Sept. 11, 2001: Where Were You?

[Deleted_171835]

I was in kindergarten so I remember absolutely nothing.

 

[Vulpes Abnocto]

We were just North of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
I didn't hear anything about the situation until around 10AM.
I was 21 that year. We were finishing up a townhouse we'd been building.
We don't have a radio on our jobsite because it's hard enough to hear one another over the compressors and saws already.
Our backhoe operator asked if we'd heard about a plane flying into the world trade center. He had heard it was a small plane. We actually joked around for a while about how drunk the pilot had to be to not notice such a big fucking building.
Then about an hour later the same operator comes back and says that both the towers had been hit by planes....
It was then that the situation began to sink in.

My boss told us all to take our lunch break early, and we huddled around his truck, listening to the reports on the radio.
Around this time we began seeing pairs of fighter jets breaking the sound barrier overhead, streaking toward nuclear power plants and dams. Covering them, just in case there were more attacks to come.

We finished work that day in eerie silence, without the joking that usually accompanied our work.
Each of us keeping one eye on the skies.

 

[Deleted User]

{{}}

 

[SamAsh07]

Living in the past and thinking of those memories only damages you more from the inside. Well I never visited US, and most probably never will.

On that day long back in 2001, I was a 11 year old. I was playing around with my toy cars and action figures (ah those were the days) while Dad was listening to the news regarding the World Trade Centers, and my reaction then was "big whoop, just a building, I'll continue playing". As a kid, the world doesn't matter to you, and you can't really blame me for that sentence, I was "11".

But ofcourse now that I think of it, it may be saddening but I'll be honest, I really don't care. Time and time again, lives are lost. Be it loved ones, friends or just some random person. We can't do shit about it. However, we can take some time from our life and pray for the goodness & well being for our families & friends, ones that are alive and living with us today because you know, time will change again one day. We should relish the moments we currently can experience, not dive into some 10 year old tragedy.

 

[signz]

Oh, what a fucking bad day...

Well, I was at home, watching Dragon Ball Z on TV, then suddenly the TV station switched to news about what just happened - 2 planes flying into WTC.
I went to my parents, only to see they were seeing the same, thinking it was some movie or something (I actually thought that as well, movie trailer or something like that). Well, then we sat there, watching the news and we were quite shocked... But, oh well, I was kinda sad that I couldn't finish watching the DBZ episode (come to think of it, I think I never did see the rest of that episode).

I mean, yeah. It was and is a really sad event, but what I kinda hate is, that every year, around that date, German TV stations are showing the exact same documentaries, movies, news, conspiracies.. blah blah blah... Don't get me wrong, I feel really sorry for those who lost their friends and family, but isn't enough enough?

 

[nasune]

I was at home, mourning the loss of my grandmother who had passed away a couple of days before that. And honestly, shocked and appalled as I was, it was all a blur to me (though I know that I've seen it all live on TV). I just couldn't bring myself to care for that, not in comparison to losing my grandmother.
It might seem a bit callous, but the truth is that a personal loss will always hit you harder than a tragedy which involves strangers.

 

[DarkLG]

I was 10 or 11 and I thought to myself why is it fallen straight down instead of two it's side.

 

[Jakob95]

I was in second grade when this happened. I remember my Dad came into school early to pick me up and brought me home. I remember how I looked at the sky and literally saw both of the towers and smoke around them, you were able to see them from Queens Blw. I came home with my dad and we turned on the TV and all the channels were showing what was happening. My mom worked in Manhattan that day and she was around 8 blocks away from the World Trade Center. I remember the whole time my Dad was trying to call my mom but all the cell phone networks didn't work. I was really scared for that whole day and really didn't understand why this was happening. My mom called us back in like 2 hours because she was waiting in line to use one of those telephone booths, and she told us she was alright and everything. All the trains/buses were closed so she had no way of going to Queens. She found some group of woman that were able to take her on there car to Brooklyn, so she went to my uncles house who lives in Brooklyn that day. She told me that when she went in the car she glanced one more look on the Twin Towers and saw how one of the towers fell/collapsed on it self at that instance and everyone started to scream. She told me she saw lots of people running away from the towers and they had blood, glass all over themselves.

 

[Deleted User]

I wasn't even old enough to remember,but Im SUPER glad my parents we went to Connecticut to visit my mom's side of the family a day before the incident.

