Where were you?

[bernie]

Not sure if this topic has been brought up. I haven't seen it. Repost from another group.

[ QUOTE ]
I was reading a newspaper article that brought up an interesting point. 9/11 was our generations JFK assassination. If you ask your parents they probably still know where they were and what they were doing and where they were when they found out that he had been shot. So I ask you where were you and what were you doing when you heard about the first plane hitting the tower?

[/ QUOTE ]

I was listening to Stern while waking up and heard his crew freaking out. Then I turned on the news. Even though it was tape delayed, it felt like it was live. I remember delivering that day and not seeing a plane in the sky. Which is very odd where I live. I remember driving on the freeway past some military bases and seeing the gaurds with machine guns at every exit. I've never been to NY so, in a way, it was very surreal to me. Kind of like a typical east coasters' view on the San Francisco earthquake.

b

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
Not sure if this topic has been brought up. I haven't seen it. Repost from another group.

[ QUOTE ]
I was reading a newspaper article that brought up an interesting point. 9/11 was our generations JFK assassination. If you ask your parents they probably still know where they were and what they were doing and where they were when they found out that he had been shot. So I ask you where were you and what were you doing when you heard about the first plane hitting the tower?

[/ QUOTE ]

I was listening to Stern while waking up and heard his crew freaking out. Then I turned on the news. Even though it was tape delayed, it felt like it was live. I remember delivering that day and not seeing a plane in the sky. Which is very odd where I live. I remember driving on the freeway past some military bases and seeing the gaurds with machine guns at every exit. I've never been to NY so, in a way, it was very surreal to me. Kind of like a typical east coasters' view on the San Francisco earthquake.

b

[/ QUOTE ]

I was at work. Watching CNBC. And saw the 2nd one hit live.

[asofel]

[ QUOTE ]
Not sure if this topic has been brought up. I haven't seen it. Repost from another group.

[ QUOTE ]
I was reading a newspaper article that brought up an interesting point. 9/11 was our generations JFK assassination. If you ask your parents they probably still know where they were and what they were doing and where they were when they found out that he had been shot. So I ask you where were you and what were you doing when you heard about the first plane hitting the tower?

[/ QUOTE ]

I was listening to Stern while waking up and heard his crew freaking out. Then I turned on the news. Even though it was tape delayed, it felt like it was live. I remember delivering that day and not seeing a plane in the sky. Which is very odd where I live. I remember driving on the freeway past some military bases and seeing the gaurds with machine guns at every exit. I've never been to NY so, in a way, it was very surreal to me. Kind of like a typical east coasters' view on the San Francisco earthquake.

b

[/ QUOTE ]

I had pulled an all nighter coding the backend of my current employers main website. 8 hours or so of staring at the screen, knowing we went live the next day, and worrying I wouldn't make it. My roomates woke up and were watching tv when i heard them start with the 'holy [censored]' comments. I walked out to the living room and was hoping it was just some [censored] up dream...

Add to the fact that I was at Georgetown then, and you could climb to the rooftop apartments, look out, and see the pentagon burning. Complete this with the additional fact that some faculty were on board, and kids around campus who had family on board were just bawling....yeah, not fun...

[Dead]

I was jerking it in the shower, and getting ready to go to school for 2nd period.

[Voltron87]

[ QUOTE ]
I was jerking it in the shower, and getting ready to go to school for 2nd period.

[/ QUOTE ]

lol

I was pahking tha cah in the habah.

[IndieMatty]

a few blocks away, walking out of the subway. /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[Peca277]

Just got out of my International Politics class and was ready to go back to sleep when I turned on CNN. I was at a SUNY school so it was very lucky that none of my residents lost anybody close.

[Soul Daddy]

I was at home sleeping. The phone just kept ringing and I ignored it for a while. Then I realized that something must be wrong, because no one I know would even think to call me before noon.

[GoodAnarchist]

i was skateboarding and grinding the rails on top of the world trade center.

[Dead]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I was jerking it in the shower, and getting ready to go to school for 2nd period.

[/ QUOTE ]

lol

I was pahking tha cah in the habah.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's unacceptable. And you should know that I have that line trademarked.

[MoreWineII]

[ QUOTE ]


I was listening to Stern while waking up and heard his crew freaking out. Then I turned on the news. Even though it was tape delayed, it felt like it was live. I remember delivering that day and not seeing a plane in the sky. Which is very odd where I live. I remember driving on the freeway past some military bases and seeing the gaurds with machine guns at every exit. I've never been to NY so, in a way, it was very surreal to me. Kind of like a typical east coasters' view on the San Francisco earthquake.

b

[/ QUOTE ]

Heh, listening to Stern here too. Yeah, that was wild.

[Voltron87]

only a jew...






just kidding. I'm effectively giving props to you when I use it.

[edtost]

i was at school in the suburbs, about 1/2 an hour north of the city. i walked into ap chem and my teacher was sitting there crying listening to the radio. 5 minutes later, 1/2 the class was on their cell phones trying to see if their parents/uncles/friends were ok, but almost no one was able to get through to anyone, because all the phone networks were so overloaded.

by the end of the period, we acquired a TV, in time to see the second one fall.

i have no memory of the rest of that day, oddly enough.

[thatpfunk]

Sleeping. Got a phone call from my Mom crying and telling me to turn on the news.

I thought Bob Dylan had been killed or something.

I ran out to my dorms common area and turned on the tv /images/graemlins/frown.gif. No one was up yet and everyone who walked by to class started stopping until it was just a bunch of us in shock.

[turnipmonster]

standing on the end of my block in brooklyn staring at the two buildings. I saw the hole in one of them, before the 2nd plane had hit. then I did something that I will never really understand. I got on the subway and went into the city. I still have no idea why I did this, but that's what I did.

--turnipmonster

[Dead]

Okay.

By the way, I agreed with you about M-Ramirez and what a punk he is, along with the rest of the Dominican thugs contingent on that team.

But Oswalt is still a little bitch, just like Clemens.

