Where were you....when the world stopped turning??

[JetMaxx]

I'm not trying to rekindle any bad memories for anyone, but something FreakyWxChick mentioned on another thread got me to thinking..

We all come from different places...cities and towns from coast to coast and beyond...

Where were you on the morning of September 11th, 2001...when the world seemed to stand still; and what were you doing?

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As for me, I was still asleep when the first airliner struck the WTC North Tower at 8:48 a.m. (had been up late tracking major hurricane Erin). Great aunt Millie called....I answered the phone with her yelling "TURN ON THE TV PERRY....A BIG BUILDING IS ON FIRE"!!

My great aunt has been known to panic easily (I figured it was a large warehouse on fire in here in Atlanta), so I got up, took the time to wash the sleepy off my face and walked into the living room. Granny was still asleep, and I turned on my tv (WSB TV channel 2--Good Morning America) -- just in time to see the SECOND airliner slam into the South Tower

I'll never forget the stunned feeling...the numbness I felt at that moment. I sat down in this chair, and out of habit...clicked on my VCR and began taping. I had a new tape inside, so just sat here in silence...watching the towers burn. My next immediate thought was about my online friends...did they know...were they okay? I fired a short email to vbhoutex and posted a short message at WWBB (DT aka Wxrisk among others had already started a thread). Granny was awake by then and sitting here on the sofa...not saying a word.

About this time, there came word of the Pentagon being struck, so I called my little sister in Oregon....beginning to wonder if I was watching World War III unfolding before my eyes; and wanted to tell her I loved her and the kids...just in case I never saw them again.

Perry

[coriolis]

I was at work. Once we first heard that something was going on, everyone got on the internet to see what was going on. Then they set up a tv in the lunch room and people were gathering around in shock.

[streetsoldier]

I'd been feeling ill the night before, and didn't awaken until about 1230 hours. At the time, I still had a Yahoo! account, and the first thing I saw was this news page about the WTC burning, etc.

I called my younger brother in WI, who only said, "Turn on your TV" and hung up, shaken. I did so...and spent the next two months watching almost exclusively news, news and more news on FoxNews, CNN and MSNBC, while posting on "other" boards and exchanging E-mails with everyone I knew, and a few I didn't...at that time (some of whom have become very close to me since then).

As for coppertop...this was a learning experience for him. He would be in the car with me, pointing out all the possible "targets" around here (flammables transported by train, power plants, etc.) and doubting if his classmates had the "thrassos" (stomach) for a long, protracted war against a shadowy, ideologically insane enemy.

[breeze]

It was my day off, but, I had to go to the hospital for an
8:30am Nurse Practice Council meeting. While we were
in the meeting, listening to a rep talk about his products, I kept
noticing the nursing admin folks whispering. The whole thing
was going down, then. I came out of the meeting, and, met a
nurse in the hallway from my dept., and, she said, "You
should go in and look at the tv - all Hell has broke loose -
they've drove planes into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center!"
I said, "Who?" She said, "They don't know..." I went in and
watched it unfold - buildings collapsing, whole thing...I was off, but,
I couldn't go home for hours...didn't wanna be by myself.

[wx247]

That day has to be the scariest of my life. And while I was not in harm's way and my pain and fear can NOT compare to what they went through in NYC and DC, I was so scared.

It was in the first 2 months after having left home for the first time. I was in Sedalia at State Fair Community College when my history professor walked in and explained that the WTC had "accidentally" hit by a small aircraft.

As I left that class and entered the commons (which housed the theatre where my 9:30 class was) I noticed a huge crowd of people gathered around the tv. I thought they were all just watching the WTC being hit "accidentally" by the airplane when Darla came running to me crying and said, "We are being attacked!".

My world stood still. I remember thinking about my family and Darla and if we would survive. I ran to my car, which had a phone in it and dialed my grandparent's... no answer. I then called mom at work who explained what she knew.

That was when the sirens sounded in Sedalia. We were about 12 miles from Whiteman AFB and an unidentified object was spotted in the sky near the base. Darla ran to the car and we drove home and watched coverage all day. I called my mother and told her how much I loved her.

Later that evening, I went out to get essentials and gas prices were soaring! At several stations gas got to around $2.15 or so. People were filling up big barrells with gasoline.

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In an unrelated incident, I was driving back to Sedalia from Monett about a month later when I noticed an airplane in the distance. As I got closer it was getting lower and begin to circle the car in front of me and mine. Unfortunately I was in an area where the cell didn't work and I began to panic. Apparently, so did the car ahead of me. They pulled off and I did behind them. The women ran back to me and asked if I knew what was going on. She told me that she has three kids in the car crying. They were from out-of-state.

