Where Were You On 9/11?

[HurricaneBill]

One thing I'll never forget is how eerily silent it was while walking around on my college campus. The reason for the silence was because there weren't any planes flying around in the sky. Also, most people were in the buildings watching news coverage.

[SaskatchewanScreamer]

DanKellFla what an amazing experience your parents had.....last night I finished reading The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland. I had to finish it in one sitting!

I truly agree with a number of people from NYC who said, in the customer reviews at Amazon.com, that there was only one book, regarding 9/11, that they were happy they read and it was Jim Defede's. http://www.amazon.com/Day-World-Came-To ... ewpoints=1


I would also suggest having a box of Kleenex nearby and an atlas that shows Newfoundland in detail.

[arkess7]

I'll never forget...I was at home and my husband called and woke me up and I clicked on the TV and saw the 2nd plane hit... My daughter was 1 at the time and she was in her crib sleeping and I will always remember looking at her and being so thankful.

[DanKellFla]

The FAA "draining" the skys:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bo1ZtpKqlYw[/youtube]

SaskatchewanScreamer, yes, they did. My mother wrote a long e-mail about her adventure. In short, they were adopted by some locals abd spent a few days in their home. For a few hours, I had no idea where they were. I couldn't contact them, and they couldn't contact me. It was strange. I just knew that they had landed somewhere. I had been to Gander on two previous trips, so when I found out where they were, I wondered what they were going to do. It is a small town. The first time I landed there, I remember looking out the window wondering why we were going to land in some trees. There is NOTHING except the airport and a few structures close by.

[mf_dolphin]

I was in the air, departed Tampa at 7AM in route to Wilkes-Barre PA. They put us down in Cincinatti. I was travelling with one of our sales types and we got lucky and managed to get a rental car to drive home. We drove straight through back to Tampa. I will never forget my wife's voice when I called her from the airport to tell her we were safe.....

[somethingfunny]

I was living in northern New Jersey and in 8th grade at that time. Our school decided that letting us watch the events unfold on TV like so many others across the country would have been too upsetting since we were so close to NYC and many of our parents worked there. I can't really blame them in retrospect; could you imagine watching the towers burn on television during school assembly knowing that your mom or dad was possibly inside? Even though we were all attacked on 9/11, it was a lot more personal for us in New Jersey. This wasn't a historic event that had to be grimly viewed on TV like students in Ohio or Florida or California did, for us it would have been watching our parents murdered on live television.


So they kept it hidden from us entirely. Tuesday, September 11, 2001 was a typical school day in Berkeley Heights, NJ. There were rumors flying around that "something" was happening in New York City and some kids were being picked up early by their parents because of it....I assumed it was some sort of big event that alot of people planned on attending, like a festival or speech or concert. In 7th Period the guidance counselors came around to each classroom and took a roll of every student whose only or both parents worked in the city..."due to severe traffic problems" our parents working in NYC "might not be coming home on time tonight" and they were setting up an afterschool care so that nobody would have to come home to an empty house all night. Yeah....in retrospect, there were some serious traffic issues that day -- everybody had to walk home because the trains, bridges, and tunnels were shut down!


When the counselor had taken her roll and moved to the next classroom I smarted off to my Spanish teacher, "Whats all this about, did the bridge blow up or something?" She stared at me for about 30 seconds and began to cry, telling us that someone was crashing planes into skyscrapers and that both Twin Towers had been hit and they fell down and the Capitol and the Pentagon had both been hit too and the Empire State Building or maybe the West Coast was next and there were still 7 airplanes unaccounted for.....nobody knew what was going on that horrible day; the teachers had been huddled around radios in the teachers' lounge inbetween class periods. With that 7th Period Spanish ended and the story spread like wildfire through the school hallways. 8th Period was English class and for some reason despite the news blackout our teacher had us in the computer lab that day to type a report of some kind. As soon as her back was turned I opened Internet Explorer, went onto CNN.com and saw a headline "UNSPEAKABLE DEATH AND DESTRUCTION IN LOWER MANHATTAN" with a picture of two womens' crying faces covered with ash and blood, surrounded by rubble and ash. My English teacher turned around and told me to close that immediately and work on my assignment.


