Where were YOU on 9/11/01?

[MaryL]

I was at work, it was mid-morning, and when the news hit, I was numb and tried to pretend everything was normal...

 

[mdk]

I worked the closing bar shift and played cards afterwards with the rest of the staff so I was asleep when the first plane hit. My roommates woke me up soon after and we watched the rest of the horror unfold together.

 

[Pogo]

I was actually getting packed for a plane trip. Had Morning Edition on in the background but not really listening. I was calling my ex-GF to remind her she had agreed to drive me to the airport, which now she was conveniently forgetting. Then I noticed Morning Edition was still on and I figured, "maybe it's not as late as I thought?" Nope, clock says after 9 o'clock. That's when I started listening to what was actually on the news, describing a plane crash in New York, but really no other info. Just then the second plane hit, and it became clear the first crash was not an accident.

Called the ex-GF back up to tell her "never mind about the airport; the country's under attack". Spent the rest of the day glued to the TV.

My best friend had just been hired that year by American Airlines. After her training in Texas, which is pretty grueling and filters out a lot of applicants, she graduated and got placed at Logan Airport, working transcontinental flights. In other words exactly the kind of flight that two of the hijacked planes were taking. Spent a lot of the day trying to get info, not knowing what flight she might have been assigned. American Airlines couldn't give any info except to immediate family. The lady on the line was literally crying.

A few days later we found out our friend had been late putting in for her assignment and took a second-choice flight to Florida, and was still alive. She had been at Logan that morning and had breakfast with the crew of Flight 11 (the first one to strike). And she remembered seeing the group that would later be identified as the hijackers. She remembers them because they were all sitting on the floor, obviously in a group, and she greeted them with "good morning" as she went by -- and they just gave her a blank stare. Incidentally she said the group was considerably larger than the six people reported, and included women.

There was a buzz going on while the plane was still in the air with AA base, from a flight attendant (and probably others) on phones. They explained that a couple of the hijacker passengers had up and staged a fight between themselves, and when they couldn't be subdued by flight attendants their SOP is to go get the captain -- as soon as the cockpit door was opened for that purpose ---- they rushed.

You know the rest.

 

[eagle1462010]

Portsmouth Virginia..............On the road working on the USS Saipan LHA-2............

Lost 2 days of work as security measures were put in place..............Living in a hotel away from home.............Took a lot longer to get to the job site after that.............

 

[TheOldSchool]

Study hall. I could see the smoke from the Pentagon out the window. We didn't think anything was up until the teachers started to gather and stepped outside for a better view. Next period, my math teacher tried to carry on the class as if nothing was happening. There weren't any smart phones or anything, and all I'd heard is that a small propeller driven airplane had crashed into the Pentagon. Little did we know.

What I remember most was there were no planes in the sky except for fighter jets buzzing by, which I had never seen before. We didn't have school the next day, and my friends and I hung out and tried to make sense of what was happening.

 

[aaronleland]

I was listening to Howard Stern in my bedroom in Pittsburgh. If you ever have time check out Howard Stern's full 9/11 broadcast on Youtube. It's pretty interesting to listen to them describe the events as they happen. Howard even said something about who he called "Obi Bin Laden" being involved. This was before Bin Laden was a household name, and Howard hit the nail on the head.

 

[MaryL]

I remember the next day...No planes, no helicopters, NOTHING overhead. As if to add to the drama and the horror...and we didn't know what else to expect, and time seemed to be in slow motion...

 

[TheOldSchool]

I was listening to Howard Stern in my bedroom in Pittsburgh. If you ever have time check out Howard Stern's full 9/11 broadcast on Youtube. It's pretty interesting to listen to them describe the events as they happen. Howard even said something about who he called "Obi Bin Laden" being involved. This was before Bin Laden was a household name, and Howard hit the nail on the head.

I listened to that for the first time last year. It's unbelievable to hear their live reactions. It was incredibly real.

 

[TheOldSchool]

I remember the next day...No planes, no helicopters, NOTHING overhead. As if to add to the drama and the horror...and we didn't know what else to expect, and time seemed to be in slow motion...

It was unreal. Just a numb feeling...

 

[aaronleland]

I was listening to Howard Stern in my bedroom in Pittsburgh. If you ever have time check out Howard Stern's full 9/11 broadcast on Youtube. It's pretty interesting to listen to them describe the events as they happen. Howard even said something about who he called "Obi Bin Laden" being involved. This was before Bin Laden was a household name, and Howard hit the nail on the head.

