Your Memories From 9/11

[JimMIA]

I have a good friend who worked at Ground Zero for about six months on the recovery effort. His work was related to the seminars he and I taught, so he developed a segment on the aftermath.

He gave me about 400 pictures taken deep within the police lines, and a lot of them are really dramatic. I don't think it is possible for words alone to describe the scope of the destruction, and only those who were there during the recovery efforts really saw it.

We created a slideshow using some of his pictures to close our seminar, and if I knew how to post it, I would share it. It's a Powerpoint presentation with music. Anybody know how to do that?

 

[IceSkatingPrincess]

I was only 8 and was living in a chicago suburb getting ready for school. I always walked to school, but that morning my mom didn't let me. She kept me home and we sat in the living room watching the TV. My mother never, ever kept me home. She's a pastor and also the chaplain of a fire department, and I remember her getting a lot of phone calls that morning but leaving the room to answer them (which was unusual for her). Looking back, I don't think I understood what was happening and I think she didn't want her conversations with people she was consoling/explaining to on the phone to scare me. I was too young to really understand what was happening, but I knew something was wrong. As an adult, I now know that many of those conversations were with the local fire chief, who was literally watching close friends of his die (he knew many of the FDNY) and she was doing her best to console him. Obviously he was beyond upset. That is why she left the room, so I wouldn't be scared or upset by the conversation. I'd heard her console many people dealing with loss before, but I think she knew this one was different. I may not have been old enough to handle hearing all of that and understand the scale of the loss that happened.

I also remember that while I lived downtown Chicago for college on the 10th anniversary of the attacks, my mother made me promise I wouldn't leave my dorm that day. No walking around the city to go to class, no going past any major landmarks (I would have had to in order to get to my classes). Stay in the dorm. I remember her saying one of her friends at either the PD or FD told her to tell me to stay in as a precaution. You just never know. So I did.

I don't think I'll ever forget the odd feeling I had that day when it happened of something being very wrong but not understanding.

 

[tinatark]

My sister called me, just after I dropped my boys off at school and said, "the weirdest thing just happened, I was on the phone with the editor at the Florida Times Union, and he hurriedly said, "I've gotta go, a plane just crashed into the WTC"". I continued my morning errands, hearing about it everywhere I went, but somehow staying away from home - I didn't want to see it. Hearing it was bad enough.

 

[kimblebee]

I have a good friend who worked at Ground Zero for about six months on the recovery effort. His work was related to the seminars he and I taught, so he developed a segment on the aftermath.

He gave me about 400 pictures taken deep within the police lines, and a lot of them are really dramatic. I don't think it is possible for words alone to describe the scope of the destruction, and only those who were there during the recovery efforts really saw it.

We created a slideshow using some of his pictures to close our seminar, and if I knew how to post it, I would share it. It's a Powerpoint presentation with music. Anybody know how to do that?

Sorry, I don't know but I hope someone answers this for you. Id be really interested in seeing it.

 

[JimMIA]

Sorry, I don't know but I hope someone answers this for you. Id be really interested in seeing it.

Not sure it would work. It's two files -- the .ppt file and an associated audio file with the music that the .ppt looks for and syncs with. The music is "The Prayer" with Celine Dion and Andrea Boccelli, and the whole thing is a tribute to the recovery workers.

 

[Kitty 34]

Besides the horrors we all saw on TV and some probably experienced the one thing that will always stand out for me is the fact that I didn't see jets and their tails in the skies for a couple of days....That will always be so weird for me.

 

[JimMIA]

One 9/11-related memory I have was of a trip I took a couple of weeks after 9/11. I had to go to Seattle (from Miami) to teach a seminar. On the return flight, I got upgraded to First Class. I talked a bit to the guy across the aisle from me who worked for Microsoft.

A little later, my new friend suddenly stood up, blocked the aisle, and asked another passenger where he was going. The man replied that he just wanted to use the First Class bathroom (right behind the cockpit on this aircraft) because the other restrooms were occupied. Mr. Microsoft replied, "No."

I joined him in the aisle, and by the time I did, everyone seated in front of us (from my seat to the cockpit) was also in the aisle. The poor guy who just needed to pee turned around and went back to the back of the aircraft to wait his turn!