[hoopsie44]

I was on a bus going to Atlantic City when the planes hit. I could see the black smoke and flames very clearly as we were crossing the Verrazano Bridge. The bus driver asked the passengers if we wanted to continue and of course the consensus was a resounding "yes". We got down to AC and spent the day playing poker and it was very bizarre. We started back to NYC at 6pm and we got back to Queens at 3:30 the next morning. Took us nine hrs for a 3 hr trip because all the tunnels and bridges into NY were basically still "locked down". Our bus was thoroughly searched and all passengers had to show ID. A day I'll never forget.

[RunDownHouse]

Asleep. My roommate woke me between the first and second hits, and I was ready to kill him for waking me up. Until I heard his voice when he said, "Dude, I think you should see this."

I'll definitely never forget it.

[partygirluk]

Was at home. Brother came down (was watching TV in his room) and mentioned that a plane had flown into WTC. I thought, wtf, that is sad and people will die but it is just some pilot or technical area. Saw the second plane fly in live. Watched TV non stop for the next 14 hours. Incredibly dramatic and exciting event.

[SomethingClever]

I was living in Pasadena, CA. Sleeping.

Got a phone call from a girl I worked with at about 6:45 am.

She was in hysterics... talking about a plane running into the tower... I was picturing a little Wright Brothers type plane at first and didn't understand what the big deal was.

Also, I underestimated how many people worked in the towers and how big the destruction was. I was like, "There are probably only a couple hundred people per floor, right?"

Yeesh.

[Emmitt2222]

[ QUOTE ]
i was at school in the suburbs, about 1/2 an hour north of the city. i walked into english and my teacher was sitting there crying watching the TV. 5 minutes later, 1/2 the class was on their cell phones trying to see if their parents/uncles/friends were ok, but almost no one was able to get through to anyone, because all the phone networks were so overloaded.

watched the second one fall.


[/ QUOTE ]

Very similar experience

[pshreck]

[ QUOTE ]
I was picturing a little Wright Brothers type plane at first and didn't understand what the big deal was.


[/ QUOTE ]

wow

[meep_42]

Work, a friend called and said a plane went into the tower. I was like, "Yeah, damn cessna or something."

Yeah, so I was wrong. No one got any work done that day, and it was fun hearing the fighters overhead for the rest of the day.

-d

[IndieMatty]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I was picturing a little Wright Brothers type plane at first and didn't understand what the big deal was.


[/ QUOTE ]

Actually, I thought the same thing and was there. I actually went to my office which was closer to the WTC.

wow

[/ QUOTE ]

[bernie]

Yknow. Another thing I remember was playing poker online that night. Playing with people from other countries. It was pretty cool how many on there showed their concern for the US. I don't think I've ever seen the chat windows with that much empathy before. It kind of gave you a little more real perspective on just how far it reached.

b

[Arnfinn Madsen]

I sat in the office preparing presentation of a large offer I was going to present the next day. Was aware at the time that Bush had undermined moderate moslem's power in the Middle East so I had expected terror to increase but not anything like this, so I was shocked.

[nolanfan34]

Here's how messed up the morale is in local TV news.

I got out of the shower that morning, watched the second plane hit the tower live on the Today Show. At the time, I was thinking about how busy the day was going to be because of this story.

At work though, people realized the silver lining was that we'd be carrying network news all day, so we wouldn't have to do a local newscast. We're all going to hell, no question.

[B Dids]

I don't watch the news or anything in the morning. I got up, drove to work listening to a CD. Sat down and my best friend came up to me (this was around 10:30 Eastern, 7:30 Pacifc) and said "So, terrorism, bad huh" and I'm like "huh, what". Then he explains...

[PoBoy321]

I was sitting in my 2nd period religion class, 3rd row from the right, 2nd seat from the back. Class had just started when an announcement came over the loudspeaker. Our principal told us that a plane had crashed into the WTC and anyone who had friends or family there could leave class to try to get in touch with them, but that everyone else should stay in class and try to go about things as a normal day. At that point, my teacher ended class and ran out of the room. We found out later that his wife worked in the WTC and was killed that day.

[pshreck]

[ QUOTE ]
We're all going to hell, no question.

[/ QUOTE ]

I had joy in the fact that all my classes were canceled that day. I wasn't proud of it, but that's the truth.

[Russ McGinley]

I was asleep. My buddy was crashing on the couch. I sleep with the radio on and I woke up sometime around 11:30 and I knew something was wrong. I guess I "heard" the report over the radio while I was asleep. I immediately jumped out of bed and ran into the living room where my buddy had just been woken up by his parents (they are from New York). I turned on the TV and we watched for several hours as his parents frantically called relatives in New York to make sure no family members were there, which they weren't.

[Emmitt2222]

Don't know where you guys are from, but Im guessing not near NY? I find it really obvious who is from around the area and who isn't when the topic is discussed because people from farther away are much more detached and don't seem to understand it on the same level as those who were closer. Just an observation.

[pshreck]

About 90 miles from NY. Knew tons of people from NY, I think you are maybe generalizing a bit.

[PoBoy321]

[ QUOTE ]
About 90 miles from NY. Knew tons of people from NY, I think you are maybe generalizing a bit.

[/ QUOTE ]

Saying that you're 90 miles from NY is very different than saying that you're 90 miles from, say, Kansas City.

[pshreck]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
About 90 miles from NY. Knew tons of people from NY, I think you are maybe generalizing a bit.

[/ QUOTE ]

Saying that you're 90 miles from NY is very different than saying that you're 90 miles from, say, Kansas City.

[/ QUOTE ]

OK, then 95%+ of the nation is not 'close' to NY. I consider myself close.

[IndieMatty]

[ QUOTE ]
About 90 miles from NY. Knew tons of people from NY, I think you are maybe generalizing a bit.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd say it's a decent generalization, my friends all live in Long Island, which is even closer (you could smell ground zero from there for a few days after). None of them have any reference to what it was like. Again it go's back to that thread a few weeks back, about New York and New Yorkers, you truly have to be here to understand the dynamics of everything that happened that day.

