#859 | Sunday, March 10th 2002
I live in Arizona and work later hours, so on September 11, 2001 I did not get out of bed until 9:30am. My radio alarm had gone off and the first thing I heard was the dj say was that both of the WTC towers had collapsed and the Pentagon was on fire. My first reaction was WHAT!!!! I ran to the television and turned it on just in time to see a replay of the first tower going down and then the second one. I was frozen in my tracks. Emotionally I was stunned. I got dressed and went down to work, my employer was letting anyone go home if they did not wish to stay. They also had the psychologist on hand if anyone needed to talk. I ended up going home and a friend came over and we just talked. We tried to talk about other things, but we never could get away from it. Later in the day some other friends and I met at a local coffeehouse. All around us was quiet. A lot of people were at the coffeehouse and talk was very subdued. I was to young to remember when Kennedy was killed, but I imagine that it was the same way then.
Nancie | 42 | Arizona

#852 | Sunday, March 10th 2002
I woke up to get ready for school . . .I had a test at ASU that day . . .in Arizona it was so early in the morning . . .When I turned on the morning news I saw "breaking news" on the screen, and decided to see what was up as I brushed my teeth. Then when I saw what was going on I just sat down. I saw the second plane hit, the pentagon get hit, both towers collapse. I saw people I knew running down the streets in Manhattan . . .I felt so helplessly far away. My old friend Peter, a NYC firefighter, passed away that day. My cousin Nick died, as did 4 old family friends. My life will never be the same, the pain will never really go away.

I encourage "closet" patriots who came out after this event to stay out. I thought it was a shame that more flags hung in my neighborhood sept. 12th than the past veteran's day and independence day combined.

Next time you see a firefighter, policeman, Veteran, or Armed forces volunteer, thank them for your freedom.

Katie | 22 | Arizona

#851 | Sunday, March 10th 2002
You know, this is odd to me. I remember as a child always hearing my Mom recall where she was when Kennedy was killed, or my Grandfather recall where he was when Pearl Harbor was attacked. I never imagined that in my life time I would too, later recall where I was when something like this happened. I do recall though with a lot of sadness. It was the one morning I didn't turn the TV on as I was running late for work. I loaded my son into the car to head to daycare when I heard on the radio that a plane had hit one of the towers. At this point, they did not know that we were under attack. I was shocked, first thought in my head was the pilot must have had a heart attack or something. I get my son to daycare and get my morning coffee when I heard the other plane crashed into the other tower, the plane crashed into the pentagon and another was missing. I went to work anyway, a little frightened. We watched and waited at work. Then I heard that they were evacuating the schools in the area my Mother lives in due to the Air Force base being right near by. I panicked then, rushed to daycare to get my son and went home and started making phone calls. I could not turn the TV off for fear I might miss some important news. I will never ever forget that day nor will anyone else in this world. I have saved several newspapers for my son who is now 2. I want him to be able to understand this when he is older and see what our country went through and survived. God Bless America and those who are suffering due to Sept. 11. One last note, I am a registered Democrat, but THANK GOD, George W. Bush is in office and is handling this. If there ever was a man that could change the way I vote, it will be him. I only wish I had voted for him to begin with. Thank you mister President.
Jennifer | 29 | Arizona

#850 | Sunday, March 10th 2002
I work for a restaurant corporation located in Phoenix, Arizona. Living the west means open spaces, few if any tall buildings, and wide roads that seem to lead to any future you could imagine. Having lived in such cities as Seattle, Chicago and San Francisco, I felt that living in the southwest was a wonderful way to live.
On September 11th, I was in my apartment in Scottsdale, a suburb north and east of Phoenix. I was getting ready for work (it was just about 7:00 a.m.), and had the television set on with no sound as was typical for my morning routine. It was tuned to CNN.
I was rushing to get out the door in order to drop my dog off at the boarders. Our company was having their annual sales convention the next day in Las Vegas, and I had an early morning flight out on the 12th – too early to drop the dog that day, so I had her booked at a local pet resort for the 11th, with a drop off by 7:30 a.m.
As I crossed the living room to shut the patio door to leave I glanced at the TV set and saw two buildings – with smoke coming out of them. I sat down, riveted on the scenes being shown on the TV. At that time it was still confusion so I continued on my course of dropping the dog off, tears running down my face all the way on the commute in. I had the radio on, and while listening to the newscasters I kept thinking of all those people – innocent people – who were dying.
The rest of the day was spent at work. The conference was cancelled – and even though that seems like such an easy decision to have made – at the time it took quite a bit of conversation. Nobody knew what was really happening – and more importantly - how this day was going to change the way we do business. Co-workers roamed the halls and boardroom, watching television, discussing, listening to the radio, anything to keep in contact with the disaster that was taking place. The President of the company told us we could leave if we wanted to – but I didn’t want to go home to an empty apartment and face despair on my own. I stayed in order to be close to other human beings. The world was different in the space of a few moments.



Jeanne | 42 | Arizona

#841 | Saturday, March 9th 2002
The beginning of the end. My wife, only 42 years old, had been quite ill all year. Her problems due to severe arthritis were compounding. With no one else in the family to provide around the clock care, I worked from home and cared for her every need. Holding tissue to her mouth early that morning, I turned on the TV in our bedroom. My first impression was that a Bruce Willis movie was on, but yet it looked like the national news channels were involved. What we saw was the WTC on fire. Later that day, I took my wife to the emergency room where she was admitted. While she did come home a week later, I again took her to this same hospital January 8, 2002 so that a tube could be inserted into her abdomin for stomach feeding. Three days later she passed away...she never came back home. She had asked her nurse to call me at home the evening before and asked that I return to the hospital. Exhausted, I remained home and never spoke with her again. This will be my life long regret.
ruben | 42 | Arizona

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