09/11/2001.?

Question

I visited the towers in May of 2001. I went to the top. The towers were a busy, bustling place of business. The top was full of gift shops and food courts. I saved all my receipts from my New York trip and still have the WTC ones. It's so erie, the receipt has the servers name on it and I can't help but wonder if the person is still living.

When I visited the towers months before the attack, it was a foggy day. At the top of the towers you could NOT see a thing. At the time of the visit, I thought, "Boy a plane could hit these towers because they couldn't see them!"

So when I heard a plane hit one of the towers, I figured it was because of the fog. I wish it was now...

Anyway, leave an "answer" to this "question" by simply leaving a memorial or a small prayer for all the victims and their families. And tell me where you were and the first thing you thought when you heard about this tragedy.

Answer 1

Thanks for your story. I am in my 40s and remember it well. I live in the NYC area and lived right across the street from the towers for years (I moved out well before the attacks). So I know the area very well and had spent a great deal of time there. When I see any photos, etc. I see familiar places, to be sure.

I was driving to work and heard the news. I thought it was just an accident until the second plane hit. I didn't know what to think - I had never experienced anything like that before. Fear of what was happening and somehow hoping it was all an accident.

I got to work and was hearing more reports on the radio. The Pentagon, and other reports. When I heard that one of the towers had collapsed, I just sat at my desk at work - the same desk I'm sitting at now - stunned. I shut off the radio and just sat there, door closed, in silence. I didn't scream; I didn't cry. I was just numb. Somewhere in there I spoke to my Mom, who was watching on TV.

We couldn't see much on the office TV since the local broadcasts depended on the antenna atop the WTC, which was of course gone. (My Sister said the most unsettling thing was once she got in her car and tried the radio - the stations were not on.) Finally we got some UHF Spanish-language station and saw just a huge cloud of dust. We all walked around in a daze, and I went home.

On the way home I could see the plumes of smoke where the towers used to be. Mayor Giuliani (sp?) had that news conference. Someone asked about casualties and he said "it's going to be more than any of us can bear." 3,000 deaths are so many, but it is remarkable the number of people who were able to get out. Given the number of people usually there, the toll could as easily have been 30,000.

I was seeing a woman who lived in the DC area at the time and I saw the Pentagon, damaged, about a week later. In October I went to lower Manhattan, but the area was cordoned off. The smell was unbelievable - like putting your face into a bucket of Ajax or Clorox, on fire. They say they found no glass, office equipment, etc. - it had all been blasted, pulverized and/or evaporated away. The flames were still burning at that time. I spoke to rescue workers and former neighbors I knew, and they relayed horrible stories of what they saw. I'll spare you the details.

The area has since been rebuilt, except for the site of course, which is just a bare construction site. I'm still surprised at how comparitively "light" traffic is there now compared to then. I mean it's busy, but not like before. But tens of thousands of workers are now working elsewhere. My old building has a lot more security now than it used to.

I remember also what a beautiful morning it was, weather-wise, as it is today. Clear, sunny, yet not hot or humid. A perfect foretaste of autumn. It's hard to enjoy this weather, or see a plane streaking across a beautiful clear sky, without thinking of that day.

Oh my. I'm not sure this made sense, but thanks for letting me get this out. It actually helps me get through the day.

Always remember the victims, rescue workers, military and their loved ones.

It could have been any one of us.

God bless.

Answer 2

I initially thought someone had made a monumental error & had crashed into the tower accidentally - then when the second plane hit I knew something horrible was underway. I never got to see the Towers before they fell; you were so lucky that you did! I'm sure you do wonder about the person who waited on you; I know if it was me I'd love to know if they made it . . .

Answer 3

It must be difficult for you to look at that receipt, a piece of paper that a waitress gave to you.

My son was 20 years old, I called him while I was watching the news. I was crying so hard watching the planes crashing into the towers and trying to say "happy birthday" to my son. Even today he came into town and we had lunch. The feeling of being happy for his birthday is not there. There is to much memory of 9/11 attacks on our mind.

Answer 4

I was home five years ago & I just gotten up to turn on the TV when all of a sudden, I saw smoke coming out from the New York skyline. I didn't know what it was untill I changed the channel to one of the news channels & found out what really happened. This hit me hard right in the chest! I remember years before that I saw the World Trade Center from across the Hudson River
while visiting the Statue of Liberty. I had to ask myself "Why did this happen to us? What did we do?" Then later when I found out who was responsible for attacking America, then I was angry - angry that some cowards who are enemies of liberty & freedom would do such a thing to attack us on our soil.
Five years later, this country is still reeling in from what happened on that morning of 9/11& we won't forget what we learned & those who lost their lives for the freedom of their country.

In memory of those who perished on 9/11/2001, we will never forget! May God rest their souls.

Answer 5

I thought it was a pilot error, that's what the radio was saying. During work I stopped at home, then saw the second plane hit.
If I had visited it then, I would wonder the same thing too. And thinking about any converstions I had with people too.

Answer 6

12th grade - english class when we heard of the 1st tower...current events class when the 2nd tower was hit. Everyone was hysterical...kids left, teachers left...frantically trying to get in touch with family members that lived in NY or worked in the towers...people left because we were 5 miles from a nuc. power plant in PA...when we heard of the plane in PA, we fled!

Answer 7

I was in my homeroom in 4th grade when a parent brought in her daughter and told the teacher about the towers. Then the bus driver on the way home painted a scary picture of what the world would be like. She was a dumb bus driver.

Answer 8

In the south tower on the lower floors and caught the last PATH train back to NJ.

Answer 9

i was in bed, sleeping...my mom called me on the phone and told me to wake up because 'the world is falling apart.' she told me to turn on the tv, and i asked what channel...she said it didn't matter...and it didn't. it was on every channel. i saw the second plane hit...i've never felt so helpless and overwhelmed in my life. that was a surreal day. it's weird how it takes something so tragic to make you realize how good we have it in America. flags were everywhere, and i remember stores selling out of them. i was glued to the talking heads of 24/7 news channels for the next month...it really did become this...addiction, i guess. fox news, cnn, msnbc, all of them...all the time.


i pray for all the innocent lives lost on that fateful day five years ago. i also pray for our soldiers overseas. god bless them...they are true heroes. i pray that we stop fighting this senseless war soon, we aren't getting anywhere anymore, and we still don't have Osama Bin Laden. wasn't he the whole point to begin with?
i will never forget...Americans will never forget.
GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Answer 10

I was in my 7th grade math class and all the teachers locked to school down and Turned all the tvs to the news. Alot of people were scared and crying.