Post by HoneySpider on Sept 11, 2012 8:28:22 GMT -5
I was in college.
I was making plans to go to the Pirates/Mets game that night with a friend when he told me to turn on the tv. I finished getting ready and went to class but they eventually dismissed everyone. I just remember the feeling of chaos and uncertainty. I went home, and tried calling my family in NJ but of course couldn't get through. My parents were freaking out because they were reporting on the news that flight 93 went down in Pittsburgh, where I was.
Senior year of high school, in an art class. We always listened to the radio while we worked and they broke in with news reports. It was in Chicago, and a few months earlier a small plane had accidentally crashed into a building downtown, so we all thought it was just another fluke like that at first.
I had to go to first period after that, which was "Intro to Foods," LOL, and the teacher was a dimwit who wouldn't let us listen to the radio. After that, I went to my dual AP seminar and we all just kind of stared at the TV in horror.
I was in my senior year of college. My brother called me when I was on my way home from my 8 am class and told me to turn on the tv b/c the wtc had been hit by 2 planes and one of them had collapsed. I remember thinking " sky scrapers don't fall down.".
I was studying abroad in Melbourne, Australia. I was waiting for it to be midnight for my birthday (Sept. 12) and then I went online and a friend from home told me what was happening on AIM. I was so confused, I went down to the TV lounge to see what was going on. It was packed and the Brits were crying and Americans and Canadians were just shocked.
When I went to school the next day and there were posters everywhere, the school got all the Americans together to try to help. By allowing us to use their phones all day and telling us really helpful things like, "don't hang out in groups," "don't go to places where Americans hang out, like McDonalds or Hard Rock Cafe (where my bday party was)" and "don't wear your university sweatshirts." In my head, Sept. 11 is really Sept. 12.
My birthday is Sept 12 also! I remember everyone still being so numb, I'm pretty sure we didn't do anything that year.
The next year is when I turned 21 and we went out the night before (so the 11th) and that was very weird. Everything was still so raw.
Post by ladybrettashley on Sept 11, 2012 8:38:09 GMT -5
I was a junior in HS, walking to second period when I saw a bunch of students gathered around the tv's in the hallway. I didn't pay too much attention because they did the same thing during March Madness (obviously the teachers didn't do a very good job of controlling the channel on the hall tv's). When I got to class, everyone was talking about a plane hitting the WTC, and the teacher came in and turned the tv on. I don't really remember much of the rest of the day. It seemed so surreal and distant because I didn't know anyone who could possibly be impacted.
Post by mrssavy42112 on Sept 11, 2012 8:38:13 GMT -5
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.
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.
Post by benitabutrell on Sept 11, 2012 8:40:25 GMT -5
I was a sophomore in high school. A friend came into our classroom and told our math class that a plane had flown into one of the WTC buildings, but everyone assumed it was a terrible accident. My BFF at the time was sitting next to me and his step-sister worked in one of the towers. He wasn't too worried yet though, because the original reports that we heard was a small plane grazed a tower. It wasn't until I arrived at my next class - World History and saw my 50 year old teacher crying and telling us how the world would never be the same that I realized what a huge tragedy was unfolding.
My BFF's step-sister's remains were never found, but some co-workers who did make it out reported as seeing her in the towers that day. So sad.
I was a junior in college. I didn't have class that day so I slept in and went to the gym. I don't think I even knew about it until around noon or later when I went on the internet. I was pretty numb about the whole thing. I am glad I didn't find out in class.
I was at work. When the first report came in, all it said was "plane hits WTC" and I thought "oh some moron who has no business flying crashed his plane into the WTC." Then I heard one of my coworkers say "it was intentional" and my stomach dropped. My company didn't close, but no one did much work that day. Everyone was gathered in the conference room watching the coverage, and I frantically contacted all my NY friends to make sure everyone was ok (they were). Then I spent the next hour calling their parents to let them know they were ok because cell service was out in NY.
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.
Living with my parents & job hunting after grad school (I took the summer off for surgery). My Mom awoke me & said turn on the tv. So sat there for hours & talked to my DH (then BF), my brothers, my friends on the phone. We were all just in disbelief & I think since everyone knew I was home, they called me. My one bro was planning to relocate to the middle east & was heading there on the 13th...he told me that morning that he's not going. I had a job interview cancel on me within hours because of uncertainty in the economy that might result. It was such a horrible & surreal day & we were all the way on the other side of the country.
I was in 8th grade. I was in Spanish class and remember walking to social studies and thinking the hallways were unusually quiet. I got to class and the tv was already on and the second plane had just hit. We just watched until the teacher turned off the tv just before the bell rang. He said that life will never be the same after this is over. I think he was right.