I told her to follow me and that there was a town about 12 miles ahead of us. When we got to Warsaw we pulled off at the gas station where I got out on my cell. I called Darla and asked her to turn on CNN. She told me nothing was on about it. SO I went in and asked the clerk. She told me that the town had been told that there would be a semi coming through that was being escorted by aircraft. Apparently, it had been either in front or behind us.

Sorry about the length, but this topic still stirs up the emotion in me.

[David]

I see you used the Title of Alan Jackson's Song. It's a very touching one. The first one made. But I also like Toby Keith's "Red, White, and Blue" song. It really annoyed Peter Jennings. Then Darryl Warrley's song about the Iraq war, "Have you Forgotten."

I was in 7th Grade, Enhancment(Between 1st and 2nd hrs). A friend told me a tower of the WTC was hit. I thought he said World Train Center, because i've never heard of the 2 buildings before that. We listened on radio, and I was still confused what happened. I left the class, ran down to the lunchroom which had a big screen, and watched a tower fall. Someone came on the intercom and said "Ladies and Gentleman, please excuse this very important announcment. A national tradgedy has happened in NYC and Wash. DC. If any staff has family working/living in either city, please call the office."

I saw later that day the images. Very heartbreaking. I remember Bush's speech too.

God Bless America.

[weatherwunder]

I was in a video conference meeting at work, when we heard. We spend the rest of the day with CNN on.

[pojo]

Tuesday was my 'one class' day. That class started at 12:30pm. Needless to say, I woke up when my roommate did and did not have a chance to fall back asleep. I had this eerie feeling inside of me that morning. I went online and MSN said 'America Attacked'. I really did not know what to expect....I thought this was a hoax at first. But I soon turned on the TV and realized, that this, my friends, was real. My roommate came back from classes and she was like...turn on the TV...we've been attacked! I walked through the Union just before my class started and could not get by the Phoenix Rooms. You see, there is a TV out there, and it was so crowded...everyone wanted to know what was going on. My professor hinted at the WTC a little, but soon went on with class. He told us to call our family to say we loved them, which ended up being our assignment for the night. Yes, I talked with my friends and family that night.

Because I work with the YMCA, and have all my certifications through the American Red Cross, I received an email stating that I would have to leave for New York as soon as possible! Yes folks, I was ALMOST on a plane out to NYC. :o :o The Neenah-Menasha ARC chapter called the Neenah-Menasha Y and talked with my bosses, and thankfully, they persuaded the N-M ARC NOT to take me away from my job, work, school and my family! My bosses called me and said, you're not going! You are staying put here in Neenah-Menasha!

I was supposed to work that night at channel 5 (WFRV), but because the studio was demolished and everything was moved over to the newsroom for remodeling, I was told to go home. But, one thing I did notice, was the assignment board.......3 words....that's it. ATTACK ON AMERICA.

As for our gas situation, the prices were flying in upwards of $3.00. Thankfully, there was a gas station around campus that was still 'normal' so I filled up there.

[ColdFront77]

I had just woke up that Tuesday morning in September... at about 8:45 AM and my father was watching the coverage on FOX News Channel. My mother was up as well, but not tuned to the television as much as he was.

I heard something about an airplane crashing. I put on my glasses and immediate walked out to watch the coverage for the rest of the day. (I watched the coverage on my TV, in my room later in the day.)

On a more pleasant note (I believe I mentioned this before)... referring to Shannon's post [above]; I think it is very neat that you worked at a televison affiliate. I like the logos of television stations, schedules on various local affiliates and which network affiliation they belong to (NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, UPN, WB, PAX).

[mf_dolphin]

I was in an airplane headed to Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. We left Tampa at 7:00 that morning and ended up getting diverted to Cincinnatti. I watched the second airplane hit the towers aand then the collapse of both towers from the Delta Crown room at the airport. After getting lucky and catching a ride with a couple of fellow tracelers that were headed to Atlanta, we got our own car in Chatanooga and made it back home to Tampa at 3AM. It's a day I'll never forget for sure. I still have by boarding pass from that day.....

[WidreMann]

I was in school at the time. It was a nice clear morning, not too warm or cold as a cold front had just come through the night before. I went through first period (9 - 9:45) without any knowledge of the attacks. As I walked in to 2nd period, I noticed the German teacher had on the radio. I thought it was practice tapes at first, but when I asked, she said the WTC and the pentagon had been attacked. Perhaps I need not tell you what I felt at that moment as I believe we probably all felt the same way when we found out. I was absolutely terrified, more than I have ever been. I initially thought some country had started attacking us. And I was somewhat relieved to find out it was only terrorists (which is a very terrible kind of relief to have - similar to the "relief" when it turned out that the airplane crash that killed some 250 passengers in November of that year was just an accident and not another terrorist). It was terrifying that we were being attacked and it was terrifying to think that so many people were losing their lives. So we spent the rest of the period listening to the radio and the same for the next periods. Not much else got done that day.

