Remembering 9/11

[justinsmama]

Please share your stories about that day and the days immediately following.

[Sam]

I feel so fortunate. I did not lose anyone personally in 911 but know many did.

I never watch Tv in the daytime until noon. A friend called me around 10:30 am and said "have you heard from your kids? "I said "No not lately why?" She then said" Do you have your TV on? The US is under attack"

I turned the tv on and they were showing all these images of the towers as well as the Pentagon. Tears were rolling down my cheeks. That this could happen here as well as the loss of lives.

Our son and his family live in Arlington. A couple of miles from the Pentagon. He is a computer programmer and has one of those ultra top secret clearances. The company he works for does lots of Government contracts. So he does programs for the FBI, CIA, Army intelligence, Navy Intelligence and so forth.

Our Dil is a stockbroker and the company she worked for at the time is located on New York ave and her office overlooked the White House. Naturally I was worried to death now. I called there home and of course there was no answer. I then called her office and was told she had left for the day. So next I called her cell phone and reached her.

She said they had all been watching the Tv at work as well as out the windows and when she saw the White house being evaccuated she just wanted to get to her family. She went and picked up the youngest who was at a day care close by her work and then headed to the oldest school.
What would have ordinarily taken her 20 minutes took 3 hours because of traffic. Our son did not come home that night. He stayed wherever to work.

Our dil had worked in one of the towers before she married Son. I do not remember which one. She lost quite a few friends that day. She could have lost her sister because she had offered to get her sister a job where she had worked. For some reason her sis passed it up.

In the area where we live everyone was putting out there flags and flying them at half staff. We all intend on putting our flags out again for this tragic anniversary.

[justinsmama]

Thank you, Sam. That is certainly a day that I will never forget. I, too, thankfully, did not lose anyone. Living in the midwest all my life has kept me relatively "sheltered".  Nevertheless, being an American, and a product of way of our life, the events of that day shattered something within me.

[Sam]

I was a very small child when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. So only remember the solemn looks of the adults around me. I think the next really big earth shattering event was the killing of JFK and how we were all glued to the TV reliving that event over and over. The killing of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King and the Oklahoma City bombing and the Columbine killings..Even though all those events shattered our world it was not the same as 911 because these were all individuals not our country under attack. We had always thought our country was to strong for something like that to happen.

I just watched a program on NBC narrated by Tom Brokaw and what the air traffic controllers went through that day. How there worst fears became real. It reminded me of something else from that day.

My younger brother called me all upset because his wife was in Australia visiting her family and was to return on the 12th but our airspace was closed. Of course he did not want her to fly until it was safe but did not know how long that would be.

Well S was sleeping and her Mom had woken up and had the Tv on and saw all this happening and the notice that our airspace was closed but she did not bother waking S because there was nothing that could be done about it any way. When S did wake up and was told about it she would not believe it would still be closed by the time she got to the airport.

She went on to the airport and flew to the next place in Australia where she was to change planes and discovered her Mom had been right. They said they could fly her to Japan or anywhere else but not the USA. So they flew her back to her Moms and she waited out the three days. She said she was a little nervous knowing this had all taken place. She also said the security was very tight so she was soon reassured..

I personally want all the security. It maybe inconvenient temporarily but if it saves lives I am all for it. JMHO

[mrs. red]

Sam,

On this we agree, my friend.  I could care less about the inconvenience, just make us safe.

I worked for a company that had everyone in NY at the time... and my boss's sister-in-law was on the first flight.  They were as closes as "real" sisters... it was heartbreaking.

I went to the Church service that night.. with the heaviest of hearts.  

I hope that people remember this when they are so eager to defend those same people that would repeat this if they could.....  later in the thread I will tell you about a post 9-11 encounter that has some levity...

[mrs. red]

Sam,

On this we agree, my friend.  I could care less about the inconvenience, just make us safe.

I worked for a company that had everyone in NY at the time... and my boss's sister-in-law was on the first flight.  They were as closes as "real" sisters... it was heartbreaking.

I went to the Church service that night.. with the heaviest of hearts.  

