Where Were You When 9/11 Happened?

I am from England and was at the time still living there , I had the news on and they were showing live coverage and I saw the second plane hit , I was speechless and still to this day cannot believe it happened. I do not know anyone personally effected by this , but it did and still does bring tears to my eyes.

I was in college at a school 20 miles N or the city. We heard and then several of us climbed the mountain behind the college and watched the smoke billow from the towers...

Sitting in my cubicle. I called my mom like I did every morning and the first plane hit while we were on the phone. My dad had been there the day before. Once the plane hit the pentagon we were evacuated and I had to wait for what felt like an endless amount of time to hear from all my friends. I lost 2 that day and less than 2 years later I was back in NYC working downtown just blocks from ground zero.

I was there.

I was on my way to work, on a train with my husband heading into Penn Station in Midtown when the first plane hit. He saw the smoke coming from the building. We walked together most of the way to our offices - people were on their cellphones trying to figure out what had happened - most thought it was a sightseeing plane because something like that had happend before. I got to my office at 8th & 42nd when the 2nd plane hit. Everyone was going about their business as much as they could, but it was very wierd. There was a tv in my bosses office and we would drift in to see what was going on. When the first tower collapsed, we were all stunned. The police came through the building to evacuate us because the building I worked in was part of the Port Authority bus station. I left and walked to my husband's office at 44th & 5th, stopping at a church along the way to say some prayers.

As I walked through Times Square, I saw the 2nd tower collapse on all the Jumbotron TV screens. I spent the rest of my walk crying. I got to my husband's office and we spent the rest of the day together, waiting to find out if we were going to have to stay in the city and trying to get in touch with family (which we did). Amazingly we were able to get a train home to NJ around 3pm. The walk to the station was extremely surreal - no plane noise, no cars in the streets, very few people. The train ride was very quiet and the ride through the tunnel was very strange and a little scary. We got home safe. Our friends and family called. We were lucky because we didn't lose any family or friends. It was a sad and solemn experience.

NYC is a very big small town. I have to say it was a very sad, but very moving experience in that "my" city came together to support each other on that day, and there was a feeling of unity in our city. We came together in support of each other - big city people looked each other in the eye and smiled in understanding for weeks and months afterward. As I type, my chest is tightening, my eyes are tearing.

It makes me SO ANGRY when people use Sept. 11th and every anniversary of that date to justify hatred and hateful things like the buring of the Koran, etc. Every politician, religious leader, etc. who used and continues to use this day to "rally to their cause" DEFILES it and has my contempt.

My older sister and I were in our apartment getting ready for our morning classes (my sister's classes were in downtown Chicago). I was sitting on the sofa watching the news when I saw the reports of the first crash. I called my sister into the room and we watched together as the 2nd plane crashed into the building. I immediately told my sister, "That was Osama bin Laden!" and she just looked at me and said, "Who?" It is amazing how so few of us knew about such a terrorist until that day.

We went to class, but our downtown campus was evacuated shortly after, and my sister returned to our apt which was on the coast of Lake Michigan. My sister's boyfriend's mother was afraid for us since we were in a high rise, so she asked us to come stay with them in the suburbs. My classes were not canceled, so I went to my philosopy class, and we all just sat crying and praying together. That afternoon my university held an interfaith prayer vigil, and on a campus with a high percentage of Muslim students, it was very uplifting to see how many turned out and shed tears.

I was going to ask this question! I was living in LA at the time. I had just gotten done with my workout and was tuning in to Good Morning America when they were started to talk about some absurd story about a plane flying into one of the twin towers and it all unfolded from there.

At that time, I was working at the twin towers in Century City (same architect as the WTC) and, being the dutiful employee that I am, I got ready to drive in but, since one of the planes, the one bound for LA, was still MIA, I had this horrible fear that maybe the twin towers on the west coast may be one of the targets as well. As I was driving into work, I kept on wondering if the kiss that I gave my husband that morning was a good enough kiss to be our last kiss. Did I mention that sometimes I can have a very active imagination?

Anyway, I drove to my office building and was relieved to see that they were not allowing anyone to enter the building, so I drove back home to my little apartment just 2 short blocks from the northwest corner of LAX. You know, I had always noticed these poor schlubs of guys who were driving these kind of rundown, not very attractive sedans driving in my neighborhood, thinking that they were just a bunch of family guys commuting in from work. Well, turns out they are actually undercover law enforcement or secret service because that day, their cars were alit with flashing lights and cavassing our neighborhood all day long.

