the night before. I was awoken and asked to return to duty. Once everything was secure, we turned on the televison just as the second tower fell. I will never forget that moment.
  • Jersey_Devil
    Jersey_Devil Posts: 4,142 Member
    Hoboken,, NJ right across the river from the trade center. went into NY 2 or 3 days later- ground zero and thanked rescue workers near a red cross makeshift center. my profile picture is my buddy'e brave. I knew 2 people in the towers...one got out and one died.
  • workaholic_nurse
    workaholic_nurse Posts: 727 Member
    A few friends and I had just gotten off of work @ 7 am that morning and headed to a local casino. We were playing blackjack when everyone stopped what they were doing, even the dealers and the pit bosses, to stare at the tv. We saw the second plane hit in horror, knowing that the world changed in a fundamental way at that time. At the time nothing was known about which flights they were, so I was desperately trying to get ahold of my mom who was traveling to Boston for work that day. Turns out their plane was shunted to Ohio, but I did not hear from her until about 3 pm that afternoon.

    May the souls of all 3000+ victims, I say the plus because the ones left behind are victims as well, rest in peace. You are never forgotten!
  • Nicholec2003
    Nicholec2003 Posts: 158 Member
    I was home sick from school. A Jr in high school at the time, so I was by myself. I was laying on the couch puking into a bucket, watching "Little House on the Prairie," and having a pity party because I hate being sick. The program was interrupted for breaking news. I thought is was an advertisement for some sort of Apocalypse movie. I could not wrap my mind around the fact that this was really happening, and that it was really happening to MY country. This wasn't something that was happening to some far away place where the people were always at war in some way or another. This wasn't some little village that I'd never heard of. This was an attack on iconic markers in MY USA, the people being killed were MY fellow country men. The firefighters, police officers, medics, and other public services workers could have easily been my friends and family. I wished I were 5 years older and could do something, anything. I felt guilty for being safe at home in Podunk town. That day, I could not wait for my parents to get home.
  • kenzietate
    kenzietate Posts: 399 Member
    My family home schooled. We had run to Lowes (home improvement store) to grab a few things before starting our school day. My brother and I (10 and 12 respectively) were waiting for mom in the car. We saw her come out of the store with this horrible look on her face and nothing in her hands. I can still remember that look on my mom's face! When she got in the car she told us about the first plane. We got home and turned on the tv to see the second plane hit the towers. The bravery shown by all of the people who helped during that time and the people who crashed the plane in PA was awe inspiring.
  • CarmenSRT
    CarmenSRT Posts: 843 Member
    I walked into Animal Physiology lab that morning, ready to throw down. My professor asked, "Carmen, did you hear what happened?" "No", I replied. "A plane flew into the World Trade Center!" He then used the smart classroom's podium monitor to bring up live news footage of the disaster on the front screen. Those of us gathered watched. A few people said the usual "Oh, how awful!" One kid tried a bit of humor, saying, "How did the pilot not see that building? Got his license in a Cracker Jack box!"

    The second plane hit as we watched. Dead silence. Somebody, I do not know who, said "That was on purpose.". Dr. O tried to start lab lecture. About 45 minutes into it, the usual give and take discussion had not materialized. He finally said, "Gang, this isn't working. Go home." Most of us stayed there in the classroom, talking about it some, but mostly just wanting to be near fellow human beings.

    Dr. O was a good teacher. He cared about imparting not only knowledge, he cared about helping people develop as learners. I use the past tense because he died in 2006 of Burkitt's Lymphoma in his late 30s. Despite all the good he did, the strongest memory I've got of that man is tied to those damn Towers and the horror of that day.
  • VeganLexi
    VeganLexi Posts: 960 Member
    .
  • Mustang_Susie
    Mustang_Susie Posts: 7,045 Member
    Hoboken, NJ right across the river from the trade center. went into NY 2 or 3 days later- ground zero and thanked rescue workers near a red cross makeshift center. my profile picture is my buddy'e grave. I knew 2 people in the towers...one got out and one died.

    Thank you for sharing.
    That is a different perspective.
    I had not seen a headstone from 9/11...
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    Some things should not be made light of, and this is one of them. I believe the poster did this for fun. I believe they did it to get a rise out of the people posting here. To make us feel bad. To point a finger and laugh at the silly Americans who write their dates wrong and still hurt after 12 years and feel a burning need to share their pain and listen to the pain of others, if only to know we are not alone in how we feel.

    Possibly. Today though, while I like to attribute a lot to malice, I won't. Too much else to think about. I'd rather attribute it to ignorance.
  • ryry_
    ryry_ Posts: 4,966 Member
    AP English class...In the computer lab joking around with classmates
  • Jersey_Devil
    Jersey_Devil Posts: 4,142 Member
    Hoboken, NJ right across the river from the trade center. went into NY 2 or 3 days later- ground zero and thanked rescue workers near a red cross makeshift center. my profile picture is my buddy'e grave. I knew 2 people in the towers...one got out and one died.