The bus ride home was terrible. Nobody knew if their parents were still alive. Because we weren't allowed to watch the news at school, we imagined the towers falling over like dominos. Anybody whose parent worked within 10 blocks of the World Trade Center was scared beyond belief that their parent was dead. The police had some streets blocked off which led to sensitive government or corporate office buildings in our town. Fighter jets flew overhead at low altitude as they formed a defensive perimeter around New York City. My little brothers and I got home and my mom cried and hugged us and cried more and we watched the news the rest of the evening....I don't remember eating dinner or anything else. I think most everybody can relate to the feeling of numbness we had watching the news during the aftermath. I remember feeling relieved, of all things, when I saw the video of the collapsing towers with my own eyes for the first time. Since they collapsed vertically, that meant that my friends' parents who worked nearby were safe. I didn't know anybody personally who worked inside the towers. Amazingly, nobody from our town was killed that day. New Providence, the town next to us with half the population, lost 6 residents. The next town over lost 12. Just south of us, Plainfield lost 35. New Jersey as a whole lost over 800 people on 9/11.


It was a life affirming experience for all of us.

[DanKellFla]

DanKellFla what an amazing experience your parents had.....last night I finished reading The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland. I had to finish it in one sitting!

I truly agree with a number of people from NYC who said, in the customer reviews at Amazon.com, that there was only one book, regarding 9/11, that they were happy they read and it was Jim Defede's. http://www.amazon.com/Day-World-Came-To ... ewpoints=1


I would also suggest having a box of Kleenex nearby and an atlas that shows Newfoundland in detail.

I just finished that book. It is a quick read and fun. I enjoyed it.

[weathermom]

somethingfunny- also being from North Jersey (northwest Bergen county) my experience was very similar to yours, only from the adult perspective. I was one of the parents picking up my kids, wondering how to tell them what was happening (at the time they were in 4th and 2nd grade and pre k). Wondering (worrying) if my husband had gone into the city that day or not (until I heard from him), and who in the neighborhood was coming home that night. Yes, fighters overhead all day long.

I agree, as shocking and upsetting as it was to the rest of the nation, it was so much more personal to those in the affected areas. The others watched it on TV, whereas we had teachers running out of the building when they found out to search out family members and other teachers bravely keeping a strong front while they waited for word on their husbands. We had the fighters overhead, and when they were gone the eerie silence of no air traffic at all, despite being in the flight paths of several very busy airports. (Though I have to say, I did come to like the quiet.) We have the changed skyline, often in view in our daily routine, as a constant reminder. And the stories, from all of the people we know and what they saw and lived that day. And the ones who will never speak of what they saw, because it is too difficult, even now.

[SaskatchewanScreamer]

DanKellFla originally said:

SaskatchewanScreamer, yes, they did. My mother wrote a long e-mail about her adventure. In short, they were adopted by some locals and spent a few days in their home. For a few hours, I had no idea where they were. I couldn't contact them, and they couldn't contact me. It was strange. I just knew that they had landed somewhere. I had been to Gander on two previous trips, so when I found out where they were, I wondered what they were going to do. It is a small town. The first time I landed there, I remember looking out the window wondering why we were going to land in some trees. There is NOTHING except the airport and a few structures close by.

DanKellFla I can't imagine how unsettled you (and they) must have felt with all the uncertainty that was occurring. At least you knew where Gander was (unfortunately that also meant you knew how small it is....I'm sure that caused some extra worry knowing just how many landed there). The people of Gander (and area) did an amazing job (especially given the circumstances) and I know they were happy to do it (even had I not read the book). Extra bonus was the friendships that were forged out of the horror that occurred.