And I just felt incredibly sad for the people in the WTC, their families, New York City, the United States and all the good Muslim people who don't condone this kind of terrorism and do not believe that their God or Allah is this divisive a God/Allah who condones mass destruction and homicide. 9/11 really brought out the best and the worst in everyone, but mostly the best from what I have seen. I loved seeing the American flag flying everywhere from that day on for the rest of the year and into the new year. It made me really proud to be a US citizen and a patriot.

I was at home with my 2 1/2 yr old watching tellitubbies... my sister called frantically from the Atlanta Airport boarded on a plane for Washington, DC.
She wanted to know what was going on, as all communication, tv, radio, were turned off. When they were cleared to taxi back to the terminal she said ALL news stations were blacked out. People were frantic, and as I had changed the channel to watch and tell her what was happening, I could tell her she was repeating the information to the crowds that were around her....
I was also pregnant with my son at that time, and I almost lost my child due to all the stress/turmoil...

I WILL NEVER FORGET 9/11!

I was working at an Alzheimer's facility. It was split into four units, and I was walking down the hall into one and saw my co-worker staring at the t.v. openend mouthed in shock. I asked her what was wrong and she just pointed at the t.v., I looked and withing a minute the second plane hit.

It was extra difficult for us that day because alzheimers patients can associate old tragic events with what is happening now. So we had ALOT of frantic, terrified, inconsolable people who thought we were directly close to the attack. Or that their children who were police, firefighters, business people etc were trapped in these burning buildings. It was so sad, aside from the reality of what was actually going on. That was probably the most surreal day I have ever experienced. It felt like something out of a movie, and continued to for days. I can't believe it's been 9 years!! When you see the pictures from that it makes you realize how time can fly by. It still seems unreal sometime. God bless everyone who lost their lives day, those who didnt, and all the heroes who did what they could to rescue and assist. NEVER FORGET <3

I was coming off a 12 hour shift (military lab tech) at Scott Air Force base after attending (and how ironic is this) a two hour training session for terrorism/biochemical warfare.

I was in my home office with another Mom of a kid with a disability, going over her son's years of educational records. I had spend the last three days reading them, and had figured out what happend to change this dylexic young man who could not read, but was doing well in math and science until 4th grade, into a 16 year old who was in "consumer math" could not sign his name on his drivers liscense applicantion, and who wanted to drop out. Another advocate called me and told me to turn on the TV. We did, and the two of us watched as the second plane hit.

It took a while for the reality to sink in. We lived in Oklahoma City in 1995, and at first, it just felt that that all over again. When the buildings fell, and the Pentagon was hit, it became obvious that this the whole country was going to live what we did in 1995 on a world stage.

Our phone rang again at 11:30 PM. It was the Department of the Navy, and our lives have not been the same since.

M.

My routine on 9/11 is the same, wake up, turn on tv for the reading of the names, say silent prayer when they name my friends, thank God it hasn't happened again.
I was on my way to work, taking the 7 train in Qns. That's an elevated train that runs outside till you change to the N train to get into manhattan. I saw the first tower on fire and thought that was it, a very bad fire. Then the 2nd plane hit and all the passengers in the train ran to the side of the train to see out the window and we sort of tilted. Got off on the platform, everyone was shocked, we all thought it was an accident and we continued on to transfer trains two stops to my job. By the time I walked in to work word was out that it was planned and that the towers were falling. I worked in retail and customers came in as if nothing was going on. No one could concintrate I couldn't reach my friends that worked in the towers and I couldn't find my sister. Finally they closed our store but no one was allowed to leave, we thought NYC was gonna shut down and no one could leave the island. I finally reached my sis she walked 2 miles up to my store and together with hundreds of people we walked over the 59th street bridge. The drive over normally takes 5 minutes. Walking in complete silence and tears took 2 hours. One lane was open for cars and people picked up the elderly and the disabled. No one could get a cell phone signal. When we reached the queens side we saw the 7 train was running. We all packed in like sardines and it was surreal how quite it was. That night the mayor was saying we had to go back to work as usual can't let the terrorists win. My hubs, sis and I wanted to donate blood, so many people had already that day, but sadly the blood wasn't needed. I lost 3 dear friends and many people at work lost people as well. New Yorkers are a strong people, there was such a sense of community and strength in the aftermath and I made many new friends after as we all volunteered for different services for weeks afterwards. I was out with friends last night and saw Joe Biden and his wife at a restaurant. They were in for the morning ceremonies today. It hit me last night 9 years and so many changes yet we still have a hole in the ground. Thank God the memorial will be finished for next year 10th anniversary.

