September 11,2001: How did you first hear about it?

[vivfox]

I was living in Phoenix, Arizona at the time.

When I'm sleeping I always have my phone turned off and when I wake up I always check my phone for messages right away.

I had two messages.

The first one was from my friend Michele calling to tell me it was World War Three. She said "they" bombed New York City and Washington D.C. already!!! She said I've got to turn on the tv and see what's happening.

The second message was from another friend calling to tell me she was worried about Stevie Nicks because she knew Stevie was in NYC and was scared Stevie might be in danger.

Then I turned on the television and watched in horror the video footage of the two planes hitting the World Trade Center.

It was on every channel...

Eight years ago today.

[GypsyBlueEyes]

I can't believe its been 8 years! Usually, I would be asleep but that morning, a Tuesday, I told my mother I would go and stand in line for her at a store that was opening at 7...she lived about a half hour away from the store and I lived less than two minutes away and seeing as you had to stand in line for about 2 hours beforehand to get in quickly, I told her I would do it for her so she wouldn't have to get up so early. After she arrived, I went back home and laid down on the sofa. My husband had Good Morning America on and after he left for work I continued to watch. After a commercial break, the show came back on and immediately I could tell that something had happened. They were telling us about how a plane had crashed into one of the twin towers...I watched as the second plane hit the second tower. Seeing it happen on television was awful enough...I can't imagine what it must have been like to actually be there. I sat in front of the television for a week... the tv going 24/7...watching all of the coverage.

[Ghost_Tracker]

I was living in Phoenix, Arizona at the time.

When I'm sleeping I always have my phone turned off and when I wake up I always check my phone for messages right away.

I had two messages.

The first one was from my friend Michele calling to tell me it was World War Three. She said "they" bombed New York City and Washington D.C. already!!! She said I've got to turn on the tv and see what's happening.

The second message was from another friend calling to tell me she was worried about Stevie Nicks because she knew Stevie was in NYC and was scared Stevie might be in danger.

Then I turned on the television and watched in horror the video footage of the two planes hitting the World Trade Center.

It was on every channel...

Eight years ago today.

I was half-asleep and heard my roommates talking about it. I guess it didn't totally sink in right away. Then after about a half-hour I went downstairs and of course it was all over the tv. It sunk in more and more as the day went on. I was in Graduate School at S.U. at the time, and I felt very confused about whether there would be classes that day or not. I still had homework to do for my class early that evening, so I went to the library and worked on that. I needed to use some sort of machine there and needed something from a librarian to do that - I forget the details - and the librarian had some difficulty getting whatever it was and to be honest I was a little short with her. And I'm never like that. Obviously, she was a little out of it too because of what had happened. To be COMPLETELY honest, a part of my feeling that day was that terrible things have happened in other parts of the world - a horrible earthquake or something in China, for example, where 100,000 people were killled - and I've found people in America to be very unsympathetic about those events. (I think maybe that's changed since 2001.) So very honestly, that was a part of my feeling that day, like, "Why are people so upset about THIS when they didn't care at all about those events in other countries?) I also - VERY honestly - saw an attack like this coming for years - I remember being on a jet when I was a little kid and asking my Dad why the cockpit wasn't locked up and his answer was along the lines of how it "isn't necessary" - so I felt very angry that day, that these sorts of concerns from "alarmists" weren't taken seriously when they were first raised.
I also knew RIGHT away that it was Bin Laden. I just felt that it HAD to be. And I felt very bothered that people were saying they were upset "because this was the first time we had been attacked on our own soil." Well, no it WASN'T the first time, Al Qaeda tried to knock the Twin Towers down and kill 30,000 people back in the early years of Clinton's Presidency, it's just that they failed that time. i.m.o. that attack was too easily forgotten about.
I'd also like to mention that I personally didn't know anybody who was in the buildings or Flight 93, but my Mom "knew of" some of them through her work in the Cub Scouts. Not to make anyone sad, but the effects of this thing were just so far-reaching. What was it, 3300 people killed? About? How many kids to this day still don't have their mother or father with them? How many widows and widowers? How many daughters and sons? That's 8 years of time stolen from each and every one of those thousands of victims and family members. So far.

