Working in boston at a high rise. I got an email about a plane hitting the building, then another email about another plane. the another one. Then I heard an atty I worked for say "Oh my God we are under attack" and crying.
Then we were all sent home. I walked out of my building and it was wall to wall people trying to get the hell out of the city. My mom called me and said "GET OUT OF THE CITY CINDY>> THE PLANES CAME FROM BOSTON>> OMG GET HOME"
When I got home I learned that a friend of DH's and mine was on one of the planes. 11 years later I still can remember every last detail
Post by JamaicanPineapple on Sept 11, 2012 8:19:06 GMT -5
I was a sophomore in college and didn't have class until 12:00 that day. I was sleeping and woke up to DH (then BF) on the answering machine. He worked at our local airport at the time and they were obviously on lockdown. I turned on the TV and just watched in disbelief. My mom called me and we talked and just watched the news. I went to class and listened to the news on the radio the whole way there. We didn't have a formal class that day, just talked about what was happening.
That night DH played hockey and I remember sitting in the bar at the ice rink watching Bush speak. DH and I cried together in bed that night, it was just so unbelievable.
I was at work at Boston Children's Hospital. A coworker came in and said a plane hit the WTC, and I thought he meant in Boston, since it's across the harbor from the airport. I was thinking small plane.
Then he came running back in and said that another had hit the other tower. We went to the conference room and turned on the news. I stood with several coworkers watching the towers fall. I can't even describe the feelings, as I am sure others would say. I remember being struck by all the international folks (medical research, lots of H1Bs) and their reactions being in line with those of us who were Americans.
Then I took the train home, and watched the news nearly all night.
I remember being struck by how kind people were to each other in the days and weeks following 9/11. Like we were all in this together.
Thanks. It's hitting me more this year then it has the past few years. I think it's because now I have the girls, so I can imagine them growing up without their dad and it breaks my heart for my cousins.
Post by laptopvixen on Sept 11, 2012 8:25:11 GMT -5
I was on secondment in London. I found out via e-mail to put CNN on my browser, which I couldn't access. Once the Americans figured out what was going on, we went across the street to the pub to watch television. People were very good to us that day. The publican handed me a Jameson's every so often without me asking.
10th grade spanish class. The principal came over the loud speaker and told us to turn on the news. A few seconds after we turned it on, we saw the second plane hit. There was a girl in my class who's mom worked in the towers. She completely lost it and the teacher ended up laying on the ground holding her. I will never forget that girls face. We found out later that her mother did die.
yes. i was at work in DC. it took me 10 hours and about 7 miles of walking to get home because they shut the bridges and metro over/under the river to VA for several hours. and i couldn't get through to anyone because the phone lines were jammed. i vacated the office (a couple blocks from the white house) when we heard that there was still another plane airborne and that it was headed for the white house. i remember watching the news in a conference room and saying "fuck" out loud when the second tower fell and not giving a rat's ass that i was a peon and surrounded by all eleven thousand of my bosses.
ETA: i'd like to add that i was so so lucky. when i did get through to everyone, everyone was okay. even my uncle and aunt, who both work for the NYFD. even my friend who worked in the WTC. even the bajillion people i know who worked in or regularly visted the pentagon. it was truly amazing.
Post by onesweetworld on Sept 11, 2012 8:32:42 GMT -5
Working as a barista at a cafe on my university campus. My bf at the time called me to let me know. There was a tv in the building and I was watching as the second plane hit. I don't remember the rest of the day.
Post by underwaterrhymes on Sept 11, 2012 8:42:02 GMT -5
And I think the worst story I've heard on a personal level is my sister's friend who worked for Cantor Fitzgerald. He left his laptop at home and went back to get it. He got to work right after the first plane hit. Most of his friends and coworkers died and he still struggles with survivor's guilt.
Post by mrssavy42112 on Sept 11, 2012 8:43:32 GMT -5
I just answered on MM. Just going got C/P.
Wow. It still feels like yesterday. I was walking into homeroom in HS and my teacher was listening to the news. Everyone gathered in the media room with the large TVs and watched everything unfold the rest of the morning. School was open, but no classes. Students just wandered around, borrowing phones & landlines to try to get a call through. Kids got picked up early, some stayed. It was solemn, scary & slightly chaotic.
