9/11 Where were you?

[tony@CIC]

I still very clearly remember my assistant coming into my office to tell me that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. My initial reaction or thought was that a disoriented pilot in a small single engine plane crashed into it. Then I saw the horrific videos. What I felt was probably what are parents and grandparents felt when Pearl Harbor was attached. The videos are still clearly imbedded in my mind. 

What were you doing? 

 

[rkj427]

At that time in my working career, I was with the same company I am employed with now, but actually worked midnight shifts in a test lab, with the work schedule being 10 days on, and 4 days off. It was a Tuesday, so I didn't need to be at work until 11:00PM that night, and I just dropped off my children at school and returned home when I saw those tragic events unfold that morning. Due to the uncertainty of those events, the did cancel school, so I went back and picked them both up, and we all were glued to the TV that whole day. I did have to go into work that night, but by that time, some additional details were known, and the majority of the tragic events over with except for the massive task of understanding and cleaning up.

A truly sad day in American history that should never be forgotten.

 

[tommc23]

I was in 7th grade I was going to geography class where we were glued to the TV because on of my classmates had family who worked in the city

[Kenny B]

I had finished working for the day in Moscow; returned to the Marriott near the Kremlin and went to the concierge lounge for a drink.  It was on tv... a plane had crashed into the first tower and we were all watching it unfold.  When the second plane crashed into the second tower, I think I was on my third drink.  Couldn't get home for 2 weeks.

[JimMLINY]

I got up early for monthly visit to client in Wilmington, DE. The Belt Parkway has an accident and is tied up. I am cursing up a storm listening to radio alternating between WNYC’s Morning Edition and WFAN’s IMUS in the Morning.

Warner Wolf, a local TV sports guy who does some radio, calls into his show after a news report of airplane accident. He lives in Battery Park City apartments across from the World Trade Center and describes what he heard and is seeing. I think it is a BS bit.

Finally get to the Verranzano Bridge and cross it. The first tower is clearly burning from the bridge. Radio stations start to disappear. Imus is still on. Now accident reports are turning into attack reports. Warner Wolf is still giving the commentary on what he sees and hears. Imus reports President Bush is in a grammar school down in FL reading to children.   

As I get to the Outterbridge Crossing into NJ, the second tower has been hit and reports of the attack on America are starting. Imus has complete coverage as well as the commentary of Wolf.  It is pandemonium at the first rest area of New Jersey Turnpike (NJT) heading south. People are running around like chickens with no heads screaming we’re under attack. I use my cell phone to call my office and home. I tell my employer who has given the go home order and leave message for my family (wife and four children, 15, 13, 12 and 10) I am going to work; and, these dirt bags whoever they are, are not going to scare me into running home and hiding. Last time the cell phone works.

Find a land line at rest area pay phones and call DE. I tell my client where I am and ask if he will be there when I get there. He tells me if I am coming, he will be there.

Make the lonely trek to Wilmington DE listening to Imus and the further accounts of the Pentagon and PA attacks. The coverage is breathtaking and solemn. Warner Wolf’s depiction of what going on is reminiscent of a radio era long gone; like, listening to Red Barber or Vin Scully paint the picture of a ball game or Murrow’s reports on WWII.. Hear about the airports closing, airspace shutdown, Mayor Guliani has called off primary elections, UN General Assembly cancelled for emergency meeting, Logan is source of flights, President is airborne, Air Force is mobilized, Congress and the VP have run for the safety of underground …

All I see are emergency vehicles making a steady stream to NY. I get to DE. Wilmington is a ghost town. Red Cross is at the city’s gate along with military.

Get to building which houses federal court for Bankruptcy and is across from the Federal building of DE. Get to client’s floor, discuss the unimaginable site I saw from the bridge and get to work. He is on 9th floor and I can see from the windows in conference room some the rooftop armed positions taken up by federal and military personnel. It is surreal.

