Where were you- 911?

Just thought this might be a cool topic. I know in my own life, there have been times that are permanently imbedded into my mind. Most of these are around tragic events just like the rest of you. I remember Desert Storm, Princess Diana, Hugo (the hurricane), President Regan's assassination attempt, the Challenger, etc... I remember each of those events, and where I was when they occurred. It's erie thinking back.

With that said, I'll never forget my memory of Sept 11. I had just started on as a recruiter for the Army National Guard, and each morning, I would stop by each of the 3 units I was assigned to and drink a cup of coffee/say hello on my way to my office.

I remember that morning, that I had heard something about the 1st plane hitting on the radio on my 4 mile drive. I thought "wow, that's terrible. What a horrible accident!". I got to the firefighting unit and the only full-timer who worked there was watching the coverage on t.v. I grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down with him. We watched it talking about it for a few, and then the 2nd plane hit! I was in shock, and the first thing I thought about was OMG... those poor people!!!

During all the commotion and turmoil on the news, all I could think was... "That second one was no accident!". It was a sinking feeling, and I had the worst feeling in my gut. There was an announcement over the radio to all of the units out on the base. We were on lock-down immediately. Nobody on, or off the base. NO exceptions. It was a very surreal, scary, and helpless feeling. They didn't let us leave for nearly 4 hours, and I was instructed to report to our headquarters for further orders.

While I was at the firefighting unit, we watched the President give his speech, and it really freaked me out not knowing who was responsible for this, and what else did they have planned...

I guess I'm thinking about 9/1 because of the anniversary coming up, but I just think it's pretty amazing how we can remember details like we do during stressful situations. Anyone else want to post what they were doing on 9/11? I want to hear some stories!

I was at work. Our executive director decided it was best not to close, but we all went into our main conference room and watched the events unfold on TV all day.

I can't remember where *I* was on 9/11, but I bet Andrew was working on the new site.

GI_Jim wrote:Just thought this might be a cool topic. I know in my own life, there have been times that are permanently imbedded into my mind. Most of these are around tragic events just like the rest of you. I remember Desert Storm, Princess Diana, Hugo (the hurricane), President Regan's assassination attempt, the Challenger, etc... I remember each of those events, and where I was when they occurred. It's erie thinking back.

With that said, I'll never forget my memory of Sept 11. I had just started on as a recruiter for the Army National Guard, and each morning, I would stop by each of the 3 units I was assigned to and drink a cup of coffee/say hello on my way to my office.

I remember that morning, that I had heard something about the 1st plane hitting on the radio on my 4 mile drive. I thought "wow, that's terrible. What a horrible accident!". I got to the firefighting unit and the only full-timer who worked there was watching the coverage on t.v. I grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down with him. We watched it talking about it for a few, and then the 2nd plane hit! I was in shock, and the first thing I thought about was OMG... those poor people!!!

During all the commotion and turmoil on the news, all I could think was... "That second one was no accident!". It was a sinking feeling, and I had the worst feeling in my gut. There was an announcement over the radio to all of the units out on the base. We were on lock-down immediately. Nobody on, or off the base. NO exceptions. It was a very surreal, scary, and helpless feeling. They didn't let us leave for nearly 4 hours, and I was instructed to report to our headquarters for further orders.

While I was at the firefighting unit, we watched the President give his speech, and it really freaked me out not knowing who was responsible for this, and what else did they have planned...

I guess I'm thinking about 9/1 because of the anniversary coming up, but I just think it's pretty amazing how we can remember details like we do during stressful situations. Anyone else want to post what they were doing on 9/11? I want to hear some stories!

First off, I wouldn't lump "Princess" Diana's death in with these other bona fide tragedies. She was one of thousands who die each year in car wrecks. So she was born into some vaunted social status in Europe, big deal. People act like we lost some great leader or great intellectual when she died. She did some nice things, sure, but that shouldn't maker her death all that relevant. But anyway, I digress.

On 9/11, I was in my 2nd or 3rd week of high school as a freshman. I went to a relatively large school just west of downtown Cleveland that had multiple buildings, and I remember running into one of my buddies who I knew from grade school on the outdoor area between class buildings. He told me "A plane just crashed into the WTC." I was like hmm, Wtf. At this point in my life, I wouldn't have been able to differentiate the WTC from the Empire State or Sears Towers. By the time I got to my class a few minutes later, it had become obvious this was no accident. The second plane had collided with the tower, and it was pretty jarring to see my 40-something science teacher chilled to the bone. Again, as a 15-year-old bright-eyed freshman, I wasn't accustomed to seeing adults in the throes of panic.

