OT Where Were You 13 Years Ago Today?

[Eyes On The Prize]

4th grade classroom and the teacher from the classroom next door ran into our class room and told my teacher to turn on the news. A few minutes after we saw the second plane hit.

I went to school with a lot of people from Long Island/NYC and I'm always so intrigued by each of their personal experiences with 9/11. One of my friends parents were both first responders and she said she didn't see her parents for about a month afterwards. They both also developed major illnesses (like cancer) from being around the aftermath for so long. My other friend said she remembers seeing her neighbor walking down their street late that night, finally getting home from that day, covered head to toe in the ash and soot in her business suit. I guess she walked all the way from the area the twin towers were to their home in Nassau county - right outside of queens (that probably doesn't mean that much to a lot of you but that is a VERY far walk.) apparently she either had a tough time finding transportation to get on, like trains or buses, or she was scared to get on it.

 

[Cheermom1969]

My grandmother missed the second fight out of Boston. We were running late that day to drop her off. I remember her crying because she missed the flight. Then I remember being back at home watching it all on t.v. I was in kindergarten.

I thank God all the time that my Grammy missed that flight.

Your grandmother was supposed to be on one of those flights??? Oh sweet Lord, yes, I would thank him every day. :kiss:

 

[Cheermom1969]

I was running late for work that morning because I had a cold and moving slowly. (We are 3 hours behind east coast time) My dad called me and said, turn on the TV! It was the Today Show and one of the towers was starting to fall. I was standing in my kitchen in my robe with my coffee by myself crying. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

I'm a court reporter and had been to NY to do some depositions about 5 years prior and my view from one of the conference rooms was those towers.

 

[cheermom02]

I was in my freshman year at Ohio University. I was In bed when my roommate came running in screaming that we were being attacked. I thought she ment the dorm was being attacked or something so I jumped up as she turned the tv on. She left for class and I was alone in our room watching all the coverage. I will never forget seeing that second plane crash into the trade center. It was literally the scariest thing I have ever seen. Then when the towers crumbled I was in shock. The images of the people running down the streets from the dust cloud were terrible. I try to explain to my kids about that day and I can't ever finish without crying. Then watching the days after when there was funeral after funeral and hearing all the amazing stories of bravery. Ughh it still gives me chills!

 

[ryann3794]

I was in second grade, I remember all the teachers turning the TVs away from the class but I caught a glimpse of the 2nd plane hitting the tower. I live semi close to a military base and I remember fighter jets flying over my house all day.

 

[crazzyeyesassypants]

Cp was only about 6 weeks old at that time so I was up early feeding her(we live 3 hours behind east coast time) and watched it all unfold on tv. It was horrific watching the second plane hit the Tower, I will never forget that day!

 

[Emily]

I was in Luxembourg and scared to death that terrorists might attack the European Union buildings until someone told me that they have way too much money with the banks there to even consider that.
And to this day I still have to cry when I hear "Only Time" by Enya (that's the song that was played over and over with the awful pictures of what happened).

 

[GForce]

I was in second grade. I remember watching it on TV before going to school and my mom was on the phone with my dad the entire time.

Literally typed out this exact thing but then saw you posted it lol

 

[amy1k]

Being a westie, I also awoke to the tragedy in process. I remember just staring at the television in shock. My dad had died unexpectedly in July of 2001. The 9/11 terrorist attacks kind if jolted me out of my own deep, personal grief...and into the shared grief of the American people. I kept my children home from school that day, because I couldn't deal with the thought of being separated from them. They were small and we spent part of the day at a park. I remember the silence of the sky...with no planes flying overhead, other than a few from a nearby military base.

 

[SheCheers]

DH was stationed in Ft. Walton Beach, FL at the time and I was at home with my oldest who was 16 months old. I didn't know it had happened yet, until my aunt IM'd me and told me to turn on the news. I also thought it was just a small plane that was flying too low until the second tower was hit. I remember being glued to the TV for days waiting, knowing for sure they'd find a survivor in the wreckage

 

[CheerBank]

4th grade classroom and the teacher from the classroom next door ran into our class room and told my teacher to turn on the news. A few minutes after we saw the second plane hit.

