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Hermione69
Member
07-24-2002
| Monday, September 11, 2006 - 2:34 pm
I was at work and my principal came in and asked us to put the TV system on the news. He was standing back in the A/V room watching the events unfold. We had freshmen library orientations scheduled that day and I can't remember if we did the first part, but the second part, the scavenger hunt, was not required. The teacher wanted the students to have the choice of watching the news. A lot of parents came to pick up their children that day. My three most vivid memories: -Standing right next to the TV and watching footage of the second plane hitting the second tower. A freshman boy, whom I'm sure was just trying to show off and be cool for his classmates, said, "Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!" and it was all I could do not to smack him one across the face. I was SO angry at him for that. I still think about that moment and wonder if he remembers how he reacted and if he is ashamed now that he is older and, hopefully, more mature. -Watching the coverage by myself at my apartment later and weeping uncontrollably and feeling lonelier than I have ever felt in my life. I remember wishing I had someone there to hold me while I cried. It was the most intense feeling of loneliness and despair, very different from my struggles with depression. Sharper somehow. -Having an emergency "fire drill" at my school not long afterwards because some idiots called in a threat. I remember it was a gorgeous day and the administrators made us go far away from the school. As we were standing across the road, a small plane started circling overhead and I remember thinking, "God, is this how it could happen?" I remember thinking in my head what I would do if it did hit us. I remember telling myself, "If something happens, help the students. Don't run. Help the students."
to all.
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Maris
Member
03-28-2002
| Monday, September 11, 2006 - 2:47 pm
This related to September 11 and it says something about everyone helping everyon else. At my husband's wake there were hundreds of people there and I noticed a heavy set man in a wheel chair and I thought, wow, to make the effort to come all the way from the city during the work day couldnt have been easy. I went over to speak to him and he told me that he worked with my husband and when they announced that the building had to be evacuated on September 11th, my husband sought him out and while everyone was running to get out my husband with another cooworker got him out of the building and he never forgot it. My husband never even told me about it.
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Hermione69
Member
07-24-2002
| Monday, September 11, 2006 - 2:55 pm
Wow, what a wonderful testimony to your husband, Maris.
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Monday, September 11, 2006 - 2:59 pm
That is a very special memory Maris.
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Konamouse
Member
07-16-2001
| Monday, September 11, 2006 - 3:20 pm
I was doing my Reserve week at Nellis AFB Hospital (Las Vegas, Pacific Time Zone). Konashark was already at work (Air Traffic Control, Radar Supervisor). I turned on the TV to catch the traffic report. At that time it was reported as "a small plane" that had crashed into the building and all I was thinking was "please let it not be controller error". So I was watching when the second plane hit and I knew that was no error. Of course I was grabbing for my BDUs (the camoflague uniform) instead of my blues. I knew my husband would be busy. He still managed to call just before I left for the base. It was pretty much "be aware, we're on alert, see you when I see you" kind of conversation. At the hospital the outpatient clinics were closed, all the available airmen were tasked to guard duty around the hospital & the base. I still had a dental appointment and since the doctors were there, I kept it. Then I filled in for the airmen who would have normally been in the kitchen. During lunch I "guarded" the patio doors (no one could go in or out). That afternoon we still didn't know if there was going to be any West coast targets. I was let go around 6p but would be the first officer in our flight to be called back if needed. Konashark has his own memories to tell (if he is ready). His day was way more interesting and busy and stressful. He was home by the time I got there and we were glued to the TV the rest of the night.

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Halfunit
Moderator
09-02-2001
| Monday, September 11, 2006 - 4:04 pm
Today is the first time I saw THIS photo. I found it both sad and fascinating.
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Gidget
Member
07-28-2002
| Monday, September 11, 2006 - 4:51 pm
nice thread saxy. i had the weirdest feeling driving to work this morning. ordinarily i work in pennsylvania but this week i am working at the jersey office and i had the radio on and they were talking about the day and i had the creepiest feeling about how it all felt the same. the weather. the route i was taking. i was in my office, on time for a change so i hadnt heard anything on the radio. one of the foreign interns walked in and told us the tower had been hit by a plane. i thought for sure he was confused because just a few minutes before i hadnt heard anything. so i pulled up the internet and sure enough he was right. at first the pictures didnt seem so catastrophic as it later turned out to be. and within minutes we lost the internet feeds. at first everyone seemed confused. most of us headed down to the cafeteria to watch tv and as the events were unfolding it was slowly dawning on us the horror that was to come. i distinctly remember my disbelief when i saw the first tower go down. later we could see the smoke and worse smell it outside. people were feeling panicked because many of my co-workers train in and were afraid they wouldnt get home. many with children headed out onto the highways despite warnings that everything was choked up so they could get to their families. i elected to stay at work. i felt i was safe there. and push come to shove i could walk the 10 miles to my home if need be. i figured why get on the road when so many were desperate to get home. i was lucky enough to get my parents on the phone and they were okay. my ex-husband works in a hospital in newark and they were on lock down in anticipation of casualties that never came. my ex is an arab and i was happy he was trapped at the hospital because i was afraid for him to travel home. we had tickets to the symphony the next night so we were scheduled for a couple vacation days. we spent those days off together in the safety of our home transfixed in front of the tv. this weekend i went to the new marina in my hometown in jersey. you can practically reach out and touch the landfill in staten island across the water. my boyfriend who is a vietnam vet immediately spotted the flag that flies there at half mast. we sat quietly on a bench for a long while.
