General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhere were you when you heard the first plane hit on 9-11?
It was about 6:15-6:30 in the morning and I was at the grocery store.
samnsara
(17,570 posts)Bettie
(15,997 posts)My DH was teaching a class in the conference room.
Once I found out what was happening, I went down and interrupted his class to quietly tell him. He had a roomful of students from NY and NJ in there, didn't want them finding out from the TV in the lobby when they got out of class.
jpak
(41,741 posts)There was a blurb about a plane hitting the WTC.
Then the internet and landline phones went dead...
Haggard Celine
(16,820 posts)I got up, walked into the living room, and turned on the TV. They showed the first plane crashing into the tower and I said, "damn, that looks realistic! I want to go see that movie...."
we can do it
(12,116 posts)Haggard Celine
(16,820 posts)crashing into the tower? I might have seen the plane going into the second tower. My memory is a little foggy. It wasn't long after I got up that the first tower fell. I came into the middle of it all.
we can do it
(12,116 posts)How would anyone have know the first was coming?
Heres the story about film makers who captured it.
https://www.firehouse.com/operations-training/news/21237104/filmmakers-recall-capturing-first-moments-of-911
Haggard Celine
(16,820 posts)I was getting around the house, making my coffee and everything while I was trying to make sense of what they were saying. It took a while to sink in what had happened. Like I say, I thought they were filming a movie at first. None of it seemed real to me. I never could have imagined that I'd ever see those towers fall like that. It was quite a shock, seriously. Thanks for the link; that's an interesting story.
we can do it
(12,116 posts)madville
(7,397 posts)Was an interesting day, we went from a regular workday moored at the pier to all of a sudden "no one can leave the ship, recall everyone on leave, we might be getting underway in 5 minutes" mode.
iamateacher
(1,088 posts)In my library
Bluethroughu
(5,095 posts)Played in the background.
I thought it was another action movie coming out, and not paying much attention, until a friend called and I grabbed my coffee sat down in front of the TV and watched the next plane hit the building behind Charlie and Diane.
That day changed everything and everyone, on this earth.
Thtwudbeme
(7,737 posts)There are many countries where people did not hear about it; I doubt very many rural folks in the Appalachians had their day disrupted.
My life did not change at all, other than I became more of a committed Dem- and more disgusted with the right wing nuts. Other than that- I went to work, hung out with friends, and just generally got on with my life- as did most people I know.
GemDigger
(4,305 posts)Some people have a I don't give a shit attitude because it doesn't involve me. Those people were not affected.
Everyone else was.
Thtwudbeme
(7,737 posts)with no televisions, phones...etc. Do you really think a tribe in rural Brazil even knew?
I had a friend on the Appalachian trail- he had no idea anything happened for several days.
Compassion has nothing to do with the effect on one's life. How compassionate were the fools ordering "freedom fries" the following week after "shock and awe?" Do you think that was "compassion?"
GemDigger
(4,305 posts)I doubt the comment was meant as deeply and thoroughly as you are making it by throwing in third world countries and those isolated areas of this country. Of course some people didn't know about it, but the vast majority of the world DID. Many countries had people that lost their lives in that attack. Many first responders are still dying from battling that pile.
Thtwudbeme
(7,737 posts)turned librarian.
I feel compassion for the victims and their families. However, I don't need to wallow in jingoism, and pretend that "everything changed." Life did NOT change for the vast majority of people in developed countries. I suppose it did for air travelers- that certainly got harder. But, most people just waking up, going to work- putting dinner on the table, seeing a movie etc?
Not really. Sorry to rain on the Great American Fantasy of 9/11.
It was very sad and tragic- and life altering for 10's of thousands- and certainly NYers.
Now our militaristic response to 9/11? Let's talk about the changes to the countries we bombed the hell out of and invaded.
GemDigger
(4,305 posts)Thtwudbeme
(7,737 posts)For people who knew the victims, and especially their relatives- I imagine it is.
Many people like myself reflect on the response to the attack. With proper leadership, that day could have turned out to be a catalyst for great things in the US- including a chance to start weaning ourselves off dependency on Saudi Arabian oil.
But, we had a cowboy at the helm- and an oilman in the side saddle surrounded by nuts that were weaned on John Wayne movies- and we fell for the fake patriotism at about 9:00 AM. That "patriotism" turned very dark- and we are still suffering because of it.
DashOneBravo
(2,679 posts)Ive found ignore has really cleaned up my feed.
Its eliminated a lot of the shit takes.
GemDigger
(4,305 posts)they make a point. In this case, I am just walking away.
DashOneBravo
(2,679 posts)Mine are done after numerous times.
I also check back later and if its still shit takes. I leave them.
Response to Thtwudbeme (Reply #54)
LanternWaste This message was self-deleted by its author.
