Remembering 9/11

I didn't even realize what today was until a co-worker pointed it out.

I still remember this day like it was yesterday, even though I didn't personally know anyone affected by it.

I was working midnights and had went to sleep after work.  When I woke up I thought that my grandma was watching a movie on TV.  I was stunned about the events that had happened while I was sleeping.  It was heartwenching thinking about the families that would never see their love ones again and the terror that the victims had to endure.

It still makes me shake just writting this.

I was in 2nd grade when everything happened. I remember I had to use the bathroom sooo bad, my teacher had just lined us up to go to the lunch room. As we were almost there, my teacher stopped me and told me I was going home early and to go get my stuff. I remember my mom talking to my teacher and my teacher agreeing "Yeah, I can defiantly see why you're worried, that's so scary.."

On the ride home my brother asked "Why'd you take us out of school?" my parents responded, "Because something really bad happened, and we want to make sure you're safe." When we got home, we flipped on the television.. Every single channel had the same thing on repeat. A plane, a building, and different angles of people in absolute terror. My oldest brother (whom was in 8th grade at the time) couldn't find a channel for my other older brother and I to watch. I didn't understand what was happening, but I sat there and watched anyway. The news reporters babbling like sport reporters during the game. "And then as you see here, the second plane comes crashing into that building!"

I knew people died that day, but it was all so confusing to me. Now that I'm older, reflecting on what happened gives me goosebumps. Really? That Happened? Even to this day it just seems so unrealistic.. so impossible.  But it happened, and people died. It happened, and it was used against us, over and over again for politics. It's funny how on one beautiful september day, our lives can be completely turned upside down like a flip of a switch, no?

 

RIP Dale.

Such events always burn themselves into one's memory--positive and negative.  I remember the Challenger disaster and the moon landing so vividly I can practically recall the scents in the room at the time.

My memory of 9/11 is one of disbelief.  We had become empty nesters just weeks before, and I was enjoying long bike rides in the morning before work.  Taking in some extra miles got me home late, so I showered and dressed without turning on the TV as was my custom.  A CD left in my car player kept me from hearing any radio enroute to work.

Coming in to the building, a co-worker remarked about the planeless skies in a way that struck me as odd, but I was a bit late and feeling hurried.  Getting to my desk I checked voice mail, and got the word from my boss that there would be an auditorium meeting all morning about the day's still unspecified events.  I figured it was a layoff, when a co-worker came and gave me the news.

He was so wound up he almost seemed giddy, and I figured he was pulling my chain.  I really hate that my memory of the day is polluted with that image.  All news websites were jammed, and I couldn't verify it, so I called my father who told me it was true.  I immediately called my wife who worked in a Denver skyscraper to urge her to evacuate, but I was well behind the curve and could only leave a message at her already abandoned workplace.

I went to the auditorium and watched the replays in utter disbelief.  At first, I was relieved to hear the toll was so low---I had imagined it would be 50,000 or 100,000 lives lost.  Seeing the people of the first tower at the windows--desparate, trapped and doomed is one of the most unbearably sad memories of my life.

I actually felt bad this morning when I realized I had forgot what day it was.

It's one of the very few times in my lifetime where I remember exactly where I was, what I was doing, etc...

Three things that stand out as memories from that day:

• I remember cryin as I watched TV and heard the national anthem being played at the changing of the guard in London while UK citizens were placing flowers in front of the US embassy...to this day it makes me cry.
• I remember seeing people standing on their porches that night just looking out...sort of just lost in thought.  And as you passed their house, you sort of exhchanged looks as if you were both feeling the same thing.  You felt connected to people in a way like never before.
• That following weekend I went to church.  I usually only go at Christmas time, I'm not a regular church goer.  Apparently I wasn't alone because the church was packed..so much so that they ran out of fliers and the lady handing them out said more people had showed up that weekend than Christmas Day based on how many they gave out.
• I remember that the event made me consider enlisting in the armed forces.  I kicked it around for about 6 months and when I lost my job in early 2002 I decided that I would do it.  I was supposed to meet with a recruiter in like 2 days when I found out that my wife was pregnant...so I never ended up enlisting.
• And one sort of odd memory I have is I remember driving to work later that week after it happened and seeing a young guy, walking down the road carrying an American flag.  It was like he was trying to start a parade or something...cars were honking at him and he was waving and giving a thumbs up.

It is sad how the event has been used by the present administration to justify their own political agendas...but it's even more sad to hear people talk about it as if it's nothing more than propaganda for one party or another...as if it didn't really happen.

I remember it as being surreal - like a Khafka novel in slow motion.  My office is in a mall, and virtually every customer and employee ended up congregating in front of an audio/video store watching the reports on the big screen televisions - in absolute silence.  Strange as it may seem, there were two people from our little southern Ontario town at the Trade Centre that very day - thank god they both managed to escape unharmed.  If nothing else, it made me realize that improbable things do happen, and you can't always be prepared, so live life well. 

Blessings to all those who lost loved ones in the tragedy.