I hope that people remember this when they are so eager to defend those same people that would repeat this if they could.....  later in the thread I will tell you about a post 9-11 encounter that has some levity...

self-edit... this particular story has some levity... not that anything to do with the event would ever, or could ever hold any levity....

[justinsmama]

My 25 year reunion was August 2001. At our 30th this evening, I was telling one of my classmates how that reunion had been a bright spot to which I had clung after 9/11. It kind of saved my sanity.

[mrs. red]

I worked for a well known company during 9-11... I was working in the charitable contributions segment of the marketing department...

I was responsible for taking calls and getting the information of what nonprofits were asking for , etc.

One day, a Friday, I got a call from a man who identified himself as Tim Robbins and he asked me for a donation of boots.  I said Sir, can you please repeat your name and tell me who you are calling with?  He said, I am Tim Robbins, I am a famous actor... maybe you have heard of me.  I am calling from Ground Zero and we need boots, the shoes are melting off of the feet of the workers and we need more...

Me, not realizing WHO I am talking to ask him again who he is...

he then yelled at me... I am TIM ROBBINS, I AM A FAMOUS ACTOR and I AM TELLING YOU THAT WE NEED SHOES NOW!

Finally we got the issue straightened out and the donation was made but when I finally realized who I was speaking with.. I was all DOH!!

[LouiseVargas]

I did not know anyone who was on the airplanes or in the buildings. I know every life is equal but I was so sad to hear that Barbara Olsen (wife of Ted Olsen, Solicitor General of the US) who was a political pundit, was on one of the planes. She called Ted and said, "What should I tell them, Ted?" Another person you may not know, an actress Berry Berensen Perkins (sister of actress Marissa Berensen and widow of Tony Perkins) was on a plane.

I was house sitting and dog sitting for my daughter who had gone with her SO and baby to his farm in MN on vacation for two weeks. They were scheduled to return on September 11. I got a phone call from my daughter at 7 a.m. Pacific time. She said, "Mom, wake up and go turn on the TV." I said why? She said, "Terrorists have highjacked airplanes and flew them into the World Trade Center and the South tower has collapsed." I said, no way. She told me a third plane crashed into the Pentagon. When she said "Pentagon" I knew she wasn't kidding. She said they were all packed and ready to leave when the SO's brother (who arranges all things re the private jet) came rushing in with the news that the airspace was closed and no planes could fly. She said they did know when they would be able to fly home.

I ran to the TV and could not believe what I was seeing. It was incomprehensible. All the people in those buildings. People jumping. Mayor Guillani with a face mask walking towards the site telling the reporters to walk with him. Aaron Brown broadcasting from a rooftop and interviewing people who showed photos of relatives. All the chaos, fear and shock. Hospitals were saying they had called in all their staff to treat the survivors but hardly anyone came. I was glued to the TV for days and nights. I was alone with the dogs in that house. Even the dogs sensed something was wrong. I had to venture out for dog food and I was so scared - I thought there was a terrorist in every car coming towards me. I talked to a crying neighbor who said her nephew worked in the WTC but had just left for vacation and escaped. I stood in line for four hours at a flag and banner store to get two car flags. Life went on, the gardener came, the garbage trucks came, etc.

My daughter came home about five days later. She said she was very disturbed that in MN, they got on the private jet - absolutely no security around - and flew to a private airport in Oxnard and there was no security there either.

Later I heard that my friend Judith was flying from London to NY to LA on September 11 and was rerouted to Canada and then another plane flew them back to London.

I stayed at my daughter's house for several more days. I was very depressed. She said, "Oh Mom, don't take it so hard." I said the world as we know it has changed forever, it will never ever be the same again. She said the country will learn from it and it will not happen again. She was 35 years old and as I stared into her face, I couldn't believe her naivety and disconnection from the big picture and its ramifications. This was the same girl who studied religion in Jerusalem and taught the kids she babysat about Martin Luther King and what he accomplished because their American born mothers did not think MLK was important.

I went home and bought myself a big flag and slanted flagpole which still flies on my balcony facing the street every single day and night. I bought all the magazines. I looked for maps on the Internet so I could see the layout. My exhusband used to work for American Express which was Three World Financial Center and I'm glad he wasn't alive to see what happened. He loved New York.

