Remembering September 11, 2001

[Terry57]

Where were you when the world stopped turning
on that September day?

​

 

[Terry57]

I've heard so many people's stories, but I realized that the question had not been asked here, and I would love to hear your stories.

I had been in Canada just over two years, and that Tuesday was my day off. I'd stayed up late reading and having a few beers, and went to bed around 4pm. My ex-husband woke me up and said that a plane had hit the WTC. Still groggy, I said," Oh that's terrible," and he said, "No Terry, it was two planes." I sat up in bed and said," Was it on purpose?" and he nodded yes.

I immediately ran downstairs to the phone and started trying to call my Aunt Deane as I watched the second tower fall. Every time I tried to call her or my daughter or son, I'd finish dialing and there would be a click and then total silence. The irritating busy signal you get when all the lines are busy would have been better than that deafening silence.

We had been taught in school what to do if there was an attack in the area we lived in in WV. We were high on the list of possible terror attacks because the plants surrounding us make chemicals for the government. I was terrified that they would be next.
I've never wanted to be home as badly as I did that day and the days that followed it.

I did finally get through and spent all day on the phone with my loved ones. Ran up an $800 phone bill in the process. Couldn't have cared less.

I didn't go to bed that night until almost 5am - it felt like I needed to watch, and that the least I could do was to pray for every face I saw on the missing posters that were everywhere, as well as for their loved ones. When I did finally fall asleep, it was all I dreamed about.

When I went back to work there were three younger girls who worked there, one from Iran and two from Iraq. When I walked in they all started cheering about the attack.

Luckily, they were the only people who acted like that, everyone else could not have been more kind.

My former MIL helped me make red, white and blue ribbon pins and we gave away hundreds. It seemed that everyone we passed would ask where we got it, and we'd give them one from the stash we had in our purses.

Where was everyone else and how did you learn of it?

 

[texsize]

Living in California it was early morning when it happened.
I was “Handling myself“ on my drive in to work.
That was a radio talk/news show run by a guy named Bill Handel. And that was his tagline
“Handel yourself in the morning”

So the news bulletin came in that a plane hit the tower.
No details of type or plane or anything.
I figured, a litter Cessna, foggy weather, no big deal.

But before I got to work hearing that a second plane had hit it was clear something big was going on.

Soon as I got to work I went to the exercise room and turned on tv to CNN .
Don’t know how long I stood there watching.
My father was supposed to be in the air that morning but he was staying near the west coast. But when the airlines were are all grounded. It was not knowing that was worrying.

The boss told everyone to go home.
Nobody was working anyway.
I was working at a Japanese company at the time and it
They mostly did R&D for the Japanese auto industry.
was a fairly small group 35/40 people max.
As a matter of fact it’s where Lucky and I found each other.

 

[onamom]

I was in elementary school and just remember being sent home early from school. I was excited to get home early and both my parents were home too. I remember my dad telling me something terrible had happened and seeing it on the news. I was too young to fully understand it all and what it meant. But I remember feeling sad and shocked about it.

 

[foxgloveparrot]

This is actually my earliest memory, AND my most vivid memory from being a toddler, so here goes.

I was in a childcare/preschool-type program, sitting on the floor and playing with building blocks, when my teacher started absolutely freaking out - then she rushed downstairs to grab a TV. I was confused, so I didn't think much of it - just thought it was some random thing, no big deal. After all, I was only 3 years old and had absolutely no way of comprehending what had happened.

A couple minutes later, my teacher came back in and we were watching what was happening. Nobody understood, but our teacher was really, visibly upset. While I was watching, some kids were called down to the office. I was one of them. My parents had come to pick me up, and we headed home together. I remember that they made an attempt to explain what was going on, but I was WAY too young to understand, so I didn't really react at all. I was just happy that I got to run around and play in my backyard all afternoon.

 

[SailBoat]

I was visiting one of our newest customers that had purchased one of our large Aluminum Melting furnaces and was taking in supplies that would be used daily. I had arrived prior to the start of their first shift and finished about 9:30 am Eastern Standard Time after finished an inventory of all the supplies on-hand. Provided a copy to the Plant Managers office and noted that a number of individuals were in the meeting room with the TV on. Sign-out at the main desk and quickly made my way to my company car as I had yet another visit to another customer facility. Moments later, I started the car and as the radio came on, I heard the news update. My Cellphone rang and it was my next visit stating they where closing and set-up a meeting the following week.

I sat there for awhile catching up on the rapidly changing news. The early reports was of a small plane likely hitting one of the Towers, but that was quickly changes to it being a larger aircraft, likely a passenger jet of size. I elected to drive home and upon arriving, the second Tower was hit!

The day became a blur with the NYFD arrival, the people flowing out of the area by Ferry, walking across the Bridges and the falling of the first Tower. The sight of people jumping from on high. The collapse of the second Tower. The crash of another large jet crashing into the Pentagon and reports of another crashing in PA. The airspace above the US closed to all air flights. I recall the number of International aircraft circling overhead waiting to land at our Airport as our main runway was long enough to handle those very large aircraft.

