09/11/2001

Where were you?

I was at my oldests sons first dentist appointment. He is almost 14 now. We were waiting in the waiting area when the first news reports came in. They took my son back to get his teeth examined and I stepped outside for a smoke. A lady watching TV in her conversion van yelled out that another plane had hit. Without saying a word to her (she was a complete stranger) I helped myself to a seat in her van and we both watched speachless.

After a few minutes she took a phone call. She said "Oh my god... can you imagine how many fire fighters they are going to need?" Turns out she was talking to her husband who is a firefighter here in Jacksonville. As the first tower collapsed she broke into tears with her husband on the phone saying "Oh god baby, do you know how many fire fighters must have just died?" Then she began weaping... my son was done so I had to excuse myself.

As we left the dentist the entire dental office staff was in the waiting area watching the tv. I stopped at a gas station to buy a pack of smokes and it was like the whole world was put on hold. Everyone at the gas station was standing around listening to updates blasting from their car radios. As I walked into the gas station the middle eastern guy behind the counter yelled "we are being attacked!" they are saying more plains are being hijacked right now! Another plane just took out the pentagon and there is another on the way that our jets are going to have to shoot down! Hurry up because I am probably closing and going home."

I went to my parents house where as a family we all just sat and watched the news all day. Having grown up in New Jersey I tried to contact several of my old friends up there but most of the time the phone didn't work cause all lines were busy.

i was at my parents house cuz my mom was helping me with watching my first born daughter, then just over a month old while i did some laundry.
my dad was watching the news & i went to go ask him something & he shushed me quite seriously so of course that got my attention. i looked at the tv just in time to see the 2nd plane hit the 2nd tower.
my words were "oh sh** dad! did you see that?! did that really just happen?! wait whats going on with the other skyscraper right next to that one?" (up until that day i never knew those towers were there).
when my dad said a plane flew into it too i just about had to pick my jaw up off the floor. i was thinking & must've said out loud "oh my god. all those people on the planes..." cuz my dad said " & all the people in those buildings..." then as the seriousness of the situation for everyone there at ground zero hit me, my body slumped down into the couch & we watched the news in continued silence. my basket of laundry went unwashed that day.
i yelled "no!" when i saw someone jump from one of the buildings & just broke down crying.
when the towers finally fell my sorrow for all the people in them tripled & i just started praying.
my peace was shattered that day, as was everyone elses, i'm sure. thats the day i started losing faith in humanity altogether because i just couldnt get my mind around how & why someone would ever come to the conclusion that so many people needed to die. i still struggle with that.
i have a higher respect for firefighters & police & now at the end of every conversation with them i always say "thank you for your dedication & god bless."
now every time i hear a fire or police siren i pray "lord please keep them safe as they answer that call."
i've even joined myself in a prayer that some random citizen was having with a group of firefighters in the middle of a grocery store. they were joined together group hug style :grouphug: & i stopped my cart & draped my arms over the shoulders of a couple of the firemen & finished the prayer with them. every one of them had a tear in their eye as they thanked that woman for saying the prayer for them.
since moving here to south carolina, we dont hear many sirens unless we're in a large city but when we were still in california living in a city we heard 'em multiple times every night so my days & nights were filled with that prayer.

:salute: god bless all those who answer our calls for help. :salute:

I lost my former manager that day. She was in flight 93 that went down in Shanksville, PA. My father and cousin both worked in Manhattan and I remember my panic when I couldn't get through to them on the phone. Thank god they were both okay. 10 years later, it's still as surreal as the day it happened.

All gave some.
Some gave all.
Never forget.

I was home getting ready to leave to cut grass earn my snake money. I end up waking up my mother and sisiter telling them to be ready. I am/ was a active firefighter at the time it happen, I know several of us started to arrange to head north when the tower fell ( need less to say spent 3 days at the ready for if a call came.) I never did cut grass that week. I just wish my back and legs would let me stay ctive firefighter these days ( dang Cerberal palsy )

I was at work. Listening to the radio, local morning show, and thought it was a joke when they announced it. But the more they talked about it I knew it wasn't a joke. I went into the break room and watched as the second plane hit, and then they fell. I thought the first was an accident, but knew after the second one that it wasn't. I spent the rest of the day in a haze, couldn't concentrate on anything.