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Saxywildcat
Member
05-30-2005
| Monday, September 11, 2006 - 5:16 pm
Thanks for all the accounts so far everyone. It has been very interesting reading about those who were close and those who weren't so close.
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Karen
Member
09-07-2004
| Monday, September 11, 2006 - 6:01 pm
I was a world away from New York, here in Vancouver. I was working then in an adult video store (this is a don't ask, don't tell kind of situation, so don't ask.) I had the day shift, from 9am - 5pm. I was taking the bus to work that morning and it felt quieter than usual. I got to work to find my graveyard employee, who was usually watching movies (real movies, not those ones!) fixated on the news. It was a weird irony the whole day as customers came into the store looking for some T&A, watched the news on TV with me for a while, and left empty handed. Escapee, your dream a month prior gave me chills, and it reminded me of this. This is an excerpt from my journal entry on September 10th, 2001: ...The world has gotten scary. I'm afraid of the world outside, the frightening place in which I am forced to keep my existence. Even the good people have to live in a bad world. And not only do the good have to live amongst the bad, we have to struggle every day to fight getting ass-raped by the evil doers... It's an evil, evil world. My body hurts and my head does, too. My heart is tired and I don't know if I like the way tomorrow is shaping up. But what can I do? I'm one voice in a world of six billion. So what to do? Do I close my eyes and ears to it all? Lock myself away from the world -- see no evil, hear no evil? Pretend none of it exists? I can't do that. I know I have to continue existing, but I don't want the world around me to continue existing as it is... September 11th rocked the world. Know that even though I'm a Canadian, all of us here north of the border felt the pain of that day the same as all of you, and continue to pray for healing in due time.

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Abby7
Member
07-17-2002
| Monday, September 11, 2006 - 6:14 pm
i woke up on 9/11 around 1pm. first thing i did was call Southwest Airlines (not sure of airline actually. i usually turn on the news first thing in the morning, but since it was late didn't bother). i needed to make a reservation from Burbank airport to San Jose, CA. i talked to the agent and made a reservation. no problem. at end of conversation, she said be sure and have all id. i mentioned i didn't have my current dl (lost), but i doubt it was a problem. i told her i had flown to Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe and i didn't have a problem. so, i said i'm sure i'll be okay, they never check. she said well, after today, they are being very careful/strict. i didn't know what she was talking about, of course. after a bit of conversation, she said i needed to turn on the news. while turning on the tv, i called family in San Jose, to tell them i had made my reservation and would be there on 9/12 (for my sis' funeral on 9/13). as i watched tv, i was talking to a relative who answered the phone. he couldn't understand how i could be flying to San Jose. i could hear my sis' in the background saying "stay out of the sky". ? i thought "what is going on?". then, i saw what was happening on tv. i still don't know how i got a reservation (or why the agent gave me a reservation) on 9/9 i was in San Jose because my sis' health drastically changed. she had been diagnosed with breast cancer around april. she had treatment and was doing pretty good. on 9/8 she suddenly collapsed. i went to San Jose on 9/9 and was with her on 9/9 and 9/10. she was on morphine for pain. she died on 9/10. i drove back to la late 9/10 and didn't get home until about 3am. so on 9/11, i didn't wake up until 1pm. that whole week was/is shocking. yesterday was sis' 5 year anniversary. my dad died 8/28/02. this is a sad time.
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Legalboxer
Member
11-17-2003
| Monday, September 11, 2006 - 7:32 pm
I was driving to National Security Law class when the first plane hit.
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Oldtex
Member
03-06-2006
| Monday, September 11, 2006 - 8:16 pm
I just posted a long story and somehow I lost it! Short version, at work, co-worker had TV in office, advised everyone....turned on our radios to NPR...wanted to just go home, but didn't. Was in shock, couldn't talk, eat, work. On drive home in evening, lots of businesses had flags at half mast, signs of "Pray for America", "God Bless America" etc. I then LOST it, started balling my eyes out, sick at stomach and had to pulled over in parking lot to compose myself. Finally got home (30 mile drive). Turned on TV, cried, prayed. I was SCARED. I'm only about 30 miles from Ft. Hood - where would the next attack be? It was very strange, for many days, no planes or con trails in the sky. Lots of my company's customers were based in NYC, very near the WTC. Couldn't get in touch with many of them for weeks. I think I'm still in shock. But I'm OK and my family is OK. I so glad many of you who were directly affected are still with us at TVCH.
