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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by 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

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]

Originally Posted by LukeA

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]

Originally Posted by Ghost_Tracker

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]

Originally Posted by LukeA

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.