Response to Thtwudbeme (Reply #54)
Bluethroughu This message was self-deleted by its author.
Bluethroughu
(5,095 posts)I was referring to all the consquences we all have suffered one way or another.
Our emotional roller coaster steered by a President and administration with an agenda to invade a different Country on a lie.
All the money spent in the middle east, while neglecting our infrastructure, meaning human, civil, and economic.
All of the humans that lost their lives to this 20 year war built on lie.
It affected everyone's life, in one way or another.
Where would we be as a people, Country, or world if we had never went to war because of 9/11.
Thtwudbeme
(7,737 posts)For millions of folks on this planet- if they heard about what happened here- it was just a blip in their news.
Look, I felt everything that everyone else did that day. If you look at DU that morning, my posts were on the front page. But, then....I watched America grow dark and ugly. Who's flag is bigger!? I am more patriotic than you are!
I knew I would never vote for a Republican again as long as I lived. For any reason. I didn't know any of the dead- none. I had friends that did. But, the dead for me were just as sad as losing anyone on the periphery of life- I grieve for a family from our same town that died in a car wreck....but, do I think of them all the time? No. Of course not. I never met them. It's sad, it's godawful, and it makes me feel like crap. However, Americans trot out the names of the dead of 9/11 every year--- and frankly it makes me wonder how some of their families feel about it. If it were my loved one, I would ask they be removed from that list so I could have my private memories, and know that person wasn't just RW fodder.
Bluethroughu
(5,095 posts)Whether knowing or not were affected by 9/11...Our Country acted differently toward other countries in every way. Like bush said, you're either with us or against us.
He meant what he said and the world heard it, loud and clear.
Some countries faired better than others, but when the world cares enough to shed a tear of joy because we vote for a Democratic President, then they must be effected by our decisions.
GemDigger
(4,305 posts)I knew what you were getting at. The list of consequences can go on for pages.
Bluethroughu
(5,095 posts)Lists.....
Bluethroughu
(5,095 posts)Other country on this planet including the US suffered from including the physical, emotional and economic consequences from the events that precipitated that day.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)and over AND over for months: "America will never be the same."
I got a very different message: That the people who ran and worked in the national media lived there and were afraid for their city and lifestyles they loved. They were afraid they could end up working in offices in places like Atlanta and Oklahoma City. They needed the whole nation to CARE about what they cared about. They'd all covered New Orleans during Katrina and knew how little the tragedies there changed attitudes in the rest of the nation. It's a big nation, and most people in Louisiana watched the plight of desperate people who waited for help that didn't come on TV, same as people in Oregon.
As for 9/11, I don't doubt that some people were personally devastated by what took place far away. I, though, never forgot that America is incredibly larger than NYC, that our lives actually continued on as before, and that more than 3000 people die accidental deaths every day that fail to trigger devastated levels of compassion and fear for the future. (Very good thing!) And that we lived in comfort and security before, during, and after.
And I don't believe that one event fundamentally altered our world, though it changed the order and courses of some events. All the dangerous elements were already there, including above all RW power blocs who'd decided democracy didn't work for them and to do away with it, a warmongering authoritarian president, RW voters who already regarded Democrats as their big enemy and endorsed everything their leaders did, many terrorist groups, inadequate intelligence, global power plays, ME oil that the U.S.A. was locked out of, wars that are now fought by very few, etc. 9/11 was an important event, all right, but the media deliberately tried to make sure Americans did not have a realistic perspective on that one event.
Bettie
(15,997 posts)My son was fascinated by Diane Sawyers giant head on the TV.
He would stare at her, then lose interest when anyone else was on.
This makes me smile....he's 20 now (obviously),so it's nice to recall him as a tiny one.
Bluethroughu
(5,095 posts)FalloutShelter
(11,748 posts)My husband was already working and living in the city. It was a dream job. He was, thankfully, uptown.
I had Good Morning America on in the background, and when the news broke, I froze.
I watched the second plane hit on live TV. A couple of minutes later, my hubby called to say he was okay and everything at his office was fine but in chaos.
What I most remember was it was a day a lot like e today. Beautiful blue skies and a mild breeze. That night it rained in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and on the morning of Sept. 12, I cleaned the ashes of the Trade Center off of my car.
Danmel
(4,892 posts)I grew up in NYC and live in its suburbs.
I was.listening to the radio, cleaning up when i heard about the first strike.
I had many friends working in lower Manhattan on that day. They thankfully survived but experienced significant trauma.
Glorfindel
(9,706 posts)and said a plane had hit the World Trade Center. My boss arrived a little later with a portable TV, and we spent the day watching in horror even as we went about our jobs.