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Konashark
Member
06-13-2006
| Monday, September 11, 2006 - 8:34 pm
I am an Air Traffic Controller in the U.S. Air Force and I was the watch supervisor at the Nellis Air Traffic Control Facility the morning of 9/11. My day started as most do: assigning controllers to work various scopes in the radar facility, check the traffic for the day and getting that first cup of coffee. I had just finished typing the opening of my daily log when a girl who works on our radios came in and asked if had heard about the airplane that hit a building in New York. Our first thought was please don't let this be controller error. I walked into the breakroom and turned on CNN just in time to watch the second aircraft the WTC. At this point I knew this was no accident. We (ATC) were notified of a ground stop for all aircraft on the Eastern seaboard. My wife, Konamouse, called me and said that she heard on the news of an explosion in Washington DC. I was notified that as many as 20 aircraft may have been hijacked. Nellis AFB went into lock down. I sent everyone home except for two. They each covered the terminal and the enroute portion of our airspace (about 12,000 sq miles). I was then instructed to "land every aircraft in the sky". We began to divert aircraft into Las Vegas and helped other ATC facilities with their traffic flows. There were many aircraft flying VFR that were not talking to ATC and had no idea what was happening. Within an hour the scopes were empty except for military and law enforcement aircraft. I was looking from southern Idaho all the way to Arizona, California to Utah and the scopes were empty...no planes. For hours we watched and waited. A little more than four hours later, I was notified that someone saw a commercial airliner low level heading Westbound. Given the time it would have taken an aircraft departing the East coast to reach Las Vegas, we were very concerned. Then i received a phone call that I will never forget. I was advised that there were four F-16s armed and ready to go to deal with this reported aircraft. I was instructed to provide vectors for the F-16s to intercept this aircraft if we observed it heading towards Las Vegas. We never saw the airliner and we never scrambled our fighters. I am thankful to this day that the report of the aircraft was unfounded, I hate to think what would have happened and that I would have had a part in it. Five years later, I am still not ready to relive the events of 11 Sept 01. I tried to watch the ATC portions of the movie United 93, but it is still to soon for me. I will never forget!
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Coco
Member
07-13-2000
| Monday, September 11, 2006 - 10:13 pm
I've just finished reading each and every post in this thread and I appreciate the posts that have been shared here today. Where was I when I heard, what was I doing.... I was in the shower, my usual routine at 6:30am to wake up and start getting ready for work. My dh cracked the bathroom door open and told me that an airliner crashed into one of the WTC buildings and that he was leaving for work. Wait I said, how did it happen? I don't know he said, but I'm late for work...so off he went. So I quickly ended my shower and sat in front of the TV dh had left on for me. I recall being confused at how an airliner could have crashed into this tall, tall building. I listened to newscasters delivering the information they had on hand. I remember saying a prayer for all those people in the plane and in the building and feeling that the people above the burning building would be saved and rescued. There was no doubt in my mind that they would be saved. I had to be at a meeting by 8am and so I left for work at 7:30am and attended the meeting - business as usual. When I returned to my department, I hovered over the TV with my co-workers and learned about the other planes and learned that the Pentagon had been hit by a plane and that another plane had crashed somewhere in Pennsylvania and that the two WTC towers had crumbled. I kept wondering about the people in the towers...were they rescued? Did everyone get out? It was stressful being at work and I remembering only wanting to be in my home. My whole family was in disbelief over the estimated loss of so many people. I can remember asking myself "why do they hate us so much". For the next 2-3 nights, there were no planes in the sky and it was a strange and scary sound of nighttime silence. I hope to never hear that kind of silence ever again. Today dh and I put our flag out and as I drove up my neighborhood block, flags were out everywhere. When I turned to head west on PCH, I immediately saw the flags along this 3 mile stretch of PCH in our part of town. Funny thing is, they've been up on the street lights since 9/11 and today, I saw them clearly for the first time.
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Skootz
Member
07-23-2003
| Tuesday, September 12, 2006 - 9:08 am
Living in Canada it was a different experience for me. My dh was working in the barn (down the road from here) and I was home with 2 of my 3 kids. Lisa was not quite 3 months old. I sat in the living room and turned on the tv to feed her and started watching tv and it was news everywhere. What the heck was going on, then I figured it out and immediately called dh at the barn. Here is the strange part. He starts talking about the two army helicoptors circling over the barn he is working at. There are men in army gear with infared. It was very strange. (remember we are in Canada) As I am talking to him, one of the towers collapses. We are both in shock. The choppers then come over to the back of our home property and start hoovering. We are like wtf is happening. It turned out that they were getting a harvest of Marijuana planted in someones field. It just happened to be going on at the same time. We normally have many planes fly over here daily (you can see sometimes 18-20 planes and their smoke tails at one time) There was an eerie silence in the sky. I will never forget the on going coverage that our Canadian stations kept of the tragic events of the day. I would be feeding dd in the middle of the night and still watching coverage of this terrible, terrible day.
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