Where were you

[BeachGurl2]

I was home with my girls, getting them ready for school and me ready for work, when my then-husband called and told the girls to turn the TV on. My oldest came screaming into the bathroom that we were being bombed. Like everyone else, I tore out of there to just stare in amazement at the TV. Watched the second plane hit, saw the towers fall. We were in podunk Arizona at the time, near New Mexico just off the Indian Reservation, so I figured we were pretty safe for the moment. But my best friend was at work in the Chrysler Building over Grand Central for Fox. Grabbed the phone and started dialing. Of course, there was no cell service, her office was on perpetual automated answering service, and I knew she wouldn't be home yet. I left her a voicemail at home and sent her an email just to let me know she was okay. I was teaching high school at the time. We didn't have a TV in the classroom, but we did have radio, so we listened most of the day and talked about what was happening. I don't think we got any other school work done that day.

She called later in the afternoon to tell me she was safe and then told me her story, which to this day still gives me chills. She had been in a sales meeting when the first plane hit and her boss came in to tell them about it. When the second plane hit, her boss came in, sent everyone home and told them not to come back until they were called. She grabbed a few personal items from her office and took the elevator down. She hailed a cab and got one right away. When she asked him to take her to the train station, he told her they were already closed. She asked how much to get her to her car at the train station in Amityville on Long Island. She didn't have enough cash but he agreed to stop at an ATM. As the cab came out of the tunnel leaving Manhattan, she turned around to look out the back window and watched as the towers fell. She said it was the most surreal moment of her life.

My cousin's husband was in NY on business and had a meeting scheduled in the Twin Towers later that day. Thank God he wasn't there yet. He and his boss ended up renting a car with 2 other people and drove from NY to LA, dropping the other 2 people off along the way. Took them 4 days to get home.

I won't get into the political BS that always seems to come from discussions of what happened and our reaction to it. As someone who has traveled extensively outside our country, I'm always amazed by how we (Americans) always seem to have this sense of being invinsible. (I'm generalizing here, so no flames, please. I don't feel that way and I'm sure a lot of the people here don't, but there are many more of us who do.) It still galls me when security goes up and people bitch about how it affects their daily lives. There are many things in the Patriot Act I didn't personally agree with because they removed some of our personal freedoms - I feel that we still need to be aware of the basis of what our country was founded on: Freedom. But at the same time, when those security measures go into effect - like the most recent one at the airports - it's for OUR protection. And it pisses me off every time I hear someone bitch about what it costs them in time to deal with the increased measures. I'd much rather take an extra hour at the airport than end up in a plane that doesn't make it because we weren't careful enough.

Off my soapbox now. You may continue the discussion.

 

[@}-}rebecca----]

I had just spent 6 hours in Casualty at my local Hospital waiting for Xray results and treatment as I had fractured my arm/wrist with my son it tow. That and ongoing disagreement with the Dr because I refused to have surgery on the fracture because I had a dependent child and no alternate care for him. In the end they had put a cast running down one side of my arm and bandaged it as it was too swollen for a more permanent cast. Finally drove my son and myself home with one hand ( watch those corners and thank god for power steering / had a stranger do my seat belt up for me ).

I was fairly buzzed by the whole experience and flicked on cable TV and was watching a movie on Fox as a kind of wind down even though it was extremely late when those news strips started running at the bottom of the screen. I flicked over to the news channel where it was reported a bomb had exploded. I sat there kind of dumb found. It had been a surreal day already even by my standards. It was too late at night to phone anyone and the reason I had no viable alternate care for my son ( IE my father )was sitting on a plane with my step mom on route to L.A. I barely took my eyes off the TV screen. Then I saw the second plane and that was the limit. Ever have those moments in life where everything you thought you knew and believed in melted into an contrary to any known reality abyss. It felt like that and yet I was so far away.

The phone rings its my stepmother's PA freaking out. She has been on the phone to Qantas telling them to turn the plane around and bring it back to Australia. Her heart was in the right place but I was like 'omfg ummn I don't think Qantas is going to take direction from us somehow'. As you all are aware one tragedy after another unfolded. As the news was live here from US sources its likely I watched the same footage as anyone else here reading this. So its pointless re describing how it just seemed endless and how difficult it was to tear yourself away from.

Thankfully the Parental Units plane was diverted to Hawaii and they were completely safe. They ended up staying at one of my favorite Hotels at Kahala and almost seemed oblivious to what had happened when we spoke. Perhaps they were still in shock I guess I will never know.

I don't remember crying, I don't remember being angry . I don't remember being sad all I remember is a blurr of heaviness and disbelief. One memory I do have and it obviously made a huge impression was the truck drivers in queue who came from everywhere to cart away debris from the site. I just wanted one extra story , you know the one where they pull some soul from the debris who survives the madness that took place. Please just one more soul.