 

Went to lunch at Cavanaughs and watched the TV from bar as I tried to eat my usual Caribbean Chicken sandwich. Had to leave after the umpteenth showing of the building collapses. The pictures of the dust covered pedestrians and emergency personnel was heart wrenching.
 

Finish compilation of monthly periodic report for client, sign and date it with “God Bless America” under the independent accountant’s report signature.

Give client and his remaining staff a big handshake and hug for standing their ground in what will become this generation’s “Day of Infamy” and start the lonely trek home.

All access to NY is shutdown for emergency. Get off NJ Turnpike exit to Outterbridge Crossing thinking I can back door it in only to find out it is closed all the way to NY. Talk to a NJ trooper and explain my dilemma. He asks if I know the Garden State Parkway (GSP); and, where it intersects to upstate NY. I do, he suggests that route as it will get me “closer” than I am now.

Hit the NJT heading toward GSP exit and stop at rest area. People are stranded all over asking how to get to or through NY. I walk to the big map with a few and quickly draw a crowd. I show them the route from the NJT to the GSP to Route 17 to the NY Thruway. Some ask if they can follow, I say sure. Start a caravan and finish the route. We stay to the right at about 40 mph to allow the stream of emergency vehicles heading to NYC to bypass without incident. Most go separate ways once we hit the Yonkers area at the Cross County Parkway which I take to the Hutchinson River Parkway to the Whitestone Bridge which is closed. There is a NYC cop at toll booth. He waves me to a stop; and, asks what the hell I am doing. I give him the events of my day, show him my driver license to verify my home address and show him my client’s financial statement which I had compiled earlier. He sees that the work I do is for the United States Department of Justice by the wording of the report and asks what I do.

I tell him about my day and now all I got to do is get home to complete the day.

He moves the barrier, says something about the bridge will reopen shortly; and, be careful of emergency vehicles, stay on the Cross Island Parkway to the Southern State Parkway and then get off your exit.

I can see a steady flow of the emergency vehicles at or around the exits for Long Island Expressway and Grand Central Parkway.

Pull into my driveway to be greeted by my loved ones. Fear is evident.

We sit and talk the night away with WCBS TV on in background which was only station working at the time. We talk about their fears and the philosophy of life and what terrorism is and why one never backs down from a bully and should stand toe to toe with him and knock him out.

That night and the next morning we start to hear about the 44 residents of our village of 25,000, most moms or dads, who did not come home. All were better folk than I.
 

Now through the years I have watched their sons and daughters grow, their surviving spouses struggle, driven the streets renamed for them and watched the athletic events at the playing fields named in their honor; but, nothing is the same, nothing is better, nothing is over – it is something that will last a lifetime of those who remain and were affected.

 

I watched the children of the village grow into young men and women graduate high school and enlist or join the services after college graduation.  They still remember, some of them lost a mom or dad.  Have them over for a few beers before they go and when they come back on leave.  Least I can do.
 

Additionally we have sent our finest along with those of our allies to attempt to get the bad guys and prevent this from occurring again, yet it happens again in foreign lands against our people, those of our allies and the homelanders where the terror strikes.

We are in a new age and it aint the “Age of Aquarius”. If all Islam, Judaism and Christianity emanated from Abraham I reckon he would want a do-over at this point. If we could replace the hatred with tolerance and provide the hungry with food, the homeless with shelter and the parentless with love, we all be better off, but heck that might be too religious!

A little tolerance would go a long way and so would some integrity in doing the right thing.

Too many have died before, too many have died now and too many will die in the days to come.

God bless their souls and remaining families; as well as, the others and those who have perished in the fight against terrorism.

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

I was in 7th grade. It was picture day

[CarlH]

I was on my way to pick up a friend to go play golf.  When I got to his house, he called me inside and watched the 2nd plane hit the tower.

[Tom the Golf Nut]

I was at work. I had recently relocated with my company from Ozone Park NY to East Lyme CT. Once the news started releasing info work sent someone home to get a TV for the conference room. Everyone knew my brother and sister were NYPD. They wanted to keep us all up to date as many of us just came up from NY. 