 

[exangel]

We should relish the moments we currently can experience, not dive into some 10 year old tragedy.

Though I understand and to some extent agree with you, the negativity you spewed in your post is really disturbing. Of course it's not good to wallow or force oneself to relive tragedies -- but that's not the purpose of having memorials or giving reverence to those who did lose their family members or colleagues, as well as reflecting on what we, as a country, lost.

It makes my stomach physically ill to see how younger people perceive the study of history, or of war as unnecessary (I know you didn't specifically say that but I've heard this from plenty of individuals who are younger than me and zero who are older than me). And the idea that people shouldn't memorialize their loss, or reflect on what life was like at the time of September 11, that pisses me off.

Having genuine gratitude for what we do have, and for what's possible in the future, requires an appreciation and understanding of the of the past. And I would say especially of the wars and tragedies.

 

[m3rox]

I was personally in first grade

First grade? Wow, you're young. I was in 11th grade, I woke up and got out of bed, my mom was all like "come look at this". So I look at the tv and see the footage of the first plane crashing into the building, then the second one live (it was like 6 AM or something like that). Crazy stuff.

Bin Laden won, IMO. Look at what all happened since then. The world is paranoid, the US invaded Iraq and Afghanistan, there is so much prejudice against anyone who practices Islam, etc..

The world needs to try and revert back to a pre-9/11 state.

 

[iggloovortex]

i was in third grade and my mom came to pick me up, i was in the bronx so i didnt see anything on the way home except for jets flying around. when i got home i was looking at the tv, and i still remember even more jets flying around outside my window. the next day at school the principal announced it and even though we were young and it shouldnt have affected us i remember a strange somber silence from everyone

 

[emigre]

I was eleven and had started secondary school. I remember the next day and everyone was going how we should blow Afghanistan up. I remember saying we should all calm down. Yes, I was always a liberal lefty sort who based his logic on reasoning.

I'll remember it not for the event itself but the dire consequences it led to. The gung-ho President with our delusional Prime Minister which has ultimately led to millions of innocent people dead, the alienation of a religion and how we made the world a more dangerous and intolerant place.

 

[exangel]

I'll remember it not for the event itself but the dire consequences it led to. The gung-ho President with our delusional Prime Minister which has ultimately led to millions of innocent people dead, the alienation of a religion and how we made the world a more dangerous and intolerant place.

Very well said.

 

[yusuo]

I remember being in sixth form and getting home from school to have this playing on the TV, it was shocking and I knew it was a "where were you when....." moment. I was glued to the tv for hours listening to all the information and speculation flying around about who it was, Islamic extremist?

I also remember thinking (and still do) that what they did was a pretty amazing thing, that it must of taken great planning and good foresight to make something like this happen, don't get me wrong I don't condone it one bit, but you have to think of all the preparation that went into what must of been an hour of flawless execution, on their part.

 

[dickfour]

I woke up, took a shit, and went down stairs to make some coffee. I noticed the towers were on fire, though to myself "the world will never be the same". Made my coffee, sat on the sofa and sipped it while watching the towers fall.

 

[frazzledazzle]

Bowling on my 7th birthday.

 

[_Chaz_]

John Hancock Elementary School.
Mrs.Shaeffer's 5th grade class.
Library.

I was reading a magazine about science (can't remember what it was about specifically), when the librarian started to cry after a phone call.
I overheard her talking about her daughter being on a plane in New York and teachers and staff gathering around and comforting her.
After that, the school was let out early, but we had to wait on the black top for our parents to pick us up (in retrospect, it was an awful idea to make the kids stand outside in a large group when there were terrorist attacks going on).
Went with my sister and my mother, who looked really upset, to pick up my older sister at the middle school. Everyone sat in the car, us children asking questions, and my mother trying her best to answer them.
We got home and every channel was a news story, I remember being angry at this.

I learned about what happened that day several days later in full. I didn't quite understand, but I knew it was a bad thing, and began to choke up a little.

 

[I am r4ymond]

I was only 4 years old when it happened. I didn't know WHAT was going on....all I did was play around the play structure and took silent nappies in preschool.

 

[Blood Fetish]

I was 22 years old and driving into work (I am on the west coast). I got to work and they said some terrorists did stuff and I could go home and still get paid, so I went home.