Where Were You Nine Years Ago Today?

diamondrose · 09-11-2010, 10:16 AM

I was just starting my day at work. I worked at a grooming shop. I was 17 years old. Some of the dogs were staying over night so We were loading animals up in the van that were to be transported to the boarding area. One of my co workers said to me " The Pentagon was attacked" and I thought oh thats terrible.. Not even beginning to realize just how tragic the day was really going to be.

o222Good · 09-11-2010, 12:56 PM

I was in my classroom. No kids were there at the time. The announcement came over the PA that a plane hit the WTC. When they realized it was an attack, teachers were told to keep the kids in their classrooms. I happened to have cable in the classroom for a Kidz News project. I watched the whole thing. It was surreal. Seeing people jump. Hearing people who were trapped above the planes and could not get out. Realizing there would be no survivors. It was so horrible. My son, in school about 20 miles north of the city, wasn't allowed to go home because they didn't know if I was okay.

Driving home was tough. All streets were closed in Manhattan, except Broadway, which was lined with police and military. All buses out of the city were canceled and no one was allowed to walk across bridges or tunnels. When I got to the George Washington Bridge, the streets and sidewalks were teaming with people trying to leave the city. Everyone was beating on windows and windshields pleading to take them across the bridge. It was terrifying! If I wasn't alone, I would have taken some. I was so afraid of getting carjacked. I felt very guilty about that, but eventually everyone got home. My priority was getting my son.

It was such a sad, horrible day. That night, the apartment under me was having a loud, joyous celebration. They were Egyptian Muslims. I just couldn't believe it. Maybe it was for something else.

turasultana · 09-11-2010, 01:52 PM

i got to work on 57th and 11th and saw i already had a message. My partner at the time had left a message saying a plane hit the world trade center. i envisioned a prop plane or something little, called him back and he said another one just hit. I thought holy shit we're under attack.

Tried to look online but couldn't get thru to any news sites, no tv in the office, we went to the roof and took turns looking downtown at the towers thru binoculars and saw a big hole in the side of the tower with flames coming out. We gathered round a radio just in time to hear them screaming "the tower is coming down." we were in shock. No one know whether to stay put or head home. I headed home.

Home was downtown manhattan, lower east side. I tried a bus - they didn't charge, made it to 2nd ave and wanted to switch to the 2nd ave bus. there was a car parked at the bus stop at an angle and we were convinced it was going to blow up. A bus came, I got on it. Went by the hospitals on 2nd ave, all gurneys and doctors lined up outside - no patients though - they were just standing, waiting. Lines of people already offering to give blood. Bus didn't move much so in the 20's, near the police academy - jumped out - i believe the mayor was there - it was totally crazy with cops.

Had no choice but to walk the 20+ blocks home - 2nd ave at that point was pedestrian only - everyone heading uptown toward me. People telling me i was going the wrong way, but home was that way. People coming toward me were in shock, many covered in ash. white ghosts. by the churches folks were handing out cups of water. I still hadn't seen any images of the towers.

finally got home - a couple people who had gotten stranded in the city were already there - we watched the news and saw the videos of the towers fall over and over. went to my roof and watched the smoke - i live maybe a mile away. it stunk. the wind had pushed most of the smoke toward brooklyn that day so it wasn't until the next day or so that the smoke hit us - my apartment stunk for a month or more. The air was hard to breathe for a week or so. there were flyers all over my neighborhood for ages with "missing" people.

every morning the ritual was go to the roof with the morning coffee and look at where the towers used to be. Mostly you just saw plumes of smoke, but we knew there was nothing behind the smoke.
my neighborhood was considered a "frozen zone" - needed ID to go down my own street.

there's so much more in the weeks after - makeshift memorials in union square, visiting the site and seeing all downtown still covered in this grey ash, the flyers... so many flyers on every possible surface, lampost, windows... so sad. we knew they weren't missing... but...