Looking back, that teacher did a remarkable job keeping his cool. He actually had gotten onto the bin Laden theory quite early and spent some time telling us about him. Quite honestly, I was fascinated. The only things I knew about terrorists at that point, I knew from True Lies and other Arnold classics--i.e., I knew they were Muslim, ugly as fuck, smelly, and stupid. I was eager to uncover the realities of the terrorist situation. Sadly, it turned out the Arnold movies were right, and there's really nothing more to those smelly fucks. We spent the rest of the day like most others who stayed at work/school probably did: they wheeled TVs into all the classrooms, lunch rooms etc, and students and teachers alike just sat there not knowing what to make of anything.

Meanwhile, as you said, no one really knew what was going to come next. Was this an isolated attack, or was it 1 in a series of coordinated attacks on several different cities? Cleveland's BP Building was rumored to be a potential target by news outlets struggling to make sense of what was happening. So, many parents (including my mother) panicked. Again, my high school was basically in the city. This was before the days when you had 6-year-olds (let alone high school students) running around with smartphones or plain old cell phones in their pockets. So, tons of parents were frantically calling the school seeking to remove their kids from school early. I opted to stay there til the end of the day, and my dad picked me up. I think they might have even sent people home from work that day.

The thing I remember most about that day is how bleak it got later in the day weather-wise. What started off as a beautiful early autumn day turned into an overcast and somber blanket of clouds, and I think young and old alike intuitively knew their lives had just changed forever.

Anyway, that birthed my life-long hatred for all things Muslim, and it's a philosophy that serves me well to this day. I have 0 desire to associate with even supposed moderate Muslims. The worldly, moderate Muslims in the affluent suburbs around here nevertheless arrange marriages and do not allow their daughters to date or wear skirts. No thanks.

This is really what happened.

It's still pretty vivid for me. I was bringing in groceries from the car, after I had dropped my kids at school. My mom called me and said a plane hit the WTC, turn on the tv. I turned it on when plane one hit, and they still thought it was an accident. Well we all know what followed. I called my husband after the first plane, and he was at work. His police dept hadn't heard anything, so he put the tv on there, and they all watched it all play out live too. I stayed on the phone with him the whole time, pretty much losing it.

All I could think of was the people when the buildings fell one by one. See, we'd been there twice together. Once in 90, while visiting his family across the river in Jersey, before we were married, and the second time was a few years later, in fact that time, it was a year after the first failed bombing of the WTC. My fatherinlaw told us to please not go to the WTC, because he just had this feeling it would be hit again, and didn't want us there. Well, I guess he was right! But a lot if years too early.

We of course ignored him. He's pretty dramatic anyway. Well my husband being a police officer, was interested in collecting various police patches from places he visited. Common among some cops I guess. They show their id/badge and trade. So he thought it would be cool to have a port authority patch. Port authority acted as police AND fire fighters in the WTC. They were dressed as police, but fire gear was kept in a special room, in case they needed it.

So we go to their sub-station, and the guy is happy to talk to us, trade the patches, and he says he'll get one of the guys to give us a tour, and then take us to the top. The officer we got was really cool. He told us in detail what it was like the day the WTC was bombed that first time. He was in court away at the time, and heard the call out for the bombing. He said he rushed back to the WTC, and grabbed all his fire gear, and went to work in the building. He took us to the room they kept the gear in, and explained it all to us. He told us it was something he never cared to relive, yet there he was, STILL working in that target of a building. You could tell the pride he had in his job. He then took us on a private elevator to the top, and left us to enjoy the beautiful view. It was one of the coolest experiences for me.

So I often wonder if he was there on 9/11. If any of the faces I met were. When I cried, it wasn't for me and my fear of terrorism. It was for those people working there that day. For that city. Part of me wished I'd remembered his name, but I think it's better I don't. If I saw him on the list, I'd feel even worse.

I was so upset I knew the best place for my kids was in school. I figured it would be better they didn't see me that way. What an idiot I was!! I had NO CLUE parents were all picking up their kids! And that my kids would be just of a few whose parents left them!! And my son's 4th grade teacher actually put it on for a few minutes and started crying, and the kids KNEW something was wrong! The kids probably thought I was one of the parents who didn't care! I just didn't worry. I live in a small city outside Orlando, and I could reason that we were most likely safe. So many people panicked though!!

I made a choice not to have it on tv when the kids were home. We talked briefly to my son, since he saw the image, and didn't make him afraid. The girls were in K and 3rd grade, and I just didn't think they needed to watch. So what does my fatherinlaw do when they watched them a few weeks later??? He SHOWS them the taped footage he had and talks all about it. I think you know how I reacted when I found out! I just really thought it was something they should learn about when they were more mature and able to handle it better.

