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Never Forget.
#1
Mathias
Mathias
10 years ago today...
I can't begin to explain how the NYC skyline will never be the same to me since the destruction of those iconic towers. I'd also like to mention the passengers of Flight 93. We often hear of people using hindsight to describe what they'd do in a situation. These people refused to be victims. That to me describes the essence of heroism.
I can't begin to explain how the NYC skyline will never be the same to me since the destruction of those iconic towers. I'd also like to mention the passengers of Flight 93. We often hear of people using hindsight to describe what they'd do in a situation. These people refused to be victims. That to me describes the essence of heroism.
#2
sixpackshaker
sixpackshaker
Just watched the ceremony at NY. Man, I can hardly stop crying.
#3
Mathias
Mathias
I took the day off tomorrow, and we're heading up to see the memorial. I'm really worried about blubbering like a baby in public.Just watched the ceremony at NY. Man, I can hardly stop crying.
#4
Charlie Don't Surf
Charlie Don't Surf
I'm much more broken up about the Western world's response to 9/11 than the actual attacks. I'll put my flag at half staff for the 10 year anniversary of the Patriot Act passing, though.
#5
Shannow
Shannow
I'm much more broken up about the Western world's response to 9/11 than the actual attacks. I'll put my flag at half staff for the 10 year anniversary of the Patriot Act passing, though.
#7
Sparhawk
Sparhawk
I remember, I'll never forget. I personally think that they should be showing the video of the planes striking and the towers falling to remind the general American public that this is what was done.
Now, is 10 years after the first tower fell.
Now, is 10 years after the first tower fell.
#8
SpecialKO
SpecialKO
I refused to watch the ceremony. Not because I expected it to be bad or anything, but because I've personally had enough of remembering and trying not to get upset. This is why I'm going to spend the 10th anniversary going to a friend's house to celebrate his newly-wed status to his lovely wife and wish them my dearest congratulations.
For me, I want this day to be about regular people enjoying their lives. Fuck terrorism.
For me, I want this day to be about regular people enjoying their lives. Fuck terrorism.
#9
LordRendar
LordRendar
I think the best way to honor the fallen,is to live your life stronger and better then you did before.
#10
ThatNickGuy
ThatNickGuy
I remember going to the mall that day, if only just to get out of the house and away from the TV. I'd been glued to it most of the day, watching the news. But I remember everyone around town were just sort of shuffling about, almost like zombies. Everyone was just in a state of shock. I'd never seen so many people hustled around TV's in the electronic stores.
#11
Jay
Jay
Remembers going to the work cafeteria where the TVs were and watching in disbelief. In complete shock with a sick feeling in his gut. Suddenly the PA system in the building tells us the facilities are being evacuated. Suddenly realized I worked in the tallest building in Montreal and I NEEDED to get out. Once out I called my girlfriend at the time (we were only dating for 6 months back then) and making sure she left too. SPEEDing home, not sure what would happen next. Watched TV all day. Sad. Afraid. And Angry.
"Je me Souviens"
"Je me Souviens"
#12
Mathias
Mathias
shut the fuck upI'm much more broken up about the Western world's response to 9/11 than the actual attacks. I'll put my flag at half staff for the 10 year anniversary of the Patriot Act passing, though.
#13
fade
fade
I was driving to SEG, a geophysics conference in San Antonio, TX. My favorite morning DJ, who was known for (and eventually fired for) pulling fairly extreme pranks had to repeatedly explain that this was not one. I remember him breaking into the music. I went on to the conference, and the mood there was strange. Vendors who had set up large screens to display their software had instead switched to things like CNN.com to stream updates. The speakers still went on, but there was none of that professional jockeying that usually goes on at science conferences, where competing scientists try to one-up each other in the Q&A sessions. Very surreal.
#14
North_Ranger
North_Ranger
Remembers driving home from high school, pondering the upcoming French listening portion of his matriculation exams. Remembers driving down past the sugar mill, listening to the radio when the news come on and tell that WTC has been targeted in a terrorist attack. Remembers pulling over to the side of the road and starting to... half laugh, half cry. Remembers thinking how unreal that news sounds, thinking that this must've been like when some Polish farmer woke up in September 1939 and seeing Germans going over his onion field. Remembers driving home and watching the news, seeing the towers burn and collapse. Worried about the future. Only slowly coming to believe this really happened.
"Minä muistan."
"Minä muistan."
#15
CrimsonSoul
CrimsonSoul
I was in basic in the Navy at the time, They gathered us all into a room, told us what happened then had us all go back to what we were doing, with the exception of those with family members in the towers/pentagon they were allowed to call their family. That was it, no tv, no radio and no more updates. Hell I didn't even see pictures of what happened until a few months after basic.
#16
Denbrought
Denbrought
297 years ago today...
These heroes refused to be defeated and fought until the streets ran red with their blood, they will never be forgotten.
These heroes refused to be defeated and fought until the streets ran red with their blood, they will never be forgotten.
#17
Charlie Don't Surf
Charlie Don't Surf
Not today, today is only for this one most important event in 'merican history.297 years ago today...
These heroes refused to be defeated and fought until the streets ran red with their blood, they will never be forgotten.