 

[Netzach]

I won't get into the political BS that always seems to come from discussions of what happened and our reaction to it. As someone who has traveled extensively outside our country, I'm always amazed by how we (Americans) always seem to have this sense of being invinsible. (I'm generalizing here, so no flames, please. I don't feel that way and I'm sure a lot of the people here don't, but there are many more of us who do.) It still galls me when security goes up and people bitch about how it affects their daily lives. There are many things in the Patriot Act I didn't personally agree with because they removed some of our personal freedoms - I feel that we still need to be aware of the basis of what our country was founded on: Freedom. But at the same time, when those security measures go into effect - like the most recent one at the airports - it's for OUR protection. And it pisses me off every time I hear someone bitch about what it costs them in time to deal with the increased measures. I'd much rather take an extra hour at the airport than end up in a plane that doesn't make it because we weren't careful enough.

I totally agree with ALL of the above. We will never be safer unless we permanently change the way we air travel. El Al has a clue. We bitch when they take away our ipods and last minute starbucks cups, it's so stupid.

 

[RJMasters]

I was preparing for work and watching the news when they broke away to report about a terrible accident...It was an incredible tragedy...I was glued trying to learn more information when I saw the second plane hit...

At first I couldn't think of anything...then it dawned on me that this was no accident. I knew exactly what this meant. I couldn't describe the chill I had running through me even if I tired. America was under attacked and we were at war.

No one left the house that day. It was probably one of the few times my daughters ever seen me cry as we watched people leap to their deaths to avoid the flames.

Reports of the pentagon being hit and camp david narrowing escaping another plane attack. We watched and prayed and waited to hear from the president what was happening to our nation.

 

[O'Mac]

I remember quite clearly going into work and getting started on my accounts. I was a sales representative for a gaming company in Edinburgh, Scotland and talked to American clients on a daily basis and was pretty much getting ready for the same boring day at work that had become routine. I remember after a few hours of paper-shuffling and calling prospective customers on the phone our Sales Manager saying across the room that someone had flew a plane into one of the World Trade Center towers. I laughed out loud. After all, how could a guy crash into one of the largest buildings in the world? I has just assumed it was a light single engine plane like a Cessna or whatever piloted by some drunk American.

We all went back to work and didn't think much of it until my boss called out again. Another plane it the tower.

What the? That doesn't make sense. I had to ask again. We checked online and sure enough, two planes had crashed into the towers. It certainly wasn't anything to joke about, but we went on with our work.

A few minutes later my boss made the announcement. He said that from what they know people had highjacked planes in the US and flew them deliberately into the World Trade Center and that all air traffic was being grounded.

Everyone in the room didn't say a word. Until he spoke again.

"One of the towers is came down".

By now I was in full panic mode. I started calling clients and trying to get a handle on what was going on. No luck. The lines to the states were all engaged. I called over to a friend in Oshawa (Ontario) and asked him what was going on. He told me about the planes, the Pentagon, and everything else he could. I spent minutes relaying his message out to the rest of the room. I was totally numb. It was too much for me to handle. The minute my break came up I was out the door and ran down the street to the nearby chip shop were they always kept the tv on. I watched CNN play the video clips of the 2nd plane strike and the collapse of the buildings over and over. I felt like I had a brick in my stomach. It was gut-wrenching to watch.

When I got back, all the sales reps for North American had the day off. there was no use in trying to call anyone in the states, so we went home early. I took a bus back to my flat, went out with my roommate to the local pub to watch more news. That night I cried myself to sleep.

It was a terrible, terrible day. And I know there have been worse tragedies elsewhere but for me it was the one that affected me the most. The day I had the worst memory of my life, but strangely the next day I had the best. It was after calling a shop owner in Texas and asking him how he was doing. He said that I didn't have a Scottish accent and I told him that I was Canadian.

He said something along the lines of "Hey, we all really appreciate what you guys have done for us. Letting us land at your airports and giving some of us a place to stay".

I remember what I said, too. "Hey, you would have done the same for us".

And we're both right.


I also wanted to second Geoff's quote:

Today I am sad. The rage flared hotter than I would have ever thought, but it burned only briefly. I realize that the vast majority of the people of the Middle East want pretty much the same things _I_ do... a roof over the head, food in the belly, clothes on our backs, a decent job, a future for our children, a safe place for our families... We have a lot in common, if only we look for it.

I had the exact same feelings afterwards. Even used the same analogies. We're really not all that different. We just want to live our lives and look out for our children. Most of us just want to go to work and have a home and family to come back to. I totally agree with you, good sir.