The most significant way I was affected by September 11 (and I don't want to sound like a nut case) was that my mind started to unravel and continues to unravel. I have genetic depression and take meds and am stabilized. I just don't know how to articulate the unraveling - my shrink said everyone is depressed about 9/11. He too, was amazed at the lack of security in Los Angeles. He went to an opening of Pan Pacific Park and the mayor and Schwarzennegger and other bigwigs were there - no security at all.

I live alone with cats. I have a lot of time to think. Things that were important before became unimportant. What was unimportant - those things became important. I could not visualize my future and still can't. I make an effort not to dwell on it. But every time I go to a mall or Third Street Promenade or the Venice Boardwalk I think of suicide bombers and I know everything could blow up at any moment. Often when laying out on the beach on a beautiful hot summer day with thousands of other beach goers, a helicopter with weapons could just strafe the beach and kill and maim all the people. If my daughter could fly into Oxnard five days after 9/11 with no security at the airport, anything could happen. And when I think of how my daughter estranged herself from me, I just cannot understand it. Life is so fragile. All we really have are family and friends and love and caring. The future is so uncertain.

Oy vey, I'm sorry for painting such a dark picture. But speaking of "oy vey" at least one good thing came of it. Suddenly, the world got a clue as to the terrorism Israel has been enduring for all the years of its statehood. No US President is ever again going to tell Israel to back down, tone it down and/or not respond.

[Lala'sMom]

Although I didn't know anyone or have any family associated with the tragedy that day, the shock and horror was unreal.  My daughter was in the ninth grade and it was only about 5 weeks into the school year.  I had just returned from the high school after meeting with the band director about a fundraising idea when I walked in and saw the scenes on television.  My husband was working the night shift and he had just gone to sleep for the day when it all started.  I watched it for about twenty minutes and then realized that I needed to wake him.  It was history in the making and I was living in it in the here and now.  It was a very surreal feeling.  To know something so horrible was happening in my own country.  Immediately I was taken back to the stories my mother told each year when the attack on Pearl Harbor was commemorated.  It always seemed so real to her and more of a story that she told me, about where she was and what she was doing.  My mother had died 2 years earlier and it all came back to me...the stories she would tell.  I knew at that moment how she must have felt all those years ago.  Your world changes.  It is immediate and instant and you can never go back to the way things were before.  That afternoon, when my daughter came home I hugged her tighter than usual.  She told me she had watched it all day at school and that some were afraid.  She said,"This is my Pearl Harbor.   I will always remember this day.  I am proud to be an American."  That's just how I felt too. God Bless America.

[Carnut]

Oy vey, I'm sorry for painting such a dark picture. But speaking of "oy vey" at least one good thing came of it. Suddenly, the world got a clue as to the terrorism Israel has been enduring for all the years of its statehood. No US President is ever again going to tell Israel to back down, tone it down and/or not respond.

Yes that was one good thing to come of it.

Not sure I agree on all the security stuff. Increasing expense and manhours for security is kinda like letting the terrorists cost us that expense from our economy. Also the fear and strain caused by the continued instablities is also draining our freedom and enjoyment in life, another cost the terrorists have extracted on us.

The extremism and polarization exhibited in our politics now a days is largely a result of the terrorists actions, another cost to life and liberty in the U.S.

I have no suggested solutions to the conundrum, but I do feel a good offense is better than a good defense.