Also, personally, I think the psychological consequences to this country were MUCH more far-reaching and enduring than anyone has even begun to realize yet. Granted the town I'm in has "aged" somewhat, whenever I walk down the street, there used to be kids on their bikes all over the place, people out walking, people out in their yards talking, etc. Now - almost like a ghost town. If anybody's in their yard, it's because they're working on it or going to their car - very few people are just hanging out. People seem to have gone into this "hiding" mode where they stay inside as much as possible. Internet-schminternet, I think the reasons are much deeper than that. It's almost like a mass hyteria that no one realizes anyone is suffering from.

And it also bothers me that at least consciously, people are beginning to forget.
I guarantee you that there's 8- or 10-year olds out there - attending "good" schools -
who have NO idea what happened on that day, or why we're at war. (Or even realize that we ARE at war!) It's starting to pass into "just something that happened in the news" and that bothers me a GREAT deal. Just for example, as far as I know there's no big nation-wide "moment of silence" planned, or any big memorial broadcast on tv, or anything like that.

And I also MUST mention - We're 8 years down the line, and still to this day bin Laden and the Egyption "Doctor" haven't been caught and punished. They got away with it. All American citizens should be OUTRAGED by that.

One other thing - I didn't see it live, but of course much of this footage was re-broadcast many times over the next days, weeks and months. One thing that stands out very vividly for me is how The Today Show was reporting "an incident" at the World Trade Center -
a plane had crashed into one of the towers - perhaps an accident, perhaps a terrorist attack. Naturally the cameras were all over the towers and the Today Show News team had the monitors right in front of them - and the second plane hit, and Al Roker reacted VERY loudly, like, OHHHH!!! That yell said it all. This changed EVERYTHING. Obviously we were under attack.
I also have a very vivid memory of Bush walking into that secure shelter and the armed guard swinging into position, taking aim, as the door swung shut behind him. Obviously there was a lot of very "high-level" stuff going on - the "sleeping giant" had awakened -
and it was very very clear that that guard was NOT messing around. If anybody had even blinked, he wouldn't have hesitated for
a second. It's a very powerful memory for me, because it showed very clearly how the government, at all levels, was reacting to
this - essentially it made clear that a war was starting.

[desertangel]

I first heard about it from my alarm clock radio... what a HORRIBLE TERRIBLE AWFUL way to wake up. First thing I did was turn on the TV... Peter Jennings was commentating. I rubbed my eyes, my mouth fell open, I lost my breath. Went and called my mother and said "Did you see what they did?!" She was still asleep, she got up, turned on her TV and panicked. She wanted me to drive over and pick her up, then drive south to get my daughter. Having lived through WWII, I'm sure she thought this was it. Because we're on the west coast, I told her to wait until we hear about Chicago, Dallas, etc. .. and I went to work. Everyone was in a state of shock, walking around like zombies. One lady went home in tears, said she couldn't deal with it. Our director gave carte blanche to anyone who wanted to go home and be with their families. Me, in my state of denial, stayed and worked until quitting time. I have to be honest and say my work place changed that day, and it still is not the same. It used to be fun and friendly, but that day, it stopped being fun and friendly. I often wonder how many other work places changed that day.

[Ghost_Tracker]

I first heard about it from my alarm clock radio... what a HORRIBLE TERRIBLE AWFUL way to wake up. First thing I did was turn on the TV... Peter Jennings was commentating. I rubbed my eyes, my mouth fell open, I lost my breath. Went and called my mother and said "Did you see what they did?!" She was still asleep, she got up, turned on her TV and panicked. She wanted me to drive over and pick her up, then drive south to get my daughter. Having lived through WWII, I'm sure she thought this was it. Because we're on the west coast, I told her to wait until we hear about Chicago, Dallas, etc. .. and I went to work. Everyone was in a state of shock, walking around like zombies. One lady went home in tears, said she couldn't deal with it. Our director gave carte blanche to anyone who wanted to go home and be with their families. Me, in my state of denial, stayed and worked until quitting time. I have to be honest and say my work place changed that day, and it still is not the same. It used to be fun and friendly, but that day, it stopped being fun and friendly. I often wonder how many other work places changed that day.