I remember going up to the towers as a kid, looking up and thinking wow, it's so big, nothing can ever hurt this thing, it's bigger than everything. I remember looking at the towers on my way into them at 9/11, and a plane hit the building. I remember when they fell, the many friends and many family members I lost. I remember thinking of my friends who in some cases lost both parents and their siblings. I remember how my heart broke, and breaks every single day because of how much I got taken away from me in one day. I feel resentment to this day, for people saying it "wasn't a big deal". Maybe not compared to what goes on in other countries, but it was horrible. I remember overhearing tourists say in October of 2001 "It doesn't look too bad, they made it look worse". Too bad? There is dust, debris, EVERYWHERE. They weren't around when there were literally body parts lying around. They watched it on TV, they didn't lose anyone, they are on the outside looking in. They cry because of other people's pain, they don't know what it is like to have it happening to you.

I don't know. I am just so angry.

 

RIP to all my friends and family, I love you, and I will NEVER forget you.

RIP to all my firefighter friends/family, I thank you not only for being a friend, but for trying to save others and be a friend to them. All gave some, but some gave ALL. You made the ultimate sacrifice, and I love you.

To all those who lost someone on 9/11/2001, I wish you nothing but peace, happiness, love, and eventually, closure.

Oh God, and I remember when I saw on the news London and Canada, and I think Russia, raising OUR American flag and playing OUR national anthem. I was so devestated, and so thankful for that obvious outpouring of pure LOVE. I am not a religious person, but God bless those countries for not being so selfish like we are. Seriously. Another country playing our anthem and raising our flag...above their own. My God. We would never do that, and they are just...wow. Fantastic people.

it happened during my study abroad in Sydney, Australia. it was about 10pm and we were watching the West Wing, of all things, when they broke in with the news. at first we thought it was part of the show, until we realized that the newscaster was Australian.

at first we thought it was a freak accident, until the second plane hit. i remember my friend leaping from the couch and screaming at the TV. she was from Long Island, with family living in Manhattan. i remember thinking right away, "how are they going to fix that once they put the fires out?" i also thought "i'd run up to the roof so they could pick me up" i wouldn't have made it out.

another friend lived in a building with no TVs, i was on the phone with her, trying to describe what was happening as the towers came down. how do you describe something like that? i didn't know. there we were 10,000 miles from home, phone lines all jammed. it was awful.

in the days after, seeing the people with photos of their loved ones hit me the hardest. one in particular, a teenaged girl, was holding a picture of her father. she kept having to look at the sky to contain her tears, then back at the camera. the desperation in her eyes...well, 7 years and i still remember it. at least at that moment there was hope he'd come back, now i know he more than likely didn't.  

i will never forget.  

I was thinking about this as I was driving in to work.  I remembered journaling about this when it happened.  I looked up what I wrote:

"2001-09-11 - 6:32 p.m.

So, as I'm sure everyone knows, there was a huge tragedy today. Rather than spout out ranting and ravings about who, what, where, when, why regarding this incident... I just have one thing to say.

 I'm afraid what my country will do in retaliation if they find who planned this gruesome attack.

 I hold the value of human life above all else. I don't like the idea of people killing each other for any reason. Even less when the reasons are related to petty religious fanaticism, or racism, sexism, fascism, or even down right revenge. I don't think that there is ever a good reason to kill another human being. I am most afraid that our country will turn right around and create some other giant catastrophe out of the name of "justice." I'm afraid that my country will attack another country, or individuals just for the sake of vengeance. I don't think that's right. I don't think the answer to mass violence is more violence. Do I have a reason to be concerned? Probably."

Gee.  Guess I was right.  So sad.  I'll always remember that day clearly.

I was in 7th grade at J.H. 216 in Flushing when it happened. I remember the hysteria of my English teacher whose husband worked in the towers. She later learned that he was okay. We were initially locked down, but at about noon we were all released from school. My mom was so cool and collected through it all, I don't know how she did it. She was power-walking me out of school to the car with the sole purpose of getting us home it seemed. Normally she'd be at work and I'd take the rail home.

When we got home though she broke down. In the ensuing days we learned that my cousin -- NYFD -- was killed in this tragedy.

It holds a special, but austere place in my heart.

I think I have forgiven, but I know I can never forget.

RIP "Big" Rob Lane -- Engine 55, NYFD, and all the victims.

This breaks my heart to this day...

I received a call from my mother, "turn on the news" a plane just crashed into the world trade building, just as I did, the other plane hit, it was horrifying, I couldn't believe it.  My phone dropped as I stood in shock.  I still to this day tear up thinking about how I felt that day.

I still get chills everytime I hear the national anthem, still remember how I felt as I had to leave my 1 year old child at daycare that day, to go and sit at work (customer service for a military contract, which clearly weren't any calls at all) staring out the window at how such a beautiful day could bring such tragic...

We had a radio on to listen to what was going on in the world, but it felt as though we were missing so much.  I still stare at the sky as I did that day, with the disbelief. 

My heart goes out to everyone that was lost on that day... The world has not been the same to me since that day 7 years ago. 

It's so scary to have that sense of security taken away from you that fast. 