Needless to say with cell phones and land lines either down or overloaded it took almost 48 hours before I heard they were both ok. Years later my brother developed some issues from breathing in all the crap while he was on the bucket brigade. Sifting through each bucket looking for personal items or parts of people. On top of that 9/11 (today) is my oldest sons birthday. He was 13 at the time and was devastated that this happened on his birthday. 

[tony@CIC]

I'm a 'newsaholic' and subscribe to Apple News which compiles lots of different news sources. I was disappointed that I had to go into their search feature to find a news article on 9/11. All of the feature articles were about the Queen's passing, King Charles III speech and from there quickly downhill to the typical Kardashian updates. Shame on you Apple News. 

[MGoBlue100]

I was on an airplane that morning; heading from MSP to PHX. Never made it to Phoenix, got diverted to ABQ and eventually made my way back to MSP by the following Saturday. 

[GolfSpy TCB]

I was working for a company that had a corporate office in Vancouver BC.  I had travelled from Washington State to the corporate office that week for meetings, and help prepare for the annual customer golf event in the coming weekend.  The news started coming across as I was driving to the offices and after realizing the gravity of what was going on, I went back to my hotel to be with my wife and watch the coverage.  The borders were closed down, so I stayed in BC until the followning week when I was able to cross the border again into Washington.  My first child was born the following year and it is never lost on me that my kids have grown up in the post 9/11 world.  Everything changed that day.

Remembering all the innocent and brave lives lost that day.

[Golfspy_CG2]

I was Manager of a hotel in Washington DC, about 1 mile from the White House and about 3 miles from the Pentagon.  To say it was a crazt day in the distrit is an under statement. 

We had TV's on in the lobby as usual.  And as Tony metnioned when someone came in my office and mentioned the first one, my firstt thought was a horrible accident by a traffic or private plane.   On a trip to get some coffee a few moments later,  stopped to watch the coverage and when the 2nd plane hit.   The mood int he hotel immediately became different.   This was not accident America was under attack and everyone was scared to death.   Employees and friends were trying to get ahold of family members that worked at the Pentagon.   Everyone in the hotel baiically just all sat and watched the TV's in silence.   Many people tried to make cell phone cas but the networks were either jammed or shut down. 

We had a large meeting going on in the hotel with the FDA.  Of course their phones started going off and the rest of the day was chaos.  The city was basically shut down, no way in or out.   Rumors came through that another plane was on the way to the Capitol (later to be determined that was  UA Flight 93) more rumors that a bomb was found at the State Department-thankfully later to be found out false. 

There were black hawk helicopters flying around the city--for days-afterward.   A 

Our hotel basically was shutdown for two days, as no one could get out, airports were clsoed, rental cars non exiistent, so the current guests were in essence trapped there for a couple days.   of course incoming guests due to arrive that day couldn't and didint'.

It was around 8 PM before I could finally getout of the city and  go home.  My Fiance was relieved and thrilled to see me.   I just sat ont he couch and tried to comprehend what had happened over the last 12 hours.  

The hashtag #neverforget  is certainly true, I never will 

[RickyBobby_PR]

15 min drive away from the pentagon in a team meeting and watched the second plane hit on tv.

We ended the meeting early and went to our govt office and the contracts pmo office. Was listening to local Dc radio station when the reports came in for the Pentagon getting hit.

Once location was announced we knew that we probably lost all of our support staff. Within a day it was confirmed we lost 8 (including a friend who was also the husband of one of my coworkers who I was also stationed with a few years before that) of the 11 staff. The 3 that survived were in the office next dood, where two were thrown out into the space between two rings and another was trapped under a desk. 
 

The next several days were spent setting up temporary workspace for our 24/7 staff and the weeks after getting other offsite spaces up and working

[David Leighton Reid]

I was calling on customers with one of our sales reps when a co-worker called to tell us about the Trade Center Tower being hit by a plane.  At one of our accounts, we watched the second plane hit.  Last night, my wife and I watched 60 Minutes which featured the 9/11 attack.  It is so amazing the courage the NYFD displayed on that day.  Fireman attempting rescues knowing they would probably not survive.  We can't honor these heroes enough.  