Yeah, I really gotta reiterate, I think the psychological effects of this are still completely underestimated and not understood. I think there was a really large-scale, widespread change that many people aren't even aware of yet. The very fact that it hasn't even been studied in a public way speaks volumes, i.m.o. - It's the obvious thing to do after such an attack.

[Steviefan49]

OMG.. what a horrible day this was. I remember just getting into work at about 5 till 8:00, and the girls that I worked with that got in at 7:30, had their little tv on, and everyone was gathered around the tv with their mouths open in disbelief! I can remember that day like it was yesterday. Everyone was pale, and white as ghosts, just staring at the tv, and no one could hardly get a word out...We all stayed to closing, and I remember everyone being SO scared and calling their families, and just making sure everyone was ok, no matter where they lived. And I remember walking my dog that night, just almost staring into space in disbelief, that something like that could happen in this day and time! It was one of the most horrible days that I remember, in a very long time.. It seems like where I worked ended up being just quiet after that.. I don't think it ever really was the same after that.. and as someone had pointed out.. life had totally taken on a whole new meaning at that point, imo..

[ILoveFM]

I was in 5th grade when this awful event happened. My class had just returned from lunch and our teacher said she had some serious news to tell us. She asked us if we knew what the world trade centers were and most of us didn't. She went on to explain that 2 planes had crashed into both of the buildings and that there were also two more plane crashes that also caused serious damage. The teacher asked us if we had any questions and we all did. Some asked if people had died, the teacher said many had lost their lives. I asked if we would go to war (my dad is in the navy and was stationed in Italy at this time, I believe. I was worried he would have to go to war if the US decided to start one.) the teacher said it was a possibilty, and I started crying. I don't remember much after that. I went home and watched news for what seemed like days. It was such a depressing event, it chaged so many peoples lives.

On a side note, my father did not go to Afganastan. He did however go to Iraq. He didn't fight in the war. I'm not quite sure what he did do over there because there was a 4 year period where he was out of my life.. That's a whole other story. But today he is safe and living in California :)

[GODDESS6]

i was watching the TODAY show, & saw when the first plane hit~ then i don't think i left the news for at least a week~

offutt airforce base in bellevue, ne, is one of the places pres. bush was taken on that day, which is a mile from me~ his plane flew slowly flanked by fighter planes over my backyard~ was quite a site to see~

[Ghost_Tracker]

I was in 5th grade when this awful event happened. My class had just returned from lunch and our teacher said she had some serious news to tell us. She asked us if we knew what the world trade centers were and most of us didn't. She went on to explain that 2 planes had crashed into both of the buildings and that there were also two more plane crashes that also caused serious damage. The teacher asked us if we had any questions and we all did. Some asked if people had died, the teacher said many had lost their lives. I asked if we would go to war (my dad is in the navy and was stationed in Italy at this time, I believe. I was worried he would have to go to war if the US decided to start one.) the teacher said it was a possibilty, and I started crying. I don't remember much after that. I went home and watched news for what seemed like days. It was such a depressing event, it chaged so many peoples lives.

On a side note, my father did not go to Afganastan. He did however go to Iraq. He didn't fight in the war. I'm not quite sure what he did do over there because there was a 4 year period where he was out of my life.. That's a whole other story. But today he is safe and living in California :)

I've wondered sometimes what this would have been like for me if I had been a kid when it happened. To see it as an "adult" is one thing; but when you're a kid you're still sort of "forming your opinion of the world." It seems like it would be something that could seriously affect the way you view things. (Much more so than a "grown-up," I mean - part of a person's development.)

