Where were you on 9/11?

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

On 9/11 as I was leaving the hairdresser's a lady was walking in saying that a plane had hit the World Trade Center - I thought it was some kind of accident but when I turned on the radio I heard that we, America, was being attacked.  I felt like the air had disappeared - I could barely breath, my hands started to shake.  I had been heading into my real estate office but I turned around and drove a few miles away to the nearest T.V. - at my dad's house.  By the time I walked in the second plane had already crashed into the other tower.  The scenes on the TV were horrific - I was scared for our country and I was angry at those that could do such a thing.  Shocking to watch as they played the videos over and over.  People jumping from the towers was the worst part - I fell to my knees sobbing.  The Pentagon, the airplane over PA - it just kept getting worse.  As the first building collapsed - I could only pray to God.  All those people, their families - unimaginable.  As the days went by there were hero's emerging from the tragedy, some goodness in the face of all that evil.  10 years later the thing I mourn the most is the loss of innocence, the loss of trust in people, the lost of a sense of security that I will never have again in my lifetime.  I travel frequently and I'm reminded every time I go through the airport.   I stood last week at the World Trade Center site - along with machine gun toting police. 

[Leslie and Halas]

Thanks to everyone for sharing your stories. We've got some true heroes, right here on DK.

[Angie, Hudson and Lily]

My daughter's social studies teacher just told the class that they had to ask their parents this question, so we were just talking about it in the car tonight. I was teaching in my first grade classroom- isolated from all of the news, but later in the morning another teacher came into my room and whispered the news in my ear. It wasn't until I went to eat my lunch and watched the news in the teacher room that I really felt the full impact of what had happened. I felt helpless in so many ways and I wanted to be with my own kids more than anything, but I couldn't leave. We were on lockdown. Lots of parents were coming to school to sign their kids out. It made me want my kids even more. Adam was in first grade near home- about 20 minutes away, and my mom was watching Emily (a toddler at the time). My mom's house and my school are very near an Air Force base and this frightened me a lot at the time- not knowing if there would be any more attacks because a military base might be a prime target.The fighter plane that was sent up to try and intercept the plane that crashed in the PA field actually came from the base near my mom's house. I remember leaving school that day and everything was really quiet outside. It felt really strange. Being near the Air Force base there was always a lot of airplanes flying overhead, and even that noise was gone. In the hours to follow, it really increased though and I could even hear them flying overhead at my house- which wasn't typical at all. I will never forget that day.

[shelly]

I know what you mean, Angie about being isolated from the outside world.  I remember just as the news came that the first tower was hit, I was taking my kids to gym.  the gym teacher, always a joker told me that a plane hit the WTC.  I thought how terrible!  then he said "it collapsed" - for a split second I thought he was kidding and was going to make a really BAD joke... but then I looked at his face.  Still thinking it was a terrible accident.  It wasn't for a while later that our principal started making her rounds.  I just wanted to go home and be with my kids.  My husband works for a major newspaper here on L.I. (not a reporter) and I was afraid he wold be stuck there or worse....

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

I was between semesters at uni and was working in the village pub. I wasnt due in til later so put the TV on while I waited to go in. Every channel was showing footage. it was hard to drag myself away from the screen and go to work.

[Kyoko]

I was at school. One of the stff told me that plane had hit the trade center, and I thought it was some sort of joke. So, I went into the teachers' lounge and watched the news.....  tried calling my friends wh live in Lower East side of NYC, my in-laws, etc... with no luck. People started t come to school to pick their children up....... I was wondering if I should leave my job and go pick up my children.... I tought that my kids will be much safer with school, being organized in their safety plan than just myself trying to protect them. So, I stayed at my school and kids stayed at theirs..... My kids still talk about that, I never came to pick them up. Later on that day, their dance classes were canceled. My kids remember thinking that this was a huge event since the dance was canceled!! ( They never canceled, no matter what...)

 

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Definitely revealing my age here... but I was sitting in the cafeteria in high school on a spare (back when we had grade 13 and everyone had spares!). 

 

The principal started an announcement, sounding very serious and told us what had happened.

 

I live about a 1.5 hour drive north of the NY border, but even so TV's started appearing all over the school and some people were frantically calling their loved ones.  People were mulling around the hallways for almost the entire morning.  Since I am now a teacher - I have an even better understanding of how that day must have went for the teachers in the school.

 

A very surreal day - one I definitely won't forget.

[Sally]

On 9/11 I was on the express bus commuting into Manhattan. We were just a few hundred feet from entering the brooklyn battery tunnel. We looked up and noticed this fireball explosion and I actually thought to myself it must be special effects for a movie. Being a New Yorker i'm used to movies and TV shows being filmed in the city all the time. All of a sudden there were these "sparkles" flying about. I later realized they were papers that had been blown from the offices all the way to BROOKLYN! I watched these papers land on the road next to my bus. My bus driver even went out to grab some stating that he wanted to own a piece of history. SICK! We never made it into the city (THANK GOD) but were forced to about face and then we were dropped off close to the Verrazano Bridge (but the bridge was shut down so we couldn't get back to Staten Island where i live). So I walked with some fellow passengers to an electronics store to see if we could use the bathroom and maybe try and land line since cell service wasn't really working. It was then that we realized that plane 2 hit. And then as we stared at the 100 tvs in the store we watched the first tower collapse. I eventually made it home about 6 hours later.

[shelly]

Oh sally, I am so sorry you had to witness that.  Just hearing about it and not being able to leave work and get home to my children was so awful.  I can't imagine walking the Verranzano to get home to your loved ones!

[Doris, Knox & Flash]

Jane, thanks so much for starting this discussion. I am lying in bed reading all of these stories with tears running down my face. What HEROS we have among us!! I was taking my son to school when we heard the news of the first plane hitting and thinking that it was '"just an accident." By the time he was getting out of the car, the second plane had hit and I remember telling him to pray every chance he got

I have not seen a reply to this discussion from SANDIE & HATTIE. Her son was the ultimate HERO in all of this, as he gave his life fighting for our freedom following these horrific attacks. Let's pray for her at this time...

[shelly]

Oh Doris... I did not know that.  I will pray for her and her son!  SHE gave U.S the ultimate sacrifice... her son!  Sandie... if you are reading in silence.. THANK YOU! My prayers are with you and your family!  Hold on to that Hattie Rose!

[Lori]

Sandie my prayers are with you too. I am sorry for your loss. I'll be thinking about you and your family.

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

Sandie-our thoughts and prayers are with you, I did not know. God bless you and your family.