I was a senior that year, sitting in Intro to Art. We left the tv on after morning announcements so we watched as it all unfolded. I remember shoving a freshman boy next to me when he snickered. I live by a large ammunition plant and we were scared we would see something here. I cried for days. I also wrote this poem:

My daddy is a firefighter
No, not one that was lost.
My daddy is still waiting
To save you at any cost.

He'll risk his life for you
He'll try and do his share
Unless you really need him
You'll never know hes there.

Next time you hear the sirens,
I hope you stop and think
Those men are someones daddies,
Whose lives are on the brink.


sent from my EVO

I had worked 2nd shift the night before, awoke and turned on the tv shortly after the second impact... the day the world changed.
So proud of our great country, how we rallied together.
GOD BLESS THE USA!

I was home sick when a co-worker called me to tell me to turn the TV on, it was shortly after the first plane hit. I, like everyone else, watched in horror as the second plane hit.
The company I work for had offices in the WTC towers so I knew a lot of folks in there. Most made it out but 13 did not.
The next many days at my office were spent manning phone lines that had been set up and trying to call/get in touch with people who were unaccounted for. Listening to them tell what they went through was something I can't even put in to words, there are really no words to use. The stories still haunt me, and I wasn't even there.
My friends there were changed forever, they are not the same people that went to work that morning. You can still see it in their eyes, everything they went through and all they saw and did.

I was in my sophomore Biology class in highschool

I was in my Precalculus class in high school (I was a junior). I had finished my work in that class and was grading some papers for the teacher (I doubled as his assistant for the class, since I had the best grades out of any of his classes), which I tend to zone out during. I looked up and everyone was gone, and it wasn't time for the bell to have rung yet. I checked the class next door, where a few classes were packed in as everyone watched the news.

An hour or so after the second plane hit, my mom picked me and my sisters up from school.

I was at work, in a file room, and someone said that a plane had hit a building. I thought they were talking about locally, and thought it was a small personal plane at first.

Then remember trying to get on a computer to see the news, and all the major new sites were locking up from all the people trying to get information. When the plane hit the Pentagon, and there were reports that more planes were still in the air, I made the comment - "they're going to shoot those planes down if they don't respond" and someone else said "they wouldn't kill innocent citizens." I said "they're going to die any way". Sure enough, we later learned that there were orders to shoot down any other planes if it came to that. Then the final report of the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania.

I was glued to the television reports for the rest of the week. This happened on a Tuesday. I remember that I was out running errands on a Saturday, and that's when the deep depression and despair of what had happened four days earlier just hit me. It was the saddest and darkest weekend of my life.

What a beautiful memorial as I'm watching the television this morning.

I was in 10th grade science when it happened. I lost one of my aunts as she was on the 80th floor. As a new yorker this day will never leave my mind

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BallsUnlimited

I was in 10th grade science when it happened. I lost one of my aunts as she was on the 80th floor. As a new yorker this day will never leave my mind

---

So sorry for your loss.

I was in the Desert in Oman on exercise Saif Sareea II with the British Army

I wasn't doing anything other than getting out of the shower that morning. I remember my hubby calling in near panic and telling me to turn on the news. That day was surreal. My heart goes out to each and every American who suffered loss that day. I do believe we all experienced loss that day.

I was home when someone call me telling me to turn on TV because something was going on in NY. (The first plane had just hit)

I was glued to the TV and watched all the rest unraveled live, pretty much in a daze knowing it was real but in the same time having a hard time believing something like that was happening in front of my eyes.

