Where were you on 9/11/2001?

[Senator Jack]

I was on the Grand Central Parkway by LaGuardia airport when a fellow driver starts honking at me, indicating that I should roll down my window. He then proceeds to ask me if I have the radio on. 'Another nut,' I think, but then he tells me about the plane crash, while we're both driving, and I'm thinking it must be something like a piper cub. The news report cleared that up for me.

I had an appointment to keep with a client, and when I got there, I was told that the first tower just fell and they're suspecting terrorist attack. So I get back in my car and head back to Queens where I live. By this time phone service is disrupted and I can't get through to my girlfriend, and as I head west it starts to finally sink in. Off there in the distance is the blackest cloud I had ever seen in my life - it was covering the entire south of Manhattan. When I finally pulled up to my girlfriend's door she ran out to me with relief because I have clients on Wall Street and she didn't know where I was that day.


I think the following days were more harrowing than the first because I live near the airport and the only planes we heard over the next few days were military jets. In the middle of the night I was waking up to the sound of their scrambling, thinking this is it, they've somehow got a dirty bomb into the city. By the time the weekend had come, my girlfriend had persuaded me to drive up to Vermont for a few days.

When I returned, I had to attend to a couple of those clients down on Wall Street, which is just a few blocks from ground zero. Electricity had come back up and they needed to get their systems back up and running. Even with all that had already happened, I wasn't prepared for what I was about to see. Soot and wreckage everywhere, and everyone with masks on their faces. Soldiers roaming about with machine guns, which is something I had never seen in the States before. Over the next few days, I packed up my apartment, thinking I had just about had it with New York. It's hard enough to live here, who needs the constant threat of terrorist attacks?

Well, obviously I stuck it out and I'm still here, though I don't think any of us doesn't wonder when the next attack will be. It seems inevitable, but I hope to God I'm wrong about that.

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[Phil]

I think you all might find my entry a little intriguing. I was in 6th grade at the time and it was my first period class, art class. We had begun working on drawing architecture on September 7th. Our assignment was to draw a famous building in any city of the world. I was feeling somewhat lazy and chose the World Trade Center of New York. It was simple I thought, two huge rectangles. Our teacher told us to get out our drawings and continue where we left off from the day before. Our teacher had always turned on the radio for us to listen to music while we drew so that the enviroment was better and more relaxing, it was first period after all. I can still remeber the first words that had come out of the raido. "...ade centers have been hit by a plane, we don't know who has done it or why. We repeat, the world trade centers have been hit by a plane." Everyone kind of gave me this weird look when that came over the radio. I shook it off and I was like, "Oh man, someone didin't like my drawing." I feel bad about saying that though. I was under the impression it was just a Cessna or somehting. All the radios said was "a plane" and that's it.
It was around noon that the entire school was called into the gym for an emergency assembly. Our principal got his microphone and in the most serious voice I've ever heard him, even when I was in trouble, he said ,"Students, as you may have heard, the World Trade Center in New York has been hit with an airplane. Because of our school protocol we now must send all of you home, the busses will be here by 12:30, go to your homerooms and await further instructions. Thank you, and God bless America."
On the bus ride home it was dead silent. Usually we'd be yelling to eachother or talking or something energetic. There was none of that, everyone was comepletley silent and besides our bus, there were no cars on the roads, there was no wind, there was nothing. It was like the entire world had stopped. The news had hit me hard, just, the loss of life. Seeing those people falling out of the buildings. It was just too much.
A few days later there was a mix between Enya's "Only Time" and some clips of the audio from radio broadcasts. Here's the song itself, it's really quite haunting.
http://outpost.excellcsi.com/hiddene/wtcmp3/Enya_-_Only_Time_(WTC).mp3

Today I had the honor of playing taps as our school raised the 9/11 flag to half mast. It was very sad and depresing yet strangely uplifting. It was uplifting because the attack that was supposed to break America, the attack that was supposed to cripple us has only made us stronger and more unified.

God bless America. :salute flag:

 

[MudInYerEye]

I was in my former apartment at 14th Street and 2nd Avenue, about a mile and a half from the World Trade Center. Bad day.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

I remember waking up with a bit of a start because, here in Renton, it was dead silent outside. I mean, not a sound. As I'm waking up and getting oriented, I think, "Snow?" Normally, I'd hear some traffic sounds on the roadway behind our tract. Ususally, the only time it's dead silent like that is due to snow deadening all the sounds. And a glance out the open bedroom window shows sunshine and the only thing on the ground some early fall leaves. I flipped on the TV and there it all was. As others mentioned, I thought at first it was a movie preview or something for a few seconds until realization kicked in. And as I'm watching, down comes the first tower. I called my partner (doing an opera in San Jose) and said, "Turn on the TV - terrorists just blew up the World Trade Center." "What station?" "Any station - just turn on the TV."

