Where were you? What were you doing?

[Tobin S.]

I was talking with my future in-laws recently and the topic turned to the Kennedy assassination. The older generation said that that was one day that will always remain vivid in their memories. They remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news. Jen and I then said that we have such days, unfortunately, etched into our memories as well. One of them was the first explosion of a space shuttle. I was sitting in 7th grade science class and the teacher had wheeled a TV into the room so that we could watch the launch live. We were all stunned and learned a lesson that day that I don't think the teacher had planned on.

And then, of course...

I was 28 years old and had just bought my first house. I was still settling in there. I was working second shift and I got up early that morning for no particular reason. I was sitting at my computer checking e-mail shortly after 9am when I got a call from my mother telling me to turn on the TV. There had been a terrible accident in New York. I turned on the TV and watched the events of the day unfold.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I couldn't wrap my mind around it or the possible implications. Someone called me later in the day and I told her that this was an act of war, figuring at the time that some enemy country surely must be behind the attacks. I went to work and everybody I ran across had that same stunned quality to them that I had experienced back in the 7th grade. Who did it? How? Why? Those were questions that we all seemed to have on our minds and they were very important questions. The "Why?" one especially. But it didn't take long for those questions to fade as our homicidal leadership whipped up the country into a frenzy of nationalism. Truth be damned, we were going to war.

[polly7]

1. I live in Canada, I had just gotten off work and we were sitting down

for a few minutes with the new people coming on .... it showed it on the news in the coffee room. We were all in shock ... except I remember the one girl screaming immediately. I got home, and was sick. I think we all were. I called friends down there and told them to hurry up and get up here to stay with me, because I really did think someone was waging war with the U.S. I was sick and crying for about three days every time I thought about what I'd seen.

[Skip Intro]

2. playing around with online stocks...tv on...shock quickly settled in...

I won't be commenting on many 9*11 threads, this may be the only one, but must point out that as the shock faded into acceptance, I began to think that what I was being told was bullshit...

I still hold that view.

[trueblue2007]

3. we were asleep. my MOM-IN-LAW called us and said turn on tv

[Flaxbee]

4. I was driving to work in Washington DC ...when the planes hit NYC

Got to work in DC, everyone was watching TV, saw what was happening nearby and stayed put for a bit because of the chaos. Eventually left the office around noon, brought a whole bunch of work with me, and stayed home the rest of the week.

[elleng]

12. Ditto; in car driving into downtown DC w husb, listening to NPR;

heard of first plane, I said something like, 'So much for missile shield.' Then heard about 2d plane, and realized = 'war.' Got to our offices, his as a Fed 'ee, me in a law firm; bosses said, 'go home,' and we tried to figure out how our 2 kids would get home. Friends brought them home, from different schools. One brought a friend home. While in office, tried to figure out what happening elsewhere, Pentgagon, WH, Capitol. Rumors all over; looked for smoke.
:hi:

[Raven]

5. Walking to my office in the Boston Stock exchange building...

The building has a huge 2 story high window where stock market prices are usually displayed. That morning the huge screen was showing the first plane slamming into the trade tower. People were standing on the street thinking it was an accident. By the time I got upstairs to my office, the second plane had hit. We cleared out. Driving out of Boston, I remember thinking what an incredibly beautiful early fall day it was and noticing the absence of airplanes in the sky. I had a client at the time who was booked on the flight from Boston that was supposed to go to CA. At the last minute he caught a flight out the night before. 9/11 was the day that I decided to retire and move to NH. I accomplished that 1 1/2 years later and have never looked back.

[Catlover827]

6. We were living near Pittsburgh

I always turn on MSNBC when I get up, but I held off on this day because it was a heavy shark attack summer and I was sick of the reports. My husband called from work around 9:30 and asked what I knew about a plane hitting the World Trade Center. I turned on the TV and was riveted for days. My sister in Texas, who had breast cancer, heard about the crash near Pittsburgh and called me in hysterics to see if we were okay (she ended up dying a month later on the day the "Patriot Act" (BARF) was signed). I remember being outside that afternoon and seeing what looked like a fighter jet flying overhead.

I knew it meant war. I had a panic attack on January 18, 2001, realizing that a great evil force had stolen the White House. When 9/11 happened, I knew we were in for some very rough times. Little did I know just how bad things were to get.