[JCT777]

I was sitting at my desk that morning, working. My wife called me before 9 AM and said that she heard on the news that a plane had hit the WTC in New York. Then she called me back a few minutes later and said a second plane hit the other WTC tower. She was very frantic at this point, since now terrorism was very much suspected to be the cause. I then spent most of the morning looking at news on the internet, and getting several calls from my wife (who was able to listen to the news at work) regarding the other incidents (the plane hitting the Pentagon, and the plane that went down in western PA). I was definitely depressed and nervous for the entire day!

[Miss Mary]

I was home when my next door neighbor called and just said - turn on your TV. 2 planes have attacked the WTC's in NYC. I immediately did and she began to fill me in. This was shortly after 9, about 9:10. At this time it was dawning on most of America and the entire world the first plane "accident" was no accident. She said she actually watched the second plane go in - live. For those viewers watching this unfold - live - I'm sure was even more upsetting. Although all of us have seen video now of the second attack. She said she just couldn't believe what she was witnessing. Of course none of us could.

I soon hung up and called my husband at work. They had no idea what was going on. Luckily they have a TV in the lunch room, so they soon all congregated in there.

Next call was to my mom, she said she had the TV on but the sound was down. She had been on the phone with another friend as the second plane attacked the WTC. So she knew of the unfolding situation, we talked several times that morning. She and I sat together on the phone just trying to come to grips with the tragic scene before us. I muttered something about - what next, the Pentagon? And sure enough, DC was hit next. At that point I was afraid to say anything, for fear it would come true. Next thing we watched live was the first tower coming down. I do think then and there, I began praying like I had never prayed before in my life.

I also got on the Internet for more info and just then Azskyman/Steve IM'ed me. I informed him of the situation, shortly after it all began. Somewhere in between my calls to my mom. He was just as shocked as I was. The entire country was.

The scenes from that day will stay with me for the rest of my life. I truly believe it tops JFK's assassination, and I never thought I'd witness this country grieving so deeply since we did in 63. I was only 8 at the time and I well remember 11.23.63.

When I think back on 9.11.01, I sometimes have to stop and remind myself, it did really happen. It is almost too much for all of us to bear, you cry all over again. For the victims on the planes and the terror they must have felt just before impact. The victims in the towers and the Pentagon, and on the street. For the heroic victims on Flight 93 - what they did for their country is so courageous and so sad. And finally, the heroic firefighters and policemen/women who lost their lives that day. I believe they all have a very special place in Heaven.

[Lindaloo]

I had just walked into my home office and booted up the computer. I turned on the TV and saw the first tower burning. I thought at the time a small plane had hit it. THEN I saw the second airliner hit it and it sent chills down my spine. Then my phone started ringing off the hook. All I could do was sit there totally shocked. It is a feeling I will never ever forget!!

I remember getting into my car and heading down to the beach. You can see the navy homeport from there at the west end. I was SHOCKED to see our navy destroyers, frigates, and an air craft carrier all heading out to sea. At that sight I bee lined straight to my parents house. I was choked up by that time at the sight of that. My Dad joked with me and said "BOOM". I will never forget that day.

[j]

I was at work. We have TV's in the Cafeteria, so I already knew that the first plane had hit. I was back and forth trying to get the latest on this and had finally returned to my desk feeling guilty for not working. A co-worker a few minutes later comes by and I'll never forget the look on his face as he went by..."We just got hit again...this isn't good man".....without a word said we all knew it was Terrorism. I spent the rest of my day trying to get a hold of my son who lives near D.C. to no avail. It was the next day before I spoke to him thanks to the Ex from hell.

[GalvestonDuck]

I only live a few blocks from work (the med center here in Galveston). That morning, I had a doctor's appointment at 8:15 (small stuff - thyroid check). I was watching the Today Show on NBC and one of the last things I heard Katie Couric say was something about them talking with Michael Jordan since he was *again* coming out of retirement. I thought to myself, "Slow news day." I turned off the TV and walked to my appointment.

It didn't take long to get blood drawn and hear my doc say that they'd call in another prescription if I needed. Then I left the clinic and headed to my office. As I walked down the main hallway of my building, someone ran around the corner and into an department across from mine. I heard her say, "...and they got the Pentagon, too!" That was the first moment I heard. I stopped the door as it was closing and said, "Who? Who got the Pentagon? What are you talking about?" And she said, "We've been attacked! The Twin Towers and the Pentagon were hit!"