One other thing I'd like to mention about it - Still to this day, whenever I sign off the computer at night, I take a final glance at the cnn website. "Just in case."

[LukeA]

I had just moved to Chicago a month prior.. living in a 30 story apartment building a few blocks away from the then-named Sears Tower..

My then-girlfriend called me and woke me up at approximately (going by memory) 9AM Central to tell me what was going on. I turned the TV on, and immediately called my mother, who's in Arizona- who also had no clue until I filled her in. I clearly remember watching ABC's coverage on mute as Tower 1 collapsed- I thought at the time it was the other Tower on tape delay, but realized later I had witnessed it live.

I remember being very concerned and uncertain while that extra hijacked plane was in the air, as it was widely speculated that the Sears Tower was a likely target. Who knows if it ever was.. but it was still enough for me to be shaken. I'm a pretty independent, strong willed person... but when this happened- well, I was 19, and on my own for the first time. Pretty jarring.

That Friday, I read about a non-denominational (non-religious, really) gathering at Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park, which was set up by Jesse Jackson. I took a walk down to the park for the event, and I found the communal atmosphere to be comforting. One person spoke- without a microphone- this was all informal, even though there were a couple thousand people there- before Jesse appeared. I don't remember what he said exactly, but I remember it being very thoughtful and heartfelt- it stuck with me. I learned shortly afterwards that this person was, in fact, our State Senator, Barack Obama.

I later learned that a handful (forgive me for not remembering the exact number) of firefighters from my hometown's (Holbrook, NY) fire department died that day- the memorial is at the entrance to my old subdivision, as all but one lived there. This day- the day I went back to Holbrook for the first time since- was also the same day that Pat Tillman, the former Arizona Cardinals/Arizona State Sun Devil football athlete (who gave up his successful career & multimillion dollar paycheck to fight in this war) was needlessly killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan. The same Pat Tillman I had met years before, who made a profound impact upon me (which is a whole other post, really). Make no mistake- he was NOT a meathead, dumbass, war hawk Republican jock looking for blood out of some form of blind patriotism- he had genuine reasons, a genuine belief, and an implicit trust in our country & its leaders. Its a human tragedy that I'll forever be trying to come to terms with.

All of it.

[Ghost_Tracker]

I later learned that a handful (forgive me for not remembering the exact number) of firefighters from my hometown's (Holbrook, NY) fire department died that day- the memorial is at the entrance to my old subdivision, as all but one lived there.



Holbrook is less than a mile from me.
Remember that playground on Church Street?
I used to play there all the time when I was a little kid.

____________________________________________________

This is sort of a "side detail" but I remember very clearly that that evening, Tom Brokaw had announced that a van full of explosives had been stopped while attempting to cross a bridge into New York. Later on, they announced that the report was "erroneous." I personally have very little doubt that it was for real and they threw them in the drink.

Another thing I think was forgotten about was that after they grounded all the planes in the U.S., several jets were found with boxcutter knives either in the trash or under the seats. The attack, as planned, was actually much more widespread. It could have been much worse. And the people who were on those planes with those boxcutter knives are still out there, without any justice at all headed their way.

But I can never help thinking about this "strategically," also. They attacked the financial center, the military center, and they tried to attack the political center. That can't be tolerated, it just can't.

[LukeA]

Holbrook is less than a mile from me.
Remember that playground on Church Street?
I used to play there all the time when I was a little kid.


Are you kidding? Wow.

I honestly can't recall that playground, unfortunately... although I have plenty of memories of Sun-Vet Mall, right off Church (and I do recall the big yard at Lincoln & Church- my grandparents lived right off Lincoln). I lived on Springmeadow Drive (the memorial I speak of is at the intersection of Springmeadow & P-H Highway)

Please PM me- now I'm curious if we know each other somehow :)

[nailatixela]

I was just in 4th grade when it happened. During the morning we were told that there was a "small plane crash" in NY so we were all going home. Well, we were all super excited. I remember that the overall thought of all of us was that we are sorry for that small plane, but it's not a big deal so I'm glad we get to leave school early!