#18
doomdragon6
doomdragon6
I was like 13 when this happened. I was sleepily getting out of my dad's car to go to school when he was like, "Oh shit, this is going to be big news." That was when it was still just the first one and it might've been a fluke.
Then in school everyone was freaking out. I didn't really grasp any of it then. I was too young and didn't care anything about politics or "faraway places" for it to hit me very hard.
Then in school everyone was freaking out. I didn't really grasp any of it then. I was too young and didn't care anything about politics or "faraway places" for it to hit me very hard.
#19
Shegokigo
Shegokigo
I know I'm going to regret this...... Charlie what would have been a "proper" response to the attacks on 9/11? How exactly do you diplomatically solve the issue with people who think you're evil incarnate and must be destroyed even by giving their own lives?I'm much more broken up about the Western world's response to 9/11 than the actual attacks. I'll put my flag at half staff for the 10 year anniversary of the Patriot Act passing, though.
#20
Charlie Don't Surf
Charlie Don't Surf
Basically the exact opposite of everything that happened. Don't restrict rights here in the states in the name of security. Just, as a people, don't be extremely racist towards Muslims based on the attacks. Don't throw billions of dollars into the hole that is Iraq. Stop wasting money/time in Afghanistan once it's obvious OBL is in Pakistan. And stop feeding into the culture of fear that led to W's re-election.I know I'm going to regret this...... Charlie what would have been a "proper" response to the attacks on 9/11? How exactly do you diplomatically solve the issue with people who think you're evil incarnate and must be destroyed even by giving their own lives?
#21
Shegokigo
Shegokigo
How would any of that have stopped the terrorists from continuing to attack us openly and as largely as they did that day as well as growing into larger and larger groups? Just curious.
#22
makare
makare
Today is about remembering a disaster and how it affected people. the people involved and the people who just had to stand by powerless and watch. Not how outside forces responded to the disaster. Focus.
#23
Charlie Don't Surf
Added at: 14:22
Charlie Don't Surf
All of our defense stuff in the airports that strips away rights has been reactionary, not proactive at all. The Patriot Act is barely used for Terrorism, just mostly on the war on drugs and fraud cases. There really hasn't been a huge conclusive link to Iraq being a breeding ground for Al Queda, despite what the opening 5 minutes of "The Marine" portrays. If anything, the war in Iraq has probably done more to grow terrorists into larger groups than stop it.How would any of that have stopped the terrorists from continuing to attack us openly and as largely as they did that day as well as growing into larger and larger groups? Just curious.
Added at: 14:22
See, I don't believe that. If anything, today is more appropriate to talk about these things, to make people stop focusing and fetishizing 9/11 and worry about the big picture and see how it's changed us for the worse.Today is about remembering a disaster and how it affected people. the people involved and the people who just had to stand by powerless and watch. Not how outside forces responded to the disaster. Focus.
#24
Shegokigo
Shegokigo
You're purposely dodging the question:
If we were so wrong in how we proceeded, what would have been the correct way to respond to the terrorist attack of 9/11 that would have done as much to curb the terrorist activities and attacks that began it in the first place.
It's a very simple question Charlie, why are you dancing around it? I'm not asking what's wrong with what we did. You've already made that clear. So you tell me what would have been the "right" decision to resolve the issue.
You must have an answer, as you're so quick to say what we did was wrong.
If we were so wrong in how we proceeded, what would have been the correct way to respond to the terrorist attack of 9/11 that would have done as much to curb the terrorist activities and attacks that began it in the first place.
It's a very simple question Charlie, why are you dancing around it? I'm not asking what's wrong with what we did. You've already made that clear. So you tell me what would have been the "right" decision to resolve the issue.
You must have an answer, as you're so quick to say what we did was wrong.
#25
Charlie Don't Surf
Charlie Don't Surf
I'm not dodging the question - I'm saying we shouldn't have invaded Iraq, put in the inane and ineffective airport travel "security", shouldn't have passed the Patriot Act, shouldn't have re-elected Bush. That's what we should have done. Not do those things. I don't believe any of that made the country safer.
#26
makare
makare
ANYWAY.
The attacks happened only a couple days before the dedication of our states WWII memorial and celebration. It was a very moving time in general but the attacks added kind of a feeling of togetherness and brotherhood among the attendees that I do not think would have been there before. I remember 9/11 every year not just as a tragedy but as a day, and a few after where we just honestly cared about each other in a way we usually don't.
The attacks happened only a couple days before the dedication of our states WWII memorial and celebration. It was a very moving time in general but the attacks added kind of a feeling of togetherness and brotherhood among the attendees that I do not think would have been there before. I remember 9/11 every year not just as a tragedy but as a day, and a few after where we just honestly cared about each other in a way we usually don't.
#27
Shegokigo
Charlie, What should we have done to stop the bad men?
Shegokigo
You dodged it again. I'll put it in elementary:I'm not dodging the question - I'm saying we shouldn't have invaded Iraq, put in the inane and ineffective airport travel "security", shouldn't have passed the Patriot Act, shouldn't have re-elected Bush. That's what we should have done. Not do those things. I don't believe any of that made the country safer.
Charlie, What should we have done to stop the bad men?
