In honor of 9/11.. where were you?

Mrs.McIrish

Seeing all the posts on FB, I thought we should post where we were that day..

I was at work in an office building in Newton, MA. When a co-worker said a plane had hit, I thought it was something like that prop plane that went into the Empire State building years before. I really didn't get it at first. Eventually, work sent us all home. I lived by myself and didn't really want to be alone. I drove the longest way possible to get home. I grew up in Long Island and had a lot of classmates that were in NYC.  Emails were flying around about who may or may not have been in the Towers. Turned out that one guy that I grew up with was killed. I had not seen him in years but there is something about people you knew when you were little that you remember differently. Another girl I grew up with just posted a pix of her and him from kindergarten on FB this morning as a tribute.

reb259

I was still living in MI and was at new hire orientation.  I will never forget that day or the days... makes me tear up just thinking about it and all that was lost.

Gregermis

I was a junior in college at William and Mary... A lot of classmates from NYC and nova ... So a lot of people around me affected that day. I had one teammate who had a bf going for a job interview in the WTC and was lucky enough to only be like on the 11 th floor. He was in the building when the planes hit and had difficulty getting out, but did eventually get to safety.

Jlynn3

I was in my Jr year at Rowan University.  My early class was cancelled.  I called my mom as soon as got back to my apartment and turned on the tv as the second tower was hit.  I will never forget that moment or the heartache that surrounded campus afterwards.

 

daisyMaryGirl

I was in my senior year of high school.  I remember walking past the main office and seeing footage on TV.  I walked from Spanish to Home Ec and that's where I found out exactly what was going on.  

Terrible day for America.  :-(

glueck

I was in my NYC Upper west side apartment when my roommate told me to look at the television. The first plane had just hit. I thought it was a terrible accident! I had just moved out of the apartment that I shared with my long term boyfriend, who worked in the financial center next door to the trade centers, and could not reach him. 

I continued to Lincoln Center where I went to school and listened in horror as the news trickled in- another plane in DC where my family lives, more planes missing, another plane in the other tower, the towers falling, people jumping.  A nightmare of epic proportion. I was one of the millions who walked en masse uptown in Manhattan that day. Everyone was shocked. The busses were full of elderly people, and anyone who could walk, did... no matter how far. 

I tried for hours to reach my ex boyfriend, who came out alive, thank goodness. He saw everything, and as he recounted the horrors of what most of us only saw on the television, I cried and cried.

I remember standing on my balcony on 96th street that night, and only seeing about 7 taxis on the street... the roads were empty. I heard a dog bark from many blocks away. The smell in the air that night was something that I will never forget. I felt as though I was breathing souls.

The next day, my dear friend and roommate and I walked downtown for hours until we reaching the the financial district baracades. We went to offer support to our community-to thank the police and firemen on the front line, or as close as we could get to the front line that day. The island was closed on Sept 12 to everyone but residents. The streets were full of people. We all looked each other in the eyes as though to ask, " Are you okay? Am I okay? Are we all going to be okay?"  People hugged, cried, reached out.  In spite of the fact that everyone was shell shocked, everyone came out in a huge showing of support and community. Never was I so proud to be a New Yorker. The months that followed were filled with a mix of profound sadness and epic strength. Every year at this time, I am reminded of how proud I am of NYC and America for coming out on the other side of this enormous tragedy. The resiliency of NYC continues to fill me with immense pride.

 

may2806

I lived in Hoboken, NJ (right across from the city) and was leaving for work - I worked in Edgewater, NJ, right on the Hudson. I felt so strange walking out of my apartment but I didn't know what else to do. As I drove next to the river I could see the towers burning. I felt like I just had to get to work so I could be around other people I knew. When I got there, we sat at the water's edge and watched them burn and then collapse. A little while later we were sent home, but I couldn't get back the way I came because everything was blocked off. I tried to go home a different way but I couldn't get through. I finally got ahold of my dad on the phone and I decided to go to my parent's house. I had to go the long way because a lot of roads were closed. I couldn't get back to my apartment in Hoboken for a couple of days.

I have one very good friend who worked right across from the WTC towers, but luckily she caught the last ferry to NJ. I had a few other acquaintances who worked in the towers but they all made it out. In Hoboken there were posters all over from people hoping to find lost loved ones, and you could smell the smoke for like a week. It was pretty horrible.

rockpaperlove

may2806:

I lived in Hoboken, NJ (right across from the city) and was leaving for work - I worked in Edgewater, NJ, right on the Hudson. I felt so strange walking out of my apartment but I didn't know what else to do. As I drove next to the river I could see the towers burning. I felt like I just had to get to work so I could be around other people I knew. When I got there, we sat at the water's edge and watched them burn and then collapse. A little while later we were sent home, but I couldn't get back the way I came because everything was blocked off. I tried to go home a different way but I couldn't get through. I finally got ahold of my dad on the phone and I decided to go to my parent's house. I had to go the long way because a lot of roads were closed. I couldn't get back to my apartment in Hoboken for a couple of days.