My grandpa picked me up and took me back to my house where my mom and grandma already were. My mom stayed home that today because my brother, who was in preschool, was sick. When I got in the car my grandpa was quiet, which is unlike him. I was all excited to get to go home. When I got home and saw what was on the news it was obiously a different story then what I was told. I remember seeing that it was much more serious. But what I really remember was being angry at how the school lied to us, because I felt really guility about being happy I got to go home that day.

I changed schools next year, on my own will.

[DavidMn]

I like most people woke up to the news as I was getting ready for work. It was about 8:55 AM local time and just as I walked downstairs at my house I noticed a building falling which I discovered was the first tower collapsing live. I was working 2 jobs at the time to pay for my trip to Australia which was exactly 2 weeks later. EVERYONE I knew told me not to go on this trip, but I was damned if I was going to let someone else ruin what I'd worked so hard for. There were supposed to be 47 people going on this tour but by the time the trip started only 17 went. It almost got cencelled by the tour company and in fact it would have been if the numbers went below 15. My second job that day was working at a gas station in a suburb of Minneapolis called Bloomington and as the night wore on the lines at the gas pumps grew to be almost a mile long. I literally had to call the police to help me close the store at 11 PM everyone was in a panic thinking there wouldnt be any gas. Very surreal and awful day indeed.....

[Ghost_Tracker]

Are you kidding? Wow.

I honestly can't recall that playground, unfortunately... although I have plenty of memories of Sun-Vet Mall, right off Church (and I do recall the big yard at Lincoln & Church- my grandparents lived right off Lincoln). I lived on Springmeadow Drive (the memorial I speak of is at the intersection of Springmeadow & P-H Highway)

Please PM me- now I'm curious if we know each other somehow :)


Yeah we used to ride our bikes to the Sun Vet Mall all the time!
Only reason I go up there these days is to go to Blockbusters.
Patchogue 13 is outta business, by the way - They "took a look at
the numbers" and decided to turn it into condos - they always had
way too much parking space that wasn't needed. So they figured they
could make more money that way, especially with the huge multiplexes
being more popular these days.

[Ghost_Tracker]

I was just in 4th grade when it happened.....But what I really remember was being angry at how the school lied to us, because I felt really guility about being happy I got to go home that day.

I changed schools next year, on my own will.


Huge, huge kudos to you, for doing that.

[FMlex]

I was an eleven year old, at school like any other typical morning.

I guess I was in 6th grade. I remember being in class and the teachers got an e-mail about it from the principal. Of course all the televisions were turned on throughout the school. It was very quiet and there was a sort of bond among all of us that day and the days afterward.

Kids' moms and dads were picking them up early from school and everything.
Really sad. Something we will never forget.

I say we go back to September 12th. The nation we were the day after the attacks. We were all united, no matter what party.
That's what we need to get back to.

[GypsySorcerer]

I was in college. Usually, I turned on the television and/or radio before going to school, but for some reason, that day I didn't.

I went to my 9:30 class, Medieval Literature, and some other students came in talking about a "bombing" or "other problem" at the World Trade Center. My professor didn't seem to know much of what was happening. Class continued as usual, and then I went to my 11:00 class. I just kept hearing bits and pieces from other people. It wasn't until around lunch time that I actually got to a television to see what had happened. And then I was glued to the television for days...

[Black_Moon]

I was seven I think at the time, so forgive me if my memory's a little hazy, even though I can still vividly recall most of it. I remember everyone being told to gather in the shared area (it was where we used to watch films and things) and my English teacher switched on the television. It was about two in the afternoon for us, (GMT time) and I remember the camera just being focused on the devastation left. All of the teachers were so solemn, and even though we were all small children, the emotion transferred to us. I don't think school was ever that quiet again.

When my dad collected me from school we were listening to the radio, he was very quiet. I kept asking loads of questions, but he wouldn't answer them. It was just a strange, strange day.

[estranged4life]

Slept through the whole sha-bang - wasnt until an online friend on the East Coast called me to ask if I was watching TV that I knew anything had happened.

