Posted on 09/10/2007 6:41:30 PM PDT by Milwaukee_Guy
Might be a good time to revisit how we all heard about the the attack on 9/11 and how we reacted to the darkest day in American history.
What emotions were strongest for you on that day?
How did you find out? Did you stay at work? Did you go Home? Who did you call?
Anything to add?
It was 6:00 a.m. Pacific Time. I was still in bed sleeping when my daughter called and said something terrible was happening and I should turn on the TV. So I did just in time to see the second plane hit the tower. I was was glued to the TV for the rest of the day.
Howard and I landed at Dulles late in the day 9/10/01. I was anxious the next morning to get back into the office and start catching up. My wife called and told me to forget that and turn on the TV.
I alternated between that and FR for the next several hours, in a haze of rage. Jo's parents had been scheduled to fly out that morning to meet her over there and we worried they'd been caught up in it, only to learn later, when Jo got online from her relative's house in Italy, that they'd left the night before and in any case as we now know only westbound airliners were targeted.
I can still remember that morning even now (before the attacks). I rode the train into work that day here in Atlanta. Just like in NYC it was a perfect beautiful day. I was listening to WGST-AM. Tom Hughes had a radio show then. And just before 9am there was a report of a plane hitting the WTC. At the time it was not clear if it was a small plane or a commercial airliner. I remember they were talking to some guy on his cell phone near the WTC and as he was talking on the phone over the air the second plane hit. We all knew then that it was a terrroist attact. Since my job was related to the stock market and I believe the market never opened that day (usually the market opens at 9:30) we didn’t really do much the rest of the morning other than listen to the radio. We were let go from work around noon or so and I got a ride home from a co-worker (we thot the trains were closed). I remember listening to the radio and I heard the horrible news that Barbara Olson was on one of the planes. I really felt horrible then. I always liked her and enjoyed seeing her on television. I still have her last book.
We watched just about everything that went down after that point. I think we saw the second impact live on TV, although we might have seen it a few minutes after. I remember a few screams from fellow students. The room then filled with people from neighboring rooms that did not have a TV.
I spent the rest of the day in the cafeteria, skipping classes , staring at the TV, trying to figure out what happened with friends, and watching the other students’ reactions.
marked...the other thread was also linked on this thread, don’t remember which number.
What I remember MOST of the whole week, are the images of people waiting to jump to their deaths. That and the question my 7 year old grandson asked me....”Why do they want to hurt us?” My answer....”There are evil people in the world.”
Prayers for the family/friends of those who lost loved ones on that day. WE WILL NEVER FORGET!
I awoke at about 7:15am Pac time to the local radio host talking about planes hitting the Twin Towers....and jumped out of bed, yelled at my brother and his wife who were visiting, that something terrible had happened as I ran down to a TV....we sat watching for awhile, in shock. Watched as the towers crumbled to the ground. I had plans to drive them to Vancouver, BC that day/night, and my husband had left for Vancouver earlier (businesess trip)...We knew their flight back to Texas would not be on time in a couple of days. My husband called and really did NOT want me to travel, but we decided to go anyway ....getting through the border took time, as they were extra thorough. Hearing that Barbara Olson was on one of the crashed planes while we were wandering around the shops brought me to tears, again....Getting back into the US the next day was interesting, as my brother worked for an oil company and traveled the world, i.e. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, stamped all over his Passport, etc....they were VERY interested in him and what he was doing. But, he’s a big, blond haired, blue eyed Norwegian looking guy....so they finally let us back in.
About 9/25 we left on our delayed vacation - a road trip, into Canada again....ended up at a very remote border crossing out of Idaho.....was interesting, as the Canadians had THEIR crossing guards, and then about 20 feet away, was another set of US crossing guards....all with rifles at the ready. We were actually happy to see that.
I thought Clancey, too. It was surreal.
My son had been sent home from school on the 10th with a bad bronchial infection. We were both up a lot during the night, he was quite ill, and I had already planned to take a half day. Although I had awakened at 7.30 to call him off of school, I actually went back to try to get some rest while he slept and was awakened at 8.43 am by a call from a family member who said, 'You have to turn on the TV and see this.' I was stunned. I turned on the TV to see the first plane hit. I tried to call my sister who was in the Boston metro area but there was no getting through. I called a friend who I knew did not watch TV and would want to know. I was glued to the TV and saw the 2nd plane hit and both Towers fall.
