I've been thinking about 9/11 alot lately......?

Question

I'm just wondering what your strongest memories are of that day? I remember taking my kids to school, crying and knowing they didn't understand what a significant event it was. Also all of the people on the streets of New York with pictures of their loved ones asking people to call with info. So very sad!!!!

As of this add on, there are 8 answers. Thank you guy so much for keeping on topic and not going into the trashing mode. You rock!

Answer 1

I remember just being in shock while we listened to it on the radio at work. During my drive to work, I had heard that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. I had thought that it must have been some horrible accident. By the time I got to my office, the second plane had already hit. A lot of businesses started closing early and mine was one of them. I remember picking up my children from daycare and thinking about the many children that would be waiting for their parents that would never come home. It was a horrible, horrible day.

It had more impact on me than the OKC bombing which hit much closer to home (I live in Oklahoma). We were able to put the perpetrators to death and prison in that case, so there was some sense of closure (though there is still so much sadness). With 9/11 and the enemy still out there, it is still a very terrifying thing to this day.

9/11 started as a normal day for so many and look how it ended. It just makes me wonder if we are going to see another normal day end in terror.

Answer 2

I was home that morning. I live in L.A and just had my breakfast and was reading yahoo news. It said that a 'plane' hit one of the towers and started a fire. That's pretty much all it said. The way it was written it sounded like a small plane like a Cesna or something. It didn't say "JET" airplane. It just said a plane. A little while later, I read that another plane hit the other tower. By this time I got a little agitated because I knew something was terribly wrong and turned on the television to find out it wasn't a 'plane', it was a JET. I have to say that I was really ticked off at Yahoo news for this misuse of language and very poor writing. But it was anger that quickly turned into frustration, fear (I was literally shaking), in shock, and had a feeling of being overwhelmed and exhaustion from the shock and emotion that I felt. I couldn't turn the T.V off. I watched it all day and felt absolutely exhausted from all the emotions and the crying etc. I live in downtown L.A so I felt quite scared of something like that happening here too. I called my husband at work and told him to get home. I will never forget that day as long as I live. I also remember seeing those poor people running down the street as the buildings were collapsing. And, then their frantic search for their loved ones. Later when the dust settled (after a couple of days) I felt alot of anger at whoever did this.
And, I don't know about you but I still get a bit sqweamish about flying.
BTW, I still have dreams and nightmares of being attacked. I had a nightmare about 2 months ago that L.A was attacked by a nuclear bomb and the government blamed Iran. It was a terrifying dream because on one hand I saw the bomb hit and go off. And, on the other hand it had a U.S emblem and flag on the side of it before it hit. It was a very scarey nightmare.

Answer 3

The second plane hitting and the poor souls jumping from the flames. I know of no one that did not cry that day. The outpouring of Americans to help other Americans. Route 66 Hot Rod and car show was on in a Ca. City. They shut down 11 square blocks and is packed with thousands of people. The Firemen and Red Cross could not find enough empty boots or containers to hold all the donations for New York. I remember a headline that all it said in large font "Bastards" Everyone flew a flag on their car. How things have changed in a few short years.

Additional: At Winsor Castle I believe it is, the next day, The Queens Guard Band came out as they do every morning and this time they played the Star Bangled Banner. It brought tears to my eyes. I sent a thank you note to her Majesty

Answer 4

One of the last memories I had been thinking about just last month was the people jumping out the windows. Then thinking how i would feel if I were up there and if I would jump. And if I jumped would I gather some sheets or something to work as a parachute or hand glider. Also would I have done the samething on the airplane fighting the terrorist and jump out the airplane with a lot of seat padding before it crashed landed.

Answer 5

At the time I worked in Maryland and when the plane hit the Pentagon I could see smoke billowing in the distance across the Potomac river. They closed our office and I went to pick my daughter up from school early and on my way home a US Marine helicopter (obviously carrying some high government official) was flying across the highway flanked by two F16 fighter planes and it was such a surreal experience. I was filled with a sense of dread. I suppose that was the objective sought by the attack by the murderers that day. We must never forget and never allow this to happen again.

Answer 6

A friend called us very early in the morning and said "you have to go turn on your TV". The first tower was already on fire.

As we watched, the second plane hit, and I was mentally grasping for possible perpetrators.

When the first tower fell, I said to my wife "oh my god, all the firefighters", as I am a fire/rescue volunteer, and was readily able to picture what had just occurred at the base of that building.

When the second tower fell, I told her that I thought this would prove to be our Reichstag Fire.

Then I drove my children to school, crying the same as you.

The weird thing was that at school, you could tell which families had and had not been watching the morning's events by their manner as they got out of their cars. Everybody was filling each other in real quick, and then heading to the nearby roadhouse to watch the TV there.

Answer 7

To be honest I was backpacking through SE Asia and spent the day on a beach in the Philippines. Did not even find out about it until much later than night by which time the local brew and a bit too much sun had taken an affect on me.
Woke up the next morning and remembered that something pretty screwed up had happened.

Answer 8

I remember the small apartment I had and the Morrocan woman whom worked with me lived there with her daughter as well, and as an American I was appaulled and angry. When a knock on my door and a neighbor warned me of the van outside that was parked with the words Kill Osama. I was angry and afraid at the same time. I had to send the womens daughter somewhere for a few days so I could also find out what had happened in actuality. I never was so angry confused and afraid at the same time.America was under attack and so wasn't I by the people who lived in my community. It was very upsetting and mind boggling.

Answer 9

I think about it all the time. I think what hurts the most is that Americans only band together in times of need. I live in Tacoma, Washington. In the aftermath of 9/11 The News Tribune put out a poster in the paper that was of the American flag and said "United We Stand." It was the most incredible feeling to see these taped in every house and every car window that I passed. I wish that we stood up together and for each other everyday without tragedy being the common bond. My heart weeps for all the people that were lost, all the people that lost someone, and America that continues to wander lost until tragedy finds it.

Answer 10

I worked for Siemens at the time and was on an early morning conference call with Germany. We came out of the conference room to meet with our next group of contract negotiators when we learned that a plane had hit one of the towers. We figured it was an accident and went back to our negotiations. Each time we took a break...another plane was down.

For me it was a surreal day. We spent the next 8 hours in intense and angry negotiations with suppliers to hammer out contracts that had been worked on for the past year. And the whole time...we kept wondering "what is going on".

I went home that day completely drained and spent the rest of the evening catching up on what everyone else had virtually seen live.