|
|
|
#1407 | Thursday, June 20th, 2002
|
|
On 9/11, I was in Princeton, NJ conducting business at my firm’s HQ. I had flown in from my home in Northern California a few days before. My cousin is an executive at the Baltimore branch office for the same firm, and he had been in town as well. That morning, we were preparing to get on with our business for the day, as it was the last day of our trip. I was scheduled to fly out of Newark back to Oakland Airport later that afternoon. Needless to say, that flight never took off.
My cousin & I were engaged in some casual conversation with a particular dept. group, and someone mentioned a plane had hit one of the Twin Towers. With this brief info. only, I recall thinking as others did that it was probably a small private plane, and that it would indeed be major news in NY. But moments later the severity of the incident became more clear, as we saw from our source of information (CNN.com) that this was no small plane that had run off course.
Obviously, things happened quickly thereafter. Everyone became glued to a computer screen, watching various news sites, and somewhere there was a radio on. The normal business day we all had envisioned was long gone when the second plane hit. The full force of that fateful day hit me when the first tower fell – I remember feeling chills run down my arms. My eyes locked to my cousin’s and he immediately said what we were both thinking – we need to get out of here.
We agreed to get our things together and drive his car to his home outside of Baltimore. I went outside and used my cell to call my wife. I knew she would be just getting our two small boys breakfast at that time, readying them for school. I also knew we had a rule of no TV in the morning until after everyone was fed, dressed, washed up and ready to begin the day – and since is was a little after 7AM/PST, she probably didn’t know what was occurring.
She answered and I told her to turn on the news immediately, that planes had hit the WTC Towers, and that they had collapsed. I told her I was OK of course, and that I was going to stay in Baltimore. No flying for me tonight. I said I’d call her from the road a little while later. And honey, I love you.
Well, I made it to Baltimore and stayed with my cousin in the country. We heard on the drive south much of what the rest of the nation was hearing. Driving through the Philadelphia area was eerie – I remember seeing a large overhead sign flashing “New York City – CLOSED”. There were State Troopers and National Guard vehicles all over, and it was damn good to see them.
I worked out of the Baltimore office for the next few days, and was able to communicate to all those that I needed to. I came to realize later that the events of 9/11 actually changed my professional life to a large degree, as the time in that regional office proved to be very beneficial for a variety of reasons. But obviously I take little solace in that. In fact at the time I concentrated mostly on praying, and trying to understand who had done this horror…and why.
My next thought was how to get home. As the days passed, I worked with my travel agent in SF to finally secure a flight out of BWI to Oakland Airport. It was not fun to fly at that time, but other forms of travel were simply not possible or feasible. I had been booked on flights that were cancelled hours before their departure, and I had been scheduled to fly out of airports from Dulles to JFK (to destinations as far away from my home as LAX or Vegas). I was one of the thousands of stranded businessmen/women, who just wanted to see their families again. The airport was almost surreal, with seriously armed soldiers, police dogs, ID checks everywhere, detailed searches, and tension in the masses. But finally, 10 days later, I flew home.
I was a very young boy when Bobby Kennedy was shot. The memory has faded, but I still recall the tension and sadness of the adults I was with that day in my home in Northern New Jersey. I am sure that my two sons, ages 7 & 4 last Sept., will remember Sept. 11th in that same manner. Hearing my 4 year old say the word “terrorists” upon my return was a bit uncomfortable, and kind of sad.
The world changed forever for our children that day. And like millions of others, I will never forget.
|
David | 40 | California
|
#1408 | Friday, June 21st, 2002
|
|
I live on the West Coast and was just getting out of the shower, when I noticed our local morning radio team (Mark & Brian) didn't sound right. They were very serious about something. I turned up the sound as they went to the ABC feed with Peter Jennings. He said two planes had hit the WTC towers and it was obviously an act of terrorism. I put on my robe and went out to the TV. My dad was in his shower and mom was still sleeping, so I kept the sound down while I gathered my breakfast and sat down in front of the TV to eat while I watched. My first thought upon seeing the burning towers was "wow, they've probably killed a couple hundred people. It's going to take a while to fix those floors up.". As I sat there watching, the strangest thing started to appear on screen. I couldn't process what I was seeing. I thought perhaps it was footage from earlier, when the planes had hit. Then I heard Peter Jennings asking what we were seeing. All of a sudden, the awful truth dawned on me - the first of the towers was collapsing. I was dumbfounded. It was something beyond possibility. A huge building like that couldn't just entirely dissappear. I began to weep and just kept saying "oh my God" over and over again. I walked to the window and looked out, trying to comprehend the number of lives that must have been lost. It was so beautiful and clear outside - but what I had just seen was so horrific. When I heard my mother stirring, I went in the bedroom and told her: "there's been a terrorist attack... and it's really bad," and began to cry. I poured out all the information I had heard - two planes, one in each tower, another plane in the Pentagon, one more crashed in Pennsylvania, one WTC tower collapsed, maybe another rogue plane out there, all planes across the nation being forced to land immediately. Mom and I stood in front of the TV and watched.
I continued to get ready for work as slowly as I could, not wanting to go. I kept checking the TV, still trying to comprehend. As a family, we stood and watched the second tower fall, numb with sadness. Dad left for work, then I got a phone call from my employer - we were shutting down for the day, since my workplace is a very well-known theme park (an all-American target). This was only the second time in the park's 45+ year history it had fully shut down for the day. Mom and I sat all day, watching the news, seeing all the footage of the planes hitting the towers over and over again.
