9/11 where were you?

Submitted by randyfloyd on
14 years ago I awoke to a beautiful day, a perfect day. I decided to go out on my back porch and enjoy the morning a bit, instead of watching the news like I normally did. My neighbor came over and was freaking out, she told me to turn on the news, we are under attack. That day the world changed forever and I'll never forget those that were lost that day.

ST3

September 11th, 2015 at 3:02 PM ^

I was driving into work, listening to Howard. I turned the radio on after the buildings were hit, but before they collapsed, so everything was still very confused. Living on the west coast, we used to get a replay of Stern's show, but he went long that day so I picked it up in real time. I was on the road between 6 and 6:30 AM pacific time to beat LA traffic. When I got to work, they had CNN on at the entrance to the building. I watched that for another half hour and was just in a daze. I remember thinking, how am I supposed to work today? My bosses' wife worked in one of the few high-rises in LA, so he was upset, wondering if her building was going to be a target (the planes were headed to the west coast, but we later found out the terrorists picked those routes so the planes would be full of fuel when they hit the buildings.)

RoseBowlBound

September 11th, 2015 at 10:59 AM ^

I can corroborate that the inital story reported on the Wall Street messaging systems was that it was an idiot in a little Cessna (so this was not Howard Stern reporting it).  From the southern view, it did not appear to cause much damage to the building.  The second plane on the other hand caused a massive explosion and shook almost every tall building south of the WTC.

AlCzerviksRide

September 11th, 2015 at 9:22 AM ^

I was stuck there until the following Monday.  It was an eerie feeling knowing I even if I wanted, I couldn't get home for a while.  Then on the flight the following Monday, the airport terminal in Houston was dead, and had National Guardsmen with M16s walking around. It's one thing to see that at the airport in mexico City or Monterrey.  It was another to see it in the US.

yzerman19

September 11th, 2015 at 9:22 AM ^

... that someone flew a plan into the pentagon.  i said don't be ridiculous that is the most heavily protected aor space on the planet.

Wave83

September 11th, 2015 at 9:23 AM ^

I was at a Starbucks working on a legal brief, or maybe it was catching up with emails, all before heading downtown to my law office in Cleveland.  It was already after 9 a.m. and a guy came rushing in to tell a friend sitting near me that TWO planes had separately hit the TWO towers of the WTC.  My head shot up, and then he looked over to me and said directly to me (a stranger), "that's means its terrorism, you know."

I didn't experience the feeling that it was an accident with the first tower, only to watch the second crash live like so many did.  

By the time I got to my office and joined everyone watching the TV, I had to ask what that other building was that was on fire.   It was then that I learned about the Pentagon.

RIP

Felix.M.Blue

September 11th, 2015 at 9:23 AM ^

I work night shift and would turn Howard on for the last couple hours of my shift. He's based in NY and he stayed on air and covered the entire thing. After work I drove home and went to bed.

 

sadeto

September 11th, 2015 at 9:47 AM ^

I remember Howard's voice from someone's radio while I was walking over the Brooklyn Bridge with thousands of people. He was pissed and saying what we were all thinking, we have to track down whoever did this and make them pay. It took almost 10 years but we did it. 

I also remember an Orthodox Jewish ambulance trying to drive across the bridge towards Manhattan to get to the site, I have this image seared in my brain of men in Orthodox dress outside the ambulance trying to part the crowds so it could get through. 

gsquared2123

September 11th, 2015 at 9:27 AM ^

Just finished watching the movie Blow (which blew) and I was turning off the television before going to bed.  I was just lucky to have had the AFN station on when I turned off the movie.  Interesting time for sure... 

gsquared2123

September 11th, 2015 at 11:43 AM ^

No one likes(d) Schwab...or Hansen. They were just jungles and ranges far away from the Air Force girls on Kadena. I miss the brunch at the O-club at kadena more than anything on that little rock.  It was a good place to be stationed in my opinion. I wish I never PCS'd

Blue4U

September 11th, 2015 at 1:28 PM ^

I was with 7th Marines (29 Palms) and our units would rotate every 18 months to Schwab for a 6 month pump.  We would only spend a couple of months there actually.  Most of the time we would be out on floats, doing Cobra Gold or training with the ROK Marines.  I do miss the women on Kadena though!!! 

Helloheisman

September 11th, 2015 at 9:29 AM ^

I can remember the seat I was sitting in taking a quiz in my chemistry class. Then suddenly the teacher popped up from her computer and mumbled something about an email from the principle. She then fired up the TV to CNN and the first tower was on fire. Then to our horror we actually seen the second plane hit on live TV. All I can say is... It was awful. Needless to say all afternoon activities ie practices and games were cancelled. I didn't agree with my coaches very often but I did this day... They urged us to go home and spend time with our families and to be thankful.

