9/11, where were you and how did it affect you?

[the only Qualk]

I was in 7th grade at the time I believe. I know I was in my science class and when the first plane hit another teacher came and told my teacher at which point my teacher said a few expletives. The tv was on and we saw the second plane hit. None of my other teachers turned on the tv. Truly I did not understand the gravity of the situation.

 

[Tripp11]

At work downtown Indianapolis in one of the taller buildings. The first plane hit, and the news spread - some thought it was just an accident. Then the second plane hit, and everyone knew there was more to it. Most of our employees huddled around in our training room watching it all unfold on TV. I ended up leaving and headed for home to be with my family - for some reason, I (and they) felt safer as a unit.

It wasn't until three days later when I found out our family lost a great friend at the Pentagon. Such sadness...

 

[MisterChester]

I was in school at the time, and I lived in NJ. After the 2nd plane hit, the school immediately rounded all of us up and put us in the auditorium. Information was scarce at the time so the principal pretty much said "we are being attacked, school is done for the day. We are calling all of your parents and they are welcome to take you home now" and had a small prayer service (went to a private, catholic school). My mom drove me home and I was glued to the tv. A day or two afterward, we had gone to visit my grandparents who lived very close to NYC, and it never really hit me until I saw the smoke from their house. I couldn't really comprehend what was happening because I was still pretty young. Watching it on the news as much as I did, it was like some kind of action movie. I've made a few trips to ground zero in the years afterward and had gone to the museum across the street.

 

[Tactical Dave]

Freshman year of college in OKC, woke up and roommate had the tv on and saw something about a plane hitting a tower..... Was half asleep and it did not register.. Later woke up completely and a few seconds later saw the second plane hit.... I will never forget seeing people jumping and their arms and legs flaping around... That to this day still bothers me.....

it it was especially hard because at the time I was on a SAR team... Another team was sent to NYC to take Ariel pictures once the smoke cleared enough... I beleive a few are still floating around the web, we and the airforce were the only ones in the air in the country. The rest of that college year went horribly bad and turned into the worst year of my life.


I now have a 5 year old a 1.5 year old and a new born, all boys and I try very hard to teach them the value of life. Had cartoons on today.... Think the 5 year old is a bit young to see it/grasp what happend.

 

[Mark-DuCo]

I walked into my 6th grade science class right after the first plane hit, and our teacher was crying with the TV on. She said no class today we will just watch the news. That pretty much how the whole day went. Now that I look back I am rather impressed with a bunch of 6th graders watching the news and not making a peep, even the class clowns and bad kids were silent.

 

[JollyMon]

Junior in HS. Got to my government class a little late due to having to commute from a different school, walked in to see both buildings on fire. After hearing about the planes, Frantically tried to call my father, who was supposed to be traveling out of the country that day. After getting in touch with him, continued to sit and watch the most horrible thing I have ever seen.

 

[SkullDaddy.45]

Working day turns at US Steel. Very slow day. When someone over the radio said that an accident happened in NY City. No one really paid much attention to it. Until the 2nd accident happened. You could've heard a pin drop in that mill. For the next 10 hours no one was allowed in or out of US Steel. Mostly because the Gary Works plant is on a list of possible targets. When the Pentagon was hit we all knew this was an attack on our country. We all stood outside, I remember not seeing one cloud in the sky. Some called home, some sat and prayed. I remember that day like it was yesterday. The thought of that day still saddens me. Like it does right now.

 

[HoughMade]

Lot of young people we have here.

Living in the Central Time Zone, when the first plane hit, I was getting ready to leave for work. I was a young lawyer in my 3rd year of practice at the time. I had Good Morning America on the bedroom TV and Charlie Gibson initially reported that an airplane of some kind had hit a World Trade Center tower, but there was a lot of confusion so people (not witnesses) were assuming that it was a small plane. I thought: "well that's odd," I kissed my wife and headed off for work.

I was a few miles from home with WLS on the radio (Don Wade and Roma) and they were talking to a reporter near the World Trade Center. Then, over the phone and the radio, there was a loud, unidentifiable noise and the reporter on the other end started yelling. Don was trying to get information from him. The second plane had just hit. I remember the reporter (still trying to gain his composure) saying something like: "if this were an accident, it would have to be an incredible coincidence"...then Don Wade started yelling at him about what a stupid thing to say that was and of course it was a deliberate attack.

I drove on, listening in disbelief. None of us knew what was going on, but it wasn't good. My church was on the way to work. I stopped in there and prayed for a while, alone. I then proceeded to the office.

When I got here (that's where I am now) everyone was gathered in our large "seminar" room where the TV was. We watched together as the wild speculation was broadcast. Then the news about the Pentagon....and several unaccounted for airplanes that turned out to be just 1 more. When one of our paralegals worried allowed that the buildings would fall, I confidently stated that it was near impossible for that to happen (as a "humanities" guy, where this confidence came from is a mystery to the 40+ me). I wish I had been right. We watched together as the first building fell, but at first, we could just see a corner give way, then the cloud of dust was so big we couldn't see what else had happened. When the dust barely started to clear, there is was....or rather there is wasn't.