That night was the most frightening of my life. Although all commercial air traffic was suspended, the roar of planes filled the air. I knew that every one of those aircraft were military. I barely slept. Many friends reported sleepless nights, as well.
Still today, nine months later, it affects my life and my work. Every time I travel or visit a popular event or location, I have to consider the risks. Each day at work I have my bag and ID checked constantly. The guests in our park have their bags checked before they come through the gates. We have all learned to live with the changes imposed upon us by these terrorists. Our lives and our world will never go back to the way they were before Sept. 11. We spend our time worrying about more attacks, constantly hearing warnings from the government about likely targets and dates. It is overwhelming, but we try to come to terms with it. We will be cautious, but we will continue living our lives. And we will never forget those whose lives were lost.
|
Cheryl | 33 | California
|
#1409 | Friday, June 21st, 2002
|
|
I was in my geometry math class. At the start of math (9:40 a.m. CT), there would always be daily announcements. At the end, Mr. Harmon, who always does the announcements, told the teachers to go to their mail-boxes in the office and pick up a special bulletin. After that, Ms. Concklin, my teacher, told our class that the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon had been attacked. I remember the class got extremely quiet. She said that for the last 10-20 minutes of class, we'd watch CNN. It was very hard to concentrate and we weren't able to find a working TV.
After math, I had a dentist appointment. The dentist office always had a soft-rock radio station on in the background, but instead of music, they had George W. Bush's speech and news reports from NYC. The appointment lasted long enough that instead of going back to school for lunch, I stayed home. That's when I saw my first images of the planes hitting the towers. My mother took me back to my last hour class (French II) and I was telling everyone how horrific it was seeing those planes crashing.
Post 9/11, especially the week after, were really eerie. Even if kids weren't talking about it, everyone had it on their minds. Not seeing jets in the air was okay, but once they started flying again, I'd be like "wow, a jet".
9/11 is a day I'll never forget and neither will the millions of American citizens.
|
Nicole | 15 | Wisconsin
|
#1410 | Friday, June 21st, 2002
|
|
I awoke on tuesday morning at 8.30 a.m. (pst), September 11th, 2001 as I do most mornings- with the television on. I recall the Today Show was on and the hosts were on camera with smoke filling the New York skyline in the background behind them. Still somewhat sleepy, I was becoming aware of a tragedy that had just ocurred. I was seeing smoke and hearing talk of an airplane crash but could not see exactly what they were talking about. Only after they showed a clip of the two WTC towers collapsing did I fully understand what had happened while I was sleeping earlier. The images from that day, and in the weeks following, from New York City, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania have changed the way I feel about our friends, our enemies and the world we live in. It is sad that some countries only teach there young about violence and hate. Thoughts and prayers to the innocent victims of 9/11, their families and their friends.
|
David | 41 | California
|
#1411 | Friday, June 21st, 2002
|
|
The day I'll never forget!
I awoke early in the morning, earlier than I would of normally since I didn't start work until noon that day. As always I checked my email. I'm suscribed to the breaking news from cnn to be emailed to me when of course there is breaking news. It was jammed full. I took notice of this and the fact that I couldn't get onto cnn.com to do my morning news update. When I was about to give up to frustration a friend and co-worker called me and said can you believe it. I said "No why can't I get onto cnn.com" not knowing what had just occured. He said turn on the T.V. So I turned to headline news, as I have all the T.V.'s in the house to automaticaly turn to Headline news when they are turned one. There I stood dumbfounded. "World War III" I said to myself watching the horrific view. Newscasters were falling apart on live television, people were crying. I ran to wake my roommate who is also an employee for the company we work for. "Wake up it's World War III" I yelled to him. "They've flown planes into the World Trade Center builidings!" I exclaimed. He awoke and we sat infront of the T.V. in aww of what we were seeing. "O.K. maybe one plane flying into one of the biggest buildings in the world is a fluke but two." As we were watching the carnage unfold, as the rest of the country, the unbelievable happend, the first tower began to fall. what an unimagiable thing to happen. Such a disrigard for life. We both cried as we watched, with the rest of the country, as countless inocent people perished. I'll never forget seeing people jump from the building to take thier own lives, a better fate then being burned alive. These scoundrels have taken so many lives. These scoundrels have changed our country and our lives forever. Although I can't remember a time in my 24 years on God's earth that I've seen so many people come together. Petty differances a thought of the past. Black and white together in horror. Complete Brotherhood, at least for the time being. In closing I would have to say that I hope Jesus is in the life of each and everyone of you that may read this account, because of September 11th we never know when the end may be near, PLEASE BE PREPARED. We all see what believing in Christ get's us, but I'd rather die in Christ than live without him. Please if you have your doubt's and if your the type who says "I believe, but I'm not sure", be sure. There is only one solution and savior and his name is Jesus Christ. Do not let yourselves be decieved by the world. I hope that all religions find that Jesus is the Messiah. Wether Jew or Muslim or whatever, don't wait for the great coming, it's already happened, we are now waiting for the glorious reappearance of the savior. Please get you heart's right, don't be so stuborn, DON'T WORRY ABOUT BEING COOL OR ACCEPTED!!! There is no time for this, Get right with God and Jesus and do it now, for as September 11th has showed us there is no time to wait!!
|
Eric | 24 | United States
|
<< |
< |
showing 1407-1411 of 2527
| >
| >>
|
|
|
|
|