 

[Praying Colonel]

I was working at the legal office at a military installation. I was getting ready to see my 1st client of the day when a colleague came by my office and said he'd just heard that a plane ran into 1 of the Twin Towers. I expressed some shock and remorse that such an accident could happen. When he came by a few minutes later and said a 2nd plane had hit the other Tower, we all knew it wasn't an accident.

They sent everybody home early that afternoon after they determined it would be safe for people to travel. I remember seeing long lines of cars getting gas, as if the country's fuel supply was in jeopardy. Nobody knew anything at that point. There had been all kinds of rumors flying that morning: a bomb had gone off outside the State Department (false), a plane had crashed into the Pentagon (sadly true), etc. I guess those folks in the gas lines weren't taking chances.

The morning of 9/11, our post was truly an open installation: not only could anyone drive on post, there wasn't even a guard at the gate to so much as check your ID. Things changed rapidly and permanently after that.

 

[Tozzie]

Well my memories are ... I was a 9/11 first responder and I lost more than one friend that day and in the years since I go to an average of 4 funerals a year for friends who have died from 9/11 illnesses and I myself now have an illness from 9/11. 15 years later and we are still being injured and dying because of it. Just sad and a tad bit pissed off

 

[leebee]

Well my memories are ... I was a 9/11 first responder and I lost more than one friend that day and in the years since I go to an average of 4 funerals a year for friends who have died from 9/11 illnesses and I myself now have an illness from 9/11. 15 years later and we are still being injured and dying because of it. Just sad and a tad bit pissed off

Tozzie... I don't know what to say. "Thank you" seems inadequate in expressing how I feel about your service and dedication on that horrible day. I'm honored that you chose to share this with us.

 

[maxaroni]

Well my memories are ... I was a 9/11 first responder and I lost more than one friend that day and in the years since I go to an average of 4 funerals a year for friends who have died from 9/11 illnesses and I myself now have an illness from 9/11. 15 years later and we are still being injured and dying because of it. Just sad and a tad bit pissed off

Thank you and many (((HUGS))).

 

[Dentam]

I lived on the west coast at the time and had just gotten up to get ready for work. I had just graduated from college a few months earlier and had just started my first job out of school. My roommate called and all she said was "turn on the tv". Her best friend lived in NYC and she was trying to get in touch with her all day. I turned on the tv and called my mom right away. We both watched as the second tower fell. It was surreal and terrifying, even being so far away from us. I had to go to work since we didn't close that day and I had no time off to use. I worked outdoors in an area where planes flew over constantly on most days. It was silent all day. We always listened to the radio while working. That day they didn't play any music and I remember the hosts struggling with what to say but saying they didn't feel it would be at all appropriate to play music. I remember just wanting to be at home glued to the tv to figure out what was happening. I had a friend in the Marines who was stationed in NY at the time. He emailed to say he was okay. He served at many funerals in the weeks to come.

I remember the fear and uncertainty the most. Our country was under attack and no one knew what would happen next. I remember there were flag stickers given out everywhere for people's cars that said "United We Stand" and I felt slightly angry when I saw cars that didn't have the stickers.

The images that haunt me the most are of the people who jumped from the burning towers, some holding hands.

Our world changed forever that day. I will never forget.

 

[Saphire]

Thank you everyone for sharing your very personal stories of how you remembered that fateful day. I just finished watching a few 9/11 programs, they are so impactful and it is still hard to realize it really did happen!

I have a memory of after September 11th, and it was touched upon in a few threads. Our house backs up to a field they use for baseball and soccer. I love hearing the sounds of the kids playing. After September 11th, the sounds stopped. Everything stopped. But after a few weeks they started again, and the sound of those kids playing fall soccer was a healing balm to my spirit. I was so grateful to hear children again... it made me feel peaceful, hopeful, normal.

Thank you again, I think it helps to recall and remember. We will never forget!

 

[WorldWacky]

M

Well my memories are ... I was a 9/11 first responder and I lost more than one friend that day and in the years since I go to an average of 4 funerals a year for friends who have died from 9/11 illnesses and I myself now have an illness from 9/11. 15 years later and we are still being injured and dying because of it. Just sad and a tad bit pissed off

Thank you for everything you and your friends did for us and the sacrifices you made.