I went to school with a lot of people from Long Island/NYC and I'm always so intrigued by each of their personal experiences with 9/11. One of my friends parents were both first responders and she said she didn't see her parents for about a month afterwards. They both also developed major illnesses (like cancer) from being around the aftermath for so long. My other friend said she remembers seeing her neighbor walking down their street late that night, finally getting home from that day, covered head to toe in the ash and soot in her business suit. I guess she walked all the way from the area the twin towers were to their home in Nassau county - right outside of queens (that probably doesn't mean that much to a lot of you but that is a VERY far walk.) apparently she either had a tough time finding transportation to get on, like trains or buses, or she was scared to get on it.

It was very scary. I was lucky that I happened not to be working that day; I worked in Williamsburg (Brooklyn) at the time as a speech pathologist and many of the moms of the children I worked with told me they had front row seats to people jumping from the buildings.
My cousin was on the last train to get into the WTC. They were ushered into the lobby of a building and then were told to run for their lives after the South tower fell. We didn't know where she was for many hours and it was very frightening.
I left former-cp in preschool and still started to go shopping; once the second tower was hit though I headed home with baby cp, where I watched my tv in horror with a neighbor friend. Dh came home for work and pulled former-cp from preschool; we then proceeded to drive to a good friend's house out east because we didn't know how far reaching the smoke would be from downtown. You couldn't even get back into the city at any borough unless you could prove you lived there.

The one thing I do remember is for weeks afterwards how nice everyone was to each other. Strangers on the street and on public transportation actually made eye contact and said hello.

 

[amy1k]

I just remembered that was when my husband worked at The Wall Street Journal. I forget that he was in the news business. He kept the metal sheet thing (clueless about what it's called, but it's like the stamp that prints the paper) from the front page of the paper they printed that day. It's been sitting behind my headboard for 13 years.

 

[quitthedrama]

The company I worked for at the time had their corporate office on Madison Ave in NYC. I had a home office. I listen to a radio station in the morning where the DJ is super sarcastic and makes fun of a lot of things. When the first plane hit everyone thought it was a joke and the DJ was going on about how stupid the pilot was, etc. Ironically no one at the corporate office knew anything had even happened. Driving home from bringing my CP to pre-k and the DJ was still making jokes about it and all of the sudden he said something like "a second plane hit. This country is under attack". The change of the his tone was chilling and is what I remember most. I had a customer that I was friendly with who worked in the towers and I just kept calling and calling but of course only got a busy signal. Thankfully although her and her fiance were injured and had a long road to recovery, they survived.

 

[cupieqt]

It was my senior year of college and I remember it was my day off. My husband had gone ahead to school and left the TV on. I remember waking up to the news report on The Today show and thinking it was part of my dream or something but then watching it all unfold from there in my bed. I was the student music director at KSLU and I got called in to the station but I didn't have a sitter for my then 1 year old so I couldn't go. At the station the next day we all just sat around listening to the reports and taking turns on the mic.

I prayed hard for our military and our country that day. For my fellow man and for our nations leaders. That was a heart wrenching time in our lives. Our country has never been the same.

 

[notimeforthat]

I was home watching the today show,,,CP was 10 months old. I remember watching the whole thing on TV and thinking Matt Lauer is to calm... they kept saying no reports of injuries... I was thinking "of course thier are injuries you stupid Matt Lauer!"
Then I remembered my husband had told me that he was planning on visiting an account in Wall Street that morning. When I tried to call his cell all I got was a " all circuits are busy" message. I don't think I heard from him till after 2 pm. It was an eternity! He did not go that morning because something came up.
As I sit here tearing up remembering that day and hear the TV stating everyones name... ( They are only on O) It makes me so upset to realize what magnatute that day had and all the families that were effected that day and all the veterans who then lost thier lives or limbs months later in the war.
I will never forget!