The worst thing for me was that I couldn't get in touch with my cousins who lived in New York City and worked in Manhattan, just a short distance from the WTC. i finally learned that by some miracle they both were off work that day, safe at home in Queens.
paleotn
(17,778 posts)Sitting at work, sipping coffee and scanning the headlines when the internet locked up. Wife calls to say she heard that a small plane crashed into one of the WTC towers. A small plane? I wondered how on earth that happened since it was just as clear and sunny in NYC as where I was sitting. Little did we know....
whathehell
(28,968 posts)I watched the plane crash into the Tower -- I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
Tomconroy
(7,611 posts)To court. At 8:50 I decided to catch the news on the NYC news station and heard them describe the second plane crash. I went off to court but they decided to close all the court houses in CT before noon. The panic had already begun.
mucifer
(23,371 posts)I worked that day. At each patient's home it was somber and the TVs were on and we watched the coverage as I did my work.
EarlG
(21,885 posts)Woke up that morning to hear a story about a bad fire in one of the World Trade Center towers maybe a plane hit it? They werent sure at that moment. So I got out of bed and put CNN on (they had non-stop coverage already obviously) and a couple minutes later saw the second plane hit.
dameatball
(7,380 posts)of the crews had already left out for whatever jobs they were assigned. The second plane hit. In the next hour virtually all the crews had heard about it via radios and began to drift back in to the compound.
JoanofArgh
(14,971 posts)some reason and saw it all happen in real time . I can remember calling my husband and parents who were all at work after the plane hit the Pentagon. My mom worked for Bank of America in their skyscraper downtown and they closed the building down and told everybody to go home.
CottonBear
(21,596 posts)It was a beautiful day and my lesson was fantastic! My thoroughbred horse, Elliott, and I had a wonderful dressage lesson in the covered arena. I felt really good and so happy.
I hopped in my car for the short drive to my office (an engineering firm). I turned on my radio and was in total shock at what I heard.
I had a project deadline at work. The client was there. I had to finalize and print plans to take to submit at a local planning department by 4pm. I had to get together all the paperwork, checks for filing fees, reports, permit applications, etc.
I got my radio and tuned it to NPR and listened all day while I worked.
Later, after submitting the plans, I stopped at a store and saw the local newspaper with a full page cover photo of the towers. It was the first image I had seen since I had only listened to the radio while working on the project all day. I still have that newspaper somewhere.
BlueLucy
(1,609 posts)Saw it on the TV playing in the room.
livetohike
(22,084 posts)for work. He came in to say goodbye and said that a plane flew into a WTC building. He thought it was a small plane. I dragged myself out of bed and went down to watch. Were from western PA and had also lived outside of NYC. The whole day was surreal.
Quakerfriend
(5,416 posts)NYC. His office, at the time, was adjacent to a parking lot where commuters often left their cars before heading into the city & many of those cars were not retrieved for weeks
.😥.
One of the engineers in his office had a license plate that said OSAMA1- He backed his car into the driveway that night and didnt drive until he got a new license plate.
We had celebrated NYeve at Windows of the World-
It was so hard to believe it was just gone
Happy Hoosier
(7,073 posts)For 2 days of meetings.
I wound up being in England for 2 weeks.
dhol82
(9,351 posts)Stopped on the Whitestone Bridge to see the burning towers.
Still remember seeing the marks on the building that looked like runs in a pair of stockings.
I didnt have a TV at work and the Internet crashed. Only had the radio available for information.
Not watching any of the tv coverage today.
rateyes
(17,438 posts)nt
TexasTowelie
(111,288 posts)One of my coworkers used to work in the area of the WTC and our insurance company also had a lot of contact with Aon.
milestogo
(16,829 posts)to ask if the web was down.
I said no, what site are you trying to get to?
She said she wanted to get any kind of news she could about the planes flying into the WTC.
I said if that really happened, the web servers would probably be overwhelmed.
Then I went to check and see if it was true.
Dial H For Hero
(2,971 posts)so I didnt know until everyone told me the moment I arrived.
Weirdest day ever. Had about half a dozen customers trickle in for the first hour, and of course I told them what was going on and they were in shock. After that, there werent more than a dozen customers for the entire day.
Demsrule86
(68,347 posts)been an accident and a plane hit the twin towers. My brother was interviewing there...he had told me a couple of days before. I drove home and turned the TV on and watched as the second plane hit the tower...I was in shock. I knew this was deliberate. My brother got out alive and walked home to Ridgefield Connecticut...they were hundreds maybe thousands walking home to the burbs in Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Long Island other places in New York City like Queens, the Bronx and Brooklyn. My husband went to Manhattan College in New York. The next alumni letter we got had hundreds of obituaries all dated 9-11. Many from his class worked in the towers. We were in Georgia. And I remember the shock...and how quiet it was like if you went to the grocery store...no chatter-just very quite.
Takket
(21,421 posts)i was listening to my favorite morning show on the radio. had been only 1 week on a new job.