I might add, I work in the finance/investment world (in PA), so in addition to horror of watching the horror unfold, the loss of life and the uncertainties of just what else might happen, I was in touch with my workplace and supervisor finding out on a whole other level more details. The market of course did not open, not all week. And, at the time, we waited to hear if or when it would or could.
I didn't find out about Reagan being shot until almost dinner time. It was the first day of Spring Quarter and I went to my classes and went to the library to begin studying. And when I was eating dinner at the dorm cafetaria that was when I found out from people talking.
Your post was beautiful. I checked out your profile. I’m so sorry for your loss of your brave and handsome husband.
May God bless you and your precious children.
I sat at home watching this in disbelief. The President could have came on the TV and said, I just nuked Iran (Iraq, Afghanistan, Paris and a half a dozen more places) and I would not have cared one bit. I would have paid money to push the button. I was sitting there thinking, I could call the Speedway and cancel. And then I thought to myself, if I stay home the terrorist win. I went to the Speedway and ran the buggy hard. I didn't buy it, but I was running laps almost as good as the big dogs do.
I don't remember it to be September 11th, and I wasn't sure what to think of Bush before 911, but when President Bush was at Ground Zero and he said, 'the people who brought these buildings down are going to hear from all of us soon', it sure made me happy and I changed the way I looked at Bush.
I think it may have been that day when I promised to never waver, falter, tire, or fail.
Peace and FREEDOM will prevail - W
I stood 6 blocks away and watched the towers fall. When I close my eyes I still see them crumle. I see the wall of dust flowing down the street like a flash flood in a canyon. I hear the dead silence of a city that gasped as one and held it’s breath. That day and that place forever changed me in a way that I cannot describe.
Today, when I hear the Liberals and the MoveOn.org crowd preach tolerance and blame our country I want to throw up all over them. I want to send them to the top of the towers and let them try to survive the inferno caused by the radical muslims. I want them to stand near the base of the towers and experience the exploding thuds of the bodies of those who sought to fly away from the fire and destruction.
Finally I grieve with all those who lost loved ones. I even pitty those who have mistakingly focused their grief on our country like the Jersey Girls. I pity them and I grieve for them. Their loss is one I cannot understand. But I pray for them, for the children of the brave firefighters who gave their lives to save others. I pray that should the time come for me to be as corageous that I can live up to their examples. I also pray for those who have answered the call in Iraq and Afganistan to take the war to our enemy in this religious war.
GOD BLESS AMERICA (please)
After England AFB of course.
Thank you for your story. It was really amazing. I think that day changed many people’s lives.
And thanks for your service!
My husband and I were visiting family in northern CA. I woke up early and turned on the TV looking for the news. I ran into the Home Shopping Network which had a black background up with words to the effect “In light of the day’s events, we have cancelled all programming. Our prayers are with those affected.”
I remember wondering about that, actually stopping and reading that a couple times.
Then I finally found the news - CNN first I think and saw the WTC burning. I remember the ticker talking about planes hijacked - the pentagon hit... a plane missing... I was horrified, terrified, completely stunned & couldn’t make the connection between the pictures and the ticker - it seemed as if we were being hit on all fronts all over.
I immediately woke my husband up and told him we were under attack. We watched the unbearable images for awhile with some family while we called his family in Philly and mine in So CA. Checking in though you’re nowhere near the tragedy. I think it just helped to reach out & hear loved one’s voices. I struggled to get my mind around the fact that when the towers fell, LIVE, I was watching people die. Hundreds, thousands of people. All those children whose mommies & daddies were gone just then. Madness.
We watched until the networks began to replay it again & again, then drove to see my grandparents who lived another couple hours away. Regular radio programming had nearly ceased to exist. News from the Attacks was on nearly all the radio stations... except the rap stations. Isn’t that strange? We stopped to get gas and it was already on the front page of a paper, so we bought that one. At Grandma’s house, Fox News was on - they were watching it as well.
We stayed there briefly, then continued on our way to Big Sur (our original destination) where we stayed with no TV to watch within a couple hundred miles. Only AM radio and internet access during the day. Art Bell’s remote viewers at night detailing Bin Laden’s location and also predicting doom for the local nuclear plant.
Looking out over the Pacific and wondering if a flank from North Korea could be coming.
And the anthrax attacks... when they hit Reno, supposedly... it hit home.
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