Never forget..... 9/11/2001

God Bless Us All!

I was one of a few students who commuted to main campus. I had a 9:00 am class on the second floor of the College of Pharmacy, so I didn't have a clue what was happening. I arrived to class and was the only one there. I looked outside and noticed the leaves changing and a bright blue early September Michigan sky. As gentle breeze fluttered them, I checked my planner to make sure I was in the right place, but before I could get there, my classmate opened the door and told me the news. We sprinted to the break room and watched in horror as the news came in. This is a moment that is burned into my memory. 

An old friend was on the 92nd floor of Tower 2.  He did not make it out.

I had lots of family and friends in the area that were all okay; my heart and prayers go out to everyone that lost someone that day.

I was working in Somerset Mall that morning, at Restoration Hardware.  I worked in the stock room and we were listening to FM radio when the broadcast came on and, while we were horrified at the "accident" of the first plane hitting the WTC, I will never forget the feeling when the second plane hit.  It was an emotional sucker punch.  The immediate realization that we were being attacked combined with a stunned feeling...who could be so evil?  Always felt a strong connection between that moment and (nerd alert) Theoden's line in (ironically) The Two Towers, "So much death...What can men do against such reckless hate?"

It wasn't just the scope of the tragedy, but the randomness.  Somehow it feels like if the only target had been the Pentagon (also know someone who was there that day), the day would have felt drastically different.  As a government and military target, it would make sense for it to be attacked.  And I think that's why most remembrances are about the towers: there was no objective other than maximum death and destruction of a random group of people.  The individuals themselves weren't targets and the WTC was really only iconic as a skyline feature.  Just an act of pure malice that didn't feel possible.

The mall closed not long after and I went to my other job for a few hours, but the the next 48 hours or so did not feel real.  Definitely the most crying I've ever done in a two day stretch.

My deepest condolences go out to anyone who lost someone on that day, or who were made ill/lost later due to their rescue efforts or proximity to the scene.

Never forget. 

I had lived in London once before in the early 90's right after graduating from M, at a time when  they were still on high alert from all the IRA bombings and saw first hand then what the constant threat of terrorism can do to a population.

I was living there again and working in the music industry when 9/11 occurred. The company I worked for had a service that streamed music into BSkyB digital TV systems all over EMEA and so all execs had big flat screens in their offices. Mine wasn't on at the time, but I walked past the CEO's office a few doors down and saw him turned away from his desk and looking at a burning building on his TV. I kept walking and thought it was strange he was watching "Towering Inferno" (or something similar to it) at the end of a work day. On my way back by a few minutes later he was still watching and I stepped in to chide him about watching movies at work, but before I could say anything, he turned his chair around and the look on his face told me not to say anything. It took me a few more seconds to realize what had actually happened. I walked into my office, turned on my TV and was watching and attempting to comprehend what was going on when the second plane hit. I sat there well into the night with several co-workers watching the towers go down and trying to dial through to the U.S. and determine if everyone was okay (I had lived in San Francisco prior to London and one of the downed planes was destined for there). I was fortunate not to lose anyone. I got back to my place late at night and continued watching with an overwhelming sense of helplessness at not being able to help or do anything, along with a profound feeling that things had fundamentally changed, though not sure exactly what.

It was a weird perspective to be in Europe in a country that had been attacked and had fairly recently lived through a long era of terrorist threats. The Brits all felt terrible for us, but were spot on in terms of what they said would happen to us as a nation.....that fear would rule and civil liberties would suffer. London is almost entirely covered by cctv cameras as a result of that mentality and lots of legislation passed during/after the IRA bombings that infringed on citizens' privacy, though not really of the online/electronic variety, as that wasn't widely prevalent at the time. 

I spent most of my day today telling my middle school students my memories of that day.   One thing I will always remember is just how BLUE the sky was. It was such a juxtaposition to what was happening.  We are now a much more fearful nation.

And don't forget 9/11/73, either. Chileans cannot.

We hosted a German foreign exchange student for the 2000-2001 school year. As is common with many exchange programs, the students don't fly home until a few weeks after they graduate from the American school they attended. We took this time in June 2001 for a trip to Gettysburg, NYC and then Niagara falls as we traveled back through Canada. One of our activities when we visited NYC was a bus tour, which included a trip to the top of the World Trade Center. Fast forward three months later and I walked into our school office just minutes before the collapses started. It was surreal to watch considering I had been standing on top just a short time earlier in the year. God Bless everyone who suffered in any way, shape, or form from the tragic events of that day.

Worst day of my life, what a shitty fucking day this is.  

This day always hits me strangely.   I was in a German corn field East of Rostock watching erection of a wind farm.  I had driven 3 hours from Western Denmark caught a ferry and it was around 1pm in the afternoon.   The farm owners son came over to me and said I should go to my hotel as something was happening with the World Trade Center and planes.  Went to check into the Hotel, images everywhere on the TVs.   I am the only Westerner there, the Hotel was so nice, they asked what I needed.  I said do you have a Restaurant, wine and Internet access.  They gave me a key to the business office and ended up coming my meals my whole stay.  Worked out at the wind farm thru Friday drove back to Copenhagen caught the first authorized flight to North America Saturday to Toronto.  Caught a Sunday flight to Calgary and ended up taking the first flight authorized to land at LAX on Monday morning.  5 guys on the flight in, LAX was easily quiet.  Strange thing the company I worked for forgot I was in Germany thought I was in Denmark but could not find me on that Tuesday.  They called my wife in LA asking do you know where Roger is.   She cussed them out in Chinese and said what do you mean you don't know where he is, I just talked to him in Germany.   It was an earie awkward type feeling being out of the country and the ride back was so quiet.   Watching everything from afar was strange.

I never can and never will forget. The sight of the skyline without those towers still takes my breath away.

James Gartenberg was one of the people killed that day. He was a UM alumnus, and was very active in alumni affairs and events. He was the president of the U of M Alumni Club of New York City. It was supposed to be his last day of work - he went in to clean out his desk that day.

I recently visited the 9/11 museum and memorial, and I visited James' name on the wall at the memorial.