They became aware of and started covering the attacks on the radio, doing a play by play almost. They were my ears.
Tried to get on cnn.com. I remember it was frozen from traffic. SO I actually went to espn.com, thinking no one is going to look to a sports site, and sure enough i could get on there and they had abandoned all sports coverage and was giving details of the attack instead. So they became my eyes.
My wife and daughter were home. I think I called. My daughter was only 5 at the time. She saw the second plane hit. "Mommy where did the airplane go?" She asked my wife.
My lasting image was finally leaving work at 4 in the afternoon, and the complete and total silence looking up at the sky without a plane in sight.
North Shore Chicago
(3,254 posts)I was watching Katie Couric on The Today Show she was telling us an image of an object sticking out of one of the towers and said:
"It appears that a small plane hit the building."
This was my first day teaching at a new school and we were told to not say anything to the students. I can remember everything from those moments, everything. From the colors of the walls of my really cool apartment, what I was wearing.
Those moments are forever frozen in my mind.
LeftInTX
(24,541 posts)9th, 6th and 3rd.
They knew a little something trickling down, but their attitude was kinda, "Oh yeah"...They got to see the horror on TV. The schools did not want the kids to go through the Kennedy hysteria.
Ironically in the spring of 2002, my daughter's school was on lock down when a bank was robbed. Bank was a mile from our house. I had no idea about any of this until I picked her up. She was like, "Mom, didn't you hear about it???"
sinkingfeeling
(51,275 posts)luvs2sing
(2,220 posts)My friend, who worked across the street from the south tower (where her husband worked), had instant messaged me to check in on the knee injury I had suffered over the weekend at a yoga workshop. We had been online less than a minute when she typed gotta go. I didnt think anything of it since we were both at work. A few minutes later, I heard a co-worker say, Hey, a plane just crashed into the World Trade Center, and the day just spiraled on from there.
It was late in the afternoon when I finally got word that my friend and her husband were both safe at home. He had survived the 1993 bombing, but had a hard time getting to safety. After that, they had a plan that as soon as either of them noticed anything even slightly unusual, they immediately left and went to the train for home. That plan saved their lives..or at least his. They were in cabs on the way to the train station by the time the second plane hit.
A HERETIC I AM
(24,317 posts)I was lucky to locate a rental car and drove back to SW Florida
Greybnk48
(10,147 posts)I would usually have the Today Show on back then but I was reading something. Then I looked up and saw a family friend running frantically toward our back door shouting to "turn on the t.v.!" And all hell broke loose.
I will never in life forget it.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)I was in NYC, and had just arrived at work in Greenwich Village about 25 to 30 blocks north. I came into the office on a beautiful, sunny September day and there was only one guy who had arrived who said that a plane had struck the WTC. We immediately went down to 7th Avenue south down by St. Vincent's Hospital where crowds were already forming and watching the tragedy in real time.
The second plane hit at 9:03am. We just watched the whole thing in awe and disbelief. A lot of that morning was a blur, but I remember after the towers collapsed, walking back home up 3rd Avenue (I lived on the Upper East Side at the time in the low 60's between 2nd and 3rd) with people coming up from lower Manhattan who were just covered in ash head to toe. They looked like zombies. The expression on their faces was just one of shock and disbelief.
It was pretty surreal. I felt so terrible for those who had been further downtown, yet none of us spoke to each other. We all walked uptown in silence, but we looked each other in the eyes and saw each other. I remember thinking this was so unusual because New Yorkers didn't do this normally. But it was a very intense experience. We didn't have to say anything to understand each other if that makes any sense.
Our company also told us to go back up but most of us were like "FU" and just left. We also did not come in the next day and the company I worked for at the time reprimanded us, even though most subway and bus lines were not running. I didn't care. A month later, because of Sept 11th (apparently) they let about a third of the entire company go and I was a pretty new hire so I was out. And pretty happy about it. I was out of work for a year and a half. I had a few temp jobs but there were so many people out of work in the city that it was really hard to find a new job for a long time.
I'm glad I had some time off though. The whole thing kind of freaked me out and I really needed the down time.
Response to hookaleft (Original post)
onethatcares This message was self-deleted by its author.
Treefrog
(4,170 posts)babylonsister
(170,962 posts)We were friends with the maintenance manager; he called to tell us all flights were grounded.
We wound up watching live coverage on cnbc and then spent a week in the sports bar across the street which had multiple cable channels, better reception and was open 24/7.
CommonHumanity
(246 posts)I was driving to work in NC. I grew up along the Hudson River in NJ only 20 minutes from NYC. My 1st thought when I heard the news was "architectural terrorists". Needless to say, I hated those ugly towers. Now mind you, I don't take the death and destruction lightly and was additionally alarmed by the toxic fall out from the ugly towers. So before anyone admonishes me, I mean no disrespect to lives lost and the actions of heroic citizens, I just think my first thought was funny. For the record, I hate all the nationalistic flag-waving on 9/11.
bluecollar2
(3,622 posts)N334/N644
In Fort Wotth. I worked for American Airlines as a Maintenance Quality Assurance Inspector and this hangar was the home for all of American Airlines' Boeing 757 and 767 fleet of aircraft.
