Do you remember where you were on 9/11?

[SimonDoom]

It's hard for me to believe it's been 24 years. I remember that moment I found out and that day so well. It was so shocking I couldn't pay attention to anything else the whole day. The Internet was slower then. Information came in more slowly and it took a while for some of the news videos to load. My parents were in another part of the country and couldn't fly home so they rented a car.

 

[iwatchus]

My other memory is not from the day but a few days later. My step mother had been in Canada on a vacation with some friends. They had been driving to the airport when the US closed its airspace. I lived in the US but only a few hours drive from where she was, so I drove up a few days later to bring her back across the border, where she could rent a car and drive back home. I explained to the Canadian border guard what I was doing; he suggested that I might want to leave my step mother there. The crossing was easy and empty. There is frequently a large backup at the crossing there.

 

[vanmyers86]

My other memory is not from the day but a few days later. My step mother had been in Canada on a vacation with some friends. They had been driving to the airport when the US closed its airspace. I lived in the US but only a few hours drive from where she was, so I drove up a few days later to bring her back across the border, where she could rent a car and drive back home. I explained to the Canadian border guard what I was doing; he suggested that I might want to leave my step mother there. The crossing was easy and empty. There is frequently a large backup at the crossing there.

I’m not following why he suggested that. Can you add a little more context?

 

[M_K_Babalon]

I was in middle school. We watched it on TV. I usually post memes these days, but I forgot because we were dealing with a slow death.

 

[SkyBubble]

I was driving to the station to go to work.

 

[Bloodandglitter]

On my way to work

 

[DeMont]

I am always curious about people's Sept. 11, 2001, stories. I don't know if folks outside the United States have the visceral memories many of us do, but if you'd like to share your memory, I would like to hear it.

I was still a journalist, and arrived at work just after the second plane hit the tower. I remember walking into the newsroom and everyone was gathered around the televisions, utterly speechless. Then we kind of shook ourselves off, hunkered down and put out an extra edition. All kinds of rumors were flying that day, and people kept calling with new ones.

What I remember best is what a beautiful day it was - clear and perfect - and how weird it was to go out into a deserted downtown and not hear any planes or see any jet trails in the sky. . I still recall how numb I felt for a good three days or so. Our wedding anniversary was the next day and we spent it in a daze. We couldn't bring ourselves to celebrate it.

@vanmyers86,
A most terrible memory my dear colleague, clear as day in my mind.
I was not in the United States, I was half a world away when my phone rang. I was getting ready for work. My best friend said, "Have you got the telly on?"
I said no. He said, "Stop whatever you're doing and turn it on NOW!"

I did, the first plane had hit the tower. I froze, disbelief was my immediate reaction. I said to him, "Is this real?"
Then I watched the second plane hit.

I literally fell back onto the couch. My mind trying to encompass what was happening. I will admit, right here, I cried for the sheer waste of innocence and human lives.
That's my story my friend.
Respectfully,
D.

 

[ICantLeafYou]

I was in 6th or 7th grade, in school. I was on the East coast of Canada and one timezone ahead of NYC.

Our principal dragged a TV out into the hallway and everyone crowded around it to watch. We saw the second plane hit, the towers fall.

Honestly? Fucked up to subject elementary school children to that shit.

 

[iwatchus]

I’m not following why he suggested that. Can you add a little more context?

it was a general joke about not getting along with stepmothers. Think about all the fairy tales with evil stepmothers. And I had a mixed relationship at best with her at that point, which I think he sensed. I didn't really know her that well; she and my father married when i was 30ish. She can still drive me up the wall sometimes, but the two of us have gotten much closer as my father's health declined. I think we gave each other a lot of support.

And, of course, being Canadian, the border guard said it completely politely. It was just funny to me.

 

[AchtungNight]

Woke up suddenly around the time the first plane hit feeling- I kid you not- a disturbance in the Force. I went about my day normally, then when I checked the news, was immediately concerned and worried about the situation. Spent the day working security at Walmart (my job back then) fielding questions and concerned calls from relatives and people at the store, hoping nothing went wrong in my immediate vicinity. Prayed then as I do now that we have the right response to the events. Mixed feelings about that response 24 years later. That’s all I will say here.