I have one very good friend who worked right across from the WTC towers, but luckily she caught the last ferry to NJ. I had a few other acquaintances who worked in the towers but they all made it out. In Hoboken there were posters all over from people hoping to find lost loved ones, and you could smell the smoke for like a week. It was pretty horrible.

This gave me chills. 

I was in CA in college, but I just happened to be staying with my Mom on 9/10.  She woke me up on 9/11 and we watched in complete horror as we called all of our loved ones to let them know what was going on.  No work or school that day.  I remember everything was shut down and my hometown felt eerie like a ghost town.

Aegis2005

I was in my office in suburban MA.  I heard rumblings about a tiny plane hitting the towers as I was walking into a 9am meeting.  When I came out of the meeting, an hour later, the world had changed.

NMscubagirl

My roommate and i were in my car on the way to school. We were annoyed that there was nothing but news on the radio that morning so we popped a tape in. Then my dad called me and asked if i knew what was going on. When i said no he said "we are at war" and then said what happened. I was shocked and felt so stupid for putting in that tape. If all radio channels are news maybe something important is happening! We went home and turned on the TV. My boyfriend came over and talked about enlisting to go fight back. We were crying and in shock talking about how this would change so much and it has. I feel so much for all of you that were there or knew people who were there. It was hard enough on me and i had no personal connections. ((hugs)) to all who need them today. Glueck, your story had me nearly in tears. 

Anasara

I was in Ghana, West Africa, in a small village delivering meds to a family friend, making my way back to university where I was spending the year abroad.  I got on a tro-tro (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tro_tro) & seeing I was abviously NOT Ghanaian, the guy driving it said "America has been blown up".  I was like "Huh?" & he turned on the radio to the BBC but the reports were sketchy @ best.  I got back to the university & headed to the international students' coordinator's office since I knew she had sattelite TV.  I got there just as the 2nd tower fell; I think every American student @ the university was there. 

We all took turns calling our families but the lines were jammed.  One girl lost her dad who was a NYC cop.  The brother of a kid I went to high school with was on flight 175 out of Boston.  My uncle (dad's youngest bro) was originally supposed to be on that flight for work-related travel but his company screwed up (thankfully) & put him on a later flight that never ended up taking off.

Jackie2200

I was working at a Federal Building adjacent to the Whi.te House at the time.  I got news via AOL IM (!) that a plane hit the one of the towers, then another.  We didn't have a TV in our building so news reports were scarce, and I was a new employee so no one really chatted with me.  Shortly after I heard of the second plane hitting the second tower, my office building shook...it was the plane hitting the Pent.agon.  I could see the smoke rising from my window.  We were told to evacuate.  I basically ran out of my building, got on the Metro and made it to my house right as the second tower was falling.  I sat glued to the TV for the 12 hours. 

I believe that I went to work the next day.  They wanted Federal employees to report to show that the terrorists couldn't beat us.  The city was empty and so weird...there was just a quiet stillness to it.  The whole thing, even now, is just indescribable. 

 

 

 

SweetDahlia

I was in my last semester in college. I had been asleep, decided to go to my 8-noon class a bit late. My aunt called me and I watched the 2nd plane hit. my school called off classes for the day. I did go to my first one, but we all watched a tiny tv in the main art office. when the towers fell we all just went home. it was and is just awful.

jillychris

I was in my first year of teaching, only day 6 of the school year with 4th and 5th graders, had just moved to San Diego two weeks before where I knew no one, and had just broken up with my BF of 2 years the night before. It was a surreal feeling to be watching everything taking place and I remember feeling like I was so completely alone in this huge new town where I knew no one! I spent the day trying to comfort my students, in addition to the fact that my team teacher had a son who worked in tower 1. She was not able to get ahold of him until the next day, but thank goodness he was okay. Being in San Diego, a very large population of our student body were from military families, so it was a very rough school year, as the country went to war!

jillychris

glueck:

I was in my NYC Upper west side apartment when my roommate told me to look at the television. The first plane had just hit. I thought it was a terrible accident! I had just moved out of the apartment that I shared with my long term boyfriend, who worked in the financial center next door to the trade centers, and could not reach him. 

