Remembering 9/11

[ONESPEED]

I live near a major airport and recall how eery it was to see no planes in the sky. I also went for a long walk on the beach on the morning of 09/11/01 and witnessed the Coast Guard blocking the entrance to Port Everglades.

A sad day .. and a proud one, I give thanks for all those that gave their lives helping others

It is very important to remember that day but it is equally important to appreciate and live life otherwise the terrorist will have won.

Agreed, 110%.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

My instructor and I were out for a fun dive on our day off and it was noon or so before we heard anything. When I turned on my car the radio said they were securing the federal building in downtown Dayton so I trotted over to my instructors car and told her to turn her radio on because something was happening downtown. I still had no clue the event was any bigger than that and it was 3 hours after it happened. Her radio station was speaking of the towers and we sat in her car absolutely stunned and starting to cry. I'll never forget the way she looked at me and said, "This is bad...this is really bad." We hugged and cried for several minutes then headed out because she's a police officer and figured she would be getting called in to work. We decided we should get fuel because who knew what would happen in the aftermath. One last hug and we were headed our separate ways.

I called several of my friends as well as my family that day just to talk but I never turned on the tv. It was over a week later before I saw any of the coverage of the tragedy and that was only about 10 minutes worth. I'm probably one of the few who didn't follow the coverage, I was content with hearing second hand information from people who glued themselves to the television. I wear my heart and my emotions on my sleeve and "second hand" hurts bad enough.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[Kim]

I was watching a late news. A couple of minutes after I first saw it my daughter phoned me from Holland to ask if I was watching what was going on.... It was all just before the towers fell. I saw them fall live......

When JFK was killed I was 12. I went to school in England, but we lived in Germany (military family). I was on my way home from school as an unaccompanied minor, crossing London from the school train to the airport bus check-in at Victoria. As I came out of the Underground, I saw it headlined on one of the Evening Standard newspaper billboards. It made me cry, although I remember not really understanding why.

Some things just stick.

They're dancing with the missing
They're dancing with the dead
They dance with the invisible ones
Their anguish is unsaid
They're dancing with their fathers
They're dancing with their sons
They're dancing with their husbands
They dance alone
They dance alone

One day we'll dance on their graves
One day we'll sing our freedom
One day we'll laugh in our joy
And we'll dance

We'll be together - Sting.

 

[DandyDon]

I'll always remember being a silly high school kids when I heard that JFK had been killed. Amazingly some blamed Dallas for years...?

I suppose everyone remembers where they were when they first heard about 9/11/2001. I was on Roatan Island in the Bay of Honduras drinking coffee in my room before breakfast and the morning's scuba diving, watching silly cartoons on TV when the news broke in - and I stared in disbelieve.

We had five airline employees in our boat's group, pilots and FAs; I saw them at breakfast and all I could say was "I'm sorry", as I know that the industry is more tightly knit than most would think. I was watching live there a little later when I saw the second plane hit the towers.

I felt guilty not being home to do whatever needed to be done, but there was nothing I could do about it - and I was told later I didn't miss any opportunities. In the days following we wondered how we'd get home as our return was to be on the once a week TACA flight to Houston; we wondered about finding our way to the Texas border, but weren't interested in crossing Guatemala. Even when the skies were reopened, it was to US airlines only at first. We made it home a couple of days late was all...

We will never forget...

 

[drbill]

It was still early here on the Left Coast. I was working at my computer when the first video came through on the news. Of course I was glued to the TV to watch the story of the tragedy unfold. I remember thinking the moment I saw emergency personnel bravely going to rescue people that they were ricking their own lives. I knew the cloud of dust certainly had to be filled with toxics such as PCB's, asbestos, etc. I wondered why government officials couldn't figure that one out and make sure the first responders had better safety equipment.

I also remember the assassinations of JFK, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy... and where I was for each one of those days.

 

[parrottheaddiver]

I remember waking up on my living room couch after having fallen asleep watching the Giants play Dallas on Monday Night Football the night prior. As I woke up it I thought I was watching a replay of the bombing of the WTC some years before but couldn't understand why since it was not the anniversary of that attack. Then I saw the second plane hit and immediatly realized what was going on...

The first words I said to my wife that day were, "This is our generation's 'Pearl Harbor'. We'll always remember where we were and what we did this day."

We will never forget.

 

[shoturtle]

I was taking a late night walk to the trade center at 2am, as I worked nights, we were talking about how pretty the towers were at night. We went to bed at 3am. We were hearing the police and fire from 9am on, but did not think much about it. Then I got a call from my cousin what had happen. Later, my brother who was accross the street call, saying could he come over. When he got to my apartment, he was cover in that dust. After my brother left, my wife and I walk over to a hopital to donate blood. And after that, we were just walking around lower manhattan, just trying to let what had happen sinked in.

Two days later, I was working the recovery effort at ground zero. With each day that I was working at ground zero, I learn the real meaning of hate. I hated them, the ones that attacked my neighborhood. To this day, I still blame the group, but have learn again to accept each person on an individual bases.

 

[BTravlin]

My sister and her husband had just returned from a trip to New York and had e-mailed us several photos from their trip. There were several photos of the incredible New York skyline with the Trade Center towers front and center. I was driving to work that morning, listening to the news on the radio and staring right at our own downtown skyline when the announcement was made. Extremely sad day.

I'm still amazed at the misguided evil depths to which some people will sink.

I'm still ever hopeful though when seeing how all those wonderful people in New York responded to this tragedy.

Good will prevail in the long run.

 

[justleesa]

I was living in Europe at the time and was in the office when one of my coworkers came and said the US was under attack. I thought how could that be and started to look for cnn, couldn't connect....it was scary real. I was in tears, I called friends and family in the US - for some it was the first they heard of it...

I remember traveling just 6 weeks later and all the heightened security measures, the empty planes and the hotels with very few lights on.....

Never Forget....

(have a hanky ready, shows moments of the day)

 

[Spratman]

I can remember sitting at a stop light, waiting to turn into work. I was on my motorcycle and had Imus playing when Wolf called in at 8:46. As some already said, he thought it was a small plane crash. I got on MSNBC website and started feeling sick as I saw the reports rolling it. Then when the Pentagon was hit, I couldn't believe it. I am amazed the how quickly 9/11 attack fell from peoples attention.

Thanks for the story, Sam. Must have been really difficult being in the middle of it.

Exactly, Leesa....Let US never forget those who lost their lives, the families that remain and all the brothers and sisters in arms throughout the world.