Tuebor

September 11th, 2015 at 9:30 AM ^

7th Grade Computer Class.  Found some articles that said the WTC had been attacked but then the administrators put the school on lockdown and canceled after school activities.  My Dad picked me and my brother up instead of us walking the very short distance home.  I thought that was strange since he usually worked and I walked home after football practice.  Then I walked in the door and my Dad had the news on.  I learned what terrorism was that day.

sadeto

September 11th, 2015 at 9:30 AM ^

After exiting the subway at Park Place, because my usual John Street stop was closed, I walked down a ways and looked up just after the second plane hit. I was on the plaza near the corner of Church and Dey watching people fall out of the towers, trying in vain to call my office when the first tower fell. There was complete chaos, thousands of people milling about in shock, I'll never forget the cop in his boxers and t-shirt waving his badge stopping people from getting closer, he had obviously just rolled out of bed. All of a sudden there was a sound like a roaring waterfall, I looked up and the tower was crashing down on itself floor by floor and a huge cloud of debris was falling right on top of us. Everyone turned and ran away, except that cop who ran toward the tower. The debris cloud hit really fast and everything was dark. I wound up walking over the Brooklyn Bridge and catching a train at the Atlantic Ave. terminal. 

WolverineinSB

September 11th, 2015 at 9:30 AM ^

In 4th grade in 2nd period and then all the teachers started freaking out. We were all told to go to the gym and call our parents bc school got cancelled. They never told us why so I didn't find out till around noon when my mom picked me up. Had football practice that night and was so happy it wasn't cancelled. I needed to do something.




Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad

M Fanfare

September 11th, 2015 at 9:30 AM ^

I was in middle school. A few teachers had heard what happened and turned on their classroom TVs. That lasted for about 20 minutes until our principal unplugged the main cable connection and decided to pretend that nothing was amiss. Of course, that made things way worse because then the rumors started flying, some of which turned out to be true. Weird day.

JHendo

September 11th, 2015 at 9:32 AM ^

I was a sophomore at Huron, it was 2nd hour and I was in my Spanish 3AC class in one of the portables.  Then, we all suddenly got called to leave class and head over to the auditorium, where our principal announced that two planes had just flown into the Twin Towers, and that it didn't appear to be accidental.  I'll never forget that the class douchebag, who always had something stupid to say for any situation and who was sitting in front of me, couldn't muster a single word.  That always struck me as a great indicator at the gravity of the situation.

I then headed over to my 3rd hour geology class.  On the TV in there was where I got my first look at what was happening, and that was where watched the 1st and 2nd towers fall live right in front of our eyes.  No one spoke, everyone including the teacher just sat there with their mouths open and glossed over eyes.  The rest of the day from there is a complete fog.

Mr Miggle

September 11th, 2015 at 9:31 AM ^

It didn't seem real. I was in downtown NYC on 8/11 visiting friends. The first thing I did was try to remember where all of them worked.  I spent most of the day on the phone and online talking to family and checking on friends.

Nobody Likes a…

September 11th, 2015 at 9:32 AM ^

9/11 is a line of demarcation in my life. I was 19 at the time and had dropped out of school and was working at my parents’ restaurant. A little over 2 months later I would begin my career properly but at that point I was an aimless drop out with few prospects and enjoying it in the way you can when you’re  19 and have no long view.

 

I was out of town the weekend visiting a friend and woke up late. A friend of the family, who was a cop by day, was over working on finishing the basement at my parents’ house. I don’t remember if he alerted me or I alerted him to the first plane hitting the tower, but for some reason I knew bin ladens name from the first attacks and knew it was him.

 

The thing that really sticks out to me from that day though was that feeling the whole day like the world I understood was fundamentally different now. It was a wholly unique feeling I have never felt since. I remember going into work that night and no one came in. The place was empty and stayed that way. I guess in the face of such violence and uncertainty people wanted to eat meals at home with their families, which I found comforting. 

Michigasling

September 11th, 2015 at 10:41 AM ^

Volunteer work for the primary election that was canceled a couple hours later.  Reassured my friends and family from across the country that outside a housing project in Harlem, I was probably in the safest place in the city.  And it felt that way, even before the crossing guard told us the truck driver who'd just stopped at the light reported what he'd heard on the radio.

And yes, it was a spectacularly gorgeous day in Harlem, the parents walking their kids to school.  And yes, like when JFK was killed, people can't help remembering where they were and all the details.   

After we figured out the election was canceled, I walked down to our campaign quarters, just to be with the others.  A guy came in nervously and asked to see the candidate.  Turns out he worked at the WTC but was late to work because he went to vote for our guy.   Didn't have to say that he was convinced that voting saved his life.

One of our volunteers was a policeman who had just finished law school and went down to Police Plaza to hand in his retirement papers.  Heard what was happening and ran down to help.  Never returned.  He was also an actor, and the soap where he occasionally played a policeman hung his photo in the fictional police dept., with the camera picking it up every 9/11 until the show was canceled. 