I walked into my department and someone looked at me and asked, "Are you okay? Did you see it?" I was still a bit fuzzy and didn't really know what was happening til I logged onto my computer and started reading all the news and watching the news feed on MSNBC. That afternoon, we saw several jets (Navy? Air Force?) flying overhead towards the Gulf and a few choppers flying around.

Like you, StreetSoldier, I was glued to the news almost constantly after that.

I've moved since then. But I used to live on Ferry Road here in Galveston which leads to the Coast Guard base here on the island. I'll never forget watching the news late on Friday, Sept. 14 and hearing a loud roar. My first thought was "Tornado?" because they say it sounds like a loud train. But it was September. The roar got louder. I ran to the back window but couldn't see anything. Then I ran to the front. It was night so things were dark. But I saw the silhouettes of large tanks and Army trucks moving through. There had to have been 20 by the time they all moved through. I ran out on my balcony to see the last of the convoy. And then I noticed a neighbor, standing on the sidewalk. As the last truck drove past, he threw up his arms and hooted a loud cheering "Yeah!!!" as if to say, "Go get 'em, boys!"

~Duck

[David]

Oh, that's what I forgot. Prices went up to 4.00 a gallon here! People got sued later next year.

the week after 9/11, our school starting selling yellow ribbions. We donated 501 dollars to NYC FD.

[ColdFront77]

Remember how the phone lines were actually having problems for a time during the morning hours of Tuesday, September 11th, 2001? That was an eerie feeling, too. How such an awful event can jam the phone lines so much because so many people in this great contry were calling their loved ones at the same time.

[FreakyWxChick]

I lived in Richmond, VA at the time. I woke up at 7:00 that morning to get the kids ready for school. To this day I will never be able to explain the feeling I had as I was walking out into my living room. I had a huge feeling of dread. Literally, it stopped me dead in my tracks. I have always trusted my intuition, and thought it might be a sign of a possible car accident or something that I would be involved in. I debated over it for a few minutes and couldn't shake the feeling.

I went back to bed and my husband rolled over and asked me why I was back in bed. I told him I had a really bad feeling about taking the kids to school, so I wasn't taking them. I fell back asleep for awhile when my husband came running in the bedroom screaming my name and telling me to get out of bed NOW!

I got out of bed and went into the living room and saw the images on TV. It took me a few hours to comprehend it all. I was glued to the TV all morning. When I heard the plane had crashed in Somerset county (adjacent to where I live now) I called my friend who lived here in PA.

For days on end I was glued to the tv still numb from shock. I kept my kids out of school the entire week after I heard speculation that Richmond was a target too.

There is a good and bad side to everything though. The bad part of it was obvious. The good part of it was I had never seen so much patriotism in my life. People were smiling at each other in the grocery stores, making eye contact. Neighbors who had never spoken before were suddenly outside of their homes talking to each other. It unified our country for the most part, and the bonds we all had in common were strengthened. Attendance in churches was at an all time 30 year high. Bible sales skyrocketed. You saw red, white, and blue everywhere you went. Families turned off the tv and spent quality time together.

It's a shame that something so tragic as Sept 11th made people "love thy neighbor". Why couldn't we have done this before?

Sadly enough, the talks with neighbors have stopped. Church attendance is down. Our nation's colors are still presented but not as prevalent as they were the year after Sept 11. I suppose unity amongst all of us was too good to last. Regardless, I will never forget.

[streetsoldier]

FreakyWxChick,

Sometimes, especially when in time of danger, "we, the people" stand as ONE; we did on 7 DEC 1941, again on 9 SEP 2001, and the plain fact is that this war will NOT be "over in a day"...or within the next 20 years. We have become drilled in "instant gratification", FWC; everything has to happen comfortably soon, if not "yesterday".

We cannot afford such luxury now. This enemy doesn't wear a uniform, but some states in the Middle East whose soldiers DO wear distinctive military garb make little effort to conceal their support for the "shadow army", both financially and materially.

It is fueled by a deep hatred of Western society, culture and achievement; things it envies, but according to its own 7th Century religious tenets, it cannot build or attain for its people, and its "holy warriors" hate even themselves for desiring what we have.

In a very important way, this war has been ongoing since the Athenians met the Persians on the Plain of Marathon; Western democracy vs. Eastern despotism. The names change, the weapons more devastating, yet the war rages on. And, FWC, we have to win this war...our enemy will not stop for even a truce, and neither should we.

It can't be negotiated with, placated, or ignored. For whatever it takes, as long as it takes, it's all about the survival of the civilized world, FWC, and we have to "go the distance". There is no alternative, no option left to us.

Yes, it was a heady thing to see the Red, White and Blue everywhere...but we have to keep our eye on the prize here...it is either "us"...or "them". And we have to realize and embrace that fact; make no mistake, our enemy does.