#28
Null
Null
Charlie, even if you may have legitimate points - and I'm not sure you do, I think you're just trolling - today is about remembering what happened. My uncle William was in the Pentagon when it was hit. He was across the building from the impact, so he was fine, but he knew some people that didn't make it. While I generally don't think the TSA is effective and I disagree with how the Patriot Act is used, that's not what matters today. What matters is remembering the people who were murdered in the attacks, and the first responders who gave their lives so that others could make it home to their families. What matters is cherishing the people who did make it home, who never nearly didn't. So, Charlie, I'm politely asking you to shut the fuck up.
I'm going to post a poem written by my friend BJ. It's actually inscripted in one of the memorials, and in his third book, Gravedigger's Birthday:
For the Children of the World Trade Center Victims
Nothing could have prepared you -
Note: Every poem I have ever written
is not as important as this one.
Note: This poem says nothing important.
Clarification of last note:
This poem cannot save 3,000 lives.
Note: This poem is attempting to pull your father
out of the rubble, still living and glowing
and enjoying football on Sunday.
Note: This poem is trying to reach your mother
in her business skirt, and get her home
to Ridgewood where she can change
to her robe and sip Chamomile tea
as she looks through the bay window at the old,
untouched New York City skyline.
Note: This poem is aiming its guns at the sky
to shoot down the terrorists and might
hit God if He let this happen.
Note: This poem is trying to turn
that blooming of orange and black
of the impact into nothing
more than a sudden tiger-lily
whose petals your mother and father
could use as parachutes, float down
to the streets below, a million
dandelion seeds drifting off
to the untrafficked sky above them.
Note: This poem is still doing nothing.
Note: Somewhere in this poem there may be people alive,
and I'm trying like mad to reach them.
Note: I need to get back to writing the poem to reach them
instead of dwelling on these matters, but how
can any of us get back to writing poems?
Note: The sound of this poem: the sound
of a scream in 200 different languages
that outshouts the sounds of sirens and
airliners and glass shattering and
concrete crumbling as steel is bending and
the orchestral tympani of our American hearts
when the second plane hit.
Note: the sound of a scream in 200 languages
is the same sound.
It is the sound of a scream.
Note: In New Jersey over the next four days,
over thirty people asked me
if I knew anyone in the catastrophe.
Yes, I said.
I knew every single one of them.
-- BJ Ward
I'm going to post a poem written by my friend BJ. It's actually inscripted in one of the memorials, and in his third book, Gravedigger's Birthday:
For the Children of the World Trade Center Victims
Nothing could have prepared you -
Note: Every poem I have ever written
is not as important as this one.
Note: This poem says nothing important.
Clarification of last note:
This poem cannot save 3,000 lives.
Note: This poem is attempting to pull your father
out of the rubble, still living and glowing
and enjoying football on Sunday.
Note: This poem is trying to reach your mother
in her business skirt, and get her home
to Ridgewood where she can change
to her robe and sip Chamomile tea
as she looks through the bay window at the old,
untouched New York City skyline.
Note: This poem is aiming its guns at the sky
to shoot down the terrorists and might
hit God if He let this happen.
Note: This poem is trying to turn
that blooming of orange and black
of the impact into nothing
more than a sudden tiger-lily
whose petals your mother and father
could use as parachutes, float down
to the streets below, a million
dandelion seeds drifting off
to the untrafficked sky above them.
Note: This poem is still doing nothing.
Note: Somewhere in this poem there may be people alive,
and I'm trying like mad to reach them.
Note: I need to get back to writing the poem to reach them
instead of dwelling on these matters, but how
can any of us get back to writing poems?
Note: The sound of this poem: the sound
of a scream in 200 different languages
that outshouts the sounds of sirens and
airliners and glass shattering and
concrete crumbling as steel is bending and
the orchestral tympani of our American hearts
when the second plane hit.
Note: the sound of a scream in 200 languages
is the same sound.
It is the sound of a scream.
Note: In New Jersey over the next four days,
over thirty people asked me
if I knew anyone in the catastrophe.
Yes, I said.
I knew every single one of them.
-- BJ Ward
#29
Charlie Don't Surf
Charlie Don't Surf
Invaded Afghanistan like we did? I don't really have a big issue with that.
#30
Krisken
Krisken
Jesus, Charlie, there is a time and a place, man.
#31
Shegokigo
Shegokigo
Charlie is going to be a very lonely man come "Ignore Feature", which I'm sure he's used to.
#32
Charlie Don't Surf
Charlie Don't Surf
I explained earlier why I think this is an appropriate time/place.Jesus, Charlie, there is a time and a place, man.
#33
Krisken
Krisken
And you were wrong. Take it somewhere else, man. Have a sense of decency.
#34
Espy
Espy
Alright. Here's the deal. I'm tired of seeing 800 reported posts every time I open up the damn forum so listen up: This thread is not about discussing the far reaching political and sociological implications of 9/11. Those are fine and good things to discuss. Start a new thread please to continue that discussion. PLEASE.
It's not a bad discussion, in fact it's a great discussion, this just isn't the thread for it. Time and a place people. That time and place are another thread.
I don't want to have to lock this thread but if people start arguing with me about this it's going to happen.
Added at: 15:15
To get back on track... as someone who spent a bit of time in NYC before and after it was a heartbreaking day for me as well. I woke up to Dan Rather on my radio telling me that "America was under attack" and turned on my tv just as the second plane hit. It was... horrifying and tragic. It also affected me personally as I've had several family members and my own wife who have been on military deployments due to the events of that day.