The rest of the day most teachers had their tvs on. I remember my algebra teacher didn't because she said we'd see the images again enough in the next few days. We were told by the principal not to talk about what happened on the bus so the "little kids" wouldn't get scared. My sister was in 4th grade at the time and had no idea something had happened until she got home. I wish I could find my middle school diary, I wrote about 5 pages worth that night.
Second day of my freshmen year in high school. We watched the second plane hit the tower as our instructor turned the TV on. The whole school was gathered into the gym shortly after. A friend who's dad worked at the WTC was called out after we got there. Her father had called the school to tell them to let her know he was late going in that day and had gone home when he realized what was going on.
When we got home from school we were close enough to the city that we could see the smoke plume.
My brother was responding fire fighter. He didn't get home until 2 days later.
My apt junior year of college. I was getting ready for class and had the news on when they came across saying that a plane had just hit one of the towers. Our classes ended up being cancelled that day.
AP American History class in high school...2nd period was when I found out. He was one of the few teachers that had a TV so other classes came in to watch with us.
Before we knew anything, in first period my teacher (who I really dislike), was talking about planes hitting the twin towers as an analogy. Talk about spooky.
I was in college, a Jr, getting ready for class (physics) when the first plane hit. As soon as it hit the news, my roommate's mother called and she ran out to the living room looking panicked and turned the TV on. I stood there staring at it, then the second plane hit. Not knowing what to do and being the nerd-girl I am, I went to class. I told the people around me what I'd seen on TV when I got there, but still there was very little info.
The prof had no idea what was going on until he gave us a problem to work out and he went to get coffee. He came back in the room and said in his very thick Indian accent "do you know what is happening?!" He spent the rest of class giving us a problem then going to watch the TVs in the hallways and he'd report back to us. We watched the towers fall in my cellular and molecular biology lecture, were we just sat and started at the TV.
My third class (they were cancelled after this) was a class in Arson and Bomb investigation. That was pretty fascinating, we watched TV most of the class and waited for my classmates phone to ring b/c her father worked at the Pentagon.
Sophmore in college and was just finishing up my 8am ride. They did not let us out of school though..I recall working later that day we had the TV up for the patrons to watch it.
For my family its a day for celebration for bdays, anniversaries. So much that is bad in this world, we try to stay positive.
I was in NYC - midtown. I remember it being such a nice sunny day that morning. really blue skies. I took the bus from hoboken to NYC. I remember getting into my office & a bunch of people were all in our CEO's office watching the TV. it was crazy. i didn't know what to do (stay put for a while, try to leave, etc).
finally ended up getting a ferry back across the hudson - it was crazy - really thousands of people trying to get on boats. DH picked me up on the other side in NJ.
BIL was in the 2nd tower to fall. luckily, everyone at his company made it out alive. he said they walked for miles from downtown all the way uptown and then someone borrowed a car and was able to get a few of them out of the city.
I only knew 1 man that died. he worked at cantor fitzgerald. we used to see him at an annual bbq. he was married with 4 kids who were all pretty young at the time (maybe ages 2-8). i always would think how sad it was that his kids would not have him in their lives as they grew up.
I was home getting ready for class. It was my sophmore year of college.
My dad worked on the 92nd floor of tower two. I had turned on the TV and was eating a bowl of cheerios and the news was covering the plane that crashed into the first tower. I couldn't remember which tower my dad worked in and when I called his office and cell, nothing was going through. So I was freaking out.
A few minutes later, the second plane hit and I lost it. I was home alone and couldn't get in touch with anyone. Luckily it was only like 10 minutes later that my dad called me from a payphone on the street. He had seen the commotion going on at the first tower from his office window and decided to get the hell out of there. So he basically just took the elevator down and got out before the second plane hit. He was there in 1993 when the basement was bombed and it took him hours to walk down the stairs when the electricity went out so a bunch of people from his office just left when they saw something was going on. Scariest day of my life. So weird how it felt like that feeling would never go away.
I totally just lost it reading your post. I am so glad your father was OK. I can not even imagine what you went through that day.
We had someone on the NJ Nesties board a few years ago who told this elaborate story about how she was interning for Cantor Fitzgerald and just happened to have gone out for coffee before the planes hit, and how her coworkers were calling her from inside the building and crying and telling her to flee. She also explained that her boyfriend who also worked in the towers was killed, and she sat on a nearby church's steps for days with a sign waiting for him.
Except she got a lot of details wrong (like the timing of the attacks and which planes hit which towers first) and was eventually called out. Sick fuck.
This is also the person who claimed to be pregnant with triplets and had been shoved down a flight of subway stairs by NYC cops pursuing a perp.