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I was a freshman in high school and I was on my way out the door for school... my aunt called and said one of the towers had been hit. We turned around and turned the TV on. I was in my Algebra class when the 1st tower fell, and in all my classes we were glued to the television. Our teachers recognized it as a day that would change our world and would be a better lesson than anything they had planned for the day.

On a side note. I wish people (I'm not talking about here on Mamasource) would remember the events and the people who lost their lives and would leave their political arguments for tomorrow.

I was in college and had decided to skip my first class that morning. I had gotten up late, so was in a hurry and didn't turn on the tv or radio at all. On my drive to my classes, I had a cd playing, so again...no radio! I got to my classroom and there was a note on the door that said class would start about 15 minutes late for a prayer service(catholic college campus). I had no idea why! My friend came in and sat down and I asked why there was a prayer service...she just looked at me in disbelief! We proceeded to talk about it throughout class. Then my next class was a little crazy...my professor's daughter worked in the towers...he hadn't heard from her yet...it was very tense...but we all just talked about it. During class, he did get a call from him wife and their daughter was fine...thank God!

My aunt and uncle live in New York and saw the whole thing...just crazy! I still can't believe it all...

.

I was laying on my couch, watching the news, 9 months pregnant ready to pop and praying that I would not go into labor that day. I was devastated and could not imagine having a baby on such a horrible day. My daughter was born 3 days later. I had a lot of anxiety related to 9/11 after my daughters birth - such a scary time to bring a new life into this world.

Man, I was in 10th grade AP Chem class. A kid came in late to class and said the parking attendant told him that the towers were down. We all thought it was a joke, until we turned on the TV...one of my friends....her brother was in there :(

I was a bartender back then and worked nights. I was sleeping when I got the phone call from my then-husband....as soon as I realized what was going on I started crying, even though I didn't know anyone that was killed. Just thinking about how scared those poor people were was enough to make me cry uncontrollably. We lived near BWI airport, and in a flightpath. The quiet in the air during the days that planes were grounded was creepy.

I still can't fly. Every year I watch what happened that day. I wanted to not watch it yesterday, but I feel really guilty if I don't for some reason. I went to my doctor about 2 weeks after it happened because I couldn't get the image of some of them jumping out of the windows of the top floors, knowing that they were going to die...too much for my mind. I was put on anti-depressants, which thankfully I don't need anymore.

I wish that we could all remember the strong feelings of unity we had in the days and weeks following the attacks. Strangers helped strangers, and no one had any ridiculous thoughts of burning a Quran, knowing that it was Bin Laden and his extremists that did this. God Bless America!

I had just gotten a positive pregnancy result. I was so excited and I could not wait for my husband to wake after an overnight shift so I could tell him. We were packing to go to the beach for the day and I had our 1 year old in her high chair eating breakfast when it became clear we were under attack. I decided to wake my husband around 10:30. We watched the tv together holding each other. He told me he knew we lived near a high profile terrorist target and he wanted me somewhere safe. We drove to his parents and his pager went off over and over. The fire houses near us emptied as they went into NY and he went in to cover those firehouses. He did not come back for 3 days. I did not tell him I was pregnant until he came back. I didn't want him distracted I wanted him to know we were safe and that he didn't have to worry. It was a very long 3 days.

I was on a business trip in Washington D.C. (I live in Los Angeles).

I blogged about my experiences: http://littlebitquirky.blogspot.com/2010/09/september-11-...

C.
www.littlebitquirky.blogspot.com

I was in college. I slept through the whole thing but woke up to frantic phone calls and messages from people telling me that my family was ok. I had NO clue what that meant and immediately called my fiancée. He said "There are no more twin towers. Turn on the tv." I did and I was scared and shocked, I heard the sirens outside of our window in Queens. They had the park nearby set up for triage, which they didn't need. My father walked home over the 59th street bridge and We watched tv in silence. My mom, an RN, was kept at work overnight and was told to wait for victims. They never came. I lost a dear friend who was an EMT and my uncle Hector Tamayo, who worked in tower 2 on the 79th floor. He waited for his coworkers to make it out first. I will forever be scarred by this, I drove through to pick up a cousin in NJ on the 12th and the smell, sight of the smoke billowing from ground zero from the bridge and the silence was unbelievable. God bless our city.

