WHERE were U during 9-11-01?

[PeripheralxMvmnt]

i was in Pre-cal in my sophmore year of high school, and we were taking a quiz that i had no idea what i was doing. The teacher next door to us came in our class and told us to turn the TV on, that something very bad just happened. What alarmed us before we saw the TV was the large amount of jets in the air (my high school was 5 miles from Richmond Intl Airport in Va) and the teacher from next door was never serious about anything, but he was dead serious then. Later i had NROTC, and thats when we saw the second plane hit. Our instructors were a Master Chief and a LT CDR, and they both were red in the face and fighting tears. The whole day, and for a while after that was completely surreal. I can only imagine what it was like for those acutally there.

[herronm]

I work for a defense contractor.  Our Director came out of office and told us about a plane crashing into the WTC.  So about 20 of us crammed into his office to watch CCN.  I still can't describe the feeling of utter helplessness and sadness that I felt.  I made it home without crying, but fell apart when the Buckingham Palace band play the Star Spangled Banner.  Peter Jennings seemed like an old friend that stopped by the house to tell me about the events.  

[captain blackleg]

I was getting ready for class and like always had the news on the tv, I saw the first plane had hit and soon thereafter I watched as the second hit. I don't really know how to describe what I was feeling, but it was more than obvious that we were being attacked. I went to class expecting everyone to be talking about it, no one said anything, it was crazy. Not until later that afternoon did anyone else even speak about it. I can only assume I was in a class full of people who definitely didn't start their morning watching the news. 

[Hook'Em]

I was just finishing getting ready to go to work and came out of my bedroom and saw it on the TV. My wife was watching speechless and finally told me what was happening. We were watching when the second plane hit the other tower and she pointed at the screen, mouth gaping wide open. About 5 minutes later I told her she could stop pointing at the TV. It was such a shocking thing to witness. I just spaced out like I did then when I was watching it live. It's unbelievable that some idiot would do that to innocent people.

[robo21]

I worked two jobs, second shift and third shift so I was still asleep when the planes hit.  I was woke up by the phone ringing off the hook.  I didn't get off the couch to answer it, instead I turned on the TV to drown it out.  The first building had just fallen as I turned on the TV.  At first I thought it was a movie on TV and turned the channel.  I relized what was happening after every station was the same. 

[buuckkweet]

I was working 1st shift at our local sheet metal plant when one of the engineers came downstairs and told us what was happening.  When I got home that afternoon, I hugged Mrs. BW, and we cried alot.  We both stayed glued to the TV. 

[Robmeister]

Our daughter, Bekah, had just turned 2 (she turned 9 today, actually).

I remember a horrible emptiness and dread thinking, "OMG...what kind of a world is this that my little girl will be growing up in?"

Anyone else have kids 8 to 10 or so who had that thought or feeling?

[schro]

I remember a horrible emptiness and dread thinking, "OMG...what kind of a world is this that my little girl will be growing up in?"

Anyone else have kids 8 to 10 or so who had that thought or feeling?

Alex is 8 and Nicole is 10..................yes.

[D.A.L.U.I.]

Going to pick up the wife at the auto dealers where she was dropping the car for service.  I was going into the hospital for a back operation the next day and she wanted to get her car serviced before I would be on "no driving" orders for a month.  I picked her up, then as we were going down the street on the way home, the second plane hit and the thought of "accident" changed.  Then home to sit and avoid movement to relieve the pain in my back, and watched the scene develop.  It was almost a relief the next morning to be sedated for the surgery.  Recovering in bed, I was unable to see anything else on the television except the tapes and live coverage for a week.  I was drugged and it was like a really bad dream through the fog of Vicodine SE.

[Mikekoz13]

Our daughter, Bekah, had just turned 2 (she turned 9 today, actually).

I remember a horrible emptiness and dread thinking, "OMG...what kind of a world is this that my little girl will be growing up in?"

Anyone else have kids 8 to 10 or so who had that thought or feeling?

Rob-

My son was 4 years old at the time and I remember having those exact thoughts.
I couldn't stop holding him and praying to God to make the world better for his generation....

[Timmay]

I think anyone with children no matter the age was wondering what kind of world have we created for them. 

[Rob]

I remember watching it 'live' on television, because some tourist was filming or something and the actual impact had been caught on camera.  It was unreal to me at the time: like something in a movie.  We get so used to seeing special effects etc in films that it just seemed like 'Oh, yeah, so what - another special effect' - it was really hard to believe that what we were watching was real.

Then of course it began to sink in.  A terrible tragedy.  I just kept thinking what it would have been like, not just for those in the towers but especially those in the plane before it hit: knowing they were going to die and not being able to do anything about it.

My heart goes out to all those who lost people on that terrible day.

[xnewyawka]

As I've said in an earlier thread on this subject, I was there that day about three blocks away.
You can find the post if you like. I will not go over it again.

And Robmeister, yes I remember the feeling you mentioned like it was yesterday. I had an eight month old daughter at home on that awful day, and I wondered if I would get to see her again. Imagine the thoughts going through my head. A horrible, helpless feeling indeed.

[GASlick]

My wife was pregnant with our first child.  I just rubbed her belly and prayed for a safe world.  I was also so scared of the world we were bringing our child into.

[Deadbob]

I was working security on the graveyard shift that night/morning... this one girl came in and asked if I knew about the plane crash. I told her no, and she told me that a plane hit the World Trade Center. I still remember... I said what? like a Cessna?" and she said "No, an air liner!, Isn't that cool!"

I wrote her off... this girl was a well know tweeker, but somehow managed to pass any drug test, so I figured she was spun out.

Well, I got home & my girlfriend at the time had the news on with one of the towers burning. I asked her if that was the plane crash, and she, "Yeah, see they are replaying it."

I told her no, that's the other tower because this one is still burning! She said, oh my god and started to cry! That was when my cell phone blew up!

See, I was a Fire Team Leader in the Marine Reserves. Within 5 minutes of that second hit, I had everyone and their mother from my squad calling. We all figured by the afternoon, we would be activated, and off to kick some @$$ and take some names.

After I got everyone calmed down, for whatever stupid reason, I went to school! My first class, the professor walked in and said class is canceled. We can stay and watch the news, or we could go spend time with our family. My phone blew up again... My Platoon Commander telling me to stand by to stand by.

I never really sat and watched the coverage that day, only caught bits here and there.  I never saw the towers collapse as everything unfolded (saw the video replays who knows how many times after). I never felt anger, or sadness. Honestly, when that second plane hit, I became "robo-marine" by shutting off my feelings and being "numb". Yesterday, MSMBC replayed the NBC news coverage from beginning to end. That was the first time I had ACTUALLY seen how chaotic thing were that day. It was actually the first time I had ANY feelings about what happened. I cried, I became angry but most of all... It made me appreciate what I did in Iraq in '03 THAT much more!