9-11: we will never forget

[Karma]

It has been 5 years since that fatefull, dreadfull moment in America...it affected all of us and the world in some ways.

even as i make this thread, there has been a heartfelt memorial service at the site of the 9-11 attacks.

I thought we could take sometime to just remember and reflect.

Share stories of where we were when the WTC was attacked.

Was anyone actually IN NYC or near the WTC at the time?


as for me, i remember that day i had actually over slept for work, so i had missed the breaking news of the first plane colliding with the north tower, however as i was driving to work I was hearing bits and pieces and at the time it was believed to have been a tragic accident. however by the time i got to work, my co workers were everywhere BUT at their desks. Most were in the lounge and watching the TV...the north tower was now looking more like a giant smoke stack and as we watched, we saw the second plane hit. EVERYONE just gasped. some people even flinched in their seats. it was so...UNREAL. most people just couldnt FATHOM that this was happening , let alone WHY.


when it became clear that it was a terrorist attack, we were all in shock. some of us (like me) had relatives in the area at the time and were frantically trying to call and find out where they were. cellphones were nearly useless if you were trying to call anywhere in the new england states

needless to say, no work was done that day. most of us stayed in the lounge..alot of us were mentally fatigued as we sat glued to the tv....i can only imagine how much WORSE it was for the rescue workers and the survivors of the attacks ...in fact, aside from thinking of my aunt who was at the rockefellar center (which is not even a mile from the WTC) i couldnt help but agonize with anxiety over what was happening to the people trapped in the buildings...the images of people JUMPING from the towers and then the towers falling down themselves...it was all so shocking.

most people ended up leaving my job early to pick up their children from school or to just go home and be with their familes.

there was this TREMENDOUS sense of vulnerability and dread everywhere.

I remember feeling like: anyone else could do this to us...this could be the start of the countries of the world that hate america coming for us like never before.

I finally heard from my aunt 2 days later and she told me about her experience down there....we were so thankfull to know she was okay but i still couldnt help but feel bad thinking about the people and emergency workers who had been trapped in the buildings when they collapsed.


I'll never forget

 

[Foxfire]

I feel this day should be noted as some sort of Holiday for schools, banks, government buildings, Postal Services, etc. I think everyone should be off like Labor Day or Veterans Day. I think in doing so we can all grieve for friends, family, and complete strangers. To take the time to remember those who were killed, severely injured, the hero's and the villains on that tragic September day.

I was a Senior in High School when it happened, and I happened to be in Economics class. I remember chatting away with Karen and Amanda. The "look" my teacher gave me for chatting away while a quiz was handed out. I had a tendency of interacting with my classmates right before a test. But, I actually didn't have a number two pencil so I turned to Karen. We took our tests and around the time they were collected our teacher Mr. McCormick walked in with a dreadful look and announced if we "knew what was going on."

All of us didn't so we inquired and then he delivered the news. I felt my heart drop inside my chest, everyone in my class did. We were scheduled to visit the WTC on 9/11 but we didn't have enough permission slips, so the trip was canceled. Each of us had a chill to know we could have been in the building.

The Principal came on the PA and announced what was going on. A lot of the students were visiting rooms to gather siblings, best friends, etc. Others like myself moved to another room (a Study Hall class) where I watched the plane hit the first tower. The school psychologist had her hands full that day comforting students and facility who lost friends and family.

I watched a few of my friends on their cell phones frantically calling family members crying. I remember going to lunch not hungry. I felt so nauseous inside just to be glad my family wasn't down in the city. I remember one of my friends crying in my arms when she told me her Dad perished in the building. I choked back the tears...I felt the need to be strong for her. Here she was crying in my arms because of this tragedy.

I felt sadness, rage, and numbness. I couldn't believe another country would do this. But, as I recalled my American History I knew our country wasn't always so "friendly" with our allies. Nobody in school learned lessons, no homework given out.

When I went to my math class our teacher talked about what was going on. Students were being picked up by parents. I remember seeing a line outside in the parking lot, even though the school day ended at 2:25 PM.

Driving home from school, I was left in a daze. When I got home, my parents were still at work I think. I turned on the TV to see coverage of what I saw at school. I went online to get at least ten different e-mails from my Internet friends around the country and Internationally. They were worried about me, even when I was on Safesearching there was a thread asking about me and a few others who lived in New York. I replied back and logged off.

When my parents returned home I remember throwing my arms around them so tightly. I looked up to the ceiling and mouthed 'thank you' to God. We sat around watching it, each of us explaining what we did that morning until that evening.

Even now as several years have passed on, I've gotten to the point where I can watch coverage of it but not much. Its still painful for me.