[TStoneMBD]

i was at a lunch table in high school when there were rumors of how a building in nyc got knocked down by some sort of terrorist act. i didnt think much of it other than eww that sucks.

then at the next period or the period after we had a television in our classroom and were watching the reporting story about it on television. it took a while for me to realize the magnitude of the situation.

[thatpfunk]

[ QUOTE ]

Don't know where you guys are from, but Im guessing not near NY? I find it really obvious who is from around the area and who isn't when the topic is discussed because people from farther away are much more detached and don't seem to understand it on the same level as those who were closer.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think that's a gross generalization.

[ThisHo]

Had just moved into a new house 2 days before and no cable or radio set up. Got ready for work, went to 7-11 for coffee and the TV was on. Saw the first tower burning. Went home told the wife, we both went to work. She's in the tallest building in downtown SanDiego and there was still 1 plane unaccounted for so they sent her home.

poster that said non-NYers don't really get it is probably right. We'd spent some time in the city and my wife had spent a few days working in the towers when we were living in upstate NY... and I'm still "disconnected" from it.

ThisHo..

and yes... this is absolutely without a doubt our "where were you when JFK was shot" moment

[offTopic]

[ QUOTE ]
Not sure if this topic has been brought up. I haven't seen it. Repost from another group.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was asleep. Went to work listening to various radio stations, and watched streaming video/listened to the radio all day before going home.

[ QUOTE ]
I've never been to NY so, in a way, it was very surreal to me. Kind of like a typical east coasters' view on the San Francisco earthquake.


[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, Loma Prieta is definitely more vivid for me. Took off from work early, and was just settling in to watch the WS on TV. Next thing, I'm practically on the floor, and crap is falling off the shelves.

[PoBoy321]

Well obviously 95% of the nation isn't close to NY. That's a ridiculous and obvious statement. My point was that if you're in Kansas City or something and drive 90 miles, KC is still going to be the closest major city. Philadelphia is a 96 mile drive from NY. 90 miles is almost halfway to Boston. My point was just that saying you're 90 miles doesn't mean that you're going to have any type of connection to the city.

[Ace_W_Ace]

In the subway at Chambers St. when the first tower fell.
Later, in mid-town by the Empire State building thinking "I'd better get the hell out of here".

9/11/01 was an absolutely beautiful morning in NYC. Clear skies and warm.

I stepped out of the PATH train several blocks north of the WTC to a surreal scene. The opposite side of the street is lined with hundreds of people staring south. There is NOBODY on my side of the street. Very, very weird. I figure everyone is looking at a nasty car accident. Being a native NYer, I pride myself on not staring at nonsense like that, I'm that cool. So I walk a block to buy a paper. The guy at the newsstand has the radio on, and they report that a plane hit one of the towers.

So I figure that I ought to take a look at this. You may recall that back in the 40s a small plane hit the Empire State Building. So that's what I'm thinking as I cross the street to see black smoke pouring from Tower 1. I mill around with a group of people. Nobody knows what kind of plane it was at that time -- except one guy, who says it was an American Airlines plane and that this was an act of terrorism. Everyone around him tells him to shut up, that he doesn't know what he's talking about, and that he's scaring people.

I grab my cell phone to call my wife, who works in midtown. Can't get through. So I call my office in NJ and talk to one of my partners. They are listening on the radio. As I am talking to them, the 2nd plane hits. Huge fireball. Everyone screams. Terrifying screams that will stay with me forever.

I recall telling my friend on the phone that you're not going to believe this, another plane just hit. The first thing I think is what a coincidence, two planes hit. What a dummy. But you can't just think of the obvious as you're standing there. My friend on the phone does the greatest thing anyone could have done for me there -- he says "you better get out of there". It would never have occurred to me to do so.

So I hightail it back to the PATH. They haven't stopped the trains from running yet, and they haven't closed the City yet. So I get on a train, and there's a young couple that gets on with me. Across from me is an older woman, looked like a nurse, who seemed to be on her way to work. Rest of the train is empty.

After sitting in shock, the couple and I start talking about what we saw. It was obvious that the woman across from me had no idea what happened. She never said a word. Just listened, with this expression on her face of incredulity, again that I'll never forget.

We make it back to NJ. I get in my car, and it seems like we're in another world. Traffic is moving normally, like any other day. Again, surreal. Meanwhile on the radio they are talking about a plane down in Pennsylvania.

My wife did not get out of NYC until that evening when she was able to catch a train to Westchester (the exact opposite direction of NJ). I remember driving on Route 80 that evening to go pick her up. There is a spot where you can see all the way down Manhattan, and there was this very smoky haze over lower Manhattan. It was there for a few days.

I was far enough away from the whole thing that I was never in any danger. And I didn't hang around to watch people jumping to their deaths. But still, 3 1/2 years later, hardly a night goes by where I don't think about the images -- the people on the other side of the street, the smoke, the fireball, the look on the woman's face on the train -- and the scream when the 2nd plane hit. I cannot imagine what it must be like for people that (a) were a lot closer than I was or (b) lost a loved one.

Thank you for listening.

[Sponger15SB]

Woke up and turned on the TV, watched the 2nd one hit.

I just remember going to school a little bit later and walking into AP Econ and the TV was on, and nobody talked for like 30 minutes, it was totally silent and we were all just fixated on the TV and nobody knew what to say.

edit-
Oh yeah one of my friends was the "Prep athelete of the week" in the San Diego Union Tribune that day. At least I'll always remember that nobody even noticed.

[BeerMoney]

Giving a calculus test.

[Benal]

I was daytrading heavily back then, so my morning routine was.. Get out of bed, power on my PC, turn on the TV and switch it CNBC. First thing I saw was a plane hitting a skycraper, and I thought to myself, why are they showing a movie on this channel? I double checked the channel, and yup, it was CNBC. By the time I finally realized what was going on, the second plane hit, live. I sat on my couch in a state of shock/disbelief for the rest of the day.

