9/11. Where were you when it happened?

I was in Sarasota where President Bush was when he learned of the news! All air travel was cancelled and I ended up having to rent a car and drive home. I sat in hours and hours of traffic while President Bush had to re-route his plans to get out of Sarasota. That was the longest day of my life.

I was 8.5 months pregnant and frantically trying to reach my friends and former co-workers who I worked in the towers with. Had I not moved to ATL...who knows.

I was in California, a freshman in high school and my sister woke me up which was weird because she never did that. We watched the news in silence but then I went to school. I don't think I was really old enough to grasp the impact at that time. But I remember being very afraid to go sleep that night.

I was a small child and barely remember anything.

I was five, almost six. I don't remember a lot but I'm English, and we were most of the way through the school day when it happened because of the time difference. I remember not understanding a lot. I remember all the adults being terrified, and several kids in my class broke down because they were scared their mums and dads were going to war. I lived near an RAF base so a lot of the kids in my class were kids of RAF personnel. My best friend remembers a lot more because it was her birthday the next day and her mum cancelled the party.

In school. I left the classroom and there was a group of people all gathered around watching the news on TV in a break area.
I remember the look on the peoples faces and not understanding what was going on.

10th grade Chemistry class at around 10AM CST. I distinctly remember another teacher on the floor running to all the classrooms to turn on the television (each class had an overhead television monitor for announcements). We were all watching with abject horror as people threw themselves from the buildings and then being aghast when we realized it wasn't just the WTC that had been targeted. I also remember a specific student (a boy by the name of Levi) making extremely inappropriate jokes and comments about the events. He was suspended over the remarks.

It was a very surreal day.

I was fresh out of college and on my way to work at a furniture store when I heard reports on the radio and just gleaned enough to be confused and concerned. I walked into work and asked my boss if he'd heard anything and he was laughing and being a real jerk about it all. Everyone else was gathered around the wall of TVs watching the coverage.

When the mail came, our postal carrier (an older man) was in tears and saying his son in the military was going to be sent overseas right away. A year later, his son died. I didn't work there anymore so I don't know the ins and outs.

That night I paid about $5/gallon for gas due to price-gouging and spent the night with a guy I'd just started dating and barely liked, because I felt kind of nervous that there would be many more attacks on the U.S. A male friend who was firmly in the "friend zone" called me up and said he loved me and so forth. I wound up actually beginning to date him then AND marrying him, which was not the best choice - but it lasted for 9 years so hey, whatever. (I am now married to someone who is much much better for me)

In the conference room at work watching it unfold on TV.