I remember how amicable and helpful everyone was. Nobody was rude anymore it was really breathtaking to see everyone pitching in. I donated blood as did my friends, people purchased banners supporting victims and hero's. I'll always remember this day even as the years progress.

 

[Persephone]

I was in 10th grade Geometry class, 3rd peiod with Mr. Mitchell. I remember seeing my 9th grade Spanish teacher come into our class room with this horrible look on her face, then moments later, my principle announced over the loud speaker that a plane had smashed into the World Trade Center. All the TV's automatically turned on as we watched coverage from my classroom, unaware that this was in fact a terrorist attack. I was just in such a state of shock that I literally sat at my desk gawking at the TV. Everything was silent in the classroom.

When the second plane flew into the second tower, that's when I began to panic. Everyone couldn't believe their eyes. I got up from my chair and ran out of the classroom because my grandmother would always go to the trade centers for shopping and other trips. I guess it really didn't dawn on me until that moment because it just seemed so surreal. But I guess knowing that these attacks were on purpose, really knocked me back into reality. At the time I didn't have a cell phone so I ran to the payphone down the hall and called my mom up hysterical, not only because I was petrified for my grandmother's safety, but because I had been to the trade centers, I used to go to New York City every month since I was a baby, it was literally like my second home.

My mom was trying to call my grandmother but couldn't get ahold of her because the telephone lines were down. My friend actually found me in the bathroom after I got off the phone with my mom and held me because I was so upset. The bell ended up ringing for 4th period and I had to go up to my Accounting class. That's when the I saw the first tower fall live. Everyone gasped and was quiet. Once the second tower fell it just seemed like something out of a movie.

I kept calling my mom the entire day to see if she had gotten ahold of my grandmother, but there was no luck. So basically the rest of the school day we'd just continue watching coverage of the attacks. Once I got home we spent the entire rest of the day trying to get ahold of my grandmother, and finally we did. It was such a relief to know that she was okay, but it was also unbelievable to know that over 3,000 people died that day. That our country was literally raped of it's security.

It's still surreal to think that 9/11 even happened. Even 5 years later.

 

[Rampage]

I was having agreta day, my son was exactly five months old and we had a fun time as I played with him that morning. As I got to my job, The news began to spread smong myp atients and the frame rep that I saw that mornin. I happened to have a small TV that we kept for kids to watch, so I turned it on. I could not believe my eyes. It was absolutely horrible.
For me the worst part was looking at it as an engineer might(since I first studied engineering in college, no degree), and I realized that the tower would fall. They kept saying it wouldn't, and I hoped tghat they were right, but I knew that the heat of the jet fuel burning would melt the girders.
We just sat around all day talking and consoling one another, hoping for any info into the well-being of our loved ones in the area. I remember waking my mother up and telling her what happened; it did not register at first, until I told her the towers in "King Kong".
To this day I cannot drive without at least checking a news station on the radio and I read news websites incessantly.
Finally, I will remember one last thing about 9/11. Thanks to it, my honeymoon in New Orleans was cancelled (I got married 11 days later, about 25 guests could not make it) and, thanks to Katrina, now my wife and me will never see it in its glory...

 

[Erika King]

I don't know I think I felt so numb while it was happened. That I didn't understand the heaviness of the situation. Everything was so scatterbrained and nobody knew what was going on. I was so shocked but I remember honestly feeling underwhelmed. That everyone was more upset than I was. I think I was just detaching from the situation. I had just moved to New York, none of my family was close to the city, nobody I loved was flying. I was one of the lucky ones. So lucky I couldn't even comprehend it. I felt like the world shut down that day.
I think the most I have ever even reflected on September 11 was last night. I watched United 93, the real time depiction of all the events on the day and of the flight who saved a LOT of people with their sacrifice. I was taken in from the beginning. I was so enthralled in the movie. How brave they were, how they just did what they needed to do. Those are real patriots, the people that saved the country BEFORE there was so much fake patriotism, before a world where every car had an american flag on it or some kind of patriotic bumper sticker. It was amazing to me. I watched the documentary that talked to the actual families of the passengers. I wanted to cry. I felt so proud of the film and I wasn't even connected to it. But who knows.. Perhaps that last plane could have crashed into a place that my family was.. could have killed all of them. I don't know, but I respect those people so much it's not funny. Those are the stories I NEEDED when September 11th happened... I don't know I guess I always felt bad that I didn't feel BAD enough.. that was my problem..

The only thing that really upsets me is the ramifications of September 11th, the fear of flying, the fear in general, and all the fake patriotism, and how much ignorance KILLS.