Later that day Debbie & I drove to the Murrah National Memorial in downtown OKC, and for the first time since it opened there was not a soul there minus the US Park Rangers - we were the only ones...Very eerie.

[Musicman408]

I was in my 6th Grade Social Studies class, and our teacher got a call on the school phone stating that there had been a plane crash and to turn on the TV.

The rest was history.

[Erin]

I was in grad school and had stayed up late the night before to work on a paper, so I was asleep. My mom called saying it had taken her forever to get through. My university was the only one in Chicago that didn't cancel classes, so I had to go to my evening class. I was really pissed off about that. My former aunt worked at the Pentagon, my cousin at the building next door, and of course my family couldn't get through to anyone in D.C. Everyone was fine, but it was a long day. I also remember going out to the library to see what was going on (the campus police were rounding up some homeless people wandering around on campus, yeah I'm sure they were terrorists.:rolleyes:), and then off to Walgreen's (which I also did this morning, isn't that weird?), it was eerily quiet. I don't live downtown so it wasn't too chaotic, however downtown Chicago was basically being evacuated and people were cramming themselves on trains and the L in a very chicken little like manner. I do admit being pretty scared and wanting to get to my parent's house in the suburbs as soon as I could.

I usually can't watch much of the annual coverage, it's just too upsetting.

[LikeAWillow]

I was in the sixth grade, in ancient history class, when my middle school principle announced over the intercom that the country had been attacked. This was the last class of the day, around 3 pm, and many students had already been pulled out of school by their parents earlier. Foolishly, in my opinion, all the teachers had been told not to tell the students what was happening. That lack of official information, coupled with the few rumors heard by those students who had managed to speak to parents picking up their children, was the most terrifying part of the day.

[mylittledemon]

I was an asst. manager of a Camelot music in Atlanta, GA at the time. I got up, went to work... opened the store and had all the new releases ready. I had no clue as to what was going on. We didnt have cable at home...so...

I opened up the store doors and NO ONE came in. I thought...well that's odd for a Tuesday new release day. I remember putting on Ryan Adams new CD (Gold). Then after about 5 min I realized something was up as I saw nobody in the mall at all.

I walked across the kiosk area to American Eagle (or some such store) that had several TVs mounted in the store. That's when I saw the employees all crowded and watching the news. The security guards came around after that and told us to close up the stores within 30 min and get home ASAP. I called everyone in my immediate family. What a strange feeling. God save us from another such day.

[~GoldDustWoman~]

I remember I was walking into my 9th grade biology class and being told a bomb had went off in the WTC, and our sub said that he had a friend who had helped build the WTC. And from there we watched the tragedy unfold. Strange thing was I remember telling my best friend that I wanted to go over and kill the terrorists. And 5 years later I joined the military, granted it wasn't because of the comment nor have I killed anyone or deployed (quite glad about that) but looking back I remember saying those words.

[hippilil86]

I was a sophmore in high school at the time, in small town Lake City, MN, in first hour English Class. Originally, we were told that a plane crashed into the white house. Later, in the next class, which was US history, we were able to watch what actually happened. We just went on with our day, I even had tennis practice after school. When I got home, I remember being so mad at my mom, because she wouldn't let me watch anything other than news on tv. I told her that we already knew what happened, and how many times were we going to watch the same thing over and over again. I think that at the time, I really didn't realize the seriousness of what happened. It's always been easy for me to compartmentalize things, I hear it once, think about it for a short time, then put it aside. It was the same with the 35W bridge collapse. I saw it once, and didn't want to see it again. I'm not sure if this is a flaw or an asset.

