Living on Oahu, Hawaii. It happened during the middle of the night for us. But my daughter was awake when the first plane hit and woke me up. We watched the second one hit and so on. A very scary place to be, out in the middle of the Pacific on a strategic island, with no way off.
Where were you on the a.m. of 9/11/01?
by rebel8 61 Replies latest jw friends
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freedom96
In bed, watching the news.
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Soledad
At work. I was on the phone with a bank in the mid-west verifying payment on some checks. A co-worker and a manager came up from downstairs and told us the news, at this point both planes had already struck the towers. My manager asked if anyone had family members working in the WTC. I have a brother who worked for Port Authority in tower 2, but I couldn't get through when I called his office. Also I was running a list in my mind other relatives and of the many many people that I was acquainted with, knew personally or were regular clients at my firm. Here's the weird part: I just kept working. Maybe it was shock and disbelief. I knew instantly as well that this was no accident, we were being attacked. I picked up the phone again and called the next bank on my list, this one was in Ohio. The woman who answered the phone was all panicky and couldn't get a word out of her mouth. She asked me how close was I to the WTC. I told her that our office was maybe 3 minutes away. She hung up. I guess at that point I felt overwhelmed and I felt a need to run outside and see for myself what the hell was going on.
I ran up Montague St to the Brooklyn Heights promenade, basically just following the trail of thick black smoke. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. As soon as the towers came into view, the first one started to fall, in what seemed like very slow motion. Everyone around me screamed and burst into tears. I just couldn't believe it. I thought to myself how different the skyline would look now with only one tower instead of 2. It never occurred to me that the second one would collapse too.
The next minutes were just filled with confusion, anxiety, grief. I'm working through all these emotions and wondering just how many people could have been trapped inside the building that collapsed and wondering how many of them did I personally know. I came up with a preliminary tally of maybe 20,000 people dead. That's a lot of people I thought. At 9am on a weekday morning I figured everyone was in their offices and the idiot who piloted the plane knew that and wanted to cause the maximum amount of death and chaos. I felt so angry! In the meantime I still wondered about my brother. Then I remembered that he had a tendency to be late all the time and snickered to myself. "He'd be late to his own funeral" I thought. He probably didn't make it to work on time. Good thing I was right.
I got back to my office and went back to work! Amazing isn't it? The radio was on 1010 WINS. The reporter is talking but I'm not really listening. I noticed that most of the clients had left the lobby and that many people were streaming up the street towards the waterfront again. I shook my head and wondered what the hell is there to look at? One tower was gone and many people are dead. Firefighters are going to have a hell of a time putting out the fires in tower 1. Then, some noise. I focused my attention to the radio. "Tower 1 has collapsed!" said the reporter. My coworker and I looked at each other and burst into tears. She mentioned that her sister had just become a Paramedic and that she was probably on site of the WTC helping people. She wondered if the building fell on her. This was the first time I thought of all the rescue workers: firefighters, cops, paramedics. I realized then the scope of the disaster and felt so so angry again.
We closed the lobby of our offices. I took a moment to call my parents in Westchester. My father was in disbelief and my mother was crying hysterically. I asked if she knew anything about my brother. She said he just got home from work. I said no, the other one! Oh, Al you mean? He was on his way to work but saw what was happening from NJ in his car and turned around and went home. Good I thought. At least no relatives are dead. I wondered about a cousin of mine who worked on Water st, but I figured she was ok also. My brother came on the phone and asked me if I needed a ride. I said how in the world do you think you can come to Brooklyn right now? It's too dangerous outside and furthermore I don't know if we can get back to Manhattan. I decided that I'd have to walk home. I knew that the trains were out of the question because from Brooklyn all trains passed through lower Manhattan, especially my line, which passed directly under the WTC!
So I went outside and of all things, I was with a coworker who just started in our job the week before and was new to New York so she didn't know her way around at all. She lived in Washington Heights. We walked towards the Brooklyn Bridge. Masses of people were walking in, many covered in grey ash. People were standing at the foot of the bridge handing out water and paper towels. Small businesses and a church in the area were letting people come in and use telephones, bathrooms. It all seemed very orderly and people were very quiet. No screaming, no crying, no running. Dead silence. I approached a cop standing in front of the bridge entrance and asked him what was the best way to get into Manhattan. He said forget about that, I should plan on staying in Brooklyn for at least a couple of days. No way I thought. I need to get home. I headed back towards the waterfront. The skyline was so weird. I remembered a friend who worked at the Deutche Bank building and I spotted it. Even from that distance, you could see blood splattered on the walls of that and some other neighboring buildings. I was perplexed.