I'm glad your parents were able to stay in someone's home (a bed would have been a lot more comfortable than what some had to sleep on, esp the first night re the CEO of Hugo Boss ).

Sorry it took me so long to reply (I peeked at your comment at work and wasn't able to reply then).

[SaskatchewanScreamer]

p.s. DanKellFl I'm glad you enjoyed reading the book too (just saw your latest reply now)

[Ptarmigan]

I was living in northern New Jersey and in 8th grade at that time. Our school decided that letting us watch the events unfold on TV like so many others across the country would have been too upsetting since we were so close to NYC and many of our parents worked there. I can't really blame them in retrospect; could you imagine watching the towers burn on television during school assembly knowing that your mom or dad was possibly inside? Even though we were all attacked on 9/11, it was a lot more personal for us in New Jersey. This wasn't a historic event that had to be grimly viewed on TV like students in Ohio or Florida or California did, for us it would have been watching our parents murdered on live television.


So they kept it hidden from us entirely. Tuesday, September 11, 2001 was a typical school day in Berkeley Heights, NJ. There were rumors flying around that "something" was happening in New York City and some kids were being picked up early by their parents because of it....I assumed it was some sort of big event that alot of people planned on attending, like a festival or speech or concert. In 7th Period the guidance counselors came around to each classroom and took a roll of every student whose only or both parents worked in the city..."due to severe traffic problems" our parents working in NYC "might not be coming home on time tonight" and they were setting up an afterschool care so that nobody would have to come home to an empty house all night. Yeah....in retrospect, there were some serious traffic issues that day -- everybody had to walk home because the trains, bridges, and tunnels were shut down!


When the counselor had taken her roll and moved to the next classroom I smarted off to my Spanish teacher, "Whats all this about, did the bridge blow up or something?" She stared at me for about 30 seconds and began to cry, telling us that someone was crashing planes into skyscrapers and that both Twin Towers had been hit and they fell down and the Capitol and the Pentagon had both been hit too and the Empire State Building or maybe the West Coast was next and there were still 7 airplanes unaccounted for.....nobody knew what was going on that horrible day; the teachers had been huddled around radios in the teachers' lounge inbetween class periods. With that 7th Period Spanish ended and the story spread like wildfire through the school hallways. 8th Period was English class and for some reason despite the news blackout our teacher had us in the computer lab that day to type a report of some kind. As soon as her back was turned I opened Internet Explorer, went onto CNN.com and saw a headline "UNSPEAKABLE DEATH AND DESTRUCTION IN LOWER MANHATTAN" with a picture of two womens' crying faces covered with ash and blood, surrounded by rubble and ash. My English teacher turned around and told me to close that immediately and work on my assignment.


The bus ride home was terrible. Nobody knew if their parents were still alive. Because we weren't allowed to watch the news at school, we imagined the towers falling over like dominos. Anybody whose parent worked within 10 blocks of the World Trade Center was scared beyond belief that their parent was dead. The police had some streets blocked off which led to sensitive government or corporate office buildings in our town. Fighter jets flew overhead at low altitude as they formed a defensive perimeter around New York City. My little brothers and I got home and my mom cried and hugged us and cried more and we watched the news the rest of the evening....I don't remember eating dinner or anything else. I think most everybody can relate to the feeling of numbness we had watching the news during the aftermath. I remember feeling relieved, of all things, when I saw the video of the collapsing towers with my own eyes for the first time. Since they collapsed vertically, that meant that my friends' parents who worked nearby were safe. I didn't know anybody personally who worked inside the towers. Amazingly, nobody from our town was killed that day. New Providence, the town next to us with half the population, lost 6 residents. The next town over lost 12. Just south of us, Plainfield lost 35. New Jersey as a whole lost over 800 people on 9/11.


It was a life affirming experience for all of us.

I was in college when 9/11 happened. I had class that day, but we did little anything related to it. Afterwards, I watched the news for the next few days.