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Guest
Guest
Pierce, thanks for this. I'll be attending a special Mass on my campus at noon today in memoria.
Two years ago I arrived early for an 8:30 meeting. A very young woman (student). looking palpably disturbed, was seated alone at the huge table and bluntly told me the news. Today I still cannot comprehend the real thing itself.
Perdita
Two years ago I arrived early for an 8:30 meeting. A very young woman (student). looking palpably disturbed, was seated alone at the huge table and bluntly told me the news. Today I still cannot comprehend the real thing itself.
Perdita
ffreak
old man
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I was in the car on my way to a customer when my wife called with the news of the first plane. I was at the customer site with all their employees watching as the second plane hit the tower. The first thought in my head was; this is war.
My friend was in New York at the time and was supposed to see a customer in the first tower. He stood with the crowd, watching, thinking, as I did, that this was a tragedy like the plane hitting the Empire State Building. But when the second plane struck, he knew he should get out of there and started heading north. It took him two days to be able to leave New York. When he got back, he could not bring himself to go to the office, on the 23'rd floor of the building. He's better now, but still not over it.
My friend was in New York at the time and was supposed to see a customer in the first tower. He stood with the crowd, watching, thinking, as I did, that this was a tragedy like the plane hitting the Empire State Building. But when the second plane struck, he knew he should get out of there and started heading north. It took him two days to be able to leave New York. When he got back, he could not bring himself to go to the office, on the 23'rd floor of the building. He's better now, but still not over it.
Parklife
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I was asleep and oblivious to what was going on (I live in CA so it was still early) until I received a phone call that told me to turn on the tv because the trade towers were on fire. I took my time, went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, etc...
I thought it was merely a fire at the top of one of the buildings.. nothing major but certainly news-worthy.
I wound up turning on the tv a few minutes before the second plane hit. And soon everything was falling into place. I was home alone and didn't know quite what to do. Lacking other alternatives, I started getting ready for work.
Hearing about the third plane put another shock as the tv said it hit near Pittsburgh. Trying to call home (I grew up in Pittsburgh) was fruitless... nothing but busy signals. I quickly discovered that the plane went down no where close to where my family would be.
Work only lasted an hour before we were headed home to stay clued to the telly for the day.
Park~
I thought it was merely a fire at the top of one of the buildings.. nothing major but certainly news-worthy.
I wound up turning on the tv a few minutes before the second plane hit. And soon everything was falling into place. I was home alone and didn't know quite what to do. Lacking other alternatives, I started getting ready for work.
Hearing about the third plane put another shock as the tv said it hit near Pittsburgh. Trying to call home (I grew up in Pittsburgh) was fruitless... nothing but busy signals. I quickly discovered that the plane went down no where close to where my family would be.
Work only lasted an hour before we were headed home to stay clued to the telly for the day.
Park~
Icingsugar
peas o kayk
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- Aug 31, 2003
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In the same chair as now. Trying to get some work done. Not succeeding at all. Glued to CNN. Feeling a little off key.
Life was pretty much crap back then for me, so the scenes on TV didn't do much to cheer me up. But it was too distant, too unreal to react at all.
But it was a damn good chair. I've kept it to this day.
Life was pretty much crap back then for me, so the scenes on TV didn't do much to cheer me up. But it was too distant, too unreal to react at all.
But it was a damn good chair. I've kept it to this day.
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destinie21
Daddy's Brat
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- May 27, 2003
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I was on my way to school. I lived in ny and I can't even begin to describe the scene.
sailorm72003
Really Experienced
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- Jan 5, 2003
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- 251
Trying to reach my uncle, who was on the 34th floor. (He made it out, thank God) While glued as so many others to CNN.