[petep9000]

I got to work at 7:30 am that day. When the first plane hit, I was already on my second cup of coffee and getting involved in the workday. I was walking to the office kitchen or the rest room (not sure which) and my co-worker Fran said "didya hear? A plane hit the Twin Towers!" But, my reaction (and other people's too) was that it was a twin-engine plane and wow, that's awful but I guess we're immune in a way to some awfulness. Only as the story unfolded and the 2nd plane hit, was the enormity of it apparent to us. Being only about 30 miles away from NYC, we felt very vulnerable and frightened. We were an I.T department for a hospital chain in NY, so we had nurses on our staff as clinical analysts. All of them were mobilized to our affiliate hospitals to standby for duty. As we all know, the casualties really did not come.

Something I remember the most was the feeling like we were in a refugee camp, huddled over a secret radio like in 'Hogans Heroes'. Why? Because we had just moved into our office space, and it was not completely cabled yet for internet access. Instead of each person having a web connection, they had set up 2 'kiosks' in the common area where one would log on, and have limited access to the internet. The 2 PC's could not connect, I guess the ISP's as they existed in 2001 could not handle the amount of traffic that was hitting the net. In fact, I think 9/11 changed everything in terms of internet, for the first time it was apparent what a communications revolution it was for up-to-the-minute updates. So we had limited internet connectivity, and we were huddled around radios listening to the news. We were sent home around 2pm.

Remember how eerie quiet it was that afternoon, with all flights suspended? On Long Island, where I was at the time, there are always always planes flying overhead en route to Laguardia, JFK, Republic or Macarthur airports. Instead, it was a striking blue sky, nice weather, and the silence....

We could see a haze in the west, from the smoke from NYC.

"some of them are here on Earth...some of them are way up there in Heaven..."

[golddustdrummer]

I was in junior high (7th grade) and we were taking the ISTEP tests. I remember going down to the nurse's office for something like a stomach ache and she had the tv on. The first thing she said was "its World War Three!" We watched together as the second tower fell. I was the first student in the whole school to learn of the happenings. No one in my class believed me until the principle came over the intercom and told everyone. I think we had an assembly and parents were called to come get their kids if they chose to. I can't believe its been eight years...

[cristochango]

I was in 3rd grade and I had no idea what was goin on, all the teachers were talking in this one room listening to the radio and me and all of my friends were playin tag cuz we had no idea what was goin on, the teachers then came out and told us what was goin on and I remember thinking to myself "I cant believe this, my mom's never gonna believe this when I get home from school." My teachers brother lived in NYC and worked in one of the world trade center buildings. I remember she told us that he showed up late to work that day, so they told him that he didnt have to stay. He left work and was driving home when the plane hit the tower he worked in. He worked on one of the floors that the plane had hit. I remember she was cryin like crazy because she thought her brother had died, and his wife was expecting a baby. When we got back from lunch we had a sub cuz my teacher went home to be with her family, and the sub told us that my teacher was happy because her brother hadnt died. I don't remember the rest of that day though. All my teachers at school now say I'm the last generation thats really gonna remember what I did that day

[petep9000]

There are so many tales like that, it's amazing. My own cousin, for example. Her husband worked for that big brokerage firm, the one with all the floors where no one survived? (sorry, the name escaping me right now)
Anyway, the story goes, he broke a shoelace getting ready for work, and in the time it took him to find a replacement he was late for his train to NYC. Consequently, he wasn't in the building when the plane hit, because if he was on time, he would have been. It's creepy how people escape tragedy sometimes by the simplest things.

[Ghost_Tracker]

I forgot to mention earlier, we did end up having class at Syracuse University that day but - the Administration had "encouraged" the faculty to cancel the planned class and just talk (which I have no doubt was already what most of them were going to do anyway). We did just exactly that - sat around and talked about what had happened and how we were feeling. Right at the end the Professor had us all stand in a circle and hold hands and say a little prayer. The whole thing really was very helpful.

Earlier in the day, I had found myself wandering over to the Student Center and instantly was given a handout by someone at the doorway - a letter to the students from Kevin Morrow - I don't know his official position but he's a V.P. in charge of communication, faculty-student relations, etc. It outlined the University's preliminary response, said that the chapel was going to be open 24/7, said that the ministers there and the counselors in student counciling were available at any time for support, and gave initial plans for a memorial service on the quad outside the chapel. Then I went downstairs, where they had already arranged for a large projection screen tv to be set up, and I watched cnn for awhile. Within a day, plans had been made to grant time off to anyone who had a family member or friend directly involved, or just plain felt unable to continue and needed to take the semester off.