I can't say much more. The whole day feels very somber for me. One way or the other our world changed that day. My prayers are with the families of those who dies that day and the soldiers families who have lost loved ones since.
It's not a bad discussion, in fact it's a great discussion, this just isn't the thread for it. Time and a place people. That time and place are another thread.
I don't want to have to lock this thread but if people start arguing with me about this it's going to happen.
Added at: 15:15
To get back on track... as someone who spent a bit of time in NYC before and after it was a heartbreaking day for me as well. I woke up to Dan Rather on my radio telling me that "America was under attack" and turned on my tv just as the second plane hit. It was... horrifying and tragic. It also affected me personally as I've had several family members and my own wife who have been on military deployments due to the events of that day.
I can't say much more. The whole day feels very somber for me. One way or the other our world changed that day. My prayers are with the families of those who dies that day and the soldiers families who have lost loved ones since.
#35
Bones
Bones
did we just get told where to shove it by a smoking baby!?
(/joke)
I remember 9/11, i was a freshman in high school, sittin in civics, thought it was a big hoax...was sad to find out it wasn't.....family fought in died in Afghanistan, later Iraq, thankfully no one in new york or the pentagon. it was weird, still is to this day. thats all i got.
(/joke)I remember 9/11, i was a freshman in high school, sittin in civics, thought it was a big hoax...was sad to find out it wasn't.....family fought in died in Afghanistan, later Iraq, thankfully no one in new york or the pentagon. it was weird, still is to this day. thats all i got.
#36
Officer_Charon
Officer_Charon
It was going to be my first day working at the Atlantis Hotel-Casino in Reno. I woke to a phone call from my girlfriend, telling me that we were under attack. I can remember rolling my eyes (this girl was prone to occasional histrionics) and humoring her, if only to figure out what she was talking about...
... Just in time to see the second plane barrel into the South Tower. Suffice it to say, I wasn't rolling my eyes any more.
The rest of the day... hell, the rest of the week passed in a blurry haze of people going about their business in a muted, half-hearted fashion. It was the easiest training I ever underwent. I lasted at the job less than a month before I enlisted.
I had already desired an enlistment - this just expedited the situation.
It's strange... I've been going around all day, and it's been liked a muted echo of that week after the attacks - people are waving and honking their horns at police vehicles, flags are decorating cars and homes again... it's very surreal down here.
Oh, and HCGLNS - you bastard. I had to pull over to the side of the road and pray that nobody was looking into my car while I was scrubbing at my eyes.
... Just in time to see the second plane barrel into the South Tower. Suffice it to say, I wasn't rolling my eyes any more.
The rest of the day... hell, the rest of the week passed in a blurry haze of people going about their business in a muted, half-hearted fashion. It was the easiest training I ever underwent. I lasted at the job less than a month before I enlisted.
I had already desired an enlistment - this just expedited the situation.
It's strange... I've been going around all day, and it's been liked a muted echo of that week after the attacks - people are waving and honking their horns at police vehicles, flags are decorating cars and homes again... it's very surreal down here.
Oh, and HCGLNS - you bastard. I had to pull over to the side of the road and pray that nobody was looking into my car while I was scrubbing at my eyes.
#37
Sparhawk
Sparhawk
I had taken my daughter to school, and come back home. Wife was getting ready for work, we were watching the Today show, at the time it was on a one hour delay (we're in Central time zone) and suddenly they switched to live feed. They were showing the live shot of smoke coming out of the first tower hit and talking about how it could have been a small plane lost in the low clouds that were around a few minutes before, but were still trying to confirm what exactly had happened. You then caught sight of something flying through the area, a large passenger jet... saw it turn, pass behind the first tower... flames erupted from the other side. Shock, surprise, the feeling of "Oh SHIT." from both the hosts and my own head. I called my wife into the room, and just stood there staring at the television, couldn't really believe what was happening, couldn't really process that I had just witnessed murder on live tv. Story started coming together as the minutes passed by, first of the closer shots of the chaos, my wife went on to work, I didn't have to leave for another hour or so, and I continued to watch the events. Actually saw the live footage of people jumping to their deaths as the flames and smoke got worse. They are images that still pop right to the front when I think about this now. I called my wife at work, talked to her about the info that was starting to come out, that the Pentagon had been attacked also, that another passenger jet was "missing" at the time. I was talking to her as the first tower fell. I could tell what was happening as Matt Lauer and Katie Couric were talking about there was a sudden plume of more smoke at the tower, but that they didn't know what was happening. "The tower is gone. It's falling down right now. The tower is gone. I can tell, the idiots just keep talking about more smoke, but it's collapsed." Those are the words I said to my wife as the video was shown. "The tower is gone." I got off the phone with her. I prayed. It was all I could do at the time. I left for work around 9:23am, I always left about that time, got me to work with time to spare and get my day ready. I listened to the radio as I drove, talk was all about the Towers. Got to work, got the store opened, made one sale that day. A box of football cards for a truck driver customer that stopped by the store on Tuesdays to pick up his weekly order. That was it in sales for the day. I think that only two more people came in that day, mostly just to talk, not really interesting in shopping, but just needed someone to talk to. That evening I drove home, I could see the fighter jet contrails of the patrol out of Houston, not a cloud in the sky, other than those concentric rings of vapor behind the two jets making their flight pattern.