[Dynasty]

I didn't venture into Other Topics back then. But, I found some threads form the day of the attacks. It seems there aren't many long threads so I'm guessing some threads and responses were lost in the archiving.

All the posts are by "Anonymous". But, if you look at the responses, you can often see who the posters above actually were.

Mason Malmuth's post from 9/11/01 (http://archiveserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=14910&page=1096&view=coll apsed&sb=5&o=all&fpart=1#14910)

This was not a crime! (This was an act of war) (http://archiveserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=exchange&Number=14876&page =1096&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=all&fpart=all)

Worst day in US history? (http://archiveserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=exchange&Number=14855&page =1095&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=all&fpart=all)

[Aces McGee]

I was a senior in college at American University in DC. I played on the Ultimate Frisbee team, and we had practice that morning. My friend and I were driving home and as we pulled into the parking garage of our apartment building, the radio station we were listening to cut away from the music, and the deejay said a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center.

My friend and I just sort of looked at each other, then rushed out of the car, into the building, and onto the elevator. I remember being in the car, and I remember opening the door to our apartment, but nothing in between.

When we opened up the door, one of our roommates turned to us and sort of half-yelled "they are attacking our country!" I think the second plane had just hit.

Soon after, the Pentagon was hit. We lived on the 13th floor, and we could see the smoke. We've got some decent pictures of it.

There was a rumor going around that the fourth plane was actually circling the DC area. We spent several minutes out on our balcony, looking for it.

Our fourth roommate worked downtown by the Capitol, and we couldn't get in touch with him, though we figured he was fine. He finally made it home in the early afternoon, after a military escort out of his building. I've never seen him so shaken up, but I guess being evacuated at M-16 point with chaos all around and no real idea of what's going to happen next will do that to you.

Several of our friends came over, and we watched TV most of the day. Late in the afternoon, I went to play basketball, just to do something else. Did anyone else feel the need to do something "normal"?

I can't imagine anyone forgetting where they were or what they were doing that day, unless it's for traumatic reasons. I remember a lot of it vividly, as if I was outside my body, watching.

-McGee

[Sponger15SB]

[ QUOTE ]
This was not a crime! (This was an act of war) (http://archiveserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=exchange&Number=14876&page =1096&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=all&fpart=all)

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow, now there is an interesting thread.

[wbrumfiel]

Im one of the disconnected ones as I live in CO. Anyways, I was sleeping and was supposed to take my mom to the Dentist for some fairly major work to be done on her teeth. She was in a lot of pain and had been on a lot of pain medication making her kind of looney. So when she woke me up that morning mumbling about planes flying into buildings I thought she had just taken 1 too many pain pills until I turned on the TV to watch the 2nd plane hit. I knew right away what it was and I pretty much knew the magnitude of what had just happened (even though Im too far away for some peoples tastes and have never been to NY). When the rumours started pouring in that it was Bin Laden involved I knew we were in for a long drawn out search and destroy (hopefully) mission.

[tbach24]

I was on my way to school. They didn't tell us until lunch.

[Voltron87]

makes sense, its not really clear how the retards would react. they couldnt wait much longer or till after lunch, but your school was lucky they didnt have a large scale food fight on their hands.

[tbach24]

[ QUOTE ]
makes sense, its not really clear how the retards would react. they couldnt wait much longer or till after lunch, but your school was lucky they didnt have a large scale food fight on their hands.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was still in normal school. Retart schools don't allow you to leave campus unsupervised, moran.

Also, my brother was on a hockey team a while back (maybe 12 years ago) with the kid who flew a small plane into the building in FLA.

[hoopsie44]

If you want to read some real poignant stuff from that day go to the Yahoo message boards for the companies that were decimated that day (Cantor Fitzgerald,E-Speed). Real heart-wrenching messages from friends and relatives trying to find out if they were OK.

[Bluffoon]

I walked into my office and looked out the window and saw the top of the WTC in flames.

[Voltron87]

"on my way to school"

they could have been driving you in the special van.

[mmbt0ne]

I was standing between the teacher's desk and the center lab table of the AP chemistry class that I helped out with 2nd period. They made an announcement over the PA system, but all tv's were turned off, so that no one was able to watch the news, and only teachers could get updates from their computers.

[Nick B.]

[ QUOTE ]


edit-
Oh yeah one of my friends was the "Prep athelete of the week" in the San Diego Union Tribune that day. At least I'll always remember that nobody even noticed.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was my college athlete of the week for our golf tournament that was on 9/11. We had teams from NYV there, it wasn't like they could do anything but golf to take their minds off of it and they couldn't go back to the city cause the interstate was closed off.

[bernie]

Initially I compared my view to somewhat the view of an Eastcoasters view of the SF earthquake. Which, in a general sense, I think is about right. They both happened 'over there'.

However, the difference is I don't remember where I was/doing during the earthquake the way I do the towers. This might be attributed to press coverage as far as hearing about it, so the timeframe/event wasn't visited/revisited as much as 9-11 was/is.

That said, sometimes when driving on I-5 through Seattle, I'll look at the Columbia Tower (biggest tower in seattle) and imagine what it would be like seeing an airliner hit that thing. Wow. I still remember one of the best films of it were from below watching the 2nd plane go into it. It looked like the plan was going into water with no splash.

But even my imagination is no comparison to actually being there. But it's still kind of wild to think of should you look out at your tallest building.

b

[ClaytonN]

Freshman year of HS, I was in political science class 2nd period. Teacher walks in, I overhear them talking. Random kid from another class walks by the teacher speaking to my teacher and mentions something about a jumbo jet hitting a building.

We bring the TV in and tune it. I saw the 2nd building collapse about 5 minutes into the broadcast. Of course, didn't mean nearly as much to me at the time, until I realized that World Trade Center = Twin Towers. It looked like those videos of imploded buildings and casinos blown away for construction and the whatnot. I didn't exactly catch on.

Rest of the periods went the same, watched the TV coverage. 4th period we had to take a quiz.

If I had to do it over again I'd have told the teacher how dispicable a person she was for making us take a quiz while every other class was watching coverage.