And I remember every night for ten days or two weeks, putting candles down the front walk like most of the neighbors. I just lit one and put it in the window.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

The one phrase that dominated that morning, anywhere and everywhere, in a hundred different tongues, was "Turn on the TV".


.

 

[carebear]

Today I had the honor of playing taps as our school raised the 9/11 flag to half mast. It was very sad and depresing yet strangely uplifting. It was uplifting because the attack that was supposed to break America, the attack that was supposed to cripple us has only made us stronger and more unified.

God bless America. :salute flag:

Good for you bugler. :eusa_clap

My similar childhood experience was when the (first) shuttle blew up on launch. Assembly in the gym and later TV in the classroom.

 

[Lincsong]

In the dark

The alarm went off at 5:50 a.m. Pacific time. I picked up the remote and said to myself; "let's see what's on television". The news was about the first plane that hit the World Trade Center. So I was watching it. There was the Tower burning. Then wham! The second plane struck.:rage:

 

[Mr_Misanthropy]

I was in Navy boot camp in Great Lakes, IL. It was my fifth week, what they call "service week" where recruits work at different places on base. I, like most recruits, was stationed in the galley. Doing dishes. We'd go in at 4 AM until 7 PM, central time. I heard a few stories floating about at around 9:30, but none of the staff members in the galley would say anything. We had no radios or TVs around. There were theories all around, I figured it was a drill, just part of training. Finally at about 4, before starting to fix dinner, they called us all together. We were told the basic details, and told that people with family in NYC could make phone calls later.

We went back to the barracks that night and no one really knew what to say. There were people in fatigues running aorund, it felt like a war zone all of a sudden. We were wondering if they'd cut off the rest of our training and ship us out, maybe we'd all get sent to be grunts somewhere. No one knew. I didn't see footage of the towers going down until September 28 when I graduated. It was weird seeing it after only hearing bits and pieces of what had happened for the last couple weeks.

I went on to my duty station in Groton, Ct. Security was very tight, we had more armed guards standing watch, and it was just all so surreal to me. I still feel sort of like I was under a rock during the whole thing. It was pretty scary, especially for an 18 year old kid fresh out of high school getting ready to go off and fight in a war that hadn't been there a month ago. A year and a half later my submarine fired missles at Baghdad.

 

[imoldfashioned]

I was living in Cambridge MA in 2001. The law firm I was working for had just folded after 120 some years so I was at home. I was talking on the phone to a friend of mine who worked at a college and one of her student workers ran in asking if there was a tv anywhere because a plane had hit the WTC in NYC so she had to end our conversation.

Out of curiousity I turned on the television, thinking some private pilot had made a mistake or had an equipment malfunction. Along with most of the rest of the country I was watching when the second plane hit. I was just stunned and I couldn't turn the set off.

A few hours later the phone was ringing off the hook; my mother in MN calling to be sure Boston wasn't under attack, other people checking in, a friend of mine who was stranded in England where she had been visiting. Then the friend I had been speaking with that morning called back to say that Fred Rimmele, a dear friend of hers and a distant acquaintance of mine had been on his way to a medical conference and had been traveling on the second plane that hit the WTC. It just added to the surreal quality of the day to think that I had unknowingly witnessed the death of someone I knew. He was a great guy with a wonderful marriage, exactly my age--such an awful waste. In fact, that might be a good thesis for the whole experience of 9/11--such an awful waste.

That evening I remember thinking how quiet the world was, with all the flights suspended. Since I wasn't working at the time I just watched coverage all day, even though it all made me cry. Especially those thousands of posters for the missing that you knew in your heart were the dead. I started my new job later in Sept. and started every day for months reading the "Portraits of Grief" section in the NYT. I thought that series and the Tribute in Light have been the best memorials thus far. It still seems wrong to me to go to work on 9/11--it doesn't seem like it's been five years already.

 

[up196]

Just finished breakfast . . .

I had just finished breakfast at The Kettle Grill in Alexandria, Louisiana. All of our Louisiana Agents had driven in for our 3rd quarter firearms qualifications. We ate at the Kettle and as we were leaving, one of the guys, known for his practical jokes, gets on the radio and says a plane hit the WTC. Everyone at first thought he was kidding; then we all tuned to the news station and listened on our way to the range. Qualification was quick and to the point, there was a brief discussion of what our actions would be should further attacks occur, followed by the shortest drive my partner and I have ever made from Alexc to our station in New Orleans.

 

[Strider]

I was there.

 

[ArrowCollarMan]

I remember it pretty well. It was (I think) the second week of 6th Grade for me. Normal morning getting ready for school and all. My mom was driving on her way to work and she had heard over the radio, "New York and Washington D.C. have been attack by aircraft..." She said she thought they were bombers or something but she had no idea so she called to get a visual. My dad picked up the phone and told me to turn on the news. I turned to channel 5 and there was a burning building (the Pentagon form a weird angle) thinking nothing of it I changed it aroud a bit and my dad told me to change it back. One of the first things said was describing that New York and the Capital were attacked by terrorists ramming hijacked commercial airliners into the buildings. It stayed in D.C. for a while then back to New York where one trade center was standing, on fire. The news started to explain how the other one collapsed before it. Shortly after the second one fell. My Dad commented that it fell like an acordian.