That is all still so clear in my head. I understood from that time, really understood, what it must have felt like in December 1941 for the attacks on Pearl Harbor, what it must have felt like in November 1963 for JFK's assassination.
The thing that gets me today, is that so many are posting "I saw the first plane hit." and it's not possible that they did. You saw the second plane hit, and later saw the video that someone just happened to make of the first.
That is all still so clear in my head. I understood from that time, really understood, what it must have felt like in December 1941 for the attacks on Pearl Harbor, what it must have felt like in November 1963 for JFK's assassination.
The thing that gets me today, is that so many are posting "I saw the first plane hit." and it's not possible that they did. You saw the second plane hit, and later saw the video that someone just happened to make of the first.
#38
Mathias
Mathias
Espy, thanks for chiming in. I created this thread to talk about that day, and remembering the people that lost their lives. Take your politics elsewhere...
Added at: 17:47
Added at: 17:47
Dude, you're really acting no better than a West Buro Baptist member protesting a soldier's funeral. Have some respect for the departed.I'm not dodging the question - I'm saying we shouldn't have invaded Iraq, put in the inane and ineffective airport travel "security", shouldn't have passed the Patriot Act, shouldn't have re-elected Bush. That's what we should have done. Not do those things. I don't believe any of that made the country safer.
#39
Hailey Knight
Hailey Knight
I see people from different parts of the country and different countries saying that there was a clear reaction going on that day for the people around them. I'd been hearing this past year from some in the midwest (who were about Doom's age at the time, so that may color things) that there wasn't much reaction, it wasn't a big deal and I just saw it that way as being from New York, etc. I'd wondered if that was the years talking or if that was the truth, and after seeing this thread, I feel it's likely that the 10 years passing has colored some people's memories, because it sounds like there was a pretty noticeable reaction all over the place, and people outside NY weren't so apathetic as I'd been told.
#40
Cajungal
Cajungal
I'm actually really ashamed about how I reacted at first. I remember hearing about it at school and thinking it was a hoax or something. My friend made a joke about it, and I joined in. Then we saw the footage on the TVs at school. We cried in English class. I felt horrible. We spent most classes talking about it, listening to the radio, or watching the news. The whole day was a blur. I don't remember talking to my parents about it. A couple of the priests who served mass at school regularly came to the chapel that week to talk to any students who wanted to. A family friend had a brother up there who stopped for coffee on his way to work and missed the attack completely. The thing I remember most about that whole period of shock and hurt afterwards was constantly looking up pictures and videos of the people who threw themselves out of windows. I don't know why I watched that over and over. I would just look and think about what I would have done and what they must have been thinking.
#41
MindDetective
PS - Researchers did, in fact examine memories of meaningful moments, including people's memories of finding out about 9/11. There is not a lot of strong evidence that they are especially accurate, compared to other, less meaningful memories about our lives. We recall them with great detail and express strong confidence in those memories, but they seem to be as malleable as our normal memories. I always tell my students to keep in mind that even these memories are fallible, in spite of our confidence. It is humbling to think how bad we are at recording the events of our own lives.
MindDetective
Weird. We were in Reno at the same time, then. I saw the attacks on the news and woke my roommate up and we watched the second tower get hit. I had to go and teach a class on Statistics at UNR. I said a thing or two about persevering, I think, before starting. It was hard to figure out how to continue on as normal, but we tried. Also, I asked my advisor, a memory researcher, if we should try and gather some data on flashbulb memories. He said he couldn't see how anyone could under the circumstances.It was going to be my first day working at the Atlantis Hotel-Casino in Reno.
PS - Researchers did, in fact examine memories of meaningful moments, including people's memories of finding out about 9/11. There is not a lot of strong evidence that they are especially accurate, compared to other, less meaningful memories about our lives. We recall them with great detail and express strong confidence in those memories, but they seem to be as malleable as our normal memories. I always tell my students to keep in mind that even these memories are fallible, in spite of our confidence. It is humbling to think how bad we are at recording the events of our own lives.
#42
Piotyr
Piotyr
I was out of work, so was waking up to my morning job search/internet surfing when the forum I frequented went berserk about it. Immediately turned on the news to see the second plane hit the tower. I watched all the way through both towers collapsing before I'd seen enough for the day on the news.
I remember mostly fearing for my dad, who was supposed to fly to Boston from Chicago that morning. I couldn't get a hold of him all day, but it turned out he never left the Chicago airport, and was stuck in lock-down for almost the entire day. So, fortunately for me, no direct contacts were involved in the tragedy of the day, but all the stories that hit the airwaves soon after were really sobering.
I remember mostly fearing for my dad, who was supposed to fly to Boston from Chicago that morning. I couldn't get a hold of him all day, but it turned out he never left the Chicago airport, and was stuck in lock-down for almost the entire day. So, fortunately for me, no direct contacts were involved in the tragedy of the day, but all the stories that hit the airwaves soon after were really sobering.
#43
General Specific
General Specific
I was still in college at the time. I was asleep and my roommate woke me up and told me to turn on the tv, a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. I think I was wondering why he woke me up for that when I saw the first tower on fire. Then the second plane hit.
