Do you remember where you were

A lot of people say they Remember where they were or what they were doing when certain things happened but this is truly the only one that I can say that about. I suppose it was the way it unfolded live on tv as the day went on. I remember getting a phone call from my wife who was at home telling me to turn on the news.

10 years on and it still feels so recent and I cant help watching the many shows on tv that either show live footage or rein-act certain events of the day. The recurring feelings are always the same each time I watch, I feel sorry for the innocents who died and the bravery of certain individuals, and huge respect for the services who arrived on the scene and looked up at those burning buildings and probably quaked in there boots at the enormity of what they saw and still marched in there and climed those stairs or ran into a burning pentagon.

Anyway I just taught I would post this and see what follows!

I'll say this before I get The Mazzy off to school...

I know there will come a time when my daughter ask me..."Daddy, what's 9-11?"

Honestly, I don't know what I'm going to say...I guess I just wanna lie to myself and think I can protect her from knowing what madness is truly out there in her big world. Maybe I can get through another day without her knowing...

And Fran...I can't even look at the old footage...it sickens me to the core of my soul.

September 11th is my birthday. I remember driving to work listening to the radio speak about it. At work everyone stood around a TV and couldn't move or speak and no work got done at all. My wife had organized a surprise birthday for me that night. Needless to say it was the most somber occasion and not a party at all. I have a few good friends who are Arabic (one from Kuwait and one from Syria) and they phoned not even wanting to come. We had to convince them to come. They thought everyone would feel uncomfortable with them or judge them given the circumstances.

Now my wife always refers to me as the 2nd biggest disaster to happen on 9/11.

I was at work my then missus brother lived in NY and often went to the towers on deliverys etc we couldnt get hold of him for 8 hours scary time for the missus. We were actually going over to meet him only 2 months after the disaster and visited ground zero to pay respects was the most surreal thing I have ever witnessed. The craziest thing was with all these people knowing someone or a friend of a friend that had tragically lost there life these crazy new yorkers were amazed that we dared to fly over.
I got talking to a cop in an English fish and chippy who had lost something ridiculous like 12 friends some cops some firefighters and all he could say is you English guys are crazy stepping foot onto a plane heading here your either brave or crazy . He made us promise to go to an irish bar that night and we did we met up with him and a few other cops and had one of the most mental nights I think I have ever witnessed.
Im ashamed to say I have forgotten his name. My brain wants to say Terry but I know thats wrong. For now lets call him Terry.
To all Terrys mates and any others that lost thier lives RIP

I was in college in my chemistry 2 class when people started to show up to class saying what had happened our professor pull up the news feed over the internet and put it on the big screen via projector and no one spoke for 90 min all we did is watch in shock

That's what I remember most

To anyone who knows someone who lost their life that day or anyone who gave their life to rescue the innocent people trapped in the rubble just know u will never be forgotten

For all my UK/IRE Brothers and Sisters...

One of the creepiest and unnerving experiences was afterwards when nothing flew in the air but military.

Walking outside and seeing formation of Apaches (I think) flying overhead in patrol along with the booming sound of the attack jets.

I was in graduate school in Boston and was studying in the library when my wife called to tell me to get to a tv because something was happening in NYC. I found a tv in one of student lounges and a group of us just watched it unfold in dead silence and saw the second plane hit...soon after they ordered Boston to be evacuated (I lived only ten miles outside of the city) and my wife and I sat in out small condo wondering if Boston was going to be next.

It was a weird and scary time…

I was off that day and my phone was blowing up, i remmeber being so pissed because everyone knew i was off that day and were calling me so early. I finally answered the phone and as I did i saw the 2nd plane hit, i was just dumbfounded to say the least. I also remember yelling to wake up my room mate to get out of bed, he had the same reaction I did as he didnt get home till like 3 and was yelling at me to shut the hell up, then he saw what i was yelling about and we sat on the couch for like 3 hours in a daze. I will never be able to shake the images of the people jumping to their deaths out of the towers, it still makes me tear up to this day. I am not looking forward to explaining to my kids where I was on that day. On a side note, history channel has been doing 9-11 all week, if you get a chance, watch the GW Bush interview, sheds some insight I did not know before, remember to put your political bullshit aside for that because you see him as a human, at least i did. I knew a couple of people in the towers that day and I lived in KC, i can only imagine you EC guys.

I was driving to work listening to the Howard Stern Show. He sounded scared for real. I had no idea how much that event would change the world. I'm not big on hype and TV in general so I went to the laundrymat that evening and my entire city was a ghost town, and as you know I'm in a small city on the west coast of Canada. Everyone was at home.

I don't want to derail, but I also remember everything about the shuttle explosion day and of course the OJ chase.

I remember it like it was yesterday. I was standing at the series arc in the ship yard on the coast. A friend came up and said they have bombed the twin towers. I stood in shock wondering who the hell is attacking us. It was a day that will not be forgotten. To those that gave all.