Sailor
(Today I'll be leading our volunteer companies' memorial in rememberance of those who died, some of whom lived in my town and worked as Firefighters and NYPD officers. Please, remember the families today, of all who were lost)
Sailor
Sailor
(Today I'll be leading our volunteer companies' memorial in rememberance of those who died, some of whom lived in my town and worked as Firefighters and NYPD officers. Please, remember the families today, of all who were lost)
Sailor
Angeline
Poet Chick
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I live less than 100 miles from NYC. My parents are from Manhattan, and I have family and friends there. I was driving to work (30 miles from NYC) when the news of the first crash was reported. I was stunned. I got to the office and told people, many of whom had heard nothing. Someone set up a little TV and we watched the news. When the second crash at the WTC was reported, we really started to panic--many of us had family and friends who worked there.
I was afraid for my children who were in school. I couldn't get through to the school--I now know because of heavy phone activity, but then we didn't know why and it was terrifying. I drove very very fast to get to my children. It was chaotic there--some of the older children (like grades 6-8) had radios so they knew, but the teachers were trying to keep the little ones separate. The pilot of one of the planes was the father of a child at this school. People were crying. It really was awful.
I took my kids home and we talked and tried to be as normal as possible. I really was just grateful they were ok. I was lucky--I know of people who knew many who didn't make it out of those towers. Still--and I imagine this is true in many places--for months afterward my daughter, who was 8 at the time, would freeze whenever she heard a jet go by, thinking it was going to hit our home.
The scope of this tragedy is just incredible, as were the stories (as Ogg pointed out in Perdita's hero thread) of heroism. Not just the rescue workers, but the shop owners who handed out food and water and shoes; people who took strangers into their homes; the day care workers who ran dozens of city blocks with babies and toddlers in shopping carts, making them think it was a game so they wouldn't be scared. Take some time to remember them today if you can.
P.S. I should add to this list the people of Nova Scotia and those in other places who were so kind to stranded travelers!
I was afraid for my children who were in school. I couldn't get through to the school--I now know because of heavy phone activity, but then we didn't know why and it was terrifying. I drove very very fast to get to my children. It was chaotic there--some of the older children (like grades 6-8) had radios so they knew, but the teachers were trying to keep the little ones separate. The pilot of one of the planes was the father of a child at this school. People were crying. It really was awful.
I took my kids home and we talked and tried to be as normal as possible. I really was just grateful they were ok. I was lucky--I know of people who knew many who didn't make it out of those towers. Still--and I imagine this is true in many places--for months afterward my daughter, who was 8 at the time, would freeze whenever she heard a jet go by, thinking it was going to hit our home.
The scope of this tragedy is just incredible, as were the stories (as Ogg pointed out in Perdita's hero thread) of heroism. Not just the rescue workers, but the shop owners who handed out food and water and shoes; people who took strangers into their homes; the day care workers who ran dozens of city blocks with babies and toddlers in shopping carts, making them think it was a game so they wouldn't be scared. Take some time to remember them today if you can.
P.S. I should add to this list the people of Nova Scotia and those in other places who were so kind to stranded travelers!
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Quasimodem
Literotica Guru
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- Jun 30, 2001
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I was working at my desk, the TV turned on, but with the sound muted.
It seemed that every time I looked up, I saw the same clip of an aeroplane crashing into a building, and was vaguely irritated that they were showing promos for such an obviously violent movie during the daytime, when very young children could see it.
Finally, I looked up and saw an anchor person on the screen, and realized I must have it wrong.
I turned up the sound, and learned that the objectionably violent fiction was in truth an infinitely more objectionable, violent fact.
Quasi,
It seemed that every time I looked up, I saw the same clip of an aeroplane crashing into a building, and was vaguely irritated that they were showing promos for such an obviously violent movie during the daytime, when very young children could see it.
Finally, I looked up and saw an anchor person on the screen, and realized I must have it wrong.
I turned up the sound, and learned that the objectionably violent fiction was in truth an infinitely more objectionable, violent fact.
Quasi,
G
Guest
Guest
Where were you?