I also remember going and laying on the park benches on NYC staring up at the towers moving in the wind when I was on my 6th grade field trip to the United Nations buildings. 

They took so much more from us that our buildings that day...

I wish we didn't have to have this in our memories! 

Original Post by loriklorik :

9/11?... all i remember from that is how its been used over and over for political manipulation of America... weee

 Learn to be a bit more sensitive please. 9/11 was more than that, and should be remembered as more than that.

I don't remember much about 9/11 ( i was in 3rd grade) but I do remember my teacher freaking out and then my dad coming to pick us up from school right after it happened, and him freaking out too. I also remember watching videos of people jumping off the top floors of the buildings to avoid being burned or crushed to death...I can't imagine being in their shoes and their families' shoes. God bless them all.

RIP Uncle Tom, Kaleen and Anthony.

I was driving on to my college campus about 20 minutes from the city.  I had no idea what was going on, had a CD on the entire time and on my way in a friend practically jumped on my car to tell me what happened.  We ran into the media building and watched the first tower burn and talking about what a horrible accident it was until the second plane came in.  Then everyone got mad, everyone got beyond upset and felt the need to move.  School was shut down within minutes and everyone had their eyes to the sky for the rest of the day even though air traffic had been stopped.  A military plane flew over my house a few hours later and we were all terrified.  I also live near a military base, everyone here was sure that would be a target.  So we huddled in the house glued to the tv terrified and waited for something to happen, what was next.  The next day flags were painted on cars and doors, the flag factory in Dover NJ was completely overwhelmed with orders and I had a feeling that I could depend on a complete stranger to help me in case something like this happened again.  Everyone felt a sense of friendship in one another and that was nice, I'm sorry that wore off so quickly but in strange circumstances it seems to come back.  I was recently on a plane and the person in front of me refused to listen to the flight attendents.  The second I opened my mouth to say something to this person, three other people beat me to it.  No one wants to be scared and we need to depend on each other.  Don't forget that day, politics, myths, whatever, those things pale in the face of the reality of what it was.

I was in 2nd grade. My teacher and her British fiance were reading Matilda to us when an administrator walked in and announced that 2 planes had crashed, and I remember loving her fiance's velvety voice and crusty accent so much that I was quite upset that he stopped reading. I thought that planes crashed all the time, and nobody specified that they had crashed into a building until later that day. When I got home my mom and dad tried to explain it to me, but I hugged a green pillow tight to my chest, and refused to let them. My father was reading "The Hobbit" to me at that time. He had promised that my two favorite dwarves wouldn't die, but in the final battle they did, and I remember being far more upset about that than anything else. I cried for 2 days because of poor Owin and Glowin. 

My babysitter and one of my best friends at the time, Arun, was Indian. He was a big guy, and pretty muscular. He was really sweet and kind and smart, and I remember him being pulled over and brought down to the station multiple times in the following years because he looked markedly Middle-Eastern. Or maybe just 'cause he had brown skin. 

 Learn to be a bit more sensitive please. 9/11 was more than that, and should be remembered as more than that.

Hmm... really?

Lets look at what REALLY happened. A few thousand people died and a couple buildings got knocked down. On that level, its less in deaths AND damage than the large earthquake in Asia a while ago….

But, no, your right…its more than that.

Everyone who died didn’t simply die (like so many do every day). Instead their deaths were twisted and used to go to war (leading to murder of many more thousand innocent people). Not to mention huge economic costs and even still is used to further political positions.

Whenever I hear someone bring up 9/11…all I can wonder is how next their deaths (and all the deaths to come after) will be even further perverted for someone’s gain….

It annoys me that America would use the lives of their own people like that… I always wondered why the people who were actually closely affected by the event aren’t even more upset by the complete exploitation of their relatives / friends deaths….

I was in 6th grade & my social studies teacher was talking to us about our weekly "current events" assignment. He said, & I quote, "something just happened that'll probably be in the news this week. A plane hit the World Trade Center."
Our reactions ranged from "What's the World Trade Center?" to "Oh, okay" to "I wanna write about that."

Literally 10 minutes later we were told to switch classes early & went back to our homeroom teacher, who proceeded to spazz out & tell us "you guys are witnessing the start of World War 3!" while we watched the news. Then of course our parents came & picked us up.

What a day.

I'm surprised how few replies there are to this thread... it's unfortunate.

I still remember exactly what I was doing when it happened. It shocks me every September 11th when I see memorials during the news and stuff. My prayers go out to anyone who was affected.

Original Post by stronger_:

I'm surprised how few replies there are to this thread... it's unfortunate.

 

I didn't reply because it did not affect me. It was never something that really bothered me. I mean, I thought it was terrible and sad but it definately is not something I think about, or celebrate the anniversary of

stronger, many threads around here do not get twenty responses, let alone 40.

This wasn't posted to get responses, it was posted so that some point today a person would reflect and think about how the world was changed that day.

It did not even occur to me that yesterday (9/10) was followed by 9/11.  That is something that should never be forgotten, because once it is, and we are no longer on guard it could happen again.