I was in shock for the whole day. I went to my normal classes, but took my mp3 player that had a radio on it and listened to it almost constantly. I was sitting in the lobby of a building one of my classes was in when a friend and German exchange student came up to me asking what was up. He'd been in classes all morning. He didn't know. I just told him flat out, by that point, both towers had collapsed. We went into the building's library and got a connection to a news website, CNN I think, and watched streaming coverage. My friend had come through New York and been to the WTC just the month or so prior. I knew no one who was in the towers or even New York at the time, but that day still affects me profoundly.
I was in shock for the whole day. I went to my normal classes, but took my mp3 player that had a radio on it and listened to it almost constantly. I was sitting in the lobby of a building one of my classes was in when a friend and German exchange student came up to me asking what was up. He'd been in classes all morning. He didn't know. I just told him flat out, by that point, both towers had collapsed. We went into the building's library and got a connection to a news website, CNN I think, and watched streaming coverage. My friend had come through New York and been to the WTC just the month or so prior. I knew no one who was in the towers or even New York at the time, but that day still affects me profoundly.
#44
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CW Network:
Someone has had a stroke of brilliance, showing The Green Mile today. I think that's an outstanding move.
Someone has had a stroke of brilliance, showing The Green Mile today. I think that's an outstanding move.
#45
Hailey Knight
Hailey Knight
I don't understand the correlation.CW Network:
Someone has had a stroke of brilliance, showing The Green Mile today. I think that's an outstanding move.
#46
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The tenth anniversary, emotions run high. I think someone was trying to remind people that behind every villainous act is a human being, for what it's worth.
EDIT: I mean, maybe not. Could be a coincidence.
EDIT: I mean, maybe not. Could be a coincidence.
#47
Gusto
Even a few minutes later I felt like a heartless moron. But then, I was in 10th grade, so I probably was.
Gusto
My initial reaction was similar, Seej, for what it's worth. This was in 10th grade science class, and this was before terrorism had definitively been linked to it. My teacher said something like "Someone crashed a plane into the World Trade Centre" and I remember thinking or even possibly saying aloud "Who gave that guy a pilot's license?"I'm actually really ashamed about how I reacted at first. I remember hearing about it at school and thinking it was a hoax or something. My friend made a joke about it, and I joined in. Then we saw the footage on the TVs at school. We cried in English class. I felt horrible. We spent most classes talking about it, listening to the radio, or watching the news. The whole day was a blur. I don't remember talking to my parents about it. A couple of the priests who served mass at school regularly came to the chapel that week to talk to any students who wanted to. A family friend had a brother up there who stopped for coffee on his way to work and missed the attack completely. The thing I remember most about that whole period of shock and hurt afterwards was constantly looking up pictures and videos of the people who threw themselves out of windows. I don't know why I watched that over and over. I would just look and think about what I would have done and what they must have been thinking.
Even a few minutes later I felt like a heartless moron. But then, I was in 10th grade, so I probably was.
#48
makare
makare
I was also in class and a lot of people were joking around. Going to humor is a natural thing.
#49
SpecialKO
SpecialKO
Nothing even remotely to be ashamed about, Seej. It sounded completely insane; no shame in thinking that it couldn't be real.I'm actually really ashamed about how I reacted at first.
#50
SpecialKO
SpecialKO
My camera isn't great, but I thought it was worth sharing, for once.
#51
Shannow
Shannow
*beep boop beep boop* huh? What the fuck? *still half drunk ass at girls place from night before, answer cell* uh...hello? "What the fuck, son? Get the fuck up." dad? "I just got activated...why the fuck are you asleep?" huh? "We are under attack you lazy fuck..i just got activated, driving down to NYC now. Jesus christ, turn on the fucking TV!" hold on....holy shiiiiiii...... "watch my shit, you know where the house is. Ill see you when I see you." fucking a-----
he got activated, went down there with his unit, I dealt with consoling people all day in college as an RA. A lot of NYC folks at my college, and here I am 20, trying to help console them, allieviate their fears, etc....and waaaaay the fuck out of my depth as I am watching the horror unfurl on the tvs in front of me. he went over seas soon after for 4 years, kept re-volunteering. Fucking A
he got activated, went down there with his unit, I dealt with consoling people all day in college as an RA. A lot of NYC folks at my college, and here I am 20, trying to help console them, allieviate their fears, etc....and waaaaay the fuck out of my depth as I am watching the horror unfurl on the tvs in front of me. he went over seas soon after for 4 years, kept re-volunteering. Fucking A
#52
checkeredhat
checkeredhat
Similar situation here too. Honestly I didn't even really know what the WTC was at the time, so until I saw the news footage when I got home from school, it was hard to grasp what had really happened. I remember I was in grade 10 Canadian History class, our teacher told us what happened, and I remember at lunch there was a big prayer circle outside around the totem pole at school and the flag was already at half mast, but classes continued as normal, for me and most of us the day continued as normal, and it wasn't until I got home that I saw the news footage, realized the seriousness of it.My initial reaction was similar, Seej, for what it's worth. This was in 10th grade science class, and this was before terrorism had definitively been linked to it. My teacher said something like "Someone crashed a plane into the World Trade Centre" and I remember thinking or even possibly saying aloud "Who gave that guy a pilot's license?"