[mmbt0ne]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">En réponse à:</font><hr />
That said, sometimes when driving on I-5 through Seattle, I'll look at the Columbia Tower (biggest tower in seattle) and imagine what it would be like seeing an airliner hit that thing.

[/ QUOTE ]

Only sometimes? Every time I see the Bank of America building, that's all I think of.

[bernie]

[ QUOTE ]
Only sometimes?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes. Sometimes Im talking to someone, getting into a song on the radio, pissed at the guy who just cut me off or pissed at the traffic being stopped before I go under the convention center bridge.

b

[mmbt0ne]

Oh, well 99% of the time I see it I'm walking to and from class, so I really don't have much else on my mind.

[Emmitt2222]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Don't know where you guys are from, but Im guessing not near NY? I find it really obvious who is from around the area and who isn't when the topic is discussed because people from farther away are much more detached and don't seem to understand it on the same level as those who were closer.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think that's a gross generalization.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry for those who thought it was a gross generalization. From my personal experience, many people who didnt know anyone/live close by have shown a very shallow degree of understanding of what happened compared to me. I don't live in the city, but I know many many people who do and one of my friend's dad died. My mom, who is an EMT was called to help those leaving the city and I used to be able to see the twin towers everyday on my way to school. With that said, I'm sure there are people out there who are very empathetic to this situation even if they were 3k miles away.

[cab4656]

I was in high school. It was between first and second period when I first heard anything. Someone mentioned "they attacked the world trade center" in the hall but I thought nothing of it. I had never been to New York and had no clue what the world trade center even was. Then in my second period class we turned on the TV in time to see the towers come crashing down. At least I think that's what we saw live. Maybe we tuned in time to see the second plane hit. Anyways, that was my Spanish class and our crazy teacher was talking about it and she mentioned something like "I hope this wasn't Bin Laden." I had never heard of him before and hadn't heard about him on TV yet, so that was either a good guess or she was really up on her terrorist knowledge.

Thoughout the day in each class we'd end up watching the TV for most of the hour. There were always one or two douchebags who sat there and made fun of it "OMG LOOK AT THAT GUY FALL HAHA." What tools.

[bernie]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Don't know where you guys are from, but Im guessing not near NY? I find it really obvious who is from around the area and who isn't when the topic is discussed because people from farther away are much more detached and don't seem to understand it on the same level as those who were closer.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think that's a gross generalization.

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Sorry for those who thought it was a gross generalization. From my personal experience, many people who didnt know anyone/live close by have shown a very shallow degree of understanding of what happened compared to me. I don't live in the city, but I know many many people who do and one of my friend's dad died. My mom, who is an EMT was called to help those leaving the city and I used to be able to see the twin towers everyday on my way to school. With that said, I'm sure there are people out there who are very empathetic to this situation even if they were 3k miles away.

[/ QUOTE ]

I didn't think it was that gross of a generalization. Not as far as being untrue, anyways.

b

[Phoenix1010]

Wow. Somehow I knew what this thread would be about before I opened it.

I was in second period chemistry when the first plane hit. I went to highschool in the Bronx. After the first hit most of us in the senior class went to the senior lounge to listen to news reports on the radio, as we all wondered which ones of our friends and family were in danger, or worse, and when we would hear from them. When the second plane hit, no less than half of the 50 people in the room started crying. It was a private school so most of the kids either lived downtown, or had parents that worked downtown. You just knew that someone in the room had to have lost someone close to them. It was incredibly tense. Thinking about it still makes me tear up.

[Phoenix1010]

It is a gross generalization. It is also true to some degree.

[Ulysses]

I was in the UA Red Carpet lounge at London Heathrow watching the plane crashes on CNN while waiting to board my London-SF flight. We were sitting on the plane waiting to take off when the towers collapsed.

[ZeeJustin]

I was a sophomore in high school, and we were all being called into the gym for an announcement.

A friend of mine told me that 2 planes had crashed into the WTC, and I pictured 2 small planes having mechanical problems and a couple windows in the building being shattered. I laughed it off and had no idea how important this event would be. It didn't really sink in until I saw the news when I got home from school, and could really grasp how large scale this attack was.

[kerssens]

I was at work and didn't realize that it was terrorism at first. When the first plane hit I was thinking.."how drunk was that pilot?" Then when more news came across the whole office stopped and a lot of us went to the cafeteria to watch the news.

[-Skeme-]

In the shower. My brother knocked on the door, came in and told me a bunch of terrorists hijacked planes and were crashing them into buildings. At school we were just chilling in Math and watching TV.

[TimM]

I worked in Huntington at that time, which is about 30 miles east of NYC, on Long Island.

I was either asleep or getting ready for work while the attacks were actually happening. I did not catch any news or radio on the way to work, was probably listening to a CD. But on my 10 mile commute, I could see that something was wrong. Police had taken over the HOV lane on the Long Island Expressway, and emergency vehicles were speeding west. Some of the vehicles were from stations much further out on the island. "What was that Rocky Point fire chief (from a town 60 miles east of the city) doing that far from home?" I thought.

By the time I got to work, the towers were already down. I came in through the shipping department, and the shipping guy told me "We're under attack. The World Trade Center - doesn't exist anymore. They got the Pentagon too." I went up to my desk and spent the rest of the day watching news on my computer. On the way home, I could see the smoke plume in my rear-view mirror.

[ThaSaltCracka]

I was at home, my mom woke me up enexpectedly at about 9 AM. She said, "John wake up!" I said " what are you doing home?" She said "the WTC have been destroyed, terrorist have done it" I said "you kidding me", I then got out of bed and saw what is tantamount to the most saddening day that I have ever experienced thus far during my short life. I had to work that night, and I remember the place I worked at being slower then it had ever been. Maybe 5 customers for an eigth hour stretch.

[Cumulonimbus]

Getting stoned, yes it was 7:30 AM for me.

[fluorescenthippo]

[ QUOTE ]
I was jerking it in the shower, and getting ready to go to school for 2nd period.