I stood there a little while longer trying to figure out where to go next. I started walking northbound towards the waterfront again, I believe it was either Willow or Clark St. I saw what seemed to be a little group of people congregated on a corner. For some reason they stood out. I took note of what street I was on and then I knew: I'm near the Watchtower Headquarters. I hoped that they weren't stupid enough to be preaching at this dreadful time because I was more than prepared to give them a little piece of my mind! I turned the corner and kept walking. There were people gathered now at several intersections: Jay St and Sands, Vine and Henry, Adams and Pearl streets. WTF? Are these folks actually trying to block access to their famous buildings? I thought to myself. Whatever. I just kept going and didn't think much of it anymore. I then saw a small stream of people walking further north. I just followed and realized that they were headed to the Manhattan Bridge. I hoped that noone was trying to deny us entry into Manhattan. When I reached the bridge there were no cops or anything. Great! I can get home.
Walking the span of that bridge with the remains of the burning towers in front of me was so grotesque. The more I walked and saw the angrier I became. How dare they? How dare they do this to my city! Eventually we reached 14th St in Manhattan. The A train was still running and my coworker was so glad because she didn't have to walk 120 blocks home! I was only 8 blocks away from my house so I just kept going and got home. My husband was home and the tv was on. We had no phones. I took a nap. After a couple of hours I started to see the video footage of what happened: people jumping from the towers. I flipped out! That's when it really hit me. I fell to the floor and cried and screamed for nearly 1 hour. My husband nearly took me to the hospital, that's how bad it was. I calmed down finally. My husband wisely turned off the tv. I don't recall what I did for the remainder of the evening. I think my husband told me at some point that the phones were semi-functional; we could receive calls but not make calls. A manager from my job had called and told him to tell me not to go to work the next morning.
September 12 was awful. No activity in the streets and a horrible smell wafted through the air. I knew then we would never be same again.
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chachasmum
I was on Greenwich street in nyc about one mile from the point of impact. It's a day i will never ever forget. A very surreal day. My heart goes out to all who lost loved ones that day.
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tijkmo
i was out cleaning windows...the house i was cleaning was owned by a man with a thick irish accent..i could never understand him so generally just agreed with whatever he said...
when he came to pay me he asked me if i had heard about the planes flying into the twin towers...i said no....thinking he was telling me a joke...but as he continued talking i couldnt make out what he was saying so just laughed anyway..he must have thought i was well weird
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desbah
great thread rebel8,
today is my sister BD, I called her when I saw this thread...she has mix feeling about 9/11.
On the day this disaster happen, I was at work (front desk/night audit) and I was ready to leave, the TV was on CNN in the breakfast area. We had some guest eating breakfast, my co-worker told me to come over and we saw the replay of the first plane hit one of the towers. Most of the guest stop eating and were shocked. All of a sudden the phones start ringing like crazy. I remember one guest that was checking out of his room, he mentioned just happened on TV, he has never seen anything quite like this before and this will affect all of us. I left work and woke up my children for school and turn on the TV, just then the second plane hit the other tower. I was glued to the TV all day and watch the horrors of this disaster. A couple of days later, the hotel gets a memo. from head office, informing us about the NY Hilton and how to plan for guest evacuation/emergencies.
to all the victims and familes of 9/11.
Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning) Alan Jackson
Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day
Were you in the yard with your wife and children
Or workin' on some stage in LA
Did you stand there in shock at the sight of that black smoke
Risin' against that blue sky
Did you shout out in anger, in fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cry
Did you weep for the children who lost their dear loved ones
And pray for the ones who don't know
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left below
Did you burst out with pride for the red,white and blue
And the heroes who dies just doin' what they do
Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer
And look at yourself and what really matters
I'm just a singer of simple song I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you the difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith, hope and love are some good things He gave us
And the greatest is love
Where were you when the world stopped turning on the September Day
Teachin' a class full of innocent children
Or driving down some cold intrstate
Did you feel guilty 'cause you're a survivor
In a crowded room did you feel alone
Did you call up your mother and tell her you loved her
Did you dust off the bible at home
Did you open your eyes and hope it never happened
Close your eyes and not go to sleep
Did you notice the sunset for the first time in ages
Or speak to some stranger on the street
Did you lay down at night and think of tomorrow
Go out and buy you a gun
Did you turn off that violent old movie you're watching
And turn on I Love Lucy reruns
Did you go to a church and hold hands with some strangers
Stand in line and give your own blood
Did you just stay home and cling tight to your family
And thank God you had somebody to love
I'm just a singer of simple song I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you the difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith, hope and love are some good things He gave us
And the greatest is love
And the greatest is love
Where were you when the world stopped turning, on that September day.