[justinsmama]

Justin was in kindergarten at the time, attending a private school. I had signed him in for the day and was on my way to work. The weather was gorgeous. Clear skies, warm and low humidity. Upon getting into the car, I turned on the radio. From the school to the convenience store where I often stopped, was about a mile or so. I don't remember what was reported on the radio. Only that when I reached the store, I asked the clerk what the hell was going on. She looked frightened, and told me that planes had been flown into the twin towers. While driving to work, I wondered who would be insane enough to attack the United States. At work, administration and human resources had televisions going. It took a while for it all to sink in. I simply could not fathom that we were under attack. A co-worker had previously lived in New York City, and had friends there. She could do absolutely nothing that day. I accomplished little more. It took me two hours to write a short paragraph for a progress note for services from the day before. I went back to Justin's school. They were under lock down. Each class was to remain in their room. The upper grades were made aware of what was going on, but not the lower ones. My instinct was to take Justin out of school, go home, and hide. I fought that impulse, knowing that my fear would infect Justin, and he was not old enough to handle any of this. Heck, I was not handling it! Went back to work, and called Justin's father, who was to have him overnight. We agreed to not discuss it in front of Justin, keep the televions tuned to cartoon channels, and not play the radio when he was with either one of us. Tuesdays were my long day, and I was scheduled to go to one of the group homes for group therapy. The entrance to the group home was blocked. There was a gas station next door, and cars were lined up and down the street, waiting to get gas. I was finally able to make my way into the drive, though not without receiving verbal abuse from more than one car's occupants. I remember thinking how could they be so rude and nasty when our nation was in crisis. Group that evening was pretty much a waste, mostly because I could not keep my mind off of what was happening. It did not seem to impact the clients whatsoever. While driving home, I listened to the radio. The killings of the stewardesses was being reported. The thought of the terror that they must have felt overwhelmed me and I started sobbing. I called every family member. The next day, I went to work. My office was in the flight path of the airport. It was eerie to not have the occasional plane in the sky. That Thursday, I was scheduled to report for jury duty. I did not go. I was afraid that government buildings were at risk. I fully expected some sort of formal reprimand, a warrant for failure to appear, or something...but nothing ever came of it. Justin eventually learned of the attack. I have no idea how. So we talked about it then, and several times afterward. When we invaded Afghanistan, Justin talked about them being bad people. I told him that they were not bad people, though there were bad people there who needed to be captured. He eventually identified with the Afghani children, and felt very badly for them.

What was shattered within me from that day was my deep seated belief that our lands were safe from such things. No one would dare take on the US via a direct attack within our borders. I was wrong. And I quickly learned that there was a rabid insanity bred into a small group of people who truly believed they were doing God's work.

[nonesuche]

Important thoughts carnut, insightful too, but do we really have any other choice?

Let it be said I am so grateful our San was not at work that day, we're all blessed she was not.

I heard when my mother called me while at work, I ran to the television, within moments as I spoke to her by phone the second plane hit. I was such a surreal moment.

I called my daughter and son right away, their school, and was told they were prepared an on alert for any and all parents to come for their children if needed. Within a few more moments mr none called from the large telecom he worked for, they had learned when networks they managed began disappearing in the Manhattan area by the thousands.

Shortly after the towers fell, I realized my godson's office was in one of those towers. It was three days before his parents knew he was safe. His older sister had been working at the same firm when the first WTC bombing had occurred years earlier. Both survived, what are the odds of that?

Honestly that day was the first day ever in my life, I questioned my wisdom in bringing my children into this world. I fear more each day for our world and our children, ever since.

[crazybabyborg]

