September 11th, where were you?

[SKendall]

September 11th, where were you?

Being on the Pacific Coast, woke up at 7:00 a.m. and hubby had it on the tube because we had no internet service. I first thought he was watching a stupid movie. Holy heck. He had somewhere to be that day, so went to see a neighbour who doesn't have t.v. because she has family in New Jersery.

She came over and we lit candles and watched the horror.

[happycamper68]

September 11th, where were you?

I was at work in Manhattan when my cubicle mate Amy got a phone call from her boyfriend that a small plane had hit one of the towers and we thought it was an accident. Then we went into the conference room and put the TV on, just myself and Amy and put on the Today show. While we were watching we saw the second plane hit. We freaked out and ran out of the conference room to start telling everyone what was going on. Everyone was flipping out and I ran back to my desk to call Tim, who I was supposed to marry 3 months later (and I did!). He was closer to it than I was, he was downtown and I was midtown. Then Amy's boyfriend called back and told us about the Pentagon and that there were rumours that like 8 more planes were flying around all over the place. We ran into our boss and said we were leaving and we ran out. That was when the absolute fear set in. I was never so scared in my life.

I got the last 7 train out of Manhattan and as we came out of the tunnel I could see the downtown skyline and watched one of the buildings come down from the train. I started screaming and thought it must be a mistake, that it was just smoke from the fire. Then the train stopped at the next stop and made us all get out. We were lead to a bus and the bus route took us along the East River and we were all watching and desperately trying to make cell phone calls but nothing was working. I watched the 2nd tower fall from the bus and I started crying and an old woman that was sitting next to me consoled me. The bus took me only so far so I called my dad from a pay phone and went to his house because it was closer. Tim walked from all the way downtown in Manhattan across the 59th Street bridge to my dad's house in Queens. He didn't get there until around 3pm. It was awful, I can't even describe it properly here. I started making frantic phone calls from my dad's landline to anyone I thought might have been down there, and got Tim back on the phone and he was walking.

A guy that worked at my company had quit in July 2001 and took a job in the World Trade Center and he died. I didn't know him very well, we said hi on the elevator and in the kitchen when we got coffee and stuff but his name was Eli. He was the guy in the office that everyone said wore too much cologne, he was quiet and polite. We all said, if he had just not quit he would still be alive. He was only around 25 years old. I don't think I've been the same since and so many people had it so much worse than I did, but that was one of the most traumatic events of my life. I thought NYC was going to be completely wiped off the map and that we were all going to die, I truly did. I thought, Empire State Building is next, Chrysler Building is next, Statue of Liberty, Grand Central Station, every landmark was going to be gone and so were all of us. I couldn't go to work until the following Monday.

[Boss.man]

September 11th, where were you?

I'm on Pacific time. I was in my Coast House, near Crescent City California, where I didn't live at that time. I let my ex use it, and sometimes I came up to check it and stayed in the guest room. I was scheduled to fly "home" that day to San Diego.

My Ex informed me, about 6:30am, that I wouldn't be flying, and at the same time the phone rang and it was the airport, a crying girl saying my flight was canceled. The TV was on, and I told her I understood, and to be strong and brave. I showered, got dressed, and was sipping coffee when the second tower got hit. Suddenly I knew what I needed to do.

I grabbed the TV, or more accurately we both did, and loaded it into the car, and I drove it to my office. Most of my staff was there, although not working. I put it in front of where most of the desks sat, and turned it on. That got people focused and we started dealing with the phones. At the time my call center handled about 400 calls a day, or about 60 calls per hour. It's pretty funny that our phones continued full blast for the first couple hours, as a lot of people hadn't heard the news. But even late in the day, our volume was still something. I let the staff go 2 hours early as I recall.

As an employer you have to remember I get hit from both sides. Sure there's a national emergency, but also that means customers aren't buying and employees are still expecting to get paid. Our sales were down 50-60% for the first two days, and low for the remainder of the month. I made payroll, and things have since recovered. I managed to get my flight 4 days later, but only to Bakersfield. I drove back to San Diego from there.

My feelings are mixed because I feel 9/11 has been hijacked to define a failed foreign policy by a President who can't even define who the enemy is, or who attacked us on 9/11. Until people discuss the truth, and understand the perspective of foreign citizens, we are doomed to endure many more attacks.

[SKendall]

September 11th, where were you?

Boss.man, thank you for your last paragraph.

[happycamper68]

September 11th, where were you?

Yes Boss.man thank you too. It has been taken, and has actually been called a brand, a trademark. 9/11TM with the circle around it. It's being used politically in a disgusting fashion.

[KateH1]

September 11th, where were you?

I so agree. I am tired of seeing the photographs and the video. I feel for the families and friends of those directly connected to this tragedy, having to see this. And the political use of 9/11 is just plain shameful!

[dexterhead]

September 11th, where were you?

It disgusts me to no end as well. That's what got me so upset yesterday. Thanks Boss. You are not Bruce Springsteen are you?

[soccermom]

September 11th, where were you?

Old thread? Sorry-- I want to tell you my story too.

I teach--

I had no idea what was happening. My students were being checked out by the dozens. My principle (obviously aware announces, "Keep teaching! Today is a reguarly day!") I have other teachers running in my room (breaking the rules by turning on their TVs) "The Twin Towers have been hit!" I say, "Turn to page 78 please." Do not panic. Craziness.

So I keep teaching..I worry about my own children--but have 32 that have no parents picking them up---plus by this time I still have no clue what is happening...my 2 kids are fine..right?

Later--as the school day ends--it is only then that when I pick up my kiddos do I see my babysitter's crying and I cry and such a tragic day...I was in charge of protecting those that just not need to know yet of this tragedy...I hope I did a good job.