[/ QUOTE ]

i was in 2nd period taking a test. i was not jerking it though

[jnalpak]

[ QUOTE ]
a few blocks away, walking out of the subway. /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Same...I came out on Fulton right as the second plane hit. I still remember the papers from the building floating in the air and into my face.

I had to walk home 80 blocks that day in silence with thousands of other nyers...what a day

[SuitedSixes]

I was driving to drop off my gas bill before it got shut off, and heard about it on the radio. At that point there was all types of speculation still going on, and I remember that Camp David was one of the places that were being reported as attacked.

That was also the first day I found out I was going to have a daughter, and "saw" her (in an ultrasound), so I like to remember the day for that.

[bholdr]

I was painting a house. (pressure washing in preperation for painting, actually) The homeowner called out to us to make sure we 'knew what had happened'- we didn't, and she invited us in to watch the news.

the first thing i remember thinking was 'if this was islamic terrorists, things are gonna get hard for the muslims in this country...'

I have a very good freind that was about two blocks from ground zero- he rarely talks about it, but he did say once that after people started jumpinng, all he can remenber is the sound it makes as a body hits the pavement. *shudder*

[istewart]

In class. I'm about 20 minutes from New York so they asked every student who had parents that worked in the WTC to get up, but didn't say why at first.

[jayboo]

WOW. One hell of a memory burned into my brain for this.
I was in Mass. Painting a house for a costumer who was a flight attendent for A/A. When the first plane hit she came running outside to tell us what was going on. She was wearing the uniform and everything getting ready for work. We then went into her living room for the next couple hours and watched the second one hit live. It was so [censored] up, when she realized what flight it was she lost it. She lost 4 friends that day. We did everything we possibly could do to try to console her and help in any way. Just typing this is bringing a tear to my eye. I will certainly remember this day like it was yesterday for the rest of my life /images/graemlins/frown.gif Very sad stuff. Jay

[ThaSaltCracka]

I won't lie, after I got back from work, I definitely shed a few tears about what I had seen on that day. Still gives me chills down my spine thinking about it.

[Paluka]

I was a few hundred feet from the tower.

[thatpfunk]

[ QUOTE ]

I won't lie, after I got back from work, I definitely shed a few tears about what I had seen on that day. Still gives me chills down my spine thinking about it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Everytime they play the audio of either the plane hitting or the towers collapsing my eyes get teared up.

I saw Farenheit 9/11 in the theater and that scene was one of the most difficult I've ever sat through, but at the same time I'm glad I did.

[ThaSaltCracka]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

I won't lie, after I got back from work, I definitely shed a few tears about what I had seen on that day. Still gives me chills down my spine thinking about it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Everytime they play the audio of either the plane hitting or the towers collapsing my eyes get teared up.

I saw Farenheit 9/11 in the theater and that scene was one of the most difficult I've ever sat through, but at the same time I'm glad I did.

[/ QUOTE ]I agree with everything you said. Sad, I think for most people 14-25 reality hit home hard that day, which is sad for those so young and so *old*.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Actually, my parents' generation all remembers where they were when they heard Pearl Harbor was bombed.

I was in 7th grade algebra class when I heard JFK was shot.

On 9/11/01 I was at work (I work in downtown Boston). My company always has either CNN or Fox News on in the lobby, and I walked through just as they flashed to the the first scene of the first tower on fire. About a dozen of us were standing there watching when the second plane hit.

[nothumb]

Junior year of college. I had a 10 o'clock class so I was on my way to K-Mart, super hung-over, to buy some socks, because all my socks were dirty. It was after the planes hit but before the buildings collapsed, I saw it on the TV screens in K-Mart. Bought some socks and went to school.

Everyone there was in hysterics, there were a decent number of kids from the city and a lot of other wishy-washy people who are always looking for an excuse to be hysterical. I found out that one of my classes wasn't even canceled, and I was like, WTF? So myself and my bandmate went home and started drinking at 10:45 or so.

Later we had an end-of-the-world drinking binge with some girls and I had kinky, post-terrorist-attack drunken sex. Still regret that one.

NT

[KyleC]

i woke up at like 6-7am westcoast time..was playing counterstrike and some counter terrorist was like damn you terrorists you crashed into the wtc..and were all like wtf ...so i turned on cnn and watched all day long..and its true i'll never forget that day hell i even remember what i was wearing

[OsamaBL]

Post deleted by wacki

[Blarg]

I was in the living room putting on my socks and shoes, getting ready to go to work. I saw the second one hit live, and I saw people jumping out of the building. It really blew me away to see that. It was like some part of me was just not believing it even while I saw it happening.

I had to go to work, so I couldn't just stay and watch, but I did stay an extra twenty minutes or something, and was a little late, because I just couldn't leave the t.v. set. When I got to work everyone was talking about it, and a guy I knew had two friends who both worked in the WTC towers. Turns out both of them died. He was freaked and not knowing if they were okay or not, and finally work just told everybody to go home for the rest of the day, because we were all freaked out and not working anyway, and probably as some sort of show of respect and national mourning. It's the only time in my life that leaving work early didn't put me in a good mood.

[ThaSaltCracka]

this isn't funny at all.

[Number4]

I was just walking into work down in Gainesville. When my boss told me what had happened, I assumed she was mistaken about the size of the plane. Didn't have TV, but listened to the radio. After I got home, just sat in front of the TV with my jaw on the floor.

[ChoicestHops]

I was a sophomore in high school. That week my class went to Washington DC for a school trip. However, I chose not to go but instead I was working at the golf course and saw the 2nd plane hit on tv.

[HopeydaFish]

[ QUOTE ]
Rest of the periods went the same, watched the TV coverage. 4th period we had to take a quiz.