I had scheduled a trip to New York on Oct. 1, 2001 long before Sept.11. There were seven people on the direct flight to LaGuardia from Charlotte, and that included my travel companion and myself. The line for taxis from the airport were gone and the infamous traffic was non existant. Although there were people on the streets, the usual din and bustle of the city was gone. One night at dinner, I remarked on the changes to a chatty waiter and asked where he was when the attack on the towers occured. He solemnly said that he would prefer not to discuss that day.
After the attack, which I watched in horror on television, I wanted to go to the site and never considered cancelling my trip. I had friends in DC, that had recounted their experience of looking skyward to see fighter planes, wing to wing, literally blotting out the sun and forming a canopy over the city.
I was in New York. I wanted to see ground zero. I had not formulated the words that could explain why, but on my last day in the city, those words were required of me. My flight departed in the early afternoon, and I allowed an extra 2 hours to arrive at Laguardia for the purpose of seeing the site. I hailed a cab, and as the driver sped off from my Greenwich hotel, asked to be taken to ground zero. He abruptly braked and pulled over, turned to face me and raised his right arm to rest on the back of the seat. His eyes stared sternly at me as he peered over his shoulder. He deliberately and suspiciously asked, "Why?"
I hadn't expected his reaction, but in that moment the totality of my personal experience began to clear and I was intently aware that I was everyone in the country that did not live in New York or Washington and that the distinction needed to be bridged. I answered with matched deliberatness and compassion, "Because this tragedy overwhelms me, and was directed at us all. It happened in your city, to our country, to you and to me. I need to respond, and I have given money and said prayers, but I need the opportunity to be reverent and honor those innocent victims of evil."
He blinked and released me. As he drove toward the financial district, where the World Trade Center once towered, he began to recount that day. He had picked up a fare and was taking the man to the financial district from the village. As he drew closer to his destination, they encountered people in the streets moving away from the area. Traffic had all but stopped. He threw a question to a pedestrian while leaning out the driver's window and was told that a plane had hit the tower. The minutes ticked by, the exiting crowd grew, his passenger became agitated with fear of missing an important appointment. This experienced New York cabbie pulled  a vintage NY tactic and literally pulled on the sidewalk to attempt an alternative route. He accomplished a parellel distance from another block, but was no closer to his destination. From his new view, he could see the top of the tower and the black smoke billowing from it. Sirens pierced the morning. He told his passenger he could get him no closer and asked if he wanted to be returned to his hotel. The passenger opted to walk the remaining blocks, and hurried away slicing into the oncoming crowd of people. Unable to move, my cabbie became transfixed with the tower.
He saw the second plane hit. The vehicles began to empty and the streets began to fill with witnessees to the unimaginable. Traffic was a tangle of cars attempting to make way for Emergency vehicles and those trying to position themselves to drive away from the area. Pedestrians were filling the streets, and radio communication was jammed.
He was in his car, eeking his way to a corner where he could turn and hopefully make his way in the opposite direction from the financial district when tower two collapsed. He said it was like watching a movie in slow motion; time was altered by the event. What followed was a rain of dust and debris that found him even blocks away.
My cabbie went with my companion and me as we departed the cab in a spot that he said was the closest you could get to the site. It wasn't where a makeshift public platform behind the hastily assembled chain link fence was available. We were near the water; you could see the Statue Of Liberty in the distance behind us.
The skyline of continuous vertical concrete that is seperated only by a diminuative ribbon of street, was terribly, gapingly, wrong. There was rubble where magnificence should be. We were standing on a small hill looking down at the deserted Marriot Hotel and the empty space beyond. Drapes were open in the hotel windows, lampshades askew, and a pink blouse on a hanger still hung on the back of a chair. The cabbie told me that no one was allowed back in the building because it had been left unstable by the events of 911. He said there had been human remains recovered from the roof, and in fact recovered from roofs as far away as the village. Then he stopped talking and the three of us were silent for a long while.
I didn't even realize I was crying until my cabbie handed me his handkerchief.

I recently heard a firefighter on the scene that day say that he learned on Sept. 11, 2001 how evil, evil is. Terrorists taught America that. I choose, with my votes, my money, and my prayers to respond to that knowledge by teaching evil the strength of resolve, the power of freedom, the fortitude of unity, and the consequences of hate. They have but helped us remember who we are.
God Bless and Keep us.

[Angiex911dsptchr]

