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

[Ghost_Tracker]

Originally Posted by nailatixela

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.), 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.