[GolfSpy_KFT]

I was in 6th grade, we were on our math topic for the day. I went to a small catholic elementary school, so all of the kids age 5th grade and above were moved into the library/computer room and they rolled out one of those old TVs that sat on a cart with the VHS player below it. A boy in the 7th grade class had a family member that worked in the twin towers, I remember him being really scared. All of the teachers were crying and most of us were pretty confused. We knew what was happening was bad, but I think a lot of us were too young to really, truly understand at that time what was unfolding. We watched live as the second tower was struck.

[KC Golf]

I worked across the street from World Trade at 1 Liberty Plaza.  The old Merrill Building for those that know lower Manhattan.

Fortunately, I was in Toronto that day so walked downstairs to the trading floor to see how a plane could accidentally hit World Trade.  Then saw the surreal scene on TV.  Didn't go back to see the pit for many years.  Fortunately had my assistant pack my personal stuff so I didn't have to go back to the building.

One of my roommates at the time saw more than any person should see since he was working at Goldman and tried to help.  He's never been the same, and we really never talk about it. One of my classmates from MBA school lost his brother at World Trade. 

[Golfspy_CG2]

Take 5 minutes today/this week and remember those we lost and friends who lost loved ones.

 

[Lefty Larry]

I was in my office checking my calendar for the day. But I will never forget when a mutual friend called to let me know that an extremely close friend was on American flight 77 that ended at Pentagon.  He was a great caring guy leaving a loving wife and a young daughter. No way did he deserve his fate. 

[Ben_Howell34]

I was in the 5th grade, running an errand to the library for the teacher. As I walked in, everyone was glued to the tv as the 2nd plane hit the tower. 
 

I remember my mom crying at dinner that night as we prayed. Was tough to understand the gravity of what happened then as a kid, and is still sad to think about now. God bless those first responders who ran into danger for those they’ve never met before. We are fortunate to have men and women like that protecting us. 

[Golfspy_CG2]

53 minutes ago, Ben_Howell34 said:

I was in the 5th grade, running an errand to the library for the teacher. As I walked in, everyone was glued to the tv as the 2nd plane hit the tower. 
 

I remember my mom crying at dinner that night as we prayed. Was tough to understand the gravity of what happened then as a kid, and is still sad to think about now. God bless those first responders who ran into danger for those they’ve never met before. We are fortunate to have men and women like that protecting us. 

Interesting perspective.  You were the same age I was when JFK was shot.  I don’t remember much about school that day.  But I do remember mom and dad watching the news and both crying and hugging each other.   Like you I don’t quite grasp the gravity of it at the time.  But it’s the first time I can recall seeing my mom cry and the only time I ever saw my dad cry…until he dropped me at rhe airport aboit 10 years ago.  Both of us knowing I wouldn’t see him again until  his funeral service in a matter of weeks.
 

 

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

I was in 8th grade English class. Mr. Devlin. I don’t remember what we were learning that day but I remember the announcement coming across and the school was brand new each class had a TV in it. He turned the TV on and we watched and stayed in that classroom all day until early dismissal to go home.

Was odd I don’t remember anything else of that day but just watching that TV. Like others have said I don’t think I fully grasped it even as a 13 year old, I didn’t even know what the World Trade Center was, fast forward to the Boston marathon bombing being 25 I understood and remember alot more, but that initial gut feeling was exactly the same….

[Rickp]

Remember it like yesterday.  Working in my office when Shipping Mgr called me and said the WTC had a airplane accident!  Minutes later SWMBO also called.  The main Conference Room was next to my office so I went in there and turned on the TV and it seemed most of the shop/office personnel started coming in also as the 2nd plane hit.  I was still on the line with SWMBO.  
Will never forget, like the day President Kennedy was assassinated.