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Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | Six years ago today...where were you and what were you doing when you heard the news?
I was in my office when the phone rang; long distance from a friend at another church...I ran upstairs just in time to see plane 2 hit the south tower...I barely moved for the next 6 hours...opened the church for a prayer service later that day...I can see it as though it were happening right now!
Never Forget! And please remember those who died and who are still giving their all to try to make sure it doesn't repeat...
Freedom was never free!
Semper Fi! |
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April 2006
Posts: 1138
Location: CT | In my office, 49th and Broadway, when a co-worker called and said he couldn't get in from Brooklyn because the subway was closed. I had CNN on while I was talking to him, and could simultaneously see the smoke out the window here that looks down Broadway. "a small plane hit...blah blah..." he was saying, and as I looked at the damage to the tower, and realised any light plane would just bounce off the structure. I told him that doesn't look like a light plane strike. At that moment, as I was watching the TV and the smoke out my window talking to my friend, the 2nd plane hit the other tower. I told him 'thats no accident', he said 'nope, its terrorists'. |
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Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | I can smell Miles closing this one already.... |
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Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | I was watching it, first-hand.
I was on my way in to work with my normal view of the Skyline & thought it was unusual t'see "steam" coming off the building (I didn't see the 1st plane hit). As it quickly grew blacker, I knew something was wrong.
You know the rest . . . |
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September 2004
Posts: 1180
Location: Vermont USA | Jeff W. Posted
"I can smell Miles closing this one already"
It's OK to remember it's not about politics or religion, it's about people. So play a song to remember those who have gone before us.
Pauly |
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Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | I was in a Board of Directors meeting, working. Glad I don't do that anymore. |
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July 2002
Posts: 1900
| I was doing custom stain and varnish refinishing in the old governor's mansion in Blowing Rock, North Carolina when I saw the 'professional demolition' of World Trade Center towers I, II, and VII.(..the media lies, the laws of physics don't.) |
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April 2006
Posts: 848
Location: Munich, Germany | I know exactly what I was doing...
I came home from a walk with my dog when somebody called on the phone and told me there has been an accident: A plane crashed into one of the World Trade Center's. I switched the TV on - and I saw plane 2 crashing in.
I was staring shocked at the news - when my music store called and told me that my guitar has arrived: The first US Ovation I bought factoryfresh.
So I jumped in the car, picked up my "9/11 guitar" while listening to the radio, came home, turned all the news stations we have (CNN for example) on different TV's on - and since I did not have that much work then - watched nearly every minute that was broadcasted in the next hours, days, weeks - while I was sitting in front of the TV, playing my new guitar.
I can't remember anything else hit me that hard - and most of you know that I am sitting in a wheelchair after a motorcycle accident.
I had tears in my eyes when I saw the people applauding the fireworkers, I was full of humility when I saw the hundreds of people giving blood, I remember Bruce Springsteen opened the "concert" with his song "City of Ruins".
I will never forget 9/11 and the following days - the pain and devastation - but also the impressive power and union of people.
Kurt |
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November 2005
Posts: 1126
Location: Omaha, NE | I was working at my home office (I was still consulting back then) when my wife called me upstairs with a real sense of urgency in her voice.
As I got to the living room where the TV was she said "A plane just hit the World Trade Center!"
Honestly, my first thought was that somehow something had gone horribly wrong with the air traffic control system and they had accidentally routed a plane right into the building. Then we saw the second strike and we knew.
But it wasn't until the first tower collapsed that I thought this was a very big deal. Angie kept saying "What if the buildings fall over" and I kept saying "No way that happens. They are designed for this sort of thing". Then WHUMP and that was that. Horrible. Shocking. |
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Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | "Never Forget" and "Freedom is never free" are simplistic slogans ... Be that as it may ... I was here, I saw it, smelled the smoke which contained the dust of people, saw the chaos, saw "shapes" falling out the windows which were people, the F-15s, the helicopters, the army running thru the streets, the people streaming out of manhattan like refugees, helped the refugees off the boats underneath the Brooklyn Bridge with my wife ... I too could keep writing, about the gross manipulation of the American people, and the whole thing makes my blood boil and really pisses me off from top to bottom.