For most of that morning I thought the Pentagon, the Capitol Building and the Trade Centers were hit. I found out it was only the Pentagon and the Trade Centers when I went to school. Everyone was talking about it. I remember one group of girls crying. None of the teaches were allowed to mention it and the administration kinda pretended it didn't happen. All day it was everyone being paranoid about more attacks.

I went to soccer practice that day. I'd always fool around and make comments about planes going by and the sort. I said, "Wow, there arn't any planes in the sky". It was trippy, not even private planes form the airfeild nearby.

As the days and weeks wore on there was a MASSIVE surge of patriotism. I remember being really angry about the attacks, wanting the military to put down the people responsible (and speaking of that I remember hearing early speculation that Saddam Hussein was behind them). I felt wronged by those attacks. It was also that which really made me aware of politics and what was going on globally. The whole world was behind us after those attacks. Its a shame because we went into Iraq in a hurry and lost all that support. Now the majority of the world is really, really pissed at our policies. THANK YOU, BUSH ADMINISTRATION!

After the initial attacks I saw American flags everywhere. One on a car, two, sometimes 4. Big American flags on boats and houses, in shop windows, on company logos (like Stater Bros.) oh my god it was awful! there were tattered American flags on the cars, in the street, in the gutter everywhere. I got so sick of seeing red, white and blue. I don't think I'll ever forget how it was the 4th of July for 3 years.

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

I was there.

You were there. You were at the World Trade Center?

 

[MrBern]

Actually, yesterday for 9/11/06 I was called down to jury duty at City HAll not far from ground zero. It was a littl heavy seeing all the cops & firemen in dress uniforms heading to the ceremonies.
It was along day, but later inthe evenign I returned to GroundZero to check out the memorial twin lights that beamed thru the nite. It was moving to see so many people there at 2am.

5 years ago I was in my apt near the 59th St Bridge. Listening to HowardStern & had the TV on the news w/sound off.
It was surreal. From the footage we were watching, never saw teh 2nd tower get hit. Just saw the explosion. Took a few minutes to confirm what happened.
I was workign for a newspaper & tried to get down there for soem shots. But the subways shuit down as I got to TimesSquare. I saw people in the street crying.
I ws on a bus & heard the Pentagon was hit. I didnt beleive it.
When I got to a spot where I shoudlve been able to see the towers , there was jsut 2 clouds of smoke. I couldnt beleive it & turned back to TimesSquare.
It wa s along day at the paper & photogs who made it to GroudnZero told us how they thought they were gonna die....
A couple days later at a bar we met 2 guys from California. They had IDs for a biz firm at the WTC dated 9/11. It was their first day of work. Taking a smoke before entering the lengthy elevator rides had saved their lives. They were at the foot of the towers for the collisions.

A few years before 9/11 I had taken a pic of an explosion near my apt. Front page news & I had the shots. One of the senior photogs commended me & then advised to never do it again. He told me how his aunt & uncle had died of asbestosis from working at the Brooklyn Navy yard during WWII. "RESPECT asbestos, young man"
And thats the main reason I never went to GroundZero after 9/11.
And today, I'm ok, but I've met guys who are practically invalids from breathing in that tainted air....

 

[Air Boss]

AT work

I was at work, Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey which is about 35 miles from NYC. I still find it hard to believe the Towers are gone and find myself looking for them when I fly in/out of Newark Airport. I can remember watching planes on final approach below the observation level.

 

[Strider]

You were there. You were at the World Trade Center?

5 blocks away, yes. My then-girlfriend fell in the ensuing chaos and sprained her ankle. I had to pick her up (no small feat, she was almost 200 pounds) and run with her because she couldn't walk.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Glad that you both made it! Are you up for telling us more?

.

 

[The Reno Kid]

I was in Wuerzburg, Germany at the headquarters of the Army's 1st Infantry Division. On the morning of September 12, the (now locked) front gate at the base was piled high with flowers that had been put there by local German residents out of sympathy. It still chokes me up as I'm typing this.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Thanks to satellite TV and the Internet, it was a tragedy shared globally and in real time. People all over the world remember where they were that day. I don't think that had happened since the 1969 moon landing.

.

 

[Jack Scorpion]

In front of a television, before walking to High School. Later, in college, I had to rewatch the entire Live Coverage on three networks for class.

The first time, I felt no sympathy -- rather, I had a feeling of glee as I watched the second plane go in. I still can't rightfully explain that. The second time, however, 2 years later, it was terrifying and saddening.