Soon · 09-11-2010, 01:54 PM

I was on my prep period from teaching and wandering around the drama room where a t.v. was playing and they were showing the first tower being struck. At first I thought it was some weird accident. As the footage continued, I realized it was more than a random accident.

I remember leaving school shortly after that and driving home where my first gf had slept over. I lived very close to the school and still had a lunch period before my next class. I woke her up and said come out here and watch this. By the time we sat down and turned on the t.v., the second attack had occurred. We just sat there stunned. I went back to school and no one was really teaching--we just talked with our classes and everything had this hushed and surreal atmosphere.

Leigh · 09-11-2010, 02:23 PM

I was living with a friend at the time, had turned on the tv in the morning and just happened to turn on the news ~ only to see the 2nd tower being hit by the plane. I sat in a state of shock, almost barely blinking as I watched the scene unfold before Me and not knowing what to think about what I was seeing .......... it was a very sad time for My american neighbors, but also for so many of us who just couldn't believe what had happened

AtLast · 09-11-2010, 03:09 PM

Just returned home from NYC. I had visited family and friends there with my lover and her son. We did the tourist stuff (first visit to the Big Apple for them, both). So, we were in the Towers quite a bit for all of the summer activities as well as it was on the route to so many tourist areas.

Her son called me from school in a panic to tell me about the planes hitting. Then, I was totally taken over by fear of my friends and relatives being possibly killed or hurt. Some were (friends, friends of friends, friends of my relatives).

I know that there are horrible things happening around the world just about everyday. People in many countries that live with this kind of threat on a daily basis. However, when people talk about 9/11 in a way that dismisses the horror of what people experienced, in NYC, in the towers, or as friends/relatives with someone that died or was hurt that day, it pisses me off. It indeed, hurts my feelings and serves no purpose in bringing us to peace.

No, this attack is no more horrible or worse than any other terror attack or other pointless killing of innocent people throughout the world. And we here, in the US need to recognize this- we lived a long time outside of the terror so many experience, but, how I feel and others with a direct connection, do have a hard time on this day. Now, I also believe we need to fight the ugly hate that some people in the US are spouting about Muslims and Islam (and many other cultures, worldwide). In fact, I believe that this is critical because this did not happen in a vacuum. The US has done some of its own ugly worldwide, but, nothing, not one single thing makes these kinds of attacks on any people a justified act.

I wish our lesson would take us to understanding Islam and respecting it. And I hope that respect is displayed for those lost that day here- and thoughts about worldwide victims of terror. many that died in the Towers, were Muslim.

To me, healing is not forgetting, and not taking revenge. It is supporting ways to combat the kind of hate that is responsible for such acts. The US has a long way to go to do this. Please support curriculum change in our schools concerning teaching our young people about Islam and other positive ways the US, as a nation of goodwill can correct our negative history against Islam. Can we not be pro-active and admit our trespasses and change things?

I know, I'm such a hokey idealist... but I am so tired of rhetoric that divides the US and serves no positive purpose in getting at the real problem, here.

Jet · 09-11-2010, 03:41 PM

I didn't know what happened until I got to work. The entire staff was glued to the TV. I couldn't believe what I was seeing when they kept running the footage over and over. My co-workers filled me in on all the details up to that hour,
and I just stood there stunned. I can see it like it was yesterday.

09-11-2010, 01:54 PM	#4
Soon Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: femme Relationship Status: attached Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: . Posts: 6,896 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 29,046 Thanked 13,093 Times in 3,386 Posts Rep Power: 21474858	I was on my prep period from teaching and wandering around the drama room where a t.v. was playing and they were showing the first tower being struck. At first I thought it was some weird accident. As the footage continued, I realized it was more than a random accident. I remember leaving school shortly after that and driving home where my first gf had slept over. I lived very close to the school and still had a lunch period before my next class. I woke her up and said come out here and watch this. By the time we sat down and turned on the t.v., the second attack had occurred. We just sat there stunned. I went back to school and no one was really teaching--we just talked with our classes and everything had this hushed and surreal atmosphere. Last edited by Soon; 09-11-2010 at 01:57 PM.