I was in NYC some 28 blocks from the WTC. I still remember seeing the second tower go down like dust to the ground. It was chaos in NYC, I was in midtown manhattan and people who were walking down the street from downtown had soot all over them and then hours later there was a rumor that a plane was on its way to crash the Empire State Bldg. We did not know where to go. They closed the subways. That night I heard firefighter jets roaming the otherwise quiet sky in NYC. The next day when I rode the subway you can feel how affected nyers were by this tragedy . I still can't believe it really happened even though I saw it with my own eyes.

I was married to a Navy sailor. They had just left for a month long cruise. When I found out about it, I was at work working security and helped to secure the facility. For the next month, I was in a constant state of worry until he got home. Mostly, I remember sitting on my couch that evening and watching the news channel alone and crying a lot.

I'm from Staten Island. I was in college in Texas. I was getting ready for school and turned on the tv. I thought it was a clip from a Will Smith or Bruce Willis movie - one of those disaster flicks, until I realized it was on every channel. My boyfriend that lived with me was from Queens NY and I sat with him while he tried to contact all his family and friends to find out if they were ok. Some were, some weren't, but he didn't get through to anybody that day. I had moved long before, so, I just called my mom to see if she and her people were ok. She was fine, but not fine. My mom was never the same again.

I was working at a hospital outside of DC. I rembrr coming out of the OR being told about the first plane. As I was finishing up my paperwork we learned that a second plane hit. We all just stared at each other in disbelief. Then our supervisor came back and said the Pentagon had been hit and that we were officially on disaster alert for casualties. The patients still had to be taken care of and as I walked back to the OR for another case, I stopped by the waiting room for a second to check out the news. At that moment I watched Tower II collapse. As I walked into the operating room feeling very shaken by what I just saw, the surgeon asked for an update. I told him and we turned the radio on to hear the reports. And as the surgeon was performing major back surgery we heard Tower I go down. We all just stood there. I finally got to go home that evening, and finally saw what had happened that morning and was brought to tears. Last night, 9 years later, watching the footage brought back the same emotions. Thanks for posting this question. I think it's something we should sit down a remember every year.

I was getting ready to start my 2nd day at a new job. My husband called me to turn on the tv... I was glued to the tv for as long as I could until I absolutely had to go.

napping in my first apartment with my husband (then boyfriend), He couldnt come home cause he was offshore and the helicopters werent allowed to fly. He called me and woke me up and told me to turn on the news. I spent the remainder of the night with my friends, discussing the event.

I am a teacher...we had just started our day. The principal walked around to every classroom with a piece of paper that explained the situation, said NOT to turn on the TV, and that parents would be allowed to check out their children if they would feel comfortable. All we could do was read the paper and carry on with our students. At that time, not very much information was available, and because it was impossible to leave the classroom, we really didn't know what was going on until much later in the day. At the end of her paper, it said, "This would be a good time to pray!" I still have the paper, and every time I run across it, I remember every detail like it was yesterday.

I was living with my parent's and getting ready for work. I was watching the Today Show and Katie Couric and Matt Lauer were talking about a plane that flew into one of the twin towers. At that time they weren't sure it it was an accident. As events started to unfold it was so scary. I went to work and everything started to come out about what was going on. I worked in my dad doctor's office at the time which was behind a military hospital. There was a rumor that the hospital was going to be bombed. Thinking back we were of course not in any danger, but we didn't know if the whole county was under attack so we acted accordingly. We closed the office. I remember watching the news and they were talking about the airways, and there was not a single plane in the air and how that had never happened before. They had to ground everything.

During the news that night I remember Tom Brokaw I think it was said - our planes have been used as guided missals today. That just shook me, because it was the truth. I couldn't believe the towers had fallen. It was so surreal. When I heard there was a two year old on one of the planes I kept thinking about what that family must have been going through on that plane while holding their child. There were so many awful stories from that day but that one has always stuck in my head. That mom and dad probably just held on tight to their child and thought how could this be. Now that I have kids of my own I can't imagine going through that. Breaks my heart to this day when I think about it.

I was on vacation at the shore in Delaware with some family members. We had just driven O. of them to the bus station (drove down with us but was only staying a few days) and we were down at the beach when my stepfather returned to the house to get coffee and came down and said something about a plane hitting a tower. We rushed back to the house and stayed glued to the television for the next (at least 24 hrs.) The bus of my family member was turned around and all public transportation halted. I will never forget the QUIETNESS of the beach that week, with no air traffic and somber moods for everyone.

Laid up in bed, waiting for my second daughter to be born. When my husband called to tell me that morning, I barely processed the information and cared far more about laying there in that bed than what he was saying. When I finally did get up and see what was going on (just a few minutes later), I sat on the sofa in shock, for about a week, until it was time for her to be born.