Even a few minutes later I felt like a heartless moron. But then, I was in 10th grade, so I probably was.
#53
blotsfan
blotsfan
4th grade computer class. Teachers took us out to watch tv. We left early, but I don't really remember what I did the rest of the day. I didn't really comprehend it at the time.
#54
HCGLNS
HCGLNS
Working in a cement plant in the middle of nowhere. Got a phone call from my wife about it, went to check the internet, it had crashed, no tv reception when word spread the whole plant was huddled around radios. Halifax had become the primary redirection airport for air travel over the Atlantic. Calls were going out for volunteers to berth the passengers of the airplanes, we put our names in but never got called. As a city we sheltered over 7000 strangers that day, and what I remember most is driving by the airport on the way home from work and seeing planes upon planes upon planes stacked out on the runways. A few days later, the refinery in Dartmouth was pumping out truck after truck of airplane fuel, literally every 500m on the highway was a tanker truck, refuelling the extra planes.
#55
jwhouk
jwhouk
Ah yes, the Battle of Lake Champlain. Where we drove the Brits back up to Canada before the Treaty of Ghent was signed.297 years ago today...
These heroes refused to be defeated and fought until the streets ran red with their blood, they will never be forgotten.
#56
Hailey Knight
Hailey Knight
It's weird to me thinking of kids who were young then and don't really grasp how different things were. It's weird seeing my cousins and realizing they weren't even born until 9 months later in June.
#57
Denbrought
Denbrought
ಠ_ಠAh yes, the Battle of Lake Champlain. Where we drove the Brits back up to Canada before the Treaty of Ghent was signed.
#58
rabbitgod
rabbitgod
I was watching Recess, the usual morning before class. My brother knocked on the door and said that someone flew a plane into the WTC. I thought it was some jackass in a personal plane. Then I changed the channel and...yeah. I went to one of my classes, art history, then swung by my friends dorm and hung out there the rest of the day.
Being so far from NYC I didn't have a lot of connection to it. I knew a few people from, but it wasn't that personal. However, we have a very large airforce base here and an air national guard. There's also an army base about 1.5 hours away. So they fly all day every day. A10s, F16s, A7s, C130S, helicopters whose names I don't know, all through my childhood they had been there. But they were all on a no fly order and all the personnel were waiting to find out if they were being deployed somewhere...anywhere. I also live in the busiest sector of Border Patrol, so you see those guys all over the place and they were no where to be seen, waiting by the phone in case they were called up. And then my brother is a firefighter. Crazy ass day.
Being so far from NYC I didn't have a lot of connection to it. I knew a few people from, but it wasn't that personal. However, we have a very large airforce base here and an air national guard. There's also an army base about 1.5 hours away. So they fly all day every day. A10s, F16s, A7s, C130S, helicopters whose names I don't know, all through my childhood they had been there. But they were all on a no fly order and all the personnel were waiting to find out if they were being deployed somewhere...anywhere. I also live in the busiest sector of Border Patrol, so you see those guys all over the place and they were no where to be seen, waiting by the phone in case they were called up. And then my brother is a firefighter. Crazy ass day.
#59
DarkAudit
DarkAudit
I was working overnights at a different hotel from this one. I had gotten home and had turned on my brand new TiVo to watch the Red Dwarf from the night before. Went back to live TV just after the networks started showing pictures of the first hole in the WTC. Speculation at the time was a small plane had hit. A few minutes later I saw the 2nd plane hit on live TV. Even then, early opinion was of a catastrophic failure of navigation systems. Then the reports of hijackings came in and we knew better. From then on I was sitting spellbound in front of the TV. The Pittsburgh stations cut in to network reporting when word of the crash in Shanksville came in. I finally had to force myself to go to bed just after 1pm because I still had to go to work that night. I got up just in time to see WTC 7 crumble later that evening.
#60
bhamv3
bhamv3
I was in the computer room at my university in Bristol, UK, so it was in the afternoon for me. I was online, on my MUD, when someone suddenly says, "Are you guys watching the news?" This was just after the first plane had hit.
From then on out, all activity on the MUD stops, people stop playing and killing mobs, and just keep talking about the situation and updating each other on the latest developments. I "watched" the two towers collapse from my text-based online role playing game. It didn't make the situation any less horrifying.
I remember walking back to my dorm room that evening, having spent the entire day receiving updates on the MUD, and while I walked I realized the world would never ever be the same again.
From then on out, all activity on the MUD stops, people stop playing and killing mobs, and just keep talking about the situation and updating each other on the latest developments. I "watched" the two towers collapse from my text-based online role playing game. It didn't make the situation any less horrifying.
I remember walking back to my dorm room that evening, having spent the entire day receiving updates on the MUD, and while I walked I realized the world would never ever be the same again.
#61
Frankie Williamson
Frankie Williamson
I was lying in bed with my girlfriend, in my mom's basement, as any 18 year should be I guess. I get a call from my mom. She tells me to turn on the tv and that some crazy shit is happening. I turn on the tv and they're reporting that a plane has hit the first tower. They had a camera on it. Live on TV. I think this is pretty fucking insane. That has to be an accident or something. Not 20-30 seconds after I turn on the TV. Live on TV. I see the second plane impact with the second tower. I shake my girlfriend awake and we sit, aghast, for the next 4-5 hours watching.