I really must say that i.m.o. Syracuse University showed their best colors that day and in the weeks afterward. The degree of support the Administration and Faculty gave to the students - in an organized, thoughtful way - was remarkable.

[Cornflake Girl]

I was in a math class and a teacher interrupted and said (and I remember her exact words), "Two airplanes have crashed into the Twin Towers in New York, so you can expect to hear about that on the news when you get home." I find what she said really weird but then I guess it was so shocking no one really had any idea what to say. I was only 12 at the time so I only kind of half understood what had happened, and my teacher's words really didn't convey the magnitude of the event; it was only when I got home and started watching BBC news that I realised how catastrophic it was.

[vivfox]

I also remember while watching the news that there was so much information coming in at the same time . That's when the news orginazations started using the tickers. That way you could be listening to what the news person was telling you and reading up to the minute coverage at the same time. Now those news tickers are a regular fact of life, even on regular shows now, when they have a news announcement.
I also remember some people dancing in the street in one of the middle eastern Arabian Countries, as they were celebrating us being attacked.

Also, like some of you have mentioned, I remember the eerie silence of no planes in the sky the whole next day.

[daniellaaarisen]

I was sooooo young, only nine. I saw Stevie live a month after this and I think she made a comment about 9/11 at the show but I honestly don't remember. I have very little memory of the day, which is sad.

[bucklind17]

I was a sophomore in college. I had an 8:00am class that day, followed by a 9:30am class. I remember the professor of my 9:30 class walking into the room and announcing that the plane had flown into the building and that the first tower had collapsed. We all just stared at him. The guy was kind of a jerk and it was a media communications class, so for all we knew, he was testing us to see our reaction and was then going to ask us how such a tragedy would be handled in the media. Obviously, he wasn't. He didn't keep us. My class was in the communications building and someone had put a television in the hallway and most of my class, and a number of others, were huddled around it, watching the second tower until it collapsed. After that, I went back to my apartment, remembering on my way that one of my housemate's father worked in the WTC. She was the only other person home when I got there. Her dad wasn't there that day, he was in his company's other office by chance.

I went to school at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY. Right on the Hudson River. The planes flew right over my school on their way to the city. Being semi-upstate, we had a lot of kids from Long Island, New Jersey and the city at our school, many of whom lost friends and relatives. I still remember the mood of the school immediately following the attacks. I remember the memorial service in the chapel being so crowded that the majority of students who attended were out on the lawn in front, listening through loudspeakers. I remember going to the city again for the first time, two weeks later and seeing the musical 42nd Street and the large American flag they incorporated into the finale and how important it was to me to be in the city so soon.

I didn't grow up in New York City but I frequented it throughout my childhood and college. I've lived here for the past five years. It's very much a part of who I am and I feel proud to be a New Yorker every day. Eight years have passed, but it never is forgotten.

[sara1998]

[QUOTE=desertangel;841962]I first heard about it from my alarm clock radio... what a HORRIBLE TERRIBLE AWFUL way to wake up. QUOTE]

Thats exactly how I heard. My husband actually paid attention, and he said, did you hear what he just said?! Something about bombing the WTC, and I said, oh bull****... haha! Then I went to the restroom, and it hit me what he said... and he ran to the television, and I ran to the phone and caled my father, in hysterics... And I watched CNN for months following. It was my day off, and when my husband left for work I shut and locked all the doors and windows, and Sara and I just played in the house, me glued to CNN being freaked out inside my own home. Terrible feeling. I remember my hubby calling me telling me to get to a gas station asap and fill up everything because the lines were nuts, and prices were steadily climbing. Weird. I hate that day, I hate to see the date. On the bright side, 9-11 was the first time 3 years ago I ever spoke to my step daughter.