If I had to do it over again I'd have told the teacher how dispicable a person she was for making us take a quiz while every other class was watching coverage.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I regret not telling my boss off that day. I was working a horrible sales job at a high tech training company. I'd just come back from the board room where we had been watching the news coverage all morning. I was sitting at my desk, totally stunned and trying to make sense of what I'd just seen, when my boss comes bopping by like nothing had happened and asks me "So, how many sales did you make this morning?" I tried to explain to him that, under the circumstances, I didn't think people would appreciate receiving telemarketing calls that day, so I hadn't made any sales calls.

His response? "Well, get on the phone" And then he walked off. Needless to say, I didn't follow his orders. I can just imagine how people would have reacted to getting a telemarketing call that day.

Oh, and despite the fact that the downtown core of the city was deserted as most of it had been evacuated, my boss made us stick around all day because we had a half-hour training session scheduled for 4PM that afternoon. The trainer worked in-house, so it could have been rescheduled for later that week. The rest of the staff was sent home, but us sales guys had to sit around for 5 hours waiting for our training to take place. I really wanted to get out of there -- my girlfriend's sister worked a few blocks from the WTC and my gf had been unable to reach her all morning. She was frantic and begging me to come home to be with her.

I don't remember what we were being trained on, but I do rememeber that the trainer was cracking jokes and acting like an idiot all the way through our training session. None of us were laughing at his antics, and at one point he accused us of being "wet blankets". Sigh.

A week later 80% of the sales staff were laid off. Thankfully, I was one of the lucky ones who was given his walking papers.

[plaster8]

I was sleeping, and my wife woke me up -- "Terrorists have hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon." I didn't believe her at first, but the tone of her voice when she told me a second time made me realize she wasn't messing with me.

I work at a newspaper, so the executive editor was on the phone about five minutes later. It was a long week.

Interesting story about that week, though -- my boss, the editor of the paper, was in Alaska on vacation at the time. But he goes on the kind of trips where a bush pilot drops him and his buddies off in the wilderness, then picks them up a week later.

So it was the biggest story in his journalism career, and he had no idea anything had even happened until Saturday of that week.

Oh yeah -- my wedding was supposed to be Sept. 15, 2001, before we moved it to August. Geez, that would have been a great time.

[plaster8]

[ QUOTE ]
I won't lie, after I got back from work, I definitely shed a few tears about what I had seen on that day. Still gives me chills down my spine thinking about it.

[/ QUOTE ]

I held it together for a few days (working at a newspaper does that to you -- you get so focused on getting the thing out that you don't have the time to reflect). I lost it completely on Friday, I think it was, listening to the national prayer service on the radio on the way to work.

[Talk2BigSteve]

I was in college watching it happen in my Government Class, 3 days before it happened my Great Aunt Alice who lives in New Jersey called to chat with my mother and I, and raved about how she had finally been to eat at the resturant called Windows On The World a few days ago....What a difference a week makes, huh?

This is my favorite story about 9-11.
************************************************** **********


The People Of New Foundland With Regard To September 11

Talk about putting goodness back in the world and transcending the evil of the attack!

Here's a story from a flight attendant about their return flight from Germany and their stopover in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada. Certainly, not a surprising story, for those who know Newfoundland! Just another bright shining star in their history!

We were about 5 hours out of Frankfurt flying over the North Atlantic and I was in my crew rest seat taking my scheduled rest break. All of a sudden the curtains parted violently and I was told to go to the cockpit, right now, to see the captain.

As soon as I got there I noticed that the crew had one of those "All Business" looks on their faces. The captain handed me a printed message. I quickly read the message and realized the importance of it.

The message was from Atlanta, addressed to our flight, and simply said, "All airways over the Continental US are closed. Land ASAP at the nearest airport, advise your destination."

Now, when a dispatcher tells you to land immediately without suggesting which airport, one can assume that the dispatcher has reluctantly given up control of the flight to the captain. We knew it was a serious situation and we needed to find terra firma quickly.

It was quickly decided that the nearest airport was 400 miles away, behind our right shoulder, in Gander, on the island of New Foundland. A quick request was made to the Canadian traffic controller and a right turn, directly to Gander, was approved immediately.

We found out later why there was no hesitation by the Canadian controller approving our request.

We, the in-flight crew, were told to get the airplane ready for an immediate landing. While this was going on, another message arrived from Atlanta telling us about some terrorist activity in the New York area. We briefed the in-flight crew about going to Gander and we went about our business 'closing down' the airplane for a landing.

A few minutes later I went back to the cockpit to find out that some airplanes had been hijacked and were being flown into buildings all over the US. We decided to make an announcement and lie to the passengers for the time being.

We told them that an instrument problem had arisen on the airplane and that we needed to land at Gander, to have it checked. We promised to give more information after landing in Gander.There were many unhappy passengers but that is par for the course.

We landed in Gander about 40 minutes after the start of this episode. There were already about 20 other airplanes on the ground from all over the world.

After we parked on the ramp the captain made the following announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen, you must be wondering if all these airplanes around us have the same instrument problem as we have. But the reality is that we are here for a good reason." Then he went on to explain the little bit we knew about the situation in the US.

There were loud gasps and stares of disbelief. Local time at Gander was 12:30 PM (11:00 AM EST). Gander control told us to stay put. No one was allowed to get off the aircraft. No one on the ground was allowed to come near the aircrafts. Only a car from the airport police would come around once in a while, look us over and go on to the next airplane.

In the next hour or so all the airways over the North Atlantic were vacated and Gander alone ended up with 53 airplanes from all over the world, out of which 27 were flying US flags.

We were told that each and every plane was to be off loaded, one at a time, with the foreign carriers given the priority. We were No.14 in the US category. We were further told that we would be given a tentative time to deplane at 6 PM.

Meanwhile bits of news started to come in over the aircraft radio and for the first time we learned that airplanes were flown into the World Trade Center in New York and into the Pentagon in DC.

People were trying to use their cell phones but were unable to connect due to a different cell system in Canada. Some did get through but were only able to get to the Canadian operator who would tell them that the lines to the US were either blocked or jammed and to try again.

Some time late in the evening the news filtered to us that the World Trade Center buildings had collapsed and that a fourth hijacking had resulted in a crash.