I was away at college in FL. DH (bf at the time) and I had an apartment off campus and I was getting ready for class. I turned on the news to see the 1st tower smoking and the newscasters speculating wth had just happened. Watched live as the 2nd plane hit the 2nd tower.
The weather was so perfect that day, even in FL. Barely any humidity. I still had to go to class because the prof. had a strict attendance policy but when I got there he was very upset and told everyone to go home and be with their families. I got back to my apartment just before the towers had collapsed. DH and I watched the TV all day long and I made sure none of my relatives or friends had been there that day. My best friend's cousin was a firefighter for Engine 4 Ladder 15 and he lost his life that day.
I still can't believe it's been 11 years. What seems like a not-so-distant memory to me is nothing more than a history lesson to the kids of today. My son is 7 and knows the impact Sept. 11 had on us, but to him its history. Much like the JFK assassination is to me, but my parents remember it so well. Saying this makes me feel old.
We had someone on the NJ Nesties board a few years ago who told this elaborate story about how she was interning for Cantor Fitzgerald and just happened to have gone out for coffee before the planes hit, and how her coworkers were calling her from inside the building and crying and telling her to flee. She also explained that her boyfriend who also worked in the towers was killed, and she sat on a nearby church's steps for days with a sign waiting for him.
Except she got a lot of details wrong (like the timing of the attacks and which planes hit which towers first) and was eventually called out. Sick fuck.
This is also the person who claimed to be pregnant with triplets and had been shoved down a flight of subway stairs by NYC cops pursuing a perp.
She made it over to MM for a while under a new name. Under that one she had like 15 fancy graduate degrees, a very wealthy banker fiance, a huge apartment in Manhattan with two pools (which is why she stuck out to me -- I've never heard of that and wanted to befriend her and swim there , was shopping for brownstones, and then they got transferred to London with a huge housing allowance.
(But also under that name, she and her fiance were both in education and living in the Boston area, and she lived in Hoboken).
Same person as the fake 9/11 victim -- she posted questions under both names (but months apart) about a friend who had screwed her over re: concert tickets.
Sitting in my office in Northern Michigan. It was a beautiful fall morning and my niece's birthday and I was ordering flowers for her. I worked at a large golf resort and had meetings for Daimler Chrysler in-house that day. My co-worker came screaming down the hall for me to come see the television down in the bar. We just stood there in disbelief. D.C. dismissed their meeting and sent everyone home. We stayed at work but did nothing but watch the news for the rest of the day. I remember going home and the gas stations had jacked the pump price way high. I will never forget that morning and all the souls lost that day.
I was driving to class (sophomore year of college) when I heard the announcers completely freak out on the radio when the second plane hit. I ran to class, which was in a computer lab, and searched for news on it. DH and I were long distance at the time, so I called him. Class was canceled, and I found two friends on campus and we went to a local sports bar at 10 a.m. to watch the news together all day. Later that night, I went to my job at the hospital, where we were briefed on how we'd be affected if a terrorist attack happened in Chicago and victims were sent to us.
Post by bronxgirl on Sept 11, 2012 10:22:36 GMT -5
I was working at a hospital in a suburb just north of NYC and I lived in lower Manhattan (about 1 mile north of the WTC). I was at work in a meeting and someone came in and told us that a plane hit one of the towers, which we first thought was an accident, but then learned more info. We went out into the hallway to watch it all on TV in shock. After we understood what happenned we got all the patients together and told them. Transportation into and out of the city was shut down so I couldn't get home. I stayed overnight with some med students and we stayed up watching the news. I was able to go home the next day after work and walking around my neighborhgood was surreal. The smoke and ash in the air was pretty thick and kind of hard to breathe. All traffic was shut down, except for emergency vehicles. People were clustered around and there were various TV crews and rescue vehicles. It was so strange to look south and not see the towers.
Post by LauraMoser on Sept 11, 2012 10:30:03 GMT -5
I was in English class in my junior year of HS. I remember there being an announcement over the PA system, then Tvs being turned on. We watched the second plane fly into the second tower. There is also an active quarry within a few miles of the school. Well while we were sitting there watching the events unfold, the quarry blasted some rock. The big bang from it made us all jump, but I felt especially bad for the foreign exchange student in our class. He looked terrified at that point. We spent most of the rest of the day watching tv in every class.
It was also free admission for students that day at the local fair. I went with a few friends after school and all the vendors that had tvs had them tuned to the coverage. It was eerie walking through the fair to that kind of soundtrack.
I had just started at a university that overlooks LAX. As in you see the planes take off every day. I didn't have class that day, so I sat at my friends house and watched TV. The next day was silent on campus. No airplane noise. It was worse when they started flying again, though. Every time a plane took off we'd stop and watch it.