I was assigned to the aircraft maintenance records department.
As I approached the elevator the head of the maintenance and modifications approached me and told me that I had to seal and quarantine all the maintenance records for N334...a Boeing 767-223 widebody.
That is standard procedure in the event of an accident. It is done so that the investigation into an accident can look to see if the cause might be maintenance related. They are sealed and quarantined to prevent the possibility of tampering.
I headed up to the records storage room and began to collect the records. Some were on microfilm, and some were still in paper form and had not yet been transferred to film.
I was joined about 10 minutes later by a colleague and we worked together to collate, inventory and quarantine the records. At the time neither of us had been given any information.
As we were engaged in this task there was a knock on the door. Outside was a Quality Assurance supervisor
He asked if we were boxing up the records for N644....a Boeing 757-223 narrowbody.
I was confused. I told him I thought we were supposed to be boxing up 334's records...
He said, "You are. There's been a second hijacking..."
I was stunned. It was the first time I became aware of what had actually happened.
NanceGreggs
(27,813 posts)... were both working from home that day.
The phone rang - it was my mother-in-law calling.
After a 30-second exchange, my husband said, "Mom says to put on the TV." I asked what channel. My husband said, "Any channel."
That's when I knew that something horrific had happened.
Tanuki
(14,893 posts)had just gotten in my car. Hadn't listened to the news yet. I remember thinking what a gorgeous, bright, perfect sunny morning it was. Got in the car, turned on the radio just in time to hear them announce with shock that the second building had been hit and to say that it now appeared that we were definitely under attack. Turned the car around, cancelled my appointment and watched the news. I was living in a Boston suburb and as 2 of the planes had taken off from Logan Airport, there was soon some concern that there might be a local cell with more members still in town. The doctor's office didn't mind my late cancelation, as everyone was canceling everything that day.
Unwind Your Mind
(2,027 posts)Got out, woke my hubs and turned on the TV in time to see the second plane hit live
Terrible day
ananda
(28,781 posts)It was high school.
GPV
(72,377 posts)Polly Hennessey
(6,745 posts)courthouse to serve on a Grand Jury.
CanonRay
(14,036 posts)I was in law enforcement at the time...very nerve racking time.
AngryOldDem
(14,061 posts)Got interested in the stock market since it was on a roll so I was watching futures coverage on CNBC. They mentioned that a small plane had crashed into one of the towers, and that they were monitoring it. I called my ex to let him know, saying This is interesting, a small plane hit the WTC. Changed the channel to CBS
few minutes later what looked like an optical illusion of a jet flying behind the second tower turned out to be the attack. I will never forget seeing that as it happened. I called my ex stunned.
The rest of the day was spent afraid of what was going to happen next.
EDIT: My ex-BIL was walking to the towers for a business meeting and saw everything. He was stranded in NYC for over a week until he and his colleagues were able to rent a car. It scarred him for life. He lost people in the towers and on one of the planes.
MissMillie
(38,452 posts)I had the day off to take my son to a dentist appointment and to watch his first ever football game (later in the afternoon). We left the dentist and I brought him to school and headed home. I turned the radio on after I dropped him off at school.
A plane hit one of the towers. I thought something awful had to have happened to the pilot of the plane (heart attack, stroke, etc.). I mean, it's one of the twin towers! How else could the pilot have been unable to avoid hitting it?
Parked the car in the drive at home, went into the house and turned the TV on. In that 30-45 second span of time, the second plane had hit.
Every year, what I remember most--9/11/01 was a gorgeous day. Blue skies, a few puffy clouds but not many, warm but not too warm.
LeftInTX
(24,541 posts)I had dropped off my youngest at school and heard about it on the radio.
Consequently, I did not do yard work that day.
Silent3
(15,018 posts)So I was sitting at home watching TV in the morning when I'd normally be at work, feeling a bit sorry for myself about having to go job hunting, when the report of the first crashed plane came in.
That definitely took my mind off my own troubles and made them seem much smaller and less important.
marmar
(76,982 posts)And the odd thing is I never, ever watched those morning news programs. I listened to music in the morning, but for whatever I felt compelled to turn on the TV. Quite a shock when I saw a huge, smoking hole in one of the towers.
JHB
(37,128 posts)Those of us within earshot looked over to see if she was ok, and she told us a plane had hit one of the World Trade Center towers.