We had just opened the bookstore...I was in the office and had just watched an interview with Rob Thomas' wife of Matchbox 20 on Fox and Friends. (Funny I remembered who they were interviewing) They had switched to the towers and when I saw the second plane hit I remember thinking, "This can't be happening."
We had customers in the store and they all came to the office to watch. We ended moving a tv in the store for our customers.
We had customers in the store and they all came to the office to watch. We ended moving a tv in the store for our customers.
OldnotDead
Really Really Experienced
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2002
- Posts
- 498
At home
I work from home, about 2 hours north of NYC. A beautiful day, having got two kids to school, my wife and I were watching the news, having a late breakfast and I was contemplating playing hookey in the yard and enjoying the weather.
My first reaction, as a pilot that has flown past the Twin Towers along the Hudson, was that some VFR pilot had strayed and the North Tower was going to be added to the Empire State Building as a skyscraper that had been hit with a plane. As we listened to the news, I explained to my wife about the VFR corridor and how even the controllers at New York Center did not keep track of traffic below 800 feet over the Hudson. And then we watched the second plane slam in, live . . .
With fifteen years of experience in the brokerage industry, it was not surprising that some people I knew died that day. No close friends, but people I had known through advanced learning programs, conferences and the like.
What struck us the hardest, immediately was the knowledge of grief for thousands of spouses, parents, loved ones and children. That summer one of our relatives, a young father, had dropped dead of a heart attack while we were all together on vacation. He left behind children and a wife. By Sept 11th, they were in their third week of school. Our oldest was away for his first year of college and we thought we were on the road to recovery as routines would once again dominate our lives.
For those that know, the grief of sudden, youthful death is just not like any other. There are no words to express the sadness when a parent buries a child or a relatively young sibling loses a life long companion. It is against the order of things. Yes, children eventually bury their parents, but not at 8 years old.
The sudden, sharpness of the pain recedes, but not the wound. The scar is deep and not even close to healed. It makes you wish that you could hold thousands of hearts in the palms of your hands and make all the pain go away.
Love one another . . . NOW!
OnD
I work from home, about 2 hours north of NYC. A beautiful day, having got two kids to school, my wife and I were watching the news, having a late breakfast and I was contemplating playing hookey in the yard and enjoying the weather.
My first reaction, as a pilot that has flown past the Twin Towers along the Hudson, was that some VFR pilot had strayed and the North Tower was going to be added to the Empire State Building as a skyscraper that had been hit with a plane. As we listened to the news, I explained to my wife about the VFR corridor and how even the controllers at New York Center did not keep track of traffic below 800 feet over the Hudson. And then we watched the second plane slam in, live . . .
With fifteen years of experience in the brokerage industry, it was not surprising that some people I knew died that day. No close friends, but people I had known through advanced learning programs, conferences and the like.
What struck us the hardest, immediately was the knowledge of grief for thousands of spouses, parents, loved ones and children. That summer one of our relatives, a young father, had dropped dead of a heart attack while we were all together on vacation. He left behind children and a wife. By Sept 11th, they were in their third week of school. Our oldest was away for his first year of college and we thought we were on the road to recovery as routines would once again dominate our lives.
For those that know, the grief of sudden, youthful death is just not like any other. There are no words to express the sadness when a parent buries a child or a relatively young sibling loses a life long companion. It is against the order of things. Yes, children eventually bury their parents, but not at 8 years old.
The sudden, sharpness of the pain recedes, but not the wound. The scar is deep and not even close to healed. It makes you wish that you could hold thousands of hearts in the palms of your hands and make all the pain go away.
Love one another . . . NOW!
OnD
DirtyJJ
Literotica Guru
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- Aug 9, 2003
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- 534
I was in an art class and the teacher and came in and gave us the news that some planes had been hijacked and that the WTC and Pentagon had been "bombed" (you know how inaccurate stories come out at the beginning of an event). The news that the Pentagon had been "bombed" really scared me and I went out and watched the events unfold on TV with the other students. I remember seeing a distant view of the towers on TV with lots of smoke, and then all of a sudden I thought, "it looks like the one tower is no longer there." But it did not hit me immediately how devastating it would be if I really did see the tower fall. I think we were all just numb and unsure what to think at the start.