I'd rather not talk about it, but since I wrote it what the hell. |
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July 2007
Posts: 325
Location: Texas | I was in my office at home (was still working at the time), did not have the TV on....called a co-worker to ask about a project we were working on. I was talking ninty miles an hour and no response from her. I kept asking if she heard my question....Her first and last words to me were - turn on the TV. I turned the TV on and that is where I sat for the next 3 days.
Today, I don't care about politics, what we were warned about, what signs there were....I just care about the 3,000 plus people who died.
Still seems like yesterday. :( |
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June 2006
Posts: 7307
Location: South of most, North of few | My family and I were in S. Carolina somewhere on our way to vacation, kind of isolated from the world news listening to CD's when we stopped at a little town, Blacksburg, to buy something to eat when we found out. It seemed as if we were watching a movie on that TV in the store, so unreal. Welcome to the future. :( |
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March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | I was driving across southern Idaho going to Twin Falls. I must not have been too far, because I heard the news on the radio and thought it was some War of the Worlds spoof. Didn't see anything on TV until I got to Twin Falls, where we watched in the other lawyer's office. |
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October 2005
Posts: 4049
Location: Utah | I am an airline captain, and was flying that morning. We were on our first flight of the day, leaving Cody Wyoming for Salt Lake City, which takes about an hour in the turbo-prop I was flying at the time.
We picked up our clearance and departed into a perfect morning, with literally unlimited visibility and smooth air. We checked on with Salt Lake Center as we climbed, and got the usual "radar contact" response. Normally we climb above the nearby ridgeline and then get a direct clearance to Brigham City, which is about 50 miles north of SLC and is the point over which they funnel all the inbound traffic.
That morning though, we were cleared "Direct Salt Lake Airport, max forward airspeed". Wow, we thought it was our lucky day! Never had that before, so maybe we were just the first flight in line that morning and they wanted us to go fast. This is normally a busy time with the inbound rush.
The frequency was totally quiet except for one flight ahead of us that was handed off to the next ATC sector. Twenty minutes later we were handed off to that new sector. Still no other traffic on frequency. He hands us over to Salt Lake Approach, who immediately clears us for the approach, cleared to land, taxi to the gate this frequency.
This is a major WTF moment. We contact company to get our gate assignment and are told to shut down when we get to the gate and come inside. They refuse to tell us why. The First Officer and I decide that either the company has gone out of business or we are at war.
We land and taxi in, with dead quiet on the field. Every gate is full. We unload, shut it down cold, and go inside. We see replays of the second airplane hitting the WTC.
We were told that the FAA was hoping to get us back in the air in a couple of hours and so we had to stay at the airport. I walked around the terminals just watching the people. Some were out at the gate areas away from any televisions and so were completely unaware of what was happening. In front of Dick Clark's Restaurant there was a large group watching the overhead tv, mostly in total silence.
At one point I called my dad, who lives in NYC. Amazingly the call went right through. It turns out that he was supposed to meet a friend at the WTC and then go golfing, but he broke his toe and cancelled. He would have been in the lobby at the time the first airplane hit had he not randomly stubbed his toe. |
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Posts: 3145
Location: Marlton, NJ | I also work out of a home office. We got a call from my neighbor across the street to turn on the TV right after the first plane hit. My wife and I watched it unfold for a while. As it got progressively worse, we went out and picked up our three kids from school and brought them home.
MSNBC is replaying the whole news cast from the beginning as if it were live. Watching it brings back most of the feelings from that day.
I'm from NYC and spend a good deal of time working in one of the subbasements of the towers where AT&T had a significant presence. I also spent the better part of my 5 years in the phone company working at the 140 West Street building, which is directly across the street from the WTC. That building took significant damage when the towers fell. I still get back there for work alot.