Since home was right across the Hudson from there (but work was 30 miles away), I checked news sites, but they were all clogged with volume, so I went to a message board I'd signed up for two months earlier, Demographic Undercarriage or something like that , and the lower traffic level let people actually pass on information faster.
Later we found out one of our copyeditors lost her son in Tower 1. He was installing some equipment on the top level.
Throckmorton
(3,579 posts)Was the start of a long, strange month.
ga_girl
(182 posts)I had just finished a disaster recovery drill in Gaithersburg, MD and was driving south on I-270 to do a site visit for a customer in Washington. Scheduled to fly out of National that afternoon back home.
Got to the customers office and got my first replays of the crashes and building collapses. It was near impossible to get a phone call back to my office to let my manager know I was safe, and just as hard to call my mother. I was able to get in touch in the disaster recovery folks in NY and volunteered to travel to wherever they needed me. Ended going back to Gaithersburg, and executed a no documentation recovery for a lower Manhattan based company.
3catwoman3
(23,812 posts)My husband was flying for United at that time, and had just returned home the day before. He once had a checkride from Jason Dahl, who was the captain of Flight 93.
We live in the far northwest suburbs of Chicago, so with O'Hare being here, the sky is always full of airplanes. The empty skies over the next several days were surreal.
DashOneBravo
(2,679 posts)The first had already hit and we watched the second hit. I said well thats not an accident.
chowder66
(9,010 posts)ProfessorGAC
(64,413 posts)I was waiting for a flight to Atlanta.
Announcement says "All flights are delayed until further notice.". No other explanation.
Some guy says " I wonder if this has something to do with that plane hitting the building in New York. "
What plane? What building?
This is a small airport, so I think to go out to the newsstand because the lady there was watching the news.
About 2 minutes into watching ABC, we see the 2nd plane hit.
I instantly knew this was no accident & we're not going anywhere.
I grabbed my stuff & headed to my car.
Most stressful part was on my wife.
I had a BlackBerry. Knowing I was getting on a plane, I turned it off.
As I'm driving home, it occurs to me that it's off. I pull of at an exit, turn it on, & 6 messages from my wife.
She's hearing the news and she's thinking my phone's off because I'm in the air.
I called to tell her I never got on the plane and everything was fine.
Went back to work, but they went full lockdown and wouldn't let me in.
So, I went home to watch the news.
MustLoveBeagles
(11,563 posts)Mom called, told my husband what happened and he told me. I got out of bed and turned on the TV. It showed the first tower burning and reports were coming in that there was an incident at the Pentagon. Watched both towers collapsing in disbelief. Not long after that my husband suggested filling up the gas tank as he foresaw price gouging and long lines in our immediate future. I went to an Amaco station (that isn't there anymore) not far from our home. When I got there the loudspeakers outside were playing the local rock station that was giving updates on the ongoing disaster. Everyone was looking at each other but nobody spoke. I saw two men standing outside in front of the entrance. One appeared to be wiping his eyes. They ended up hugging. As I was leaving I noticed the long line behind me that was several blocks long.
csziggy
(34,120 posts)I'd bet Tech TV is not remembered by very many people these days, but I watched it a lot back then to learn about computers. Leo Laporte had a great show on there where he talked about tech stuff. And Tech Tv had just launched a news division with Jennifer London and Lakshmi Singh.
I saw the original coverage of the first plane on Tech TV then turned over to CNN to see Ashleigh Banfield reporting from the streets as the second plane hit, then having to retreat into a business as the clouds of debris from the collapse rolled over the streets.
I never realized that my memories of that day are mostly of female reporters covering the events.
Oh - the first plane hit at 8:46 am Eastern Time, so you must have been in Mountain Time?
Shanti Shanti Shanti
(12,047 posts)As soon as I saw the Pentagon hit, i said, oh shit, we going to war, unit recalled us all on war footing briefing at noon, keep your bags packed.
Yep 2003 we were on the ground in Iraq in May
The Revolution
(763 posts)When I woke up, the first plane had already hit. I think my roommate had already turned on the TV. I was in a bit of a haze, so I can't remember if I saw the second plane hit live or if I just saw a replay of it right after, but it was around that time. I know I saw the towers fall.
I knew it was going to mean war, just not how big of a war. My roommate didn't seem that concerned. I know I went to class later that morning.
Igel
(35,191 posts)Wife had just left to tutor Russian immigrants in English (we alternated weeks at the local JCC). I sat down to read the NYT online and a minute or two later the Internet turned to molasses. Some sites were fine--those out west , but a lot were gone or very slow.
A few minutes later I realized something bad must have happened and turned on the tv--and a minute later watched the 2nd plane hit.