Another volunteer showed up at the campaign office, hours after having gone to her job downtown.  She walked all the way up there, ashes and dust on her shoes and purse, seemingly in shock, later saying her feet just took her there.  Our candidate took money out of his pocket to find her a cab home.  There weren't any, but fortunately the buses had started running again by then and I got her a seat.  She stared out the window the whole time, clutching the dusty pocketbook.  When I got her to her door and asked if she needed anything, she only said "A shower."

Artie

September 11th, 2015 at 9:34 AM ^

11th grade Econ, 1st block. We were still filtering into class and our teacher had the news on. Ended up watching as the 2nd tower was hit. Teachers the rest of the day gave our classes the option of watching the news/discussing the events or having class. Needless to say, we didn't have any classes that day.




Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad

MGJS SuperKick Party

September 11th, 2015 at 9:34 AM ^

7th Grade Band Class. Principle came on and said we were in lockdown. Being a person who was super into action movies, I remember speculating something going on outside (I live in a country bumpkin town). Next class was computers and the teacher was so sad looking and she basically gave us a free pass for the day. After that the entire 7th grade class went into two rooms and watched the news coverage.

lilpenny1316

September 11th, 2015 at 9:37 AM ^

I was getting ready for work and was about to drop my wife off at the Pentagon City Metro.  As she gets in the car, I hear a loud roaring sound.  I look up and I see an American Airlines jet a few hundred feet up (you could see the lights on inside and no landing gear down).  I watched the second plane hit the WTC on TV so I had a bad feeling.  I follow it as it goes over some trees and two seconds later a big boom.  I go back in the apartment to call 911 and there's a huge black cloud of smoke filling the sky.

That evening, I went over to a hill across the highway from the Pentagon and watched the firefighters working on the fire.  You could see a huge gaping hole.  Scariest day of my life.

Jaxpo

September 11th, 2015 at 9:42 AM ^

In reception battalion at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. It was supposed to be my last day in reception before heading to my unit. At around 3am we were woke up by pounding on our doors. I figured it was a random drug test, since that is a common thing in the U.S. Army. When I opened the door the NCO said we had just been bombed. He said it was not a drill. None of us really believed it until we got our uniforms on, went to the dayroom and saw the TV. We were then sent to various location around the island to secure things. I spent the rest of the day filling sandbags and putting up consertina wire.

OysterMonkey

September 11th, 2015 at 9:38 AM ^

Spent the whole morning repeatedly listening to Dylan's "Love and Theft" which had just come out that day, and didn't turn the tv on until I got a call from a friend in the early afternoon to talk about what was happening. 

Hotel Putingrad

September 11th, 2015 at 9:40 AM ^

But honestly what I really remember was how everyone came together. It's really the only period in my lifetime (other than the Miracle on Ice, but I was too young to appreciate it) when I can recall a feeling of every American being on the same team. It lasted only about a week, but it was nice while it did.

MaximusBlue

September 11th, 2015 at 9:40 AM ^

I was in spanish class when our principal came on the intercom and announced what was happening. We then turned our tv on and watched the news. Didn't realize at the time how serious it was. Still very intrigued by those events and relive those moments every year on this day.

Wendyk5

September 11th, 2015 at 9:47 AM ^

My husband and I were getting ready for work when we saw the first plane hit on the news. No one knew at that point what had really happened, so we rode our bikes to work, like we did every day. We worked in a high rise in Chicago that looked eerily like one of the Towers. When we got there, they told us the building was shut down for the day, so we rode home. As soon as we got there, we saw the other tower come down. There are a lot of events over the past 15 years that I can't clearly remember, but I remember that morning in detail. 

FieldingBLUE

September 11th, 2015 at 10:09 AM ^

I was on the Red Line underground heading to work in Evanston. Mike&Mike mentioned plane hit WTC and speculated that it was a Cessna poorly piloted by amateur. Went in the tube lost radio signal...came back out after north/clybourn to hear Peter Jennings on radio reporting the tragedy. Stood at bus stop in Evanston with three others all tuned into our Walkmans and could literally see us all shake and jump when announcement was made that tower fell. They cancelled work for the day but many of us stayed up north rather than traveling through the Loop since not sure what was happening. My apartment on West Side had view of Sears to East and view of flight paths to Midway on South. Very odd afternoon of watching coverage on tv with a skyscraper out one window and lack of planes out the other.




Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad

Wendyk5

September 11th, 2015 at 10:27 AM ^

I worked in the Aon Building (old Standard Oil building) on Wacker. I was on the 40th floor and after that day, I had a daily lingering fear about being up that high. I can't imagine what people who worked in the Sears Tower felt. After that day, my husband and I had to devise a plan in case something happened. We worked in the same building, but not on the same floor, so we agreed that if the building was struck or bombed, we wouldn't worry about the other one getting to the ground floor. We would take care of ourselves to get downstairs. One of us had to survive because we had a son. Just the thought of that conversation is chilling, even now.