We watched further as the second building fell and the news reported that there could be over 50,000 people dead and still, we didn't know if the attack was over. We didn't close the office that day, but most people left early. Later that afternoon, the attacks were over. There was plenty of news, but few facts. I had to get some discovery documents over to another local attorney so I drove over there, passing gas stations filled with Americans doing what many do best- panicking. The lines for gas stretched out into the street and down it for a while. When I got to the attorney's office, it was closed. I realized the best place I could be was home, so I went there.

 

[Trigger Time]

I started packing my gear.

 

[BiscuitNaBasket]

. I remember I was in the 6th grade, sitting at my desk about to take a math test when my teacher broke out in tears after reading the news in an e-mail. No other single event has affected our country in so many ways as this in our lifetime. Many things changed post 9/11 for better or worse.

 

[freekforge]

I was home sick from 1st grade woke up to my grandma beating on the windows screaming that we were under attack, got up and turned on the tv just in time to see the second plane hit. She knew it was an attack when the first plane hit. Sat on the floor in the living room watching it on the news. Mom called my dad at the factory and told him nothing more than the U.S. was under attack and he told here to get his 1911 out (he obviously didn't know what was going on yet). That was the day i decided I wanted to join the military and I've wanted to ever since, unfortunately I cant right now.

 

[Double T]

Was a senior in high school, wanted to join the military but had prior mil family members advise me against it. One of the worst decisions of my life, then when I tried to join later, I couldn't due to health conditions.

 

[K_W]

I was 17, in Math class, 11th grade. Social studies teacher came jogging in, turned on the TV said "Watch." and jogged off to the next room. 3 minutes later, the second plane hit. Classes were suspended and we stayed in the room watching the news until lunch time, then we spent the rest of the day watching re-runs of the footage while we all called any family members in the area.

 

[spencer rifle]

Standing by the flagpole at work when the maintenance foreman drove up in a tractor and said "You better turn on the news. I hear a plane just crashed into the World Trade Center." I'd only been at the job a week and the rest of the family was back in Ohio. Spent the rest of the day watching the networks and getting more and more worked up. For the rest of the week it was amazing to see NO jet contrails on my drive home.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Driving to Delphi listening to Bob & Tom when the first plane went it. In chambers watching the television in Carroll County Circuit Court when the 2d plane went in.

 

[CountryBoy19]

Was my school the only one that went on with everything as usual?

I was in high-school. I was in career prep class (forget the actual title), teacher got a call from her daughter who said she was being evacuated from the empire state building due to a possible terrorist attack in NYC. We talked about what was going on for the last 10 minutes of class then went to the next one. The next one went on like any other day, not really much mention of it. The next class we went to the library (as part of class) and there was a TV with it playing on the news in there, the teacher wouldn't let us linger by the TV and watch it... we were told that terrible things happen, we need to continue with our class work and we could watch the news that night at home...

Of course, football practice it was all we could talk about while standing around... we did see some jets fly overhead, had to military but too high to see...

 

[Scout]

I was in bed from working second shift. I woke to a phone call from my mom, who told me that a plane crashed into the WTC. I thought "Eh, planes crash." and went back to sleep. Sometime later I got another call from her, when she told me that a second plane hit the other tower and the first one fell. "Now it's interesting" I thought.

 

[chuckp]

I was at work at ATA. Everything went to hell there after that.

Chuck

 

[Lectric102002]

I was in Los Angeles for a business meeting that morning. Had just gotten out of the shower and flipped on the TV and saw the smoke from the first tower. As I stood there watching, the second plane hit, live on TV. I distinctly remember one of the show hosts, it might have been Katie Couric, say " Wait ..... What ????? ....... Is that live ???? " She couldn't process the information fast enough to realize that it was a second plane.

Later, I called my airline to see about flights, only to be told all flights were grounded indefinitely. My wife was at home alone, and, like so many others have said, I had no idea what was going on, only that we were under attack. I calmed myself down and started thinking rationally. I decided that the only way I was going to get home was to drive. I had a rental car, which just happened to be a Lincoln Town Car, so things could be worse, I thought. I called the rental car agency and told them I was going to drive my rental to Indiana. The agent replied " Sir, that car cannot leave California, but if you will bring it in, we will see if we can get you one to drive to IN". To which I replied " Here's the deal. I'm going to bring this car in and I am going to hand you the keys with one hand and you are going to hand me another set of keys with the other hand. Otherwise, this car is going to Indiana".

Long story short - I drove home on the 12th. They gave me a miniature something or other, I don't even remember what. A Honda Civic, I think. I left LA on the 12th, spent a few hours in a hotel in T or C, NM, and made it home about 22 hours later. Along the way, I listened to about 40 hours of non-stop talk radio and heard every detail, theory, opinion and back story of the event. I learned more than I ever thought I would need to know.

This was one of the events in my life that I remember every single detail of.

 

[chezuki]

I was 20 years old. I was asleep at my then girlfriend's apartment when the first plane hit. She had just gotten up and saw the "Breaking News" (at the time that meant something, now it's on all the news stations 24/7). She woke me up and said, "something's happening, you should probably get up and watch this." I remember them talking about it like it was a small plane, like a Cessna or something. They were speculating on what could have happened and showing the smoking tower live when the second plane hit. For a split second I tried to fathom the odds of 2 planes coincidentally hitting the towers so close together... Then the reality washed over me and my stomach sank.

At the time I was a rather liberal, naive and idealistic kid. This was the moment I broke out of that, and the first time I really saw the world as an adult instead of the childlike view of only my immediate surroundings.