5 years ago today.. I recall being in my living room cleaning up some before I had to go into work later that day as a 911 dispatcher. My tv set wasn't even on at the time. I heard a knock on the door.. and it was my hubbys friend Keith.. hsi company was working right outside my house and he had asked to use the potty..lol then he said why in the hell dont you have your tv on? I asked why?  He said turn it on. So I did. saw the first tower in flames... it coudlnt have been even a minute.. my phone rings.. its my supervisor at work saying we need you here NOW.. we need anyone we can right now to get in here. I said I needed to shower ..Im in my PJ's and would be there ASAP.. he said ANGIE.. dont worry about showering,, wear your PJS.. get here ASAP, and he hung up.
I managed to take a quick shower and at LEAST put on comfy sweats and a big tee shirt.. figured if we didnt have to wear out uniform if hes telling me to come in PJ's..LOL
 Anyhow.,, I drive into the 911 center.. WHICH is gated..and we have to use a keycard to swipe at the gate so it opens. I get there. and National Gaurd is there at the gate.  Police cars eveywhere in the parking lot. I am wondering WTH is going on. actually even afraid to go into the building. So I get there..swipe in.. go into the dispatching room and was told to find a seat wherever I could and get my headset on.. the only visible desk I saw unoccupied at that moment was the EMS desk. I plopped my ass there and there I stayed for the next 18 hours. The room was full of dispatchers...police... gaurds... the tv sets in the room were turned on low.. but we could still see what was going on in NY.  The second plane hit the second tower when I was at work. Our phones rang off the hook.. every single person in our county that saw any type of a plane in the air called into our center.  We inturn had to call the airports.  The reason being so many officers and gaurds were at our center I was told by an officer I knew.. was because at times liek this.. terror attacks. They will go after public saftey buildings. YIKES.. ok.. I was already nervous.. now I was scared shitless. They were all packing. and it wasn't a lunch. IF we had to go potty.. we had to be escorted to the bathroom. We wernt allowed to leave that room unless we had to use the bathroom. We answered phones and watched as the horror unfolded..  
  Well..  I was talking to a fellow worker. his name is John. He was standing near my deak.. the phone rang.. he said get that.. I said you get it..  I picked it up as he stood there.. and here is a man saying hes on Flight 93??  I looked up at John.. whispered..gt Glenn the supervisors attention. Glenny listened in on the call and John picked up the other line and listened as well.  I asked this man if he knew the wing or tail number of the plane. If he had any idea about where their location may be. he said terrorist had taken over the plane and they were in the cockpit. The man then told me he locked himself in the bathroom of the plane and thats where he was calling from on his cellphone. In the meantime Glenny was calling the aiports with the info from the plane. This man then asked me to tell his wife he loved her and to recite the Lords prayers with him. Which I did.. with teas running down my face. Then ALL went quiet.  No noise.. no static.. no hearing a crash.. dead silence.
  At the timethe plane must have been flying over our county.. we couldnt figure out how we got a call fromcell yet in our center. The plane crashed in Shanksville. We got that call that it crashed. I was in tears.. thinking I just has talked to someone on board who now I am sure is gone. I begged a gaurd to please let me go outside to smoke a cigarette.. he came out with me.. (I think I smoked at least 4 in a row  )
 I NEVER wanted attention at work becasue of this.. I didnt want on TV or anything. John and Glen were part of it. Glen went on tv.. Talked to media etc. John talked to media after awhile. But I wanted out of it. Too emotinal for me. We 3 did get an award. I will try and take pics of it and post it..lol  Im not good at doing that.   I got an PIN from NENA.. a telecommunicators award.. and one from the PAPD.. I just tryed taking pics.. I need to figure out now how to get them on photobucket.. I will post them as soon as I can.. I dont know how they are going to turn out for the pins arnt very large.. . TY for lsitneing to my story and GLD BLESS those who lost lives... and loved ones.

[Angiex911dsptchr]

Bare with me..lol  I loaded to photo bucket.. this is a blurry pic.. but I took it in front of the pc. so you could see I am on SM..lol Its my award from NENA  which means..National Emergency Number Association.
At the op of this pin abovoe the Eagles head.,. it Says September 11th Memorial  under the eagle.. telecommunicators award.  

[Angiex911dsptchr]

Guess I Screwd that all up huh?  One last try.. this is the PAPD award..
At the top it says ALL GAVE SOME..  in the middle PAPD..911 and the bottom it says Some gave all..  Pic of twin towers in the middle of the flag.

[Angiex911dsptchr]

Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.. one last one..
The NENA one again..

[Angiex911dsptchr]

Sorry for ruining the thread.. maybe Klass can fix it..

[BTgirl]

Angie, sweetie, you didn't ruin the thread.

Thanks so much for sharing with us what you did that day. I'm sooooo proud to know you (and be your adopted mom).

Big hugs to you.