09-11-2010, 02:23 PM	#5
Leigh Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: Femme Preferred Pronoun?: She, Her, etc Relationship Status: Single Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Canada Posts: 7,767 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,029 Thanked 13,024 Times in 4,784 Posts Rep Power: 21474859	I was living with a friend at the time, had turned on the tv in the morning and just happened to turn on the news ~ only to see the 2nd tower being hit by the plane. I sat in a state of shock, almost barely blinking as I watched the scene unfold before Me and not knowing what to think about what I was seeing .......... it was a very sad time for My american neighbors, but also for so many of us who just couldn't believe what had happened __________________ "When you fall off the wagon ... clutch the sides of it until you get a better grip!"

09-11-2010, 03:09 PM	#6
AtLast Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: Woman Preferred Pronoun?: HER - SHE Relationship Status: Relating Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: CA & AZ I'm a Snowbird Posts: 5,408 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 11,826 Thanked 10,827 Times in 3,199 Posts Rep Power: 21474857	Just returned home from NYC. I had visited family and friends there with my lover and her son. We did the tourist stuff (first visit to the Big Apple for them, both). So, we were in the Towers quite a bit for all of the summer activities as well as it was on the route to so many tourist areas. Her son called me from school in a panic to tell me about the planes hitting. Then, I was totally taken over by fear of my friends and relatives being possibly killed or hurt. Some were (friends, friends of friends, friends of my relatives). I know that there are horrible things happening around the world just about everyday. People in many countries that live with this kind of threat on a daily basis. However, when people talk about 9/11 in a way that dismisses the horror of what people experienced, in NYC, in the towers, or as friends/relatives with someone that died or was hurt that day, it pisses me off. It indeed, hurts my feelings and serves no purpose in bringing us to peace. No, this attack is no more horrible or worse than any other terror attack or other pointless killing of innocent people throughout the world. And we here, in the US need to recognize this- we lived a long time outside of the terror so many experience, but, how I feel and others with a direct connection, do have a hard time on this day. Now, I also believe we need to fight the ugly hate that some people in the US are spouting about Muslims and Islam (and many other cultures, worldwide). In fact, I believe that this is critical because this did not happen in a vacuum. The US has done some of its own ugly worldwide, but, nothing, not one single thing makes these kinds of attacks on any people a justified act. I wish our lesson would take us to understanding Islam and respecting it. And I hope that respect is displayed for those lost that day here- and thoughts about worldwide victims of terror. many that died in the Towers, were Muslim. To me, healing is not forgetting, and not taking revenge. It is supporting ways to combat the kind of hate that is responsible for such acts. The US has a long way to go to do this. Please support curriculum change in our schools concerning teaching our young people about Islam and other positive ways the US, as a nation of goodwill can correct our negative history against Islam. Can we not be pro-active and admit our trespasses and change things? I know, I'm such a hokey idealist... but I am so tired of rhetoric that divides the US and serves no positive purpose in getting at the real problem, here. Last edited by AtLast; 09-11-2010 at 03:20 PM.

09-11-2010, 10:16 AM	#1
diamondrose Member How Do You Identify?: . Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: . Posts: 1,384 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 2 Thanked 2,895 Times in 923 Posts Rep Power: 13536274	I was just starting my day at work. I worked at a grooming shop. I was 17 years old. Some of the dogs were staying over night so We were loading animals up in the van that were to be transported to the boarding area. One of my co workers said to me " The Pentagon was attacked" and I thought oh thats terrible.. Not even beginning to realize just how tragic the day was really going to be.