I had been in the country exactly 2 month to the day (arrived in the US on 07/11)

I was living in Italy at the time. My family was stationed over there. I was in the 6th grade and i had jsut gotten out of school. My mom was a teacher and i was sitting in her classroom when it happened. Being in a foreign country on a military base it was beyond a big deal. Most people in the states were still able to continue living "normally".. we were under lockdown. 24/7 lockdown. my family lived off base in an american apartment complex. we werent allowed to leave we werent able to do anything. Marines with M16' s stationed outside every building, nobody coming or going, no going to school, no sports practices, no seeing friends, no nothing but sitting inside for almost 2 weeks. Needless to say this has been something that has greatly affected me.. Growing up in a military family i bleed red white and blue. Ever since i knew i wanted a tattoo i knew this was something i wanted to pay tribute to. so this is what i ended up with. God Bless America and thank you to all who sacrificed anything that day. :salute::salute::salute:

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...39660_1537.jpg

Oh man, it's scary to think back to that day and how terrified everyone was and how many people were lost. I was sitting in my 7th grade computer class. We watched the news for awhile, and then the schools were shut down for the day.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by zach_24_90

I was living in Italy at the time. My family was stationed over there. I was in the 6th grade and i had jsut gotten out of school. My mom was a teacher and i was sitting in her classroom when it happened. Being in a foreign country on a military base it was beyond a big deal. Most people in the states were still able to continue living "normally".. we were under lockdown. 24/7 lockdown. my family lived off base in an american apartment complex. we werent allowed to leave we werent able to do anything. Marines with M16' s stationed outside every building, nobody coming or going, no going to school, no sports practices, no seeing friends, no nothing but sitting inside for almost 2 weeks. Needless to say this has been something that has greatly affected me.. Growing up in a military family i bleed red white and blue. Ever since i knew i wanted a tattoo i knew this was something i wanted to pay tribute to. so this is what i ended up with. God Bless America and thank you to all who sacrificed anything that day. :salute::salute::salute:

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...39660_1537.jpg

---

Beautiful art!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JulieInNJ

Beautiful art!

---

Thanks. I have added to it also I have a Virginia tech (my hometown) tribute on the Inside.

I was in English class freshman year, before my school got tv's in the rooms, so I didn't really know about it until both towers fell.

As for the theories, some are not so far fetched.

I was at school, in 2nd grade. My class was celebrating a classmates birthday. When someone from the front office came to the door, asked my teacher to step outside a moment. She came back in, ran to the tv, turned it on, and in seconds put her hands to her face and burst into tears. I just remember seeing the first tower smoking. Then the second a little after that. I just understood that it was bad, and being sad, but not crying. The only time my teacher brought it up after that was about a week later, and that was with the newspaper, which one of the kids grabbed off her desk...

I remember I asked on of my parents on teh way home from school, why someone could be so stupid. I think their answer was something along the lines of "There are some very bad people in the world, and because they believe certain things, they do things that others don't understand, that are very bad. The people who flew into those buildings in New York, were bad people, but they also had diffrent beliefs than us, and maybe thought what they were doing was right. But they made a very big mistake." I can't remember what my responce was.. something along the lines of a typical punishment for a 7yr old. I wanna say I asked them "Then why don't their mommies and daddies put them in the corner/ spank them/ take their toys away." but I can't remember for sure.

I haven't watched a news channel for more than five minutes today. Why? Because I remember enough. I remember watching the news that day, and I don't want to watch any of it again. I barely understood it when I was little, and now that I'm older, and do understand it, I know I'll be more upset about it than I was then. I feel that as long as I remember it, and remember that many lost their lives or loved ones, and many did things to attempt to save others, then that's what I need to remember.

If I heard correctly, my school district has pretty much required that everyone above a certain grade (I believe 2nd) write about what they think a hero is, what they remember from that day, or why it's important. I have a cousin who's at the age I was 10yrs ago. He barely understands why his mom & dad don't live together anymore, I can't imagine him understanding anything like this for a long time.

Hi,

I am removing the posts that are not appropriate in this thread into their own thread in the quarantine room.

If you must continue that discusion please do it there rather than in this thread. It is not appropriate.

**thread reopened**


dr del

I had just shown up to an American History class in high school, the TV was already on and the first plane had just hit. The entire school didn't teach that day, just watched the coverage on TV in every class.