So very much remains a blur, I recall speaking with our Corporate Manager and being asked to move staff from Northwestern Indiana to Northeastern Ohio as a means of moving staff back home. I recall seeing flags out front of homes and remaining confused as to the why of it all. Yaa, the phone system was clearly overloaded,

Sadly, we forget far too quickly!! The reading of the names is a reminder to me.

 

[wrench13]

As a real live witness to the terrible events in NYC on 9/11, its still very painful to recall. We thought one of our best friends and long time bass player had been in Tower 2 and didn't find out he was OK until the next day. 22 years later and some young folks don't even know what was special about that day. The ENEMY is still reaping their benefits of terror.

 

[Terry57]

Thank you all for sharing your experiences.

I feel like our September 11 was like our grandparents' Pearl Harbor. It must have felt as surreal to them as it does to us to be reminded that we know adults who were too young to really understand what happened that day, and many who weren't even born yet. It feels like it happened yesterday rather than 22 years ago.
I think we need to keep sharing our stories for those who were too young to realize, just as our grandparents' shared their stories with us and made Pearl Harbor real rather than just text in a history book.

This is the first year that I couldn't hear the names being read, not a single channel here was covering it that we could find. We forget too quickly.

 

[texsize]

Wanted to say one more thing regarding 9/11.
This is difficult to put into words and I didn’t notice it right away, more like a year or two after.
But it seemed to me to bring us together.
not politically but as individuals.

I was much more likely to strike up a conversation with someone in line at the grocery store (for example).
No matter if it was about the weather or road construction on the corner.
I had to go to my cardiologist today (for blood work) and passed a pleasant 15 minutes taking about heart issues With another patient..

At another Dr. I got to talking with the only other patient in the waiting room about…. Well it started out about urine testing but evolved into Covid discussion.
Turned out we both declined the government’s 95% safe and effective vaccine..

This may make it sound like I am an outgoing person and I am not. Unless the subject is books or parrots I normally have to be dragged into a conversation

Has anyone else notice this change?
Is it my imagination? Is it I (me?) that has changed?

 

[SailBoat]

Wanted to say one more thing regarding 9/11.
This is difficult to put into words and I didn’t notice it right away, more like a year or two after.
But it seemed to me to bring us together.
not politically but as individuals.

I was much more likely to strike up a conversation with someone in line at the grocery store (for example).
No matter if it was about the weather or road construction on the corner.
I had to go to my cardiologist today (for blood work) and passed a pleasant 15 minutes taking about heart issues With another patient..

At another Dr. I got to talking with the only other patient in the waiting room about…. Well it started out about urine testing but evolved into Covid discussion.
Turned out we both declined the government’s 95% safe and effective vaccine..

This may make it sound like I am an outgoing person and I am not. Unless the subject is books or parrots I normally have to be dragged into a conversation

Has anyone else notice this change?
Is it my imagination? Is it I (me?) that has changed?

I fully agree, right up to the start of the COVID outbreak and the resulting lock downs, shutdowns, etc... That sent a chill that is just now beginning to break as people become more comfortable around each other.

 

[Rozalka]

Answering to the question: I'm so sorry, I don't remember how I learnt about it because I was just 1 year old then

 

[Terry57]

Wanted to say one more thing regarding 9/11.
This is difficult to put into words and I didn’t notice it right away, more like a year or two after.
But it seemed to me to bring us together.
not politically but as individuals.

I was much more likely to strike up a conversation with someone in line at the grocery store (for example).
No matter if it was about the weather or road construction on the corner.
I had to go to my cardiologist today (for blood work) and passed a pleasant 15 minutes taking about heart issues With another patient..

At another Dr. I got to talking with the only other patient in the waiting room about…. Well it started out about urine testing but evolved into Covid discussion.
Turned out we both declined the government’s 95% safe and effective vaccine..

This may make it sound like I am an outgoing person and I am not. Unless the subject is books or parrots I normally have to be dragged into a conversation

Has anyone else notice this change?
Is it my imagination? Is it I (me?) that has changed?

I'm in Canada so my experience is different, but it seemed like less people wanted to talk bad about the US to me after 9/11. I know I've always been proud to be an American, never more so then after it happened. I've always been a talker, but I've found that I'm more kind now than I was pre 9/11.

I fully agree, right up to the start of the COVID outbreak and the resulting lock downs, shutdowns, etc... That sent a chill that is just now beginning to break as people become more comfortable around each other.

Yes, Covid really split people apart, and it was scary how quickly it happened.

 

[saxguy64]

I was working at the repair shop when the news broke. My wife called me to ask if I had heard anything about it. We always listened to talk radio there, so we heard about pretty early on. My laptop was always there with me, so I fired it up and found a news feed. I closed up and went home early to make sure my family was okay, and watched the updates on TV. Scary times. Since I live in the northeast, it really felt like it was happening right in my back yard, wondering what other targets might be next. Maybe the closest nuclear power plant for example, which has since been decommissioned, but in the moment back then, it was a scary prospect.