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sonnyboy
I'd just gotten home from work and was in bed watching TV.
I remember seeing the caption "AMERICA UNDER ATTACK", and I didn't know what the hell was going on. I thought that we were being bombed and I was scared shitless.
Shortly after the second plane hit, my mother called and said that everyone had been sent home from work. That's when I really panicked, because I thought that whoever was bombing New York was on their way here. She didn't know what to think either. She stayed on the phone and we both watched in a state of shock as the towers collapsed, just after the fire fighters went inside. It didn't seem real...thinking about it still sends chills down my spine.
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Elsewhere
I was laid up in bed recovering from hemorrhoid surgery. (Hell, you asked! )
I just laid there all day watching.
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GoingGoingGone
I was watching GMA when the first plane hit, and I remember reporters first saying that it was a small private plane that had flown off course. Matt Lauer was speaking by phone to a woman who worked in the second tower, who had seen the first plane fly right past her window and crash into the other tower. She kept saying that she was sure that it was a passanger plane... it had flown right past her window!!. She spoke with Matt Lauer for several minutes, describing what she saw, that the other tower was in flames, etc.... After she hung up the phone, the second plane crashed into the tower she was working in. I have wondered about this woman ever since, hoping that she made it out alive....
All my family lives in NY, but none worked at the WTC. It took several days before we could contact everyone, though, because the phone lines were down. Everyone in my family was ok, thank goodness...
My heart goes out to everyone who lost loved ones that day.
GGG
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Sara Annie
That morning had been so hectic, I hadn’t even turned on the TV. I remember throwing open the patio door and sticking out a test-arm to determine the weather instead of flipping on the news like I usually did. My husband had left for work an hour earlier, taking our toddler daughter to daycare, so I loaded my then 6 year old son into the car, and headed toward school listening distractedly to the "Elmo’s Sing-Along Party" CD that had been left in the player the evening before. I didn’t even turn on the radio until after I watched my son enter the school building. A few blocks from school, I turned into the drive through at my favorite coffee shop, and was counting my exact change while only half-listening until I heard the familiar line "Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States." As I gradually got my mind around what I was hearing, I remember asking Gene at the drive-through window if he knew what was going on, he told me to get out of my car and take a look. So it happens that my first images of the terrible events of that day were viewed with my upper body stuck through the drive through window at "Cappu-Gene-O’s" with a caramel latte in my hand and tears on my cheeks.
After arriving at my office, we all poured into the big conference room watching the coverage and trying to understand what this meant for our world. I watched the pentagon burn and the twin towers fall on a 12 foot projection wall screen. I don’t need to describe my feelings those next few hours and days and weeks, you all know exactly what I was experiencing, we went through it together.
Where I bet our experience differs lies in the fact that we live in Omaha, NE. Strategic Air Command is right in our back-yard. While the rest of the country remarked on the eerie stillness overhead, we would hear and see the skies filled with activity. We all stood on the upper deck of our office building a few hours after the attacks and watched the blue-nosed Air Force One fly by to land out at the airforce base. We watched the eerily quiet stealth bombers soar overhead, always surprised by their sudden appearance in the sky. We were startled awake in the middle of the night by the roar of gigantic C-130 transport planes on their way overseas with troops and supplies. No, the skies weren’t quiet, they hummed with sounds I’d never heard before, sounds of war. I am strangely thankful for the noise. I think the quiet would have been more unbearable.Four years out, I am almost surprised at how emotional I still am. I can’t foresee a day when my throat won’t tighten, where my eyes won’t well up when I remember those days. I can’t imagine a time that, when I see the film of hundreds of people lined up clutching photocopied pictures of their loved ones begging anyone who has any information to call them, that it won’t break my heart. I don’t think it will ever cease to sadden and surprise me that my 10 year old son knows and fully understands the phrase "terrorist attack", that my daughter won’t ever have any recollection of a time before 9/11. So there it is: Where I was, where I still am.