15 minutes later wife was home saying that the JCC had evacuated as she was pulling up and it was closed. Something about some bomb threat or fear of attack. Apparently the assumption was that it was an Islamic group of some kind, therefore JCCs were presumed to be obvious targets. Even in out-of-the-way Brighton, NY.
vercetti2021
(10,150 posts)I was 11 at the time in the 5th grade. I remember it was the book fair that week. We were in the library and the TV had the news on. But we didn't think much of it. My dumbass thought it was a hurricane hitting NYC since it looked stormy. It wasn't until after class our substitute teacher told us that we were attacked. The room was deathly silent and I think as children we didn't understand. I think and will always truly believe that was the end of innocence in America. 9/11 followed by two winless wars, school shootings, Republicans and now domestic terrorism from the extreme right.
MoonRiver
(36,926 posts)I had the tv on and actually saw the second plane hit in real time.
DFW
(54,050 posts)About 3 PM, a friend called from London to ask if I had heard. I hadn't. He was excitedly going on about how an airliner had just flown right into one of the WTC buildings. We had no idea how any technical defect could cause something so drastic. While we were on the phone, he freaked out and said another airliner had just hit the second tower. Now, it was clear this was no accident. By the time I was on my way back to Germany in the evening, everyone in the train was talking about nothing but, all speculating about the who and the why. When I told the people sitting near me I was American, and spoke both French and Flemish, I was peppered with questions I couldn't answer all the way to the German border.
David__77
(23,214 posts)Within a couple days I saw a truck with racist anti-Arab message on it and flags were coming out, motivated by fascist-like blood lust. I was thankful for Barbara Lee among federal elected officials.
Trailrider1951
(3,408 posts)It was just before 8 am. The sky was sunny and clear, as the first cool front of the season had rolled in. I was sorry I had to work that day. I had the local news on the car radio and heard "A plane has hit the World Trade Center in NY". I imagined that it was a light private plane that hit the tower. When I got to my desk and turned on the computer the scene in New York just freaked me out. About that time I got a phone call from my daughter who was similarly freaked out. I told her, "We're now at war".
LeftInTX
(24,541 posts)That all changed when I heard the news. I don't remember when I got around to that yard work.
Deminpenn
(15,246 posts)my DoD/Navy command in Philadelphia. Had a morning meeting scheduled with a vendor and attended it. Can't recall if the meeting concluded or not, but recall trying to reach my parents in western PA when I heard about the crash in PA. Finally was able to reach them and learned the plane had gone down a 100+ miles east around Shanksville.
The command had TVs throughout, so we all watched the news. As Navy carriers are usually the first option to launch US air strikes, we would have been ready to supply whatever was needed for the carrier squadrons.
The next day, only "essential" personnel were told to report for work. We did not fully re-open for 3 days.
I spent the time off working outside. Noticed there were black cars and FBI agents protecting the nearby Hebrew school. My neighborhood was in one of the flight paths to/from the airport, but it was eerily quiet.
applegrove
(118,009 posts)called my dad to tell him a small plane had gone into the WTC and was on the tv. I thought it was a cessna or something. So did the announcer on the tv. Then the second plane hit and we knew it was terrorism. I thought it was the Palestinians. I called my sister and told her to watch. Went into work for 10 AM or 10:30 AM, I can't remember. It was on the tv's there. Some people had spouses in the Navy and we were getting info that they were on alert to deploy. A few days later we all stood at attention as a canadian Navy Ship left port for the middle East. The sailors were all lined up along the ship. My Dad told me to use the term "an East coast port" not "Halifax" as we were at war. I was in shock. A week or so later an American news show got two Muslim people to go down to the ad hoc memorial at ground zero and see if they would be abused. People came up to them and said things like: "Are you being treated okay? Are people leaving you alone". I balled my eyes out.
Retrograde
(10,068 posts)I had been laid off recently, the start of the 2001 dotcom bust. I was in the shower when the phone rang: the caller ID showed it was my husband calling from work, but I decided to wait a while to call back. Had breakfast, read the paper, then decided that was enough goofing off, fired up the computer, and turned on the radio to the BBC world news at 10:00 - which was talking about the collapse of the World Trade Center in NYC. Didn't make any sense, so I started looking at on-line news sites - then spent the next few hours glued to the TV. A company I used to work for had offices in those buildings - as did a number of my least favorite customers: they were all able to make it out and formed an information tree to keep people in the California office up to date on their whereabouts.
Around noon I got a call from a vision-impaired friend who asked if I could pick him up from his doctor's office as he had missed his bus. He had been a pilot before losing his site, and we started speculating about how the attacks were planned and coordinated. We came up with essentially the same scheme that the 9/11 Commission found - one of two trained pilots to fly the jets once 5 or 6 musclemen subdued the passengers. He claimed the real brilliance of the plan was to fly the first plane into a building that most people in the western world would recognize, then while every camera in Manhattan was focused on the damage fly a second plane in so the image could be transmitted live.