I continued to Lincoln Center where I went to school and listened in horror as the news trickled in- another plane in DC where my family lives, more planes missing, another plane in the other tower, the towers falling, people jumping.  A nightmare of epic proportion. I was one of the millions who walked en masse uptown in Manhattan that day. Everyone was shocked. The busses were full of elderly people, and anyone who could walk, did... no matter how far. 

I tried for hours to reach my ex boyfriend, who came out alive, thank goodness. He saw everything, and as he recounted the horrors of what most of us only saw on the television, I cried and cried.

I remember standing on my balcony on 96th street that night, and only seeing about 7 taxis on the street... the roads were empty. I heard a dog bark from many blocks away. The smell in the air that night was something that I will never forget. I felt as though I was breathing souls.

The next day, my dear friend and roommate and I walked downtown for hours until we reaching the the financial district baracades. We went to offer support to our community-to thank the police and firemen on the front line, or as close as we could get to the front line that day. The island was closed on Sept 12 to everyone but residents. The streets were full of people. We all looked each other in the eyes as though to ask, " Are you okay? Am I okay? Are we all going to be okay?"  People hugged, cried, reached out.  In spite of the fact that everyone was shell shocked, everyone came out in a huge showing of support and community. Never was I so proud to be a New Yorker. The months that followed were filled with a mix of profound sadness and epic strength. Every year at this time, I am reminded of how proud I am of NYC and America for coming out on the other side of this enormous tragedy. The resiliency of NYC continues to fill me with immense pride.

 

 

glueck, thank you so much for sharing this. I sat here with tears streaming down my face as I read your words. I can only imagine the horror you must have felt being there first hand!

Roxie5739

I was in a very remote part of Australia on vacation. No power, no showers etc for 2 weeks. When I got back to civilization I turned on a TV and thought I was watching a movie until I realized. It was 5 days after 9/11. I was stranded and could not get home but was more worried about the US tourists that could not leave and get back to the US for days, I was at least in my own country.

My Mum tells me where she was when man first walked on the moon, when JFK was shot. We all have our stories of this tragic event.

orange1414

I had just graduated from college that spring and was living with a friend's family in California while I looked for a job. I was still asleep and I woke up to the sound of the TV from the next room. I called out "good morning" to my friend's mom. And in reply she said, "Not really. We're under terrorist attack."

MBfromBMC

I was a freshman in college. It was one of the first classes of the year and it started at 10am. Because I had no TV or radio in my dorm, I showered and got to class with no idea that the first plane had hit. 

When I got to class, everyone was there, but they were buzzing and I remember wondering what was going on. The professor flew into the room looking upset and frantic. He told us in the amphitheater that a plane had crashed into the WTC. At first, I think we all thought it was some kind of horrible accident.

At that time, laptop projectors and smartboards were really new, so he spent at least 20 minutes trying to set up his laptop to project the news onto the big screen. All the NYers excused themselves and were trying to call home.

Before he could get the news on the screen, the second plane hit the towers and that was when we all knew it was no accident. Finally, he got the news on the screen, but eventually we were excused from class and the rest of classes were canceled.

I just remember dozens of us sitting in the living room of the dorm in silence watching them burn and we all were so devastated when they eventually fell.

I also remember the terror of hearing that there were planes in PA and the Pentagon and wondering if one could be headed for Philadelphia. Every phone line was jammed and it took hours for students to reach loved ones...

It's amazing to me that my teenage middle schoolers were just babies when it happened because it feels so recent to me... 

abvernon

I was getting ready for work when I saw the 2nd plane hit the tower. It was surreal. I called  DH (BF at the time) asking about his sister. She lived in the upper west side in NYC at the time. My future MIL was FREAKING out. However, my SIL was ok and was running late to work.

When I heard about the Pentagon and in PA, I was a mess. Schools were cancelled (DH was going to college at the time). I still went to work but I did nothing. Just watching the news on the computer and listening to the radio.

When I got home, my mom was in tears b/c of all the kids whose parents were gone or unaccounted for. I could not stop watching tv. It was surreal then and still is to this day.

I think I have the headlines of our local newspaper from that fateful day.

lynn0926

I had a job where I didn't start until 1:00. I found out when I left a boyfriend's house and drove home to get ready for work. It was 11AM and I put jamin 94.5 on and they were talking about the devistation. I quickly tuned into a AM station to figure out WTF was going on. Once I got home I was glued to the tv and just in complete shock.

Mrkyrain

I was teaching and called out of the classroom by my principal.  I was in school for the rest of the day and didn't really get it until I saw footage at lunchtime.