It is honestly one of the few moments in my life where someone can ask me where I was when something happened that I remember exactly.
72 police officers lost their lives that day 343 firefighters. People who were running into those buildings when everyone else was running out. I don't know if I was called on that I could do the same.
It is honestly one of the few moments in my life where someone can ask me where I was when something happened that I remember exactly.
72 police officers lost their lives that day 343 firefighters. People who were running into those buildings when everyone else was running out. I don't know if I was called on that I could do the same.
#62
Shegokigo
Shegokigo
At College, sitting in the library while my GF was in morning classes. I was shitting around as usual, blowing all potential I had at being any kind of college graduate. I see a huge gathering of students around the TV at the far side of the library in the student lounge area. Enough of them to actually draw my attention away from the forum I was part of at the time. I casually walk over and I see a girl crying and another one consoling her. I see students and teachers sitting with mouths agape at the telvision. I took a look up and was immediately enthralled. I honestly thought it was a movie preview or possible prank. It was too surreal.
I immediately went back to my PC while everyonelse was glued to the screen and began looking at CNN.com and a few other news media sites for minute-by-minute updates. At the same time I began posting on the forum as we had a couple of members from NY. One of them had created a thread, he was taking pictures from his window of the towers and the alleys below. His images were 10x more amazing than anything that ever got shown on TV. I remember thinking "Why is he still there? So close to the impact, I can only imagine how many people were being evacuated".
I watched the entire day go by in that library, when my GF eventually got out of her classes, I got her caught up and she called home to see if she had any relatives in that area at the time. I remember thinking how funny it was that I had noone to "worry" about while people who knew a person who knew a person were worried about their wellbeing.
I immediately went back to my PC while everyonelse was glued to the screen and began looking at CNN.com and a few other news media sites for minute-by-minute updates. At the same time I began posting on the forum as we had a couple of members from NY. One of them had created a thread, he was taking pictures from his window of the towers and the alleys below. His images were 10x more amazing than anything that ever got shown on TV. I remember thinking "Why is he still there? So close to the impact, I can only imagine how many people were being evacuated".
I watched the entire day go by in that library, when my GF eventually got out of her classes, I got her caught up and she called home to see if she had any relatives in that area at the time. I remember thinking how funny it was that I had noone to "worry" about while people who knew a person who knew a person were worried about their wellbeing.
#63
IronBrig4
IronBrig4
No, I think this is the Siege of Barcelona. Your date is off by 100 years.Ah yes, the Battle of Lake Champlain. Where we drove the Brits back up to Canada before the Treaty of Ghent was signed.
#64
Necronic
Necronic
I was a sophomore in college, in more ways than one. For some reason I woke up before noon, which was weird for me at the time. I was living in a housing co-op in Austin,TX at the time, which is the closest thing to a hippie fraternity as you can get. I didn't really have a reaction at first, it took a long time for me to understand my feelings about it. I didn't know anyone in NYC, and I've never been there. In some ways the emotional reaction was the same as hearing about a large attack in another country.
I know someone earlier said that we aren't supposed to talk about politics or whatever, but for me this event defined me politically, or at least started me on the path to my redefinition. See, the group I lived with was about as close to an anarchist commune as you could get (while still having a legal mailing adress). It was surprising seeing how some people reacted, and to a degree dissillusioned me to their views. A lot of peoples politics and views were challenged on that day. I saw some of the hippiest/anarchist/one-love people I have ever known become convinced of a coming religious war against the muslims. One of them went so far as to call the cops on one of our more 'brown' housemates. The I saw the other side with people regurgitating Ward Churchill like he was some kind prophet. I saw the flaws of personal politics of all flavors coming more obvious when put under a stress test.
It was really hard. I know I came out of it a better person though. It probably took me 3 years before I really started to sort out my views on the event itself. It took me even longer to come to where I am today. In some ways 911 was a good thing for me personally as it made me better than I was, and I don't know if I would have made those changes without an event like that to test me and see if I had the courage of my own convictions.
I know someone earlier said that we aren't supposed to talk about politics or whatever, but for me this event defined me politically, or at least started me on the path to my redefinition. See, the group I lived with was about as close to an anarchist commune as you could get (while still having a legal mailing adress). It was surprising seeing how some people reacted, and to a degree dissillusioned me to their views. A lot of peoples politics and views were challenged on that day. I saw some of the hippiest/anarchist/one-love people I have ever known become convinced of a coming religious war against the muslims. One of them went so far as to call the cops on one of our more 'brown' housemates. The I saw the other side with people regurgitating Ward Churchill like he was some kind prophet. I saw the flaws of personal politics of all flavors coming more obvious when put under a stress test.
It was really hard. I know I came out of it a better person though. It probably took me 3 years before I really started to sort out my views on the event itself. It took me even longer to come to where I am today. In some ways 911 was a good thing for me personally as it made me better than I was, and I don't know if I would have made those changes without an event like that to test me and see if I had the courage of my own convictions.
#65
evilmike
evilmike
#66
SpecialKO
SpecialKO
I thought it was the last Stanley Cup finals...No, I think this is the Siege of Barcelona. Your date is off by 100 years.
#67
Hailey Knight
Hailey Knight
I thought it was Nick's prom night.