    Thank you for sharing.
    That is a different perspective.
    I had not seen a headstone from 9/11...

    The headstone is in Connecticut. I remember the day I found out he died. I was watching the news in November and they reported that they identified the remains of more victims. Then I saw my friends picture. I did a double take then called a friend who went to college with us to talk about it.
  • FearAnLoathingJ
    FearAnLoathingJ Posts: 337 Member
    was living in vegas,still on drugs back then. I remember watching on tv and not feeling a thing,but drugs will do that to you
  • jeannie55
    jeannie55 Posts: 22 Member
    I was at the Palm Beach County Court house researching liens on different company's. I had just finished and was heading down stairs. At the jury waiting room which is surrounded by glass you could see a TV and a plan crashing into a building. You couldn't hear what was going so I kept going. Once I got in my car and turned the radio on, the station I listen to was saying that we were being attached and that the plan had crashed into the tower. I couldn't believe what I was hearing so I raced back to my office, once I got there everyone was in the conference room trying to get an old TV to work. As the news came on we saw what was going on, i'm not sure at what point we got the TV to work because I was just sitting there crying for all the people who lost there lives. I do remember someone telling me that the tower had fallen and another plan crashed into the Pentagon. I will never forget the scared feeling that came over me or the pain and sorrow I felt for all the people that lost there life or for the families that lost loved ones.
  • Mustang_Susie
    Mustang_Susie Posts: 7,045 Member
    Hoboken, NJ right across the river from the trade center. went into NY 2 or 3 days later- ground zero and thanked rescue workers near a red cross makeshift center. my profile picture is my buddy'e grave. I knew 2 people in the towers...one got out and one died.

    Thank you for sharing.
    That is a different perspective.
    I had not seen a headstone from 9/11...

    Actually, the headstone is in Connecticut.

    Poignant, none the less ...
  • Luwright321
    Luwright321 Posts: 38 Member
    I worked at a knife factory and was at work inspecting blades when a co-worker came up from the back of the plant and told us a small plane had crashed into the WTC. We all thought it was just an accident then a little while later he came back and told us another plane hit the second tower. Work stopped all over the plant as everyone gathered around radios to hear what was happening. We only live a couple hours away from NYC and many people in our area left to go to the city to help. A few people in neighboring towns worked in the FDNY and were killed that day. I had never felt so helpless and lost and confused. That is a day I will never forget.
  • SloRunner25
    SloRunner25 Posts: 89 Member
    In 8th grade. My teacher turned on the television for a little then turned it off. We had a mini therapy session as a class and we were all in tears. We were dismissed early and I cried the rest of the day. My mom told me I'd be lucky to make it to 16. Well I'm 25 and still alive! And the country is still here. :drinker:
  • BigSnicka
    BigSnicka Posts: 151 Member
    I was sitting in my office in New London, Connecticut which is about 2 hours away from NYC and about 2 hours away from Boston where one of the planes took off.
  • doctorsookie
    doctorsookie Posts: 1,084 Member
    Attempting to reach the father of my unborn child to tell him I was pregnant. He had went to visit his family in Massachussettes and I was in Florida. I knew he liked to take his mother into New York City and was worried he was there when I couldn't reach him and I got worried and stayed that way until he finally called.
  • bdeezy3396
    bdeezy3396 Posts: 89 Member
    I live in Windsor, Ontario across from Detroit, Michigan.
    I was walking at my favourite city park that borders the Detroit River.
    It was a gorgeous, sunny, blue sky morning.

    After my walk, I went to Remark Farms for some produce and that's where I found out that the bridge and tunnel to the US had been closed but the cashier wasn't clear as to why.
    When I left, I turned on the radio and that's when I learned of the 1st plane hitting the tower and of the horrific events unfolding.

    I live close to the flight path of Windsor airport and the American planes also fly over at times and it was so eerily quiet for several days afterward.

    I was at work that day in Ann Arbor and once this all happened I tried to contact my wife who was 8 months pregnant. She wasn't answering and nobody knew where she was. I finally got a call from her and she was over in Windsor playing Bingo and they closed the border. Once they opened the border we met at home and were glued to the TV. Went to the 911 memorial last February, and it was a very somber experience.
  • sillyrichie
    sillyrichie Posts: 34 Member
    I was in southwestern Manitoba, Canada. That's where I'm originally from. However, I was getting ready for work at the time and my ex had the channel tuned to news. I heard him yell from the living room, so I came running. It was one of those moments where it feels like time stops and you're just left there watching events unfold. All day at work I kept stealing away to watch more news stories, and for weeks after I kept reading as much as I could. It was so surreal...so shocking...and it feels even more so now that I live in southwestern Virginia and you can see the effects of that day still touching lives. Just heartbreaking.

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