09-11-2010, 12:56 PM	#2
o222Good Junior Member How Do You Identify?: Butch Relationship Status: Married Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Lake Worth FL Posts: 89 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 641 Thanked 238 Times in 65 Posts Rep Power: 2561061	I was in my classroom. No kids were there at the time. The announcement came over the PA that a plane hit the WTC. When they realized it was an attack, teachers were told to keep the kids in their classrooms. I happened to have cable in the classroom for a Kidz News project. I watched the whole thing. It was surreal. Seeing people jump. Hearing people who were trapped above the planes and could not get out. Realizing there would be no survivors. It was so horrible. My son, in school about 20 miles north of the city, wasn't allowed to go home because they didn't know if I was okay. Driving home was tough. All streets were closed in Manhattan, except Broadway, which was lined with police and military. All buses out of the city were canceled and no one was allowed to walk across bridges or tunnels. When I got to the George Washington Bridge, the streets and sidewalks were teaming with people trying to leave the city. Everyone was beating on windows and windshields pleading to take them across the bridge. It was terrifying! If I wasn't alone, I would have taken some. I was so afraid of getting carjacked. I felt very guilty about that, but eventually everyone got home. My priority was getting my son. It was such a sad, horrible day. That night, the apartment under me was having a loud, joyous celebration. They were Egyptian Muslims. I just couldn't believe it. Maybe it was for something else.

09-11-2010, 01:52 PM	#3
turasultana Member How Do You Identify?: Queer Femme Preferred Pronoun?: she Relationship Status: spoken for Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: brooklyn Posts: 432 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 226 Thanked 713 Times in 249 Posts Rep Power: 2043785	i got to work on 57th and 11th and saw i already had a message. My partner at the time had left a message saying a plane hit the world trade center. i envisioned a prop plane or something little, called him back and he said another one just hit. I thought holy shit we're under attack. Tried to look online but couldn't get thru to any news sites, no tv in the office, we went to the roof and took turns looking downtown at the towers thru binoculars and saw a big hole in the side of the tower with flames coming out. We gathered round a radio just in time to hear them screaming "the tower is coming down." we were in shock. No one know whether to stay put or head home. I headed home. Home was downtown manhattan, lower east side. I tried a bus - they didn't charge, made it to 2nd ave and wanted to switch to the 2nd ave bus. there was a car parked at the bus stop at an angle and we were convinced it was going to blow up. A bus came, I got on it. Went by the hospitals on 2nd ave, all gurneys and doctors lined up outside - no patients though - they were just standing, waiting. Lines of people already offering to give blood. Bus didn't move much so in the 20's, near the police academy - jumped out - i believe the mayor was there - it was totally crazy with cops. Had no choice but to walk the 20+ blocks home - 2nd ave at that point was pedestrian only - everyone heading uptown toward me. People telling me i was going the wrong way, but home was that way. People coming toward me were in shock, many covered in ash. white ghosts. by the churches folks were handing out cups of water. I still hadn't seen any images of the towers. finally got home - a couple people who had gotten stranded in the city were already there - we watched the news and saw the videos of the towers fall over and over. went to my roof and watched the smoke - i live maybe a mile away. it stunk. the wind had pushed most of the smoke toward brooklyn that day so it wasn't until the next day or so that the smoke hit us - my apartment stunk for a month or more. The air was hard to breathe for a week or so. there were flyers all over my neighborhood for ages with "missing" people. every morning the ritual was go to the roof with the morning coffee and look at where the towers used to be. Mostly you just saw plumes of smoke, but we knew there was nothing behind the smoke. my neighborhood was considered a "frozen zone" - needed ID to go down my own street. there's so much more in the weeks after - makeshift memorials in union square, visiting the site and seeing all downtown still covered in this grey ash, the flyers... so many flyers on every possible surface, lampost, windows... so sad. we knew they weren't missing... but...

09-11-2010, 03:41 PM	#7
Jet Timed Out - TOS Drama How Do You Identify?: .. Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: .. Posts: 3,471 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 292 Thanked 2,647 Times in 1,293 Posts Rep Power: 0	I didn't know what happened until I got to work. The entire staff was glued to the TV. I couldn't believe what I was seeing when they kept running the footage over and over. My co-workers filled me in on all the details up to that hour, and I just stood there stunned. I can see it like it was yesterday.