Now the passengers were totally bewildered and emotionally exhausted but stayed calm as we kept reminding them to look around to see that we were not the only ones in this predicament.

There were 52 other planes with people on them in the same situation. We also told them that the Canadian Government was in charge and we were at their mercy.

True to their word, at 6 PM, Gander airport told us that our turn to deplane would come at 11 AM, the next morning. That took the last wind out of the passengers and they simply resigned and accepted this news without much noise and really started to get into a mode of spending the night on the airplane.

Gander had promised us any and all medical attention if needed; medicine and water servicing. And they were true to their word.

Fortunately we had no medical situation during the night. We did have a young lady who was 33 weeks into her pregnancy. We took really good care of her. The night passed without any further complications on our airplane despite the uncomfortable sleeping arrangements.

About 10:30 on the morning of the 12th, we were told to get ready to leave the aircraft. A convoy of school buses showed up at the side of the airplane, the stairway was hooked up and the passengers were taken to the terminal for "processing".

We, the crew, were taken to the same terminal but were told to go to a different section, where we were processed through Immigration and customs and then had to register with the Red Cross. After that we were isolated from our passengers and were taken in a caravan of vans to a very small hotel in the town of Gander. We had no idea where our passengers were going.

The town of Gander has a population of 10,400 people. Red Cross told us that they were going to process about 10,500 passengers from all the airplanes that were forced into Gander. We were told to just relax at the hotel and wait for a call to go back to the airport, but not to expect that call for a while.

We found out the total scope of the terror back home only after getting to our hotel and turning on the TV, 24 hours after it all started.

Meanwhile we enjoyed ourselves going around town discovering things and enjoying the hospitality. The people were so friendly and they just knew that we were the "Plane people".

We all had a great time until we got that call, 2 days later, on the 14th at 7 AM. We made it to the airport by 8:30 AM and left for Atlanta at 12:30 PM arriving in Atlanta at about 4:30 PM. (Gander is 1 hour and 30 minutes ahead of EST, yes!, 1 hour and 30 minutes.)

But that's not what I wanted to tell you.

What passengers told us was so uplifting and incredible and the timing couldn't have been better. We found out that Gander and the surrounding small communities, within a 75 kilometer radius, had closed all the high schools, meeting halls, lodges, and any other large gathering places.

They converted all these facilities to a mass lodging area. Some had cots set up, some had mats with sleeping bags and pillows set up. All the high school students had to volunteer taking care of the "Guests".

Our 218 passengers ended up in a town called Lewisporte, about 45 kilometers from Gander. There they were put in a high school. If any women wanted to be in a women only facility, that was arranged. Families were kept together. All the elderly passengers were taken to private homes.

Remember that young pregnant lady, she was put up in a private home right across the street from a 24 hour Urgent Care type facility. There were DDS on call and they had both male and female nurses available and stayed with the crowd for the duration. Phone calls and emails to US and Europe were available for every one once a day.

During the days, the passengers were given a choice of "Excursion" trips. Some people went on boat cruises of the lakes and harbors. Some went to see the local forests.

Local bakeries stayed open to make fresh bread for the guests. Food was prepared by all the residents and brought to the school for those who elected to stay put. Others were driven to the eatery of their choice and fed.

They were given tokens to go to the local Laundromat to wash their clothes, since their luggage was still on the aircraft. In other words every single need was met for those unfortunate travelers.

Passengers were crying while telling us these stories. After all that, they were delivered to the airport right on time and without a single one missing or late. All because the local Red Cross had all the information about the goings on back at Gander and knew which group needed to leave for the airport at what time.

Absolutely incredible.

When passengers came on board, it was like they had been on a cruise. Everybody knew everybody else by their name. They were swapping stories of their stay, impressing each other with who had the better time. It was mind boggling. Our flight back to Atlanta looked like a party flight. We stayed out of their way.

The passengers had totally bonded and they were calling each other by their first names, exchanging phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses.

And then a strange thing happened.

One of our business class passengers approached me and asked if he could speak over the PA to his fellow passengers. We never, never, allow that. But something told me to get out of his way. I said "of course".

The gentleman picked up the PA and reminded everyone about what they had just gone through in the last few days. He reminded them of the hospitality they had received at the hands of total strangers. He further stated that he would like to do something in return for the good folks of the town of Lewisporte.

He said he was going to set up a Trust Fund under the name of Delta 15 (our flight number). The purpose of the trust fund is to provide a scholarship for high school students of Lewisporte to help them go to college. He asked for donations of any amount from his fellow travelers.

When the paper with donations got back to us with the amounts, names, phone numbers and addresses, it totaled to $14.5K or about $20K Canadian.

The gentleman who started all this turned out to be an MD from Virginia. He promised to match the donations and to start the administrative work on the scholarship. He also said that he would forward this proposal to Delta Corporate and ask them to donate as well.

Why, all of this?

Just because some people in far away places were kind to some strangers, who happened to literally drop in among them?

Why not?

Pass this onto all your family and friends...

- Source Unknown

************************************************** *******

Living, Learning, and Laughing.
Big Steve /images/graemlins/cool.gif

[youtalkfunny]

[ QUOTE ]
1.Pass this onto all your family and friends...

2.- Source Unknown

[/ QUOTE ]

1+2=3. Don't believe a word of it.

I was working for an off-shore sportsbook then. We sent the clerks home, and I stayed to man the phones in case any customers tried to call.

We had one player who used to bet every penny in his account, every day. If a game won, he'd bet all of it on the next game to tip off. It just KILLED him that there were no games to bet that week. He emptied his account on World Series, Superbowl, and Stanley Cup futures bets.

Oh yeah, I've got cousin who got on an American flight in Boston that morning, about an hour before those scumbags boarded their plane. He was in the Empire State Building when the first plane hit. Our family was mighty worried for most of the day, before he was finally able to reach his mom and tell her he was fine.

[JDErickson]

In the shower when #1 was hit, Watched #2 hit and then watched them both fall at work that morning.

Not a whole lot of work got done that day.