Soon after, our campus was closed and they sent us all home. I spent the next few days glued to the TV on and off. Unreal and unbelieveable still to this day.
Soon after, our campus was closed and they sent us all home. I spent the next few days glued to the TV on and off. Unreal and unbelieveable still to this day.
sweet T
Literotica Guru
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I was running my childcare in my home.. with my one year old on my lap. The news on in the background. I watched with horror and unbelief at what was unfolding in front of my eyes.. tears streaming down my face..TODAY I did not remember the date until I heard it on the radio taking a child to school. again Tears rolled down my face uncontrollably. This time a little voice asked, " Mommy why are you crying.", How Do I Reply? NEVER FORGET kissesPierceStreet said:
T
TheEarl
Occasional visitor
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2002
- Posts
- 9,808
I was avoiding work in an IT lesson by skiving on the Planetrugby messageboard. It was the last period of the school day for me and all of a sudden the messageboard just went dead, with someone saying something vague about the twin towers. I shrugged and went back to ignoring my IT teacher.
On the bus home, a mate told me that someone had flown a plane into the World Trade Centre and the towers had fallen over. Neither of us actually thought about it at all. We both assumed the towers were empty (to be honest, despite the name, I wasn't really aware that people worked there) and we just mentioned it in passing.
Then I got home dithered for a bit and was annoyed that normal television wasn't on until I realised that the news was on for a reason. BBC showed a replay of what had happened.
I remember seeing people throwing themselves out of windows to escape the flames and thinking abstractly that there was a similar special effect in the film Titanic. Except these were real people with real lives. People who were so desperate that they'd thrown themselves out of a 33rd storey window in a bid to escape.
May we live in interesting times.
The Earl
On the bus home, a mate told me that someone had flown a plane into the World Trade Centre and the towers had fallen over. Neither of us actually thought about it at all. We both assumed the towers were empty (to be honest, despite the name, I wasn't really aware that people worked there) and we just mentioned it in passing.
Then I got home dithered for a bit and was annoyed that normal television wasn't on until I realised that the news was on for a reason. BBC showed a replay of what had happened.
I remember seeing people throwing themselves out of windows to escape the flames and thinking abstractly that there was a similar special effect in the film Titanic. Except these were real people with real lives. People who were so desperate that they'd thrown themselves out of a 33rd storey window in a bid to escape.
May we live in interesting times.
The Earl
Lovepotion69
Going with the flow
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2002
- Posts
- 4,066
I was in the car with my mom. We had been downtown shopping when we heard it on the radio. Then dad called and asked if we had heard.
Ironically enough, today the Swedish foreign minister died at 5:29am today. The papers and tv would have been talking about 11 Sep, but instead end up with 24hr newsfeeds about the murder of the minister.
Ironically enough, today the Swedish foreign minister died at 5:29am today. The papers and tv would have been talking about 11 Sep, but instead end up with 24hr newsfeeds about the murder of the minister.
Just-Legal
Goth Flufflet
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2001
- Posts
- 4,075
I was at college, in Sociology class. I remember Kate coming in and telling us what had happened - we all pegged it for the media studies classrooms and the TV's were all on Sky news...
I vaguely remember screaming something - a close friend of mine was working in the towers, luckily they'd all gone on a stag do the night before and not gone in that day - and fainting... Woke up in the first aid room by said friend's mother ringing my mobile and asking if he'd called.
He did, as soon as he saw the news. He couldn't get through to his house to he phoned me and I did the round robin thing.
My heart broke when I saw the full news that night. Such a waste.
Edited to sort tenses out and add a few words I stupidly missed...
I vaguely remember screaming something - a close friend of mine was working in the towers, luckily they'd all gone on a stag do the night before and not gone in that day - and fainting... Woke up in the first aid room by said friend's mother ringing my mobile and asking if he'd called.