 

[monorailsilver]

Besides the horrors we all saw on TV and some probably experienced the one thing that will always stand out for me is the fact that I didn't see jets and their tails in the skies for a couple of days....That will always be so weird for me.

The eerie silence at night. We are in the flight path to Bradley and I am sure flights from Canada/Europe to the US (those really high planes) but when I went to bed that night it was so quiet. I don't even think I heard car noise from the nearby major roads. It was probably around 10:30pm and I heard this noise. It got louder as it got closer and then faded away. My dh said it has to be fighter jets patrolling the coast line ( I live about 5 miles up from LI sound in CT). It was a good sound but a sad sound at the same time.

Last night I swear I didn't hear a plane go by as I was falling asleep. I kept listening but not one plane.

 

[monorailsilver]

Well my memories are ... I was a 9/11 first responder and I lost more than one friend that day and in the years since I go to an average of 4 funerals a year for friends who have died from 9/11 illnesses and I myself now have an illness from 9/11. 15 years later and we are still being injured and dying because of it. Just sad and a tad bit pissed off

Hugs, sorry and many many many thank yous for not only your 9/11 service but any other time you aid someone in need.

 

[bjscheel]

I was another one home with a new baby, two weeks old. (Lots of parents of 15 year olds here! One of DD's friends was born on that day.) Normally our tv was on PBS Kids the first part of the morning, for older DD who was almost 3. She left the room, and I just changed it to the news, not something I would have normally done, and there it was. We were thankful PBS kept its regular programming so DD could watch her shows as usual and we could see something other than the coverage sometimes. We were far removed from it, didn't know anyone there, but like others here, was concerned about what it meant for my baby and toddler's lives.

It was definitely a very nice, blue sky day here too, and I remember being outside with the kids and nothing in the sky. The first night that I was up feeding the baby and heard a plane go over it was a little scary!

If I recall, SIL and BIL were in Colorado, planning to fly home to Minnesota that day. After having breakfast in their hotel with the TVs on, they realized they weren't flying and rented a car. At least it wasn't real far to drive.

 

[DopeyDame]

My memories of the actual day are similar to many others... I had just moved to Maryland the week before, so that added to the confusion.
One of my most striking memories, though, was flying out of DC's National Airport in November. It was *empty*. So very eerie. I am positive I saw more employees and police officers at the airport than passengers. Employees thanked us for flying out of the airport, we bought a bunch of stuff in the souvenir shops and some extra drinks just because we felt like we should support the businesses there who had just been totally hammered. I wasn't at all scared to fly out of there until I actually showed up and saw how few people were flying.

 

[Squirlz]

I was working at a Microbrewery and we were having our weekly staff meeting. The phone rang and the owner went to answer it. He came back saying "Mom called...a plane hit the World Trade Center and while they were filming it another plane hit." We turned on the one small TV set that we had and watched from there. Before long we had to get to work as we were bottling that day. My girlfriend called to tell me the first tower had collapsed, so we turned the TV back on for a while.

Across the parking lot was a gas station/convenience store. Cars were lining up 6 deep, not knowing what the next day might bring. The Middle Eastern store owners were being very VERY polite.

 

[Tinkerbelle's Mom]

I remember that day so clearly. I had stayed home from work (an office in downtown DC) with my 5 month old DD to wait for news from my doctor. He called first thing and informed me that I had a very large cancerous tumor in my left lung that needed to be dealt with ASAP. I scheduled the needed appointments and sat down to rock my daughter. Thinking to distract myself I turned on the TV and saw the news about the first plane and watched the second plane hit.

Not too much long after that I heard a huge noise and felt my apartment shake as if there had been an earthquake. That happened when the plane hit the pentagon. My apartment was a mile away and it was so loud. I cannot even begin to imagine what it was like for the people at each site or the first responders.

My mother had come to be with me after I told her what the doctor said. She decided it would be best for us to go back to her house as it was further from DC than mine. A trip that normally took us about 15 minutes took over 3 hours as people poured out of the city. It was so eerie. The only cars headed in the direction of the Pentagon and DC were military, police, fire trucks, and ambulances. Not a single other car was headed in that direction.