Can't Cry Hard Enough - A Tribute to the Victims of 9-11-2001

This is such a beautiful tribute I show make my students watch every year--this year they were 4 when it happened...
We can never and must never forget.

[KateH1]

September 11th, where were you?

SM, Thank you for sharing your story. I have so much respect for you and for all dedicated teachers. You truly have a great responsibility and a tough job!

You make me think how truly difficult this day must have been for you and those like you, with innocent children in your care during the initial attacks, keeping them calm, not to mention yourself and then having to stay strong still.......at the end of the day, protecting your own children.

You are one of the unsung heros! Thank you!
xxx Kate

[Saint Jude]

September 11th, where were you?

Amen to that Kate.
I can't imagine staying calm & being brave in front of a room full of children, during such insanity...while worrying about my own loved ones...

[Mags]

September 11th, where were you?

I was teaching an advanced anatomy lab less than 100 miles north of NYC for three hours that morning. So I was isolated from the news. But rumors started to trickle in that a plane had flown in to one of the towers. Then some students started to panic a little since they had spouses or relatives that worked in the towers. I went on with class. Then there were rumors of a second plane on the other tower. So we went on the internet on the computers in the lab and the internet was down.

Then an official came in and told us we were in triage mode. Many of my students were EMT's and paramedics and LPNs and the nursing department was two doors down the hall with all their RNs. They were all part of the NYC emergency triage system so they were all told to immediately drop everything and report to their triage stations. The nurses were all deployed to various hospitals and many of the EMTs and paramedics headed to NYC. Classes were cancelled.

My kids were in junior high so were sent home from school. So I went home. I had friends and relatives who worked in the towers so I didn't want to watch TV anymore. We knew what happened. So we sat around as a family and talked a lot.

First, we all agreed to donate blood, but the donation centers were flooded and asked us to wait for a day or two. Surprisingly, we seemed to be very sad, but not that surprised. We remembered that the towers had been hit before in a more unsuccessful attack and that Bush had created an atmosphere of confrontation. We honestly as a family were not that surprised. We were just sad. One of our neighbors who lives up the street died we would find out a few days later. She was in her twenties. Our cousin was injured and lucky to make it out. I lost a few former students and we lost a few more who lived here. I knew some of them. But I lose students every year to automobile accidents. Just being honest. I am a scientist, remember. Would the USA ever be willing to put a limit on horsepower of car engines that way exceed the legal speed limits and would also greatly reduce fuel consumption? I doubt that. But that would save more lives per year than died in 9/11. I'm a scientist. I only deal with facts.

The triage was cancelled the next day because there were very few wounded to treat. Most were just nonsurvivors.

I'm still not surprised that 9/11 happened and I won't be surprised when the next attack occurs and I believe it will. We are fighting a war and losing precious lives for no reason. The war we fight today has nothing to do with 9/11 and won't prevent the next one. That's the real tragedy of 9/11.

[FindInverseGetIdentity]

September 11th, where were you?

SoccerMom - I was teaching too at the time.

I was teaching math in a girld' high school in Northern NJ...I had 2nd period free and was told to turn on the TV in the room by a passing colleague. I saw what was going on..and I then went to the faculty room, where we watched in horror. Like soccermom, we were old to try to keep a normal school day (but many kids were pulled out by parents, many were cutting class to cry in the bathroom, etc.) My supervisor was awfully quiet watching the TV (Later I found her daughter worked there, and by some miracle, made it out....the daughter was pretty messed up with survivor's guilt - she watched the Firefighters go up the stairs while she went down, and she knew they were going to die.) By lunch, during cafe duty, I had to tell a crying girl "No honey, I don't know where Shanksville, PA is..but let's pray it's not near your nana".

My brother works/lives in Manhattan, and my mom was in Manhattan visiting friends for brunch that day...took her long hours to get home...but they were safe. I grew up in Queens, NYC, and knew I'd know some of the victims. Luckily, none of the students lost parents - but some lost aunts/uncles, and some of the school's alums lost husbands.

In the end, I lost 5 friends, and so many near me were impacted by it. It was surreal as you can all imagine. And then to have a plane go down in Queens, NYC (near the Rockaways) two months later, killing those one board and a few on the ground - one only could think it was happening again (thankfully, I guess?!?!?, it was not related.).

The support the NYC area showed and felt during the aftermath was one of the most amazing experiences to have....

I was pregnant at the time, too. We announced my pregnancy a few weeks after 9/11 - a small ray of hope during a sad time.

God bless all who lost, prayed, supported and loved the USA then and now!

- Figi

[Reenie]

September 11th, where were you?

I was on the NJ Turnpike. Traffic seemed to stop upon hearing the news of the first plane hitting the building. It was a bright, sunny day. Not a cloud in the sky. When I arrived at my office, I immediatley turned on my PC only to read that a second plane hit the Pentagon, and then another plane struck the remaining tower. I called my best friend and asked her to turn on her t.v. and tell me what she was seeing on the news. I then said, "We are under attack". I left work soon after. I drove home. I live near the Hudson River. I saw thick streams soaring out of down town Manhattan. I drove to another waterfront area and watched the smoke fill the air and saw flames. Sirens wailed all through the day into the evening. The trail of smoke leaving downtown Manhattan lasted for over a week. There was a strange smell in the air for several weeks. 911, the people who were lost, the beautiful buildings that were destroyed, and a feeling of saddness will always stay in my heart.

[dexterhead]

September 11th, where were you?

This is such a moving thread. Honestly, those of us who don't live in the area and didn't know anyone involved don't have the same kind of perspective and personal pain. And it so makes me ill that that misery has been co-opted for an utterly cynical political agenda.

[Mags]

September 11th, where were you?

Thanks Dexter. It has been co-opted for political purposes. How sad.