First of all, I sincerely apologize if I'm stepping on someone's toes by this being a duplicate topic. I can't search on it because it tells me it's too short of a search string or too common... and when I do "September 11" other kinds of posts show up. So... I'm sorry if I'm repeating, and I'm embarrassed if not only was it a thread, but if I responded to it myself. I know I've told my story a few times, just don't recall if one of those times was here. Anyhow (chitter chatter, I know!) Anyhow, I was working at home and heard it soon after the first plane hit. Turned the news on (like everyone else in the world, I suppose) and watched in horror. Watched when the second plane hit and it was like a nightmare. Then I heard about the plane in the field... Uh... yeah, now we're getting to home turf and I was in a daze. Since that one had been so close to me, I started freaking out listening for planes... way too many planes going overhead that morning before they were all grounded. But none of that was even the worst part. Then I heard the next part of it. My dearest friend in the world was military at the time and I'd gotten a message a few hours before "Catch ya later, heading to the Pentagon for a meeting at 9. Wish me luck." Ya know that old saying "ice water for veins?" It's true. Pure terror until I heard from him again... fortunately it was relatively soon and I got word that his meeting had been delayed by an hour and he hadn't quite been there yet when the plane hit... the town was in chaos. That day definitely goes in the same category as "Where were you when JFK died?" (For the record, I was in 1st grade.. they announced it over the loud speaker and sent us all home.)
For 9-11 I was living in Hungary and just happened to be watching CNN international or maybe Sky news, those were English speaking channels. I saw it happen live and watched in horror. Then I got a call from my mom in NJ asking if I saw what was happening. Think that's all I watched on TV for weeks. At that time all my hungarian friends were also shocked and very pro American. As for the day JFK died, I was in 7th grade and at a different school because on Fridays we had Home Ec for half a day. So I was in cooking class and an announcement came over the PA system. I saw tears in the eyes of the teacher, Mrs. Roberts. Then just remembering going home and watching TV about it and no school I think on Monday or Tuesday.
I can't remember if we had school the next few days or not... maybe not for the funeral, but I'm not sure. Back when patriotism *did* mean something... but I know my parents watched the coverage.
The sky was exceptionally blue that morning. I was in a training class for a new postion with a health insurance company. We had a substitute teacher because our regular teacher was at her dentist. When the regular teacher came in, she told us what she had heard on the news, about the first plane. We then went into a conference room and watched the news as the second plane hit the tower on TV. needless to say we were all horrified. A close friend of mine has a daughter who was living in NYC at the time. I called my friend who told me her daughter was on her fire escape screaming as one of the towers tower fell while on the phone with her mother. We all then went outside at break. Our building was diagonally across a very narrow side street from the National Guard Armory. Guardsmen were all milling around our building and parking lot across the street with rifles, sometimes training their sights on top of our building.
What a terrible memory for your friend's daughter, @Ruby Begonia ! So many people had connections to either ground zero, or the Pentagon... I've always found that amazing... a good lesson on everyone being connected by... what is it... 6 degrees?
Just out of curiosity, @Ruby Begonia , did your friend's daughter decide to stay in NYC after that, or move like many within "the strike zone" did because of the memory?
Yes I can remember seeing it as it happened on some TV screens in a second hand shop in Blackpool, where I was buying a refrigerator. It has stuck in my memory like a photograph, I just couldn't believe that what I was seeing was real.
I remember that day well. I was usually the first one in the counseling center to open up the office. I was alone sitting at my desk when the phone rang and I was told to check out the news. Well I wandered over to an eye doctor's office across the hall and was greeted by a scene that made my knees buckle and put me into a zone of unbelief. I can't describe the silence in that office. Oh my God!!! Needless to say all appointments had either been cancelled by clients or by the counselors which all of them were ministers. We all met at the hospital's Chapel for a prayer vigil.
I know what you mean, @Terry Page ... it was like something out of a horror movie, but it wasn't a movie. It wasn't an issue pinpointed to just one place... it could happen anywhere in the world.
There was a lot of that (prayer vigils, etc.) going on for a while there, @Von Jones ... and there was unity and patriotism like in the "olden days"... if only it could have stuck around longer.
The first Sunday after 9/11, at the end of Mass with my little grandsons, the choir sang "America The Beautiful". That's when I cried the most, I mean audible sobs, I couldn't help it. That was also the day, while driving home, the realization came over me that life and the world would never be the same again. It was a strange feeling.
I was living alone in my little trailer in north Idaho. It was a beautiful fall day, and I was awakened by my phone ringing. It was my friend , Gib, and the first thing that he said was "Well, Yvonne, Robin won't be coming home on leave now". Horrified, I asked him why, and he just said "turn on your radio and listen", so I did that. I didn't have television, or rather I had a TV; but no antenna; but I listened to the news on the radio, and think that I tuned in about the time of the second plane hitting the tower. One very interesting thing was that originally, on the radio, they said that 5 planes had been taken over by the terrorists, and that they were being followed by our fighter planes . They then said that one of the planes was heading towards the White House, and that it had been shot down. This, of course, is the plane that crashed into the field, and was said to have been crashed by the passengers when they attacked the terrorist pilots. This was never repeated on the news again, and I imagine that if it were true, they realized that it would not sit well with the American people to hear that Americans had been shot down, even if it was to defend the White House. Later, I went to town, gathered with a group of people who were watching the news on the TV at the furniture store, and then bought myself a set of Rabbit Ears, so I could watch the news from home. Thankfully, it did not stop Robin from getting her leave either; so I got to see her a few weeks later, as scheduled. It did get her put on alert though, and almost deployed to Iraq soon after that.
I was sewing up some ladies brides maids gown and then for some reason was compelled to turn on the TV. I was watching the second tower fall and the thoughts that came to mind was that my oldest daughter was supposed to take a plane into the Washington DC area from Chicago. I was going crazy with worry. I tried calling her cell-phone and also my youngest daughter's cell phone too. I couldn't get anyone for hours and hours. When I finally got in touch with someone they had told me that my daughter that was on the plane trip cancelled and recheduled for the day before. Neither of my daughter's could figure out why I was so upset. That made me angry after being so worried about them. I am an empath and could feel everyone leaving this earth that day too.
On 9/11, I was in my house playing with my two Poodles. A friend called and told me to turn on the TV. She sounded very upset and I asked why? She told me that planes were attacking the United States. I immediately tuned in and watched the news with a sickening feeling. As the day wore on, I was mesmerized by the fact we had been hit by terrorists. That night I had a blind date. I wanted to cancel, but he insisted we would have a nice quiet dinner and it would be good to get out. We met and went to dinner at The Macaroni Grill. Everyone there was walking around like they were zombies and the look of fear on peoples faces was terrible. I ended up asking him to take me home early. I just wasn't in the mood to be sociable. That night I laid in bed and cried for hours. When JFK was killed, I was living in Chicago, working and going to school. My roommate and I were watching the TV and when the news came on that the event had happened, we spent the entire day in disbelief and shock. Days like these are forever ingrained in your memory bank.