He did, as soon as he saw the news. He couldn't get through to his house to he phoned me and I did the round robin thing.
My heart broke when I saw the full news that night. Such a waste.
Edited to sort tenses out and add a few words I stupidly missed...
Just_John1
Really Experienced
- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 294
Lucky miss
Had a meeting scheduled a few blocks from the trade center that morning at 9:00... Usually took the train in, a cab to the center, arriving at 8:45, and walked the few blocks... My client called and cancelled the afternoon of the 10th because of the flue... I stayed at the office and watched in total horror as the second plane hit. and then as the buildings fell...
Had a meeting at a government facility that afternoon and it was really wierd. They let us in without a problem and then midway through the meeting security barged in demanding ID's and told me that I had to leave NOW! Escorted me from the the building, stood by my door while I got in my truck and started it and followed me to the gate, which they locked behind me.
I never heard from my client in NY again, lost our insurance guys at AON (101st floor I think) and was frightened to ever go back to that government facility again... I did but I didn't like it.
Remember them...
JJ1
Had a meeting scheduled a few blocks from the trade center that morning at 9:00... Usually took the train in, a cab to the center, arriving at 8:45, and walked the few blocks... My client called and cancelled the afternoon of the 10th because of the flue... I stayed at the office and watched in total horror as the second plane hit. and then as the buildings fell...
Had a meeting at a government facility that afternoon and it was really wierd. They let us in without a problem and then midway through the meeting security barged in demanding ID's and told me that I had to leave NOW! Escorted me from the the building, stood by my door while I got in my truck and started it and followed me to the gate, which they locked behind me.
I never heard from my client in NY again, lost our insurance guys at AON (101st floor I think) and was frightened to ever go back to that government facility again... I did but I didn't like it.
Remember them...
JJ1
Master_Vassago
Literotica Guru
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2002
- Posts
- 1,618
I happened to be on a Marine base at the time and my wife was at work while I was home with one of my daughters preparing to fly to dc for a meeting.
One of my best friends fathers, the friend is a Marine, was and still is a NYC firefighter, so we all were waiting to find out more. He happened to be the last firefighter pulled from the reckage later alive.
One of my best friends fathers, the friend is a Marine, was and still is a NYC firefighter, so we all were waiting to find out more. He happened to be the last firefighter pulled from the reckage later alive.
Just_John1
Really Experienced
- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 294
Fortunate guy... Bet he stills truggles with that.
SlickTony
Literotica Guru
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- May 25, 2002
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- 6,344
I had just started a new job, and it was to have been my first full day at work--I'd started the day before, but I'd spent half the day at the parent office, filling out a zillion forms.
We had a television in the office, and very little got done. At 1:00 or so, the parent office called and told us we could go home. I had been trying to reach my daughter on the cell, because she lived in Pittsburgh, and I did not know at the time that the plane that had crashed in Pennsylvania had not crashed in Pittsburgh per se but in an area outside the city. Needless to say I was relieved when she called back.
The week after that, someone left a duffel bag with papers in what appeared to be Arabic writing in it unattended at the Greyhound bus stop. At that time, my office was a block away, so that whole area was evacuated, and we drove to the parent office and stayed there until the all-clear was given. The duffel bag turned out to be harmless.
We had a television in the office, and very little got done. At 1:00 or so, the parent office called and told us we could go home. I had been trying to reach my daughter on the cell, because she lived in Pittsburgh, and I did not know at the time that the plane that had crashed in Pennsylvania had not crashed in Pittsburgh per se but in an area outside the city. Needless to say I was relieved when she called back.
The week after that, someone left a duffel bag with papers in what appeared to be Arabic writing in it unattended at the Greyhound bus stop. At that time, my office was a block away, so that whole area was evacuated, and we drove to the parent office and stayed there until the all-clear was given. The duffel bag turned out to be harmless.