9/11 was one of the main reasons I decided to join the Marine Corps while I was in high school.

Can we please keep this thread on topic and as it was meant to be - I really do not want to have to move it to the quarantine room.

Play nice or go play in the quarantine room.

THIS thread is for sharing your story and/or a tribute to the multitude of lives that were affected that day. This thread is NOT for discussing contrary opinions on the importance that this has played in the lives of MANY, nor for discussing any flavor of conspiracy...or any other inflammatory topic. If you have nothing to share that does not honor the memory of that day, then please at least respect the feelings of the people who DO care and who WERE deeply affected. If you simply can't control your ability to not speak on the topic, a thread has been opened in QT for you to spew to your heart's content (within the boundaries of our TOS). KEEP IT OUT OF THIS THREAD.

The next OFF TOPIC post made in this thread will be deleted and the member WILL receive infraction points. No zero point "reminders"...THIS Is your reminder.

I can't begin to describe how angry it makes me to have to stop what SHOULD be a comforting tribute to people who were genuinely hurt and scold adults who should know better.

Hopefully we can get back onto the right path.....

My two oldest kids were in elementary school. My youngest wasn't born yet. We lived in San Antonio at the time. I remember we were up as usual that morning, getting the kids ready for school. They usually watch cartoons while eating breakfast. They turned the TV on and started flipping through channels and I happened to glance up from making lunches to see a picture flash by of one of the WTC towers with massive flames billowing out of the top.

"STOP!" I said, and went to take the remote from the kids. I flipped back to the channel and just watched....stunned. They were talking about how a plane had just hit the tower...a big plane. The kids were a little put out by having their cartoons pre-empted by Mom...but when they looked at my face, they got very still. I remember that stillness....

And while we were watching that footage...the second plane slammed into the second building. It was the most horrifying thing I have ever seen....up 'til that moment.

I stayed glued to the TV and was watching live video when the first tower collapsed. That...and the second tower following it...was even more horrifying.

The Pentagon. The field in Pennsylvania. All of it. So unreal. To this day, I will cry. I can't watch the memorials. My memories are enough. I pray for the families who lost more than I can imagine, and the families of those still suffering to this day from the fall out as they worked so hard to find any life to save.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by zach_24_90

Thanks. I have added to it also I have a Virginia tech (my hometown) tribute on the Inside.

---

Very nice! I love work that means something.

Ir was my last year of college. I was laying on the couch waking up watching the Today Show. That was my morning ritual back then. I remember they got a report about a plane crashing in to one of the towers but weren't sure how big it was. Apparenly some thought it was a private plane. They continued to talk about other things for a couple of minutes then they started to get a report that it was a larger plane and that they had live footage coming in. The screen was on the tower with smoke coming out. Al Roker and Matt Lauer were talking about whether it was an accident or on purpose. Then right there, live, the second plane hit. Then one of them said that's on purpose. We're under attack. That got me up off the couch.

I remember the realization of what happened hitting me. This was just another bad news report. This was big! I was called the campus minister at the student center and asked him if he'd been watching the news. He hadn't so I told him to go to turn on the TV in the main area and that I'd be right up there. By the time I got there everyone was in the room in silence watching. I remember that we had at least 3 prayer sessions that day.

I remember it well, it was about 2 weeks after I had seperated from my now Ex wife so I was staying in my brothers guest room at the time. I work night so I normally did not get up till around noon. I was sleeping when my brother threw the door open and said you have to come see this. I actually remember being a little annoyed until I got in the living room and saw what was happening. I think it actually took a couple days for it to start to seem real to me. I don't think I will ever forget watching the footage and talking about the possibilities of "who would do a thing like that", but at the same time it feeling so surreal and detached from reality. I don't think the full scope of it truly hit me till much later when I started seeing interview with family and survivors and started putting human faces on this tragety.

Me and my brother were at home sleeping in enjoying our last week of freedom because our bootcamp date got pushed back to the following week, when my mom came in screaming and crying waking us up to show us the attacks on the TV. Needless to say she wasn't too excited about us joing the Marines after that happened.