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#1397 | Saturday, June 15th, 2002
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Well, i was on my rom when my parents call me to watch what was happening on New York, I couldn´t belive i called a friend and we pass all the day watching the historic and terrorific things where happening.
All we cand do is pray for the soul of ALL people who have been & are envolve on this
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Oscar | 22 | Spain
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#1398 | Saturday, June 15th, 2002
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I was wondering why passersby were eyeing me strangely. Here I was hauling my luggage through downtown Salt Lake City, Utah on the morning of September 11th. I woke up early that day, about to train a class of Social Security employees on the secrets of successful PowerPoint presentations; however, my first cab driver dropped me off at the former Social Security office, the wrong location! I had incredible trouble making a cell phone call. All I needed to do was call another cab!
Finally, I hailed one down. Ironically, the cab driver said, eyeing all my luggage and computer equipment, "I hope you don't think you're going to the airport because the airport is closed." "That's odd," I thought. "Why is the airport closed?"
Saying nothing outloud, I asked to be taken to the Social Security Office. We drove in silence for about 5 minutes until he broke it. "You do know what's happened, miss, don't you?"
When the cab driver unfolded the story of the attack on the World Trade Centers, I thought it was the end of the world. An SSA employee met me at the corner and helped the cabbie and I unload. He then told me of the attack on the Pentagon. I felt as if my heart had been ripped out and my body began to sway. My brother, a Verizon employee, worked as a telephone installer in the Pentagon.
We proceeded to the classroom where I methodically went through the motions of setting up my equipment and distributing handouts to my trainees. I could not stop thinking about my brother. They could not stop thinking about the attacks. I taught the course for about an hour until it was announced that all government buildings were closed.
I had no hotel room. I had no plane ticket. My original itinerary was to teach in Salt Lake City and fly to Denver to teach the employees there. My hotel room was waiting in Denver but I had no way to get there.
I was a stranded traveler. Would I ever get home to my husband and children?
I ended up being stranded for 6 days in Salt Lake City. I was able to get another hotel room but with much difficulty. I became very suspicious of some Iranians staying at my hotel, who were smiling and happy. It appeared to me they were "setting up shop" for the Olympics. As we set in separate chairs in the lobby, they whispered together, until spotting the government emblem on my computer bag. They stopped talking and abruptly left. I reported their actions to the FBI upon my return to Maryland. (I will never know if an attack was planned for the Olympics but if so, my sole intention was to thwart it!)
I stayed glued to the television for those 6 days. I cried. I prayed for my brother. It was later that I found out my brother had not worked in the Pentagon for over a year. His detail had ended and he had been on vacation at the Ocean on September 11th, unknown to us. (My other siblings also erroneously believed that he was still working at the Pentagon.) However, the Verizon employee who replaced my brother in his previous position perished.
I didn't realize how much my teenagers cared about me. Since I travel often and rather sporadically, they had no idea which city I was in. When they learned from their father where I was, they phoned me at 2 o'clock in the morning in a panic. They just wanted to talk about the attacks and make sure that I was safe.
September 11th remains a nightmare to me. I cannot begin to imagine the anguish of a child who will never see her mother walk through the door again, or a wife who expects to hear her husband's key in the lock.
Life as we knew it will never be the same. Today, I make sure I say "I love you" to everyone I care about.
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Connee | 45 | Maryland
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#1399 | Saturday, June 15th, 2002
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First I would like to respond to another person's post, becuase I think he needs to know the truth behind his accusations. I don't want to turn this into a discussion group, but I believe these are things that need to be clarified.
Here is a quote from his post: "Where were you on August 6, 1945? Oh, don't you recognize that date? That's the date that "good ol USA" whiped an entire city off the face of the earth, and then again on August 9, 1945."
The US did target, and attack civilians in Hiroshima, and Nagasaki. The reason behind this was not to kill as many civilians as we could, or to even flex our muscles, it was to save lives. If the US, or the Russians invaded Japan the entire country would have been decimated, and the result would have been millions of more dead Japanese, Americans, and Russians. The bombs forced an end to the war, and prevented any more people from dying.
On to the next: "And it's been conveniently forgotten that while the Japanese only attacked military targets during WWII, America saw fit to destroy millions of innocent lives."
First of all millions of poeple did not die. Estimates cover a large range of numbers, but it's safe to say that only about 240,000 people were killed in the attacks. Still a significant number of people but nowhere near "millions".
That said, in response to the first part of your statement I say you should ask the people of Nan King if the Japanese only attacked military targets in WWII. Also, it's clear that if Japan got the bomb first they would not have hesitated to use to use it.
I just had to get that off of my chest. I want to thank you for this site. You really are doing a service.
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Jeremy | 20 | Washington
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#1400 | Sunday, June 16th, 2002
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I was working in downtown chicago when these events happened and just walked into my office when a coworker was hysterical and telling me we were under attack, and we kept listening to the news and seen what was happeneing on tv and then our building got evacuated because we didnt know if we were gonna be next because from the news eveywhere was getting hit, they had extra trains running out of the city because it was chaos and they were trying to get everyone out of downtown, I have never seen downtown chicago that crazy until that day, it will forever stick in my mind, I soon lost my job after that due to being in the travel industry and am now working for half the pay I was making, I am now trying to join the military to help fight for my country
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Robert | 27 | Illinois
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#1401 | Sunday, June 16th, 2002
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I was at the most likely place any 14 year old would be. School. It was passing time and I was on my way to science class when I notice the hallways were a little more hectic than usual. A friend stops me and starts to ramble on about the Pentagon and about some Towers. I didn't know what he was talking about so I just set my materials on my seat and looked up at the news that was on the TV in the classroom. I was confused because my teacher almost never turns on the TV if it's not for an educational movie. Within seconds the classroom filled u and we all took our seats. My friend and I exchanged confused looks and listened to the teacher as he spoke. He informed us of the terrorism and the room filled with gasps. We watched the TV for the rest of the period and all throughout the rest of our classes. It was definitely the talk of the day. I remember seeing people walk through the hallways with a sadder look on their face then they had before, and people whispering of the horrific news. Word was around that some of the teens relatives were working on New York at the time and calls were made home to see if there was any update on their safety. One boys father left the next day to help out at the site in Washington, DC. Prayers went out for everyone who were killed or who had relatives who were killed. I'll never forget where I was and the terrible actions done on September 11th, 2001.
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Kelsey | 14 | Illinois
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