#914 | Monday, March 11th, 2002
On the morning of Sept. 11th I got out of bed thinking it was going to be just another boring, depressing day of work. I turned on the TV and at that moment the second plane was hitting the WTC. I went from half asleep to fully awake instantly, and as the announcer said it was a terrorist attack a million thoughts were going through my mind. The number of people who were going to be killed or missing, what this would do to the economy, the stock market, etc. But the one biggest emotion that has come out of these attacks is FEAR. How can we ever feel safe again? We’re picking up, and moving on, but nothing will ever be the same again. Never.
Mary | 45 | California

#915 | Monday, March 11th, 2002
At 6:30 am California time, I woke up my 12-yr-old daughter for school as I do every weekday morning. It was just another Tuesday. We talked for a few minutes, then she got up and I went to wash up. I turned on the small TV in the bathroom like I always do to check on the local news, weather, etc. It's a tiny black and white TV which does not get very clear reception, but as soon as I turned it on I could hear the urgency in the voices of the newscasters. At that point, both planes had already crashed into the towers and I believe one had already collapsed. At first, all I heard was that a plane had crashed into the tower and, like so many others, thought it was just a terrible accident. But soon I heard the word "terrorism" and pieced together what had happened. I immediately went into the family room and turned on the big TV. It was clear as I flipped around to different channels, that something monumental was taking place. My husband was on his morning walk, my college-age son was still asleep and my daughter was still getting ready for school, so I sat there alone just trying to comprehend what was happening. Even after I learned that a second plane had hit the towers, for some reason I still thought it was just some horrible accident. Then they said something about a plane hitting the Pentagon and one heading toward the White House and one was down in Pennsylvania but they didn't know if these were related to the Trade Center crashes. I remember thinking, "Of course they are!" That's when it hit me: "My God, we're actually being attacked." I didn't even try to determine what country could be doing this or why. All I could think of was, "We're going to war and I have a 20-year-old son." By now it was probably around 7:00 am. I went into the bathroom where my daughter was getting ready and told her to come watch TV with me, that something was happening that she would remember for the rest of her life. We both sat there watching as I tried to calmly explain to her what was happening even though I didn't really know myself. My husband came back from his walk. He must have heard what was going on from someone on the street and came home to watch the news reports. Even though we were geographically removed from the horror, I still hesitated to send my daughter to school. But since we live in a relatively small town, I thought it best she go. I knew they would be discussing it there all day and it would be good to keep the routine as normal as possible.
My mother was already planning to spend the day with me that day. She came over around 9:00 am. I was so happy to see her. I felt, at 45 years old, I still needed my mommy. We watched TV nonstop all day and all evening. To this day, before I get out of bed in the morning, I switch on the TV first thing, just to quickly check that everything is OK. It's a new habit I'm sure I will have for a long time to come.
Ann | 46 | California

#916 | Monday, March 11th, 2002
When we first heard, My fiance and I had just dropped off our 3 year old son at school and we were having a disagreement, of course I don't remember what it was about. Then, the radio morning show guys mention a plane just hit the world trade center. We listened intently on our ride to work, not knowing what was happening. When I got to the office co workers were huddled around a radio and said the second tower was hit. I immediately turned on my radio and listened all day as events unfolded. I felt uncertain and angry at the same time as I heard of the terrorist attacks. It astounded me that people could be so evil to plan such an catastrophe on innocent humans. I went home, drank a few scotches, and watched the news all night. Oh yeah, we played with our son, who was too young to understand. We sheltered him from all the TV reports. Who can understand? I feel so much pride for our country now, which we all take for granted too much.
Matt | 34 | Colorado

#917 | Monday, March 11th, 2002
I was in a job interview that morning
with ATT for a project related to the
WTC. The interview was in Dayton NJ,
20 miles or more from the WTC.
Driving home the smoke from the WTC was
very visible from rt 1/9 in NJ.
The next day we could smell the WTC center burning- 30 miles away in New
Providence NJ. I'm thankful that
the interview was in NJ and not in the WTC....
Steve | 45 | New Jersey

#918 | Monday, March 11th, 2002
Thirteen years before 9/11, I had experienced a natural gas explosion in a furnace room two floors above where I was working. As the concussion hit, my instantaneous thought was that an airplane had stuck our building. Then I thought it had only broken the sound barrier just above us. Then we heard the thunder of footsteps and screaming in the stairwell outside our area. On 9/11, when I finally realized what I was hearing on the radio was real news, I was instantly "there", only instead of several dozen people running down, it was thousands. Instead of only two men burned, but still alive and recovered, thousands were dead. In a very small way, I was connected to that vast horror.
Linda | 53 | Washington

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