Anyway, that's my long story. I've seen the skyline 2 times since the, with them missing, and it still makes me cry. Once was on fact 10/11....EXACTLY one month after the attack. I had to land in Newark as a layover, when we headed to PA for a family wedding. I was so mad my husband booked a flight! I wanted to drive and was afraid. But we got cheap tickets go figure!!! Only $78 a piece.....WITH taxes and fees!! Unbelievable! When the plane was landing in Newark, you could have heard a pin drop with the silence on that plane, all eyes fixated on that skyline as the plane was going in for landing. We walked to a window in the airport, where you could see the whole skyline. And it just seemed so surreal to see it without those 2 prominent buildings. Just too sad.

I haven't made it back to NYC since they've been gone. I know I will someday. Two of my kids were there for a band trip, and went to the site. It's so hard to explain to them what they were like! They got to go in the Empire state building, but it doesn't compare at all! I would like to see the memorial someday myself.

The day after 9/11 I saw the final night of the Arrival tour in York, PA. My brother (the megaphone) drove up and his car didn't have a radio, which was kind of disturbing, not knowing if anything else might happen. Night Ranger was supposed to open but all planes were grounded.

This is someone else's account of the show on "the day after".

http://www.journey-zone.com/Archive/Reviews/2001.htm#6

I was actually sleeping on a pullout bed in the living room, with my girlfriend at the time, when the phone rang. My mother and step-father were in Las Vegas and my mom left a message (that we could here) saying, "Something very bad is going on and you need to turn on the TV right away." The bedroom set that we picked out hadn't been delivered yet and we had been sleeping on the couch. I turned on the 53" Sony and watched the second plane hit, literally seconds after I turned on the TV. I sat there mesmerized all day. My fury grew by the second.

I called the college I was attending at the time, Chicago State University, to see if my class later that afternoon had been cancelled. To my horror, it hadn't. I was livid, but had no choice but to attend. The syllabus clearly stated that 2 absences resulted in failure of the course and I had already missed once. My professor's name was Dr. Sadia Warsi and she was a Muslim that dressed in full garb. I remember sitting in the back of the class that day, terrified, waiting for her to explode. Her first words were something like "The events of today made me consider cancelling class, but most of you showed up, so we'll proceed as normal, and possibly leave a bit early." That only galvanized my hatred for all things Muslim.

Listen, man, if you wear headgear and you're not on a bike, horse, football field, baseball field or some other sensible American activity, I have zero desire to be your friend or associate with you. Moreover, I wish you instant death and would light you on fire, myself ... if I was absolutely assured I wouldn't get caught. I'm not sure about the rest of you, but several thousand years of deplorable killings, cult-like brainwashing and a general disdain and inability to embrace any semblance of American culture (referring to the ones currently polluting the U.S.), is more than enough for me to absolutely hate these bastards. It's funny how the liberals call you intolerant or label you as a hate group if you don't slobber over all things homosexual, yet they pander to Muslims ... a group so sick and evil that they murder people that use Allah in cartoons. Nah, that's not intolerant at all!

Saint John wrote:I can't remember where *I* was on 9/11, but I bet Andrew was working on the new site.

Post of the day right there!!

Ed wrote:I was at work. Our executive director decided it was best not to close, but we all went into our main conference room and watched the events unfold on TV all day.

+1

Exact replay of my day as well, although they let people go home if they wanted to. Very very unproductive day. Scary shit, as we work in twin towers as well, we all went up to the boardroom and watched the tv transfixed in horror as the day unfolded.

I was off work and went to work-out with a friend early in the morning (my time zone is two hours earlier than NYC). As we were leaving the gym one of the girls stopped us and told us that the WTC had been hit. I came home and turned the TV on and, like nearly every other American that day, was in total shock. I was glued to the TV. My youngest was 9 months old and all I could think was that I was a terrible person for bringing such innocent children into such a disturbing world.

The following day a group of girls from work and I were going to a conference a couple of hours away. We found out that one of the doctors we worked with was in DC at the time and was trying to get home but there were no planes leaving, there were no rental cars available. He was able to get a ride to at least Detroit with a group of doctors that were at the conference with him but he didn't know if he could get home from there. We all decided we'd keep in touch with him and if he couldn't get a rental car to get home we'd all skip the conference and go get him. Luckily he was able to get a rental car and drive back.

For the next two weeks I had the TV on every second I was home. I finally had to make a conscious decision to turn the TV off and just avoid it.

Ed wrote:This is really what happened.

Lol!! That's pretty damn funny Ed! :-)

I remember when they had grounded all planes, it was so erie the first time I saw one in the air again. I can't even imagine how much money the airline industry lost over that time.

Due to advice from my attorney I can not say where I was that day

I knew it...

I'm logging off WTF and all further digs at me.

Behshad wrote:
I'm logging off WTF and all further digs at me.