 

[naughtybkynfun2]

I had spent the previous night (and early morning) out drinking in Brooklyn. I had crashed at my mom's apartment about an hour or so before the first plane hit. She woke me up to tell me, and I rolled over and went back to sleep. When she told me the second plane had hit, I realized I wasn't dreaming, and jumped out of bed. We watched CBS news in silence well into the afternoon, as she doesn't have cable, and that was the only station whose antenna wasn't destroyed. At around four or so that afternoon, I gravitated to my local bar. A bunch of my friends were there watching the news. We drank, worrying about various friends and relatives working or living downtown.

As a kid, my friends and I had watched the towers being built. Later, we watched King Kong being filmed there. I even walked through them every day on my way to work for a few years. I felt sad, worried, angry, and as the days wore on, pride. I was never more proud to be a New Yorker than when I saw how my city pulled together. Impromptu collection areas were set up on sidewalks, piled high with food, clothes, and supplies.

I remember a candlelight march to our local firehouse, singing "This Land is Your Land". Yesterday, SNY showed the Mets-Braves game form September 21st, the first game back. I watched it that night and was so moved by the bagpipers before the game, watching two teams that hated each other hugging on the field, Liza Minnelli singing "New York, New York" with a kickline of firemen and policemen behind her during the seventh inning stretch. And then the Mike Piazza two run home run in the 8th that put the Mets up 3-2, the place erupted into a cheer like I have never seen.

A few years later I won a cruise on the QE2. The last morning, we sailed under the Verazzano bridge at sunrise. Seeing my beloved Brooklyn as the sun rose was such a beautiful image that I wept. As we entered Manhattan, it still (then, and to this day) takes a moment to adjust to the fact that the towers aren't there.

Seems, I rambled on a bit. I'll stop now, thank you for letting me share.

 

[Etoile]

On Sept 9th, Daddy tried to get me to stay over with em a couple of extra days. I'm so glad I didn't, because travel into and out of NYC was stopped for several days and I would have been trapped there.

On Sept 11th, I don't remember how I initially heard. I think maybe my boss's wife called the office. We worked in the basement with no TV or radio, and all the news sites were jammed so I couldn't get to CNN.com or anywhere else. I ended up in a chat room with friends, trying to hear from them what was going on.

One of my friends said the Pentagon had been hit, too. I told him "that's not funny, don't even say that." He had to tell me it was true.

I worked about four blocks from the White House at the time. Our building, and others in the area, went into lockdown mode. I desperately wanted to go home, but I couldn't leave the building; even if I could have, the metro was shut down too.

My wife was on travel in Ohio and I felt disconnected from her even though she managed to get through on the phones once. She ended up driving 10 hours straight to get home because there were no flights allowed.

I was working as a teleconference operator at the time. The phone lines were jammed and all conferences were effectively canceled. One woman managed to make it through, though. When I saw her on the system, I put on my headset and asked why she was there. She said she was waiting for a conference, and I explained that she should go turn on her TV.

I finally got to leave work about 4:30, an hour earlier than normal. I sat on the bed and watched the footage I'd been unable to see from work. It was horrifying. What really annoyed me was that the next day, my three co-workers were back to normal. I was sick to my stomach for several days but they went about their merry ways.

I miss the twin towers. Every time I go to New York, I notice their absence. Every time I watch an old movie they're depicted in - even as a skyline shot - I notice them.

 

[graceanne]

I miss the twin towers. Every time I go to New York, I notice their absence. Every time I watch an old movie they're depicted in - even as a skyline shot - I notice them.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I was watching Independance Day the other day and noticed that the towers were in that movie. I laughed bitterly. Little did they know that in truth they were going to be destroyed a short five or so years after that movie.

 

[DVS]

...I miss the twin towers. Every time I go to New York, I notice their absence. Every time I watch an old movie they're depicted in - even as a skyline shot - I notice them.

Me, too. In fact, TV shows that used the towers in their opening credits changed, after 9-11. "NYPD Blue" for one, had trouble dealing with the question of what they should do. Understandably, they didn't want their show to be making people remember.

I lived with one of my sisters for a year, back in the 70s. Yes, I know...it was difficult...trust me. It was almost like living back home. Anyway, we would always watch "Barney Miller" reruns. I loved that show. There was a thing we'd always do, when we heard the opening music.

It goes back to another movie we were watching, that used the New York skyline for a scene. I just happened to mention that the city in the background was New York. She asked how I knew. Pointing to the towers, I said "see those two buildings? Those are the world trade center towers."

The "Barney Miller" show had that great night time skyline of New York in their opening credits. You can see the Brooklyn Bridge, and then the camera pans Manhattan. The towers were very much part of that skyline. For a joke, when the show started, I would always mention it, recounting that conversation we'd had previously saying "see those two buildings?" It was just something that we said after that, when we heard the opening theme song. Strange how siblings are.