[Odin2005]

7. I was in 9th Grade Biology Class.

The principal came in and told us was NYC and Washington were being attacked by terrorists, our teacher turns on the TV and a minute or 2 later the first tower came down.

By lunch time most of the class was demanding Mecca to be nuked.

[Posteritatis]

17. Yow; ugh. (nt)

[Demoiselle]

8. I was in my kitchen with the Today Show on.

Then this goddawful thing came on. I was stunned, like you, but couldn't fathom how it could be an accident. I can remember being annoyed with Brian Gumbel who was interviewing an eyewitness and got sort of nasty with him..."What do you MEAN...it looked INTENTIONAL?!!!" Not so long after that, the second plane flew into the second tower and it was very clear that it was intentional. I must have sat there staring at the tv set for two-three hours. Finally had to get out of the house and ran into local friends on the street who had been staring, stunned, the same way, until they, too, had to get out of the house.

I gave my big dogs a walk every night at ten PM. One of the delights was watching planes flying overhead, softly purring, their lights flashing, headed toward Newark or LaGuardia or wherever. I counted roughly 5 every night. And then, of course, for a week there was nothing up there but the dark.

[MiddleFingerMom]

9. MiddleFingerMomMom was dying...

.
.
.
81 years old, she was in the very end stage of Alzheimer's and her body
was slowly, peacefully shutting down in hospice. She actually held on
until Sep 12, 2001 when her breathing became ever-so-slightly-labored
for about an hour until she passed on to another plane of existence in
her sleep. She had been ready... even eager for it as her belief system
included the knowledge that all of her loved ones who had gone before
her would be waiting (literally with open arms) for a very joyous reunion.
.
As deaths go, it was about as gentle and kind as anyone could expect or
hope for.
.
I had gone home for a few hours sleep and saw it on TV as I was getting
dressed for my return to her side, but until MFMM died the following day,
it was -- by far -- the SECOND-most important event occurring in my life.
.
.
.
I think this allowed me to absorb the abject horror of the situation a
little more gently and gradually than most folks did or could.
.
.
.

[elleng]

11. Best imaginable 9/11 story;

thanks, MFM.

[Swede]

10. My brother phoned and awoke me and told me to turn on the tv.

I watched the first tower go down,then drove to work. There were these huge passenger planes lined up on the ground at our little airport.

[Inspired]

13. I was driving on I-80 headed to western Iowa for work.

I heard it first mentioned on Mancow. I thought it was one of his stupid pranks. Then I thought it was probably a small plane, not that this made it any better but it seemed like an isolated incident. I turned to a different radio station and things just started to unfold. I pulled over to the nearest truck stop and called my husband. He told me we were under attack. People in the truck stopped didn't seem to know anything as they were just going about their normal business. I started blubbering and they looked at me like I was nuts. If asked, they might say that they first heard it from some crazy women in the truck stop!

I continued on with my business trip. I don't know why I thought that was important to do but I was closer to my destination than I was to home.

The drive back home later that day felt so surreal and I don't remember ever feeling so alone. I-80 was deserted. Not a plane in the sky. It was so quiet. When I got home and finally turned on the TV, I was horrified. My first words were, "Someone needs to DIE for doing this." So unlike me, really.

[WinkyDink]

14. Teaching. Turned the TV on. Principal walked around telling every teacher to turn off news &TEACH!

[rurallib]

15. no better tool to teach with than the TV that day.

[av8rdave]

16. I was packing to work a trip to New York

Obviously, I didn't go anywhere that day. I did fly the same trip a few days later, on I think the second day they resumed flights. This was the view from the cockpit coming into New York. Still hard to look at.

[PassingFair]

18. I was reading articles on BuzzFlash....

when a picture of the first tower hit appeared.

I called my best friend, who used to post here under
the name of "Mrs. Grumpy"...while I was telling her
about the plane, I flipped on the TV and freaked out
when the second plane hit.

She ran over to my house with her son and her dog...
and we spent the day watching the TV, waiting in VAIN
for a member of the administration to tell us what the
fuck was going on.

All of the cowards had gone into hiding.

We both became
BIG fans of Peter Jennings and Richard Clarke that day.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

19. Lexington:working