I visited ground zero in december of that year when it was still a large debris pile and I still can't really describe my feelings at that point.
I echo what Vision said:
Today, I don't care about politics, what we were warned about, what signs there were....I just care about the 3,000 plus people who died.
Still seems like yesterday. One last observation - in watching the coverage again, only Matt Lauer really touched on the human aspect - loss of life - while the rest of them focused on the details and technicalities. I don't know why that struck me this time. |
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November 2004
Posts: 4413
| I heard it on the radio in the car - and was home in front of the tv when #2 hit. My sister-in-law Jane (wife's sister) worked in the building right next to the first tower and I was almost paralyzed with fear as I sat watching. Then when the first one collapsed.....
I rang my mother-in-law to check whether she was watching, which she was, but was already offering up prayers of thanks as Jane had taken a personal day and was still on a long weekend on Cape Cod.
Nobody was hurt in her building, but it was over a year before they could go back and by then so many of the staff were so freaked at the thought that they just moved to a different building.
I still can't believe that "only" (NOT the right word) 3000 people died when two buildings that size collapsed. Watching it unfold it seemed certain that the death toll would be in 5 figures.
The NYC Emergency Services were fantastic. |
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June 2003
Posts: 1792
Location: Rego Park, NY, | As stated earlier this is one of the days that you will always remember. I did not lose any family or friends or family on that day. My mother died the next morning on Sept. 12th. It has been hard for me. I feel bad for the people that died on this day. But it has been hard for me these last six years. As long as there is talk of the events of 9/11 the death of my mother will always be connected,though not directly with it. I am better now.
I will always remeber where I was on Sept. 11th but I will always remember what happened to my family on Sept. 12th too.
Phil |
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January 2004
Posts: 1225
Location: Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey | I was at work at the time and got a call from my mother who told me that a plane had hit the Trade Center and she and her co-workers were watching the coverage on TV. My initial reaction was that it was a small plane that had accidentally hit the building. While I was on the phone with my mother, the second plane hit, and I immediately knew what was going on.
The striking thing (one of many) about that day was how absolutely beautiful it was that day. The weather was absolutely perfect. Another thing that struck me was how quiet it was when I arrived home from work that night. No one was on the streets, no planes in the sky, just silence. Living in New Jersey, that is very unusual, especially at was normally was "rush hour".
I, like I'm sure most of you did, went home and stayed glued to the TV all night. In my case, I counted my blessings and was very greatful that I hadn't lost anyone close to me that day. |
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November 2005
Posts: 4832
Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | The range of experiences and beliefs shared freely here is one of the many things that make this group so very special, and dear to me.
Thank you all for sharing your true feelings, without reacting to anothers. |
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September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Agreed Phil.
Agreed. |
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October 2005
Posts: 5330
Location: Cicero, NY | I was in the office starting my everyday mundane accounting duties when a friend walks by my office and tells me that "we're being attacked" and I knew instantly something was terribly wrong. The entire office filtered into the office next to mine to watch everything unfold on tv. Tears were in many eyes and many more were trying to hold them back. Will never forget it. After an hour or so, my boss came in, called me into his office, apologized for the timing and said the company was being sold and I was going to be out of a job. I couldn't help but think "Yeah, whatever."
And let's not forget the efforts of all the men and women, heroes all in my mind, who sifted through the rubble for weeks in search and rescue and, ultimately, search and recover manuevers. A good friend was a fireman who spent two weeks on-site and has never been the same. Severe alcoholic who can't forget, nor hold a job much less be a father to his two kids. Very sad but the toll ranges beyond those who died that day. |
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Posts: 5575
Location: big island | "when the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace" ~ j. hendrix |
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Posts: 325
Location: Texas | lanaki - those are words that should be written in stone!!!!! |
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Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | . . providing that the species that replaces us is capable of reading 'em. |
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Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | .... they'll just use their feelers. |
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9/11