I left early because that night was my grandmother’s wake. Part of our family couldn’t come because my cousin’s fiancé was in Tower 1. The last that was heard from him was when he called my cousin to say he heard Tower 2 had been hit, but was told there was no need to evacuate. A few minutes later, his tower was hit, right at the floor he worked. No remains were ever found. Completely gone. It was a terrible day in so many ways & one that hasn’t really gotten easier with time.
ETA: I had an aunt, cousin & friend stranded in the city for hours after. Poor things walked miles & miles, over the GW Bridge back to Jersey, completely covered in soot. They didn’t get home until almost midnight. Since cell phones were done, no one knew where they were. I also knew several friends who were supposed to go into work in the towers that day & for whatever reason, couldn’t. They are very grateful.
I was on the corner of Franklin and Hudson Streets when the first plane roared over my head and into the North Tower, about 10 blocks away. I was running late for work and had just dropped off my dog to daycare. I stayed in that spot until the first tower fell, then ran back to pick up my dog. The second tower fell as I was walking north on Greenwich Street, somewhere below Canal Street, trying to get home.
Wow Hic, you were so close. I could not imagine.
I am thinking now about all of the parents than must have been freaking out and trying to get the their children. I know all my mom wanted was to have me with her in our house. She picked me up from school early. And we were in FL.
Ugh. Motzie, that smell. That smell from the cloud lasted for months. the burnt paper travelled all the way to my parents' house in south Brooklyn. It looked lke snow.
I was in school in Jersey City. We watched the first tower fall. I dont know how my grandmother got through to me but she was crying because my mother had an appointment that at 9 at WTC and my dad worked on Canal Street.
I managed to get on a bus heading to my grandmothers and picked up my sister a long the way. The bus was so quiet. The only sound was the radio. We didnt hear from my mother for a long time and my dad was right around where HiC was.
My brother was in boot camp at the time, doing a week long field exercise. They had no knowledge of it happening until several days later when they got back to camp. At first they thought it was some kind of mindfuck test but then they saw the newspapers and tv. He said everyone sobered up really quickly and realized what it meant for them. He was later in the first Marine platoon into Baghdad.
i just need to get this out. i'm cracky and bitchy today, just like i am every year. like everyone, i feel like i own this tragedy. i also feel like i don't. it touched me directly and it didn't because the people i love were spared. it's confusing and frightening and (der) exactly what terrorism is supposed to to. i begrudge people their crying eagles because they look cheap and chintzy to me and no, i'm NOT ever going to forget. hell, i remember the day pearl harbor was hit and my mother wasn't even born. but i guess if you like cat sweatshirts and hallmark hall of fame movies, you probably get comfort from your stupid crying eagles.
what i remember the most is this. on my way into work i kept thinking that it was just such an absolutely beautiful day. it was clear and cool but warm, not a single cloud in the sky, the humidity was low. i remember thinking, like my grandfather used to say, "it's a great day for the race . . . the human race!" so when i go outside in the early fall, like yesterday in fact, and there's a similarly gorgeous day with that same crisp and warm and wonderful clear feeling, i get uneasy. i disdain crying eagles because a fucking cloudless sky in september ensures i will never forget.
I have a friend who worked for Merrill in the South Tower. When the first tower was hit, they were told to stay put....not to leave as they were safest where they were. There was debris falling and it was dangerous on the street below. His desk mate decided to stay and he left. He ran down 60 to 70ish flights of stairs maybe more (which hurts). During is descent, the South Tower was hit. He was lower than impact and was able to continue down. When he hit the street level and saw the commotion down there and he continued to run his ass off. He ran all the way to Spring Street (about a 1.5 miles north) after running down all those stairs on pure adrenaline and fear. Somewhere around Canal Street he realized that he was a shitty banker and wanted to pursue music. He's fortunate.
I was a senior in college and was getting ready to go to class. I was doing my hair and makeup while watching GMA in my mirror. All of a sudden they were showing the 2nd plane hit the building and I turned around and just stared at the tv. I literally couldn't move, I just stood there for I don't know how long stunned.
It's one of those things that I will always remember because of how horrific it was. I'm sure that's the same for everyone else too.