Response to hookaleft (Original post)
Iggo This message was self-deleted by its author.
shanti
(21,670 posts)Hortensis
(58,785 posts)in rural north Georgia, working in my office with sunshine and bird song for company, husband out fishing. Our son called me and told me to turn the TV on quick! The first plane had hit.
Wicked Blue
(5,767 posts)The doctor entered the examination room very pale and shaken. He said he'd just seen on TV that a plane hit the World Trade Center. Then someone on the staff came over and said a second plane had struck the tower.
Paladin
(28,202 posts)..., the tallest building in the country west of the Mississippi River, at the time.
Yeah, it was tense. By the time we got down to street level, downtown Houston was a ghost town...
indigovalley
(112 posts)We were at an off-school apartment site where we taught basic living skills. No TV, no radio, no internet at the site. A student arrived from the bus and said an airplane crashed into the twin towers. We all thought it was just an accident. I remember taking students to Target for a shopping activity. When we got there we saw all the televisions were showing CNN. I called my parents and asked them to get my battery operated portable TV from my apartment (remember those?). My paraprofessional took a couple kids to the gas station nearby to get batteries. My para and I watched it all unfold on a black and white 6 inch portable TV.
Frustratedlady
(16,254 posts)Within minutes, I received a call from a friend that the plane had hit the first building, then the second plane hit. I rarely watched TV during the day and certainly wasn't on that day, as my daughter and sil were at the university hospital concerned about their son. A call for a successful outcome to the surgery was my top priority. Since they were in contact with the surgical team, they left to donate blood, but the line was so long, they returned to the surgical waiting room. The surgery took much longer than predicted, so there was much worry from us all.
The surgery was a success and we had much relief on that problem, but the horrible attack certainly got our attention later on. I recall staying up nearly the entire night watching coverage in fear for the rest of the country and wondering what was ahead for us all.
Now, our attention is riveted toward Sept. 18th.
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,483 posts)I was in the maintenance shop awaiting my work crew and it was on their break room TV.
That night in the motel watching TV was extremely sad and lonely.
KY........ ............
LeftInTX
(24,541 posts)Heard about it on the way home. Wasn't too concerned about one plane, it could have been an accident. Then about 1.75 miles from home, they say a second plane. I vividly remember exactly where I was when I heard about the second plane. Went home and turned on CNN just to see a plane hit the Pentagon. I was like OMG.
myccrider
(484 posts)We didnt hear about it until around 9 am Pacific Time, hours after it happened, when we got in the car to drive to a hiking trail and turned on the radio.
LeftInTX
(24,541 posts)I heard about the first plane on my car radio, but I was about 3-4 miles from home. (Thought maybe it was an accident)
I heard about the second plane about 2 minutes later, when I was 1.75 miles from home. I went home and turned on the TV.
I had been planning to do some yard work, but completely forgot about it.
IcyPeas
(21,737 posts)I'm on the west coast plus I was working evenings at the time so I was still sleeping. I got a phone call which I let the answering machine pick up and the message said "dont come in to work today because of the building collapse". I thought a building must've collapsed in downtown Los Angeles. It was a while before I got up and put the tv on...
Raine
(30,540 posts)by the time I got up all the planes had hit and the towers were down. My father had left a message on my phone saying he was up and OK (he was elderly and called everyday just to let me know he was alright) but he said the rest of the World wasn't. I couldn't figure out what had happened till I turned on the TV.
I've always felt kind of disconnected from the whole thing because I found out so much later. I guess that's why I'll usually watch any programming that's on about September 11.
Response to hookaleft (Original post)
Name removed Message auto-removed
caraher
(6,276 posts)I wasn't sure it was all real for a day or so, and largely missed any communal experience of immediate shock because I was so out of it anyway.
Meowmee
(5,164 posts)And got up a bit late for my kitty volunteer stuff. I actually saw what was going on on tv but for some reason ignored it unbelievably. Then no one said a word at petco but it was so quiet. I went to costco saw it again on the tvs and someone told me what happened. I was in shock and was crying. I went home to tell my brother and we watched it all, he was out in the garden- the towers had fallen. My father was in Paris at the time and we could not get in touch for a few days, phone lines were overrun. Then he arranged a flight home after the original one eventually. He said people there were laughing about it at his job. There are a lot of disgusting people in the world. I had predicted a few years before there would be such an attack with a plane. Had they listened to the intelligence warnings it could have and should have been prevented.
It was a terrible, very traumatic time for those in ny and surrounding areas. I remember telling my students I felt like no one cared, but one told me rescue workers from all over the country were coming to help. I had said almost nothing about it because I was so upset and mostly focused on the teaching etc. until it came up.
Sad to see some of the heartless responses and comments regarding 9/11 once again at this site but its not surprising to me either. I cant believe it has been 20 years. It was the beginning of a new era which changed life. As is the pandemic now and several other recent events.