Every movie I see, I watch for the towers. Oh, I always did before, but now it has a different meaning. It's a sad time stamp, for myself, I guess.

 

[AngelofDarkLust]

I was pulling into the Pomona Courthouse Parking when the parking security gaurd came running yelling for everyone to go home, the Government "was closed" and all the sheriff's balifis started pouring out of the building just pushing people ahead of them like a riot scene. I'd been listening to CD's on my way in so I hadn't heard the news. I drove back to the city, got my kids and we spent the day in bed watching BBC America.

 

[babiesmiles]

It was early afternoon here and I was at work , I rember perfectly whom I was talking on the phone with and about what , when a collegue entered in my room telling me something terrible happened in NY , we all left our rooms and run where there was a TV to watch the news , then the news went worse and worse.

I remember the consternation, the shock , the incredulity, the rage for what was happening , the deep feeling of sadness for the deads, for their families and the whole US besides the worry for our collegues who were working there in NY and we were not able to stay in touch.
It was an awful day of horror , sadness and grief.

Words are inadedequate to express properly how the events affected us as well even if so far away. It may seem banal but that day we really felt all americans .

And the same sadness comes back every 11 sept , so since the first anniverary in that day I like to plant some flowers or a little plant like a minimum symbol of life to honour the memory of all the people who died.

 

[JMohegan]

I remember the consternation, the shock , the incredulity, the rage for what was happening , the deep feeling of sadness for the deads, for their families and the whole US besides the worry for our collegues who were working there in NY and we were not able to stay in touch.
It was an awful day of horror , sadness and grief.

Words are inadedequate to express properly how the events affected us as well even if so far away. It may seem banal but that day we really felt all americans .

I do not find your comment banal, babiesmiles. That was a heartfelt and beautiful post.

I would write something in response, but the excerpt below gives the message that I would want to convey, and is more cogent than I could ever be.

From Solidarity, by Christopher Hitchens of The Wall Street Journal:

"But here I am, writing that it was 'the United States' that was assaulted. And there was the president, and most of the media, speaking about 'an attack on America.' True as this was and is, it is not quite the truth. I deliberately declined, for example, an invitation to attend a memorial for the many hundreds of my fellow-Englishmen who had perished in the inferno. I could have done the same if I was Armenian or Zanzibari--more than 80 nationalities could count their dead on that day. It would have been far better if President Bush had characterized the atrocity as an attack on civilization itself, and it would be preferable if we observed the anniversary in the same spirit.

In the past five years, I have either registered or witnessed or protested at or simply 'observed' the following:

(1) The reopening of a restaurant in Bali, where several dozen Australian holidaymakers and many Indonesian civilians had earlier been torn to shreds.

(2) The explosion of a bomb at a Tube station in London which is regularly used by two of my children.

(3) The murder of a senior Shiite cleric outside his place of worship in Iraq.

(4) The attempt to destroy the Danish economy--and to torch Danish embassies and civilians--as a consequence of the publication of a few caricatures in the Danish press.

(5) The murder of the U.N. envoy to Baghdad: a heroic Brazilian named Sergio Vieira de Mello, as vengeance (according to his murderers) for his role in shepherding East Timor to independence.

(6) The near-successful attempt to blow up the Indian parliament in New Delhi, and two successful attempts to disrupt the commerce and society of Mumbai.

(7) The destruction of the Golden Dome in Samara: a place of aesthetic as well as devotional importance.

(8) The bombing of ancient synagogues in Tunisia, Turkey and Morocco.

(9) The evisceration in the street of a Dutch filmmaker, Theo van Gogh, and the lethal threats that drove his Somali-born colleague, a duly elected member of the Dutch parliament, into hiding and then exile.

(10) The ritual slaughter on video of a Jewish reporter for this newspaper.

This list is not exhaustive or in any special order, and it does not include any of the depredations undertaken by the votaries of the Iranian version of Islamic fundamentalism. I shall just say that I have stood, alone or in company, with Hindus, Jews, Shiites and secularists (my own non-sectarian group) in the face of a cult of death that worships suicide and exalts murder and desecration.

This has not dimmed, for me, the importance of what happened in New York and Washington and Pennsylvania. But it has made me slightly bored with those who continue to wonder, fruitlessly so far, in what fashion 'we' should commemorate it."

 

[babiesmiles]

Thank You JMohegan

 

[Aeroil]

Ah, yes, Ten seconds, and two engineering marvels are gone, tallest buildings in the world, upon construction, felled by a fire.

Galileo would have said 9.2, but he doesn't count.


....wait....