I was attending a Navy "A" school at Correy Station in Pensacola, FL. I didn't have a TV in my apartment, so the first I heard of it was when I tried getting on base and everything was shut down. The gate guard told me what had happened and I went home to watch the broadcast on a neighbors TV. I was 9wks. pregnant with my oldest at the time. I graduated from my class less than a week later. It was scary to think that we could end up at war right as I got out of "A" school and was getting ready to ship out to the fleet. One of my classmates' mom worked in the wing of the Pentagon that got hit and she is only alive because she was late to work that morning.

It was my 17th birthday. I was in my second period class which was an all girls choir. They were in the middle of singing "Happy Birthday" to me when another teacher rushed in and told us to get to the nearest class room with a TV. We turned on right as the second plane hit. It was like a sinking feeling in my stomach. I will never forget that day as long as I live.

I was in our newly rented apartment and we had no tv since we had just moved to this beautiful country the week before. I was pregnant with my first baby and I was so happy we were here and I spent the morning cleaning and doing laundry, without a clue of what was going on.
My husband came in from work at lunch time and told me the horrible news; I believe that day was the begining of my battle with anxiety, I couldn't get on a plane for the next five years and wanted to go home so bad but just couldn't bring myself to go to the airport.
I just couldn't believe what had happened, I couldn't believe the evil that had taken place, I imagined the horror of the people on the plane, the children over and over again. I always wondered if there were pregnant women in the towers, I thought about my own baby kicking in my belly.
I will never ever forget it, it was one of the saddest days I've lived.
I still can't believe how much hate a person must feel to do such a thing, how much evil does it take to plan for months destruction like this, what a pathetic soul they have, I feel pity for those people they'll never know love.
I pray so hard that there is a heaven so the people in the planes and the towers can at least get some peace after life.

I was at work and was just about to inform my boss that I was pregnant. She had one of those litttle portable televisions (hand held) and right beforeI was about to tell her what I wanted her to know the 1st plane flew into the tower. I was still in her office (had not said anything yet, because we were then discussing what just happened) when the second plance flew into the second tower. At that time we were both just setting thinking this is just unreal! Also, my grandfather (who has sinced passed away) was having surgery on tha same day. After we were dismissed at work because no one knew what was going on, I went to visit him at the hospital. I remember looking at people on the roads and they had a crazy look in their eyes and everyone was driving really crazy like they were in a hurry. And this was in Michigan.

We were just getting ready for school. It was an incredibly beautiful morning, I remember. My friend down the street, who we carpooled with, and who often called at that time to check about something related to who was driving or running a bit late---AND who is normally the CALMEST and most grounded person I have ever met--called in absolute sobs, telling us we had to turn on the tv and saying over and over "They're flying into buildings! They're flying into buildings!"

We spent the rest of the day watching on television and being absolutely stunned. That evening, we gathered with many in our community for the first of many interfaith prayer gatherings and services. That interfaith service has become a regular thing, once per month, in our community ever since.

i was working for the army when i heard what had happened. i didn't understand why people got so upset and sad. in fact i didn't know what they were talking about. i was newly living in the states so i didn't know what twin towers were. we went back to our rooms, turned on tv and i saw the footage.
i still remember the sadness and anger i felt.

I was at work. My husband was home with is grandmother taking care of our youngest son (he was a baby). My company sent all of us home right after the towers fell. My husband is a freelance videographer and he was called to go to NYC that afternoon. He left at 3:45 pm and didn't return for three weeks. He worked at the armory in midtown. We experienced this event in two completely ways so our memories are different. It was also our 7th wedding anniversary.

I live in CA so I woke up to my mom screaming "we're being attacked." I was so scared. I called my friends to see if they had heard anything yet. My friend's mom would not wake her up. She was scheduled to fly to boston to visit family in 2 days. I did not want her to go. I cried to her mom begging her not to send her. Her flight along with everyone else's was grounded. I was so glad. I was working for Disney at the time and we were very scared. No one knew if the west coast would be hit. It was so scary. My friends and I didn't know what to do so we went to the craft store and bought all the red/white/blue striped ribbon we could find along with straight pins to pin on our shirts.

I was living in Az getting ready for school. We always watched the news before leaving for the bus stop (I was in 8th grade) . My mom didn't send me to school because she thought the whole U. S. was under attack. I was 14 when it happened and its one of those things that people who lived through it will never forget.