I remember that day just like everyone else. I was at work right next to the Oregon State Capitol building and I was wondering why the hell so many sirens and police cars were around the Capitol. My wife kept calling and calling me so I finally answered my phone. She was very upset and crying and I thought something had happened to our kids. She just kept crying and I finally got out of her what happened. She was crying becuase she saw the planes and people jumping to their deaths on live TV and becuase she knew I would be leaving to go to war. I shipped out 2 months later after we knew who hit us and where the bastards were hiding. This generations December 7th. I am sure when I am old and crusty my grandkids will look at September 11th the same way I look at December 7th. A little awe, but not a true understanding.

I was leaving for a meeting when the first plane hit and the today show was on in my bedroom. They didn't seem panicked at first...I thought it was just a piper cub or something. Then I'm in my car when the second plane hit. I switched over to a news station and the CBS feed was on. The DJ said, "America is under attack." That rocked me. I just sat in my car and listened, and then the Pentagon got hit. I swear to God I remember hearing the announcer say that another plane was headed toward Washington and F16's were scrambled to intercept. The Flight 93 went down. That leads me to believe that it was shot down. I don't want to tarnish the memories of any heroes on the plane, but this theory makes too much sense. The F16 pilots were likely instructed to wait until the plane was over a field before firing. If this happened, I'm okay with that decision. Unfortunately hundreds of innocents had to be sacrificed, but it likely saved many hundreds of additional lives.

My wife is a Pharmaceutical rep and worked in Eastern NJ at the time. I remember her calling me in tears and I just told her to get the hell home. I was ready for a Red Dawn scenario. I had the AR loaded for bear just in case.

The offices she serviced lost hundreds of people. She wasn't able to go in for many weeks. The grieving in the offices was just too immediate and intense. Undoubtedly the most shocking thing I have ever witnessed since the Challenger disaster. And I remember that vividly. I was in 6th grade Social Studies class and it happened in between periods. My teacher was late in getting to class and his voice was shaky when he told us what had just happened. It was a big deal to many educators because Christa McAuliffe, a school teacher was on that mission. Many of my teachers campaigned to get on that mission as well.

I was at home between projects. Was actually watching Regis and Kelly and they announced the first plane had hit. I remember still thinking how it was such a horrible accident as they showed the live footage. Then the second plane hit and it became obvious that it was terrorists. I knew right away that everything in the world had just changed.

I had recently been discharged from the Navy, and was back in college. Woke up that morning in time to see the first reports. They had no idea what was going on, and some reports were that a small plane had hit the tower. So off to literature class I went, but I only made it through half before all of us were standing around the tv in the professor lounge. Just like everyone else here, we all stood around in a daze.
Unlike some (which I totally understand), I actually make myself watch the footage when it's on tv...I believe it's important to remember the emotions that surround the event. Helps one keep focus in the war of ideas.

I was on my home from PT and heard the news on the radio. I got home in time to see the second airplane slam into the second tower. I sat there so long watching the news that I was late for 0900 formation. Now almost 10 years and 3 deployments later congress has forgotten all my brother's sacrifices and want to steal our retirement.

*Bump*

I was at work and my wife called. Like FBD, my first thought was some small plane that had a malfunction or something. As I was talking to her she yelled "Another plane just hit the other tower". I'm shaking as I write this. My installation crew and I then sat in our vehicle and flipped between The Howard Stern show and some other news station to try and get a handle on what was happening.

I was at the same place that I am now. AT work listening to the radio thinking that it was some kind of sick joke. My sister was a flight attendant at the time. She never returned to work after that.

I remember it exactly like it was yesterday. I was over at a friends house about to go to work took a glimpse at the tv and there it was. Honestly I thought it was a joke. Sadly it wasnt. Prayers and Memories.

Vegas

i remember exactly where i was.

i feel for you all.

i watched a programme the other evening about the firefighters and their involvement in the rescue attemps.

they are one brave group of guys and gals.

hard to imagine how many of them lost their lives.

i was in newyork the same year...couple of months after and the feeling was of great anger towards the cowards that did it but immense pride in their country.

lets hope such events never happen anywhere again


bomber

Here's a question to my brothers and sisters from my first post on this thread:



How would you guys explain this to an 8 year old?

tell her the truth dude.

explian that there are nasty people from all over the world who sometimes do terrible things.

best of luck


bomber

I know... and this is where I become so Un-Manic like and just fall to pieces. I'm so not ready to let her know that monsters really do exist...and that those monsters are human.

[quote="bomberball"]tell her the truth dude.

explian that there are nasty people from all over the world who sometimes do terrible things.


Words of wisdom dude!

Kids are smarter than we give them credit for.

Well I dont want to seem unsensitive but Manic its either her poppa whom im sure she loves to death will tell her or some random teacher will tell her. I wish you the best of luck in this situation manic. Children are pure innocence until they see society for what it is and it is not pretty.