I listened to that for the first time last year. It's unbelievable to hear their live reactions. It was incredibly real.

Looking back years later you can find reasons to laugh at some aspects of the broadcast. Like them talking about banging Pamela Anderson, then hearing about the first plane hitting, then back to Pamela Anderson talk, then them finding out America was under attack when the second plane hit.

 

[ABikerSailor]

Me? I had just stepped out of the shower and was putting on my uniform wondering "who messed up"?

I'd just finished buttoning up my shirt and was getting ready to head out the door when the second plane hit, and I knew something was going on.

Went in to Amarillo MEPS to see what was going on and to see what had to be done with the applicants for enlistment that showed up that day. About an hour after getting into work, the next one hit the Pentagon, and I got a phone call from San Antonio (my boss) to send home all the applicants and wait by the phone to see what we would have to do next.

Spent the rest of the day talking to people and watching the television.

 

[aaronleland]

I was listening to Howard Stern in my bedroom in Pittsburgh. If you ever have time check out Howard Stern's full 9/11 broadcast on Youtube. It's pretty interesting to listen to them describe the events as they happen. Howard even said something about who he called "Obi Bin Laden" being involved. This was before Bin Laden was a household name, and Howard hit the nail on the head.

I listened to that for the first time last year. It's unbelievable to hear their live reactions. It was incredibly real.

Looking back years later you can find reasons to laugh at some aspects of the broadcast. Like them talking about banging Pamela Anderson, then hearing about the first plane hitting, then back to Pamela Anderson talk, then them finding out America was under attack when the second plane hit.

Or when Robin's limo driver drove off without her, leaving her stranded in Manhattan.

 

[Bob Blaylock]

At the time, I lived in Lompoc, California, and worked at a job in Goleta. It was about an hour's drive each way.

That morning, perusing through one of the forums on which I was active at the time, I noticed, but did not give any more attention, to a thread about an airplane hitting the World Trade Center. I imagined that perhaps the story would be that some dumbass lost control of a light plane, crashed into the building, and died, perhaps causing some minor damage to the building and a handful of casualties therein.

I finished getting ready for work, and got into my car to make the fifty-mile drive. The news coming in on the radio told a very different story than I had imagined and dismissed. Not a little Cessna-type airplane, but an airliner with hundreds on board, and major damage and casualties in the building. I think the news of the second plane to hit the other WTC building, and the one that hit the Pentagon, as well as the collapse of the two WTC buildings, came in as I was driving to work.

 

[guno]

I was in mid town Manhattan on business , was horrific

 

[CremeBrulee]

Sitting in Arabic class trying to get hold of family in NYC.

 

[TheOldSchool]

I was in mid town Manhattan on business , was horrific

My uncle was there. He saw the second plane hit from the top of his building. I can't imagine how terrifying it must have been.

 

[mdk]

Good thread, Mary. Well done.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

I was goofing on my own message board.

I remember when the second plane hit, I wrote "someone has just declared war on the United States"

 

[MaryL]

At the time, I lived in Lompoc, California, and worked at a job in Goleta. It was about an hour's drive each way.

That morning, perusing through one of the forums on which I was active at the time, I noticed, but did not give any more attention, to a thread about an airplane hitting the World Trade Center. I imagined that perhaps the story would be that some dumbass lost control of a light plane, crashed into the building, and died, perhaps causing some minor damage to the building and a handful of casualties therein.

I finished getting ready for work,and got into my car to make the fifty-mile drive. The news coming in on the radio told a very different story than I had imagined and dismissed. Not a little Cessna-type airplane, but an airliner with hundreds on board, and major damage and casualties in the building. I think the news of the second plane to hit the other WTC building, and the one that hit the Pentagon, as well as the collapse of the two WTC buildings, came in as I was driving to work.

I also thought this was a minor issue like the B-25 hitting the Empire state building back in the forties, but it became clear this was not an accident, it was intentional. First question that came to mind: What kind of people would do this?

 

[Wyatt earp]

On that day was going to work...

The Local D.J. was describing it to me on the radio..

Got to work and my boss was complanig how come a part didn't come in....


I told him listen motherfucker..

No planes are flying today..it's all shut down.

I went upstairs to the conference room and saw the second one come down..