9/11/2001

[Ziner]

Where were you? How did you find out? What are things about the day will you never forget?

I was in college at CWRU we were just getting back from our 5 am morning football practice and we were dead tired. I flipped on the tv and saw that a plane hit the building, one of my best friends was standing next to me and we were kinda joking about how stupid a pilot could be to hit a building..... then right before I was about to go to sleep the 2nd plane hit. Talk about waking up quickly. From that point on all day I was on edge. We woke up all of our friends and did nothing but huddled around all day watching it. People were calling everyone from NYC they knew. Turns out my friends neighbor was the pilot of the 2nd plane.

I will never forget going down to finally grab some dinner after not eating all day and some jackasses were goofing off in the cafeteria like it was a typical tuesday night. My buddy went off on them, Case didnt actually cancel classes that day (one of the only schools in the country). Another friend actually heard someone say that is what we get... he almost ripped off his head.

Sorry if this is twisted, but I like to hear others stories of the day.

[Bayou Tribe]

I was also in college (LSU) at the time. I was about to head out of my apt for morning classes when my Mom called to tell me to turn on the tv, as soon as I put it on the second plane was making contact. Unreal.

I went to campus, my mass comm professor had a note on the door (very eloquent) telling us that class was canceled and that we should find a television asap. By the time I got to the Union it was jam packed with people huddling around the tv's in the food court. You could hear a pin drop. Sadness, anger, shock, surprise, disbelief, etc, etc.

[peeker643]

Couple things stand out above everything that stood out:

1. That day was cloudless here in NE Ohio. Beautiful. Oddly, I remember how freakin' deeply blue the sky was.

2. How eery it was to be outside or driving home with absolutely no air traffic above.

3. Despite my verbosity I still can't put into the words the feelings of seeing those two buildings fall.

Having been back to Manhattan and taking the ferry to Staten Island a week ago where you see Manhattan from an increasing distance, those buildings gave the island a balance that's missing today. The Empire State Bldg and Chrysler Tower toward the eastern side of mid town and nothing on the lower west side. And walking down in the financial center, the typical NYC clamor was noticably less down there. People still walk by the site in awe and amazement and reverentially.

Not sure the ladder company # that is right there, but they were literally less than 100 yards away from the site. They had to be first to the scene and the first to the upper floors. Sobering.

[skatingtripods]

I was in my freshman year of high school. We were outside playing softball on the football practice field right behind the school.

I'll preface the rest of this by saying that I have a knack for knowing when something newsworthy involving the loss of life. For example, I woke out of nowhere to watch that shuttle blow to pieces over Texas. I woke up and turned the TV on the morning that Reagan died. Same with the whole Princess Di thing.

Anyway, for some reason, I remember watching a plane fly over the 480/77 corridor from while playing softball. I know that the plane that crash landed in PA turned around over Cleveland airspace. I highly doubt it was that plane, but the timeframe is there.

My next class just happened to be a computer class. It was my multimedia class. At that time, I was on the internet and found out what happened. We turned the news on and watched the second tower collapse. My school had been wired for the TVs to work on a network because we had Channel One news. My principal and assistant principal came on the screen and said a quick prayer. I remember my best friend at the time make some comment about Brecksville that reallly pissed me off, taking the whole event as a joke. I was blaming Iraq for it.

My cousin was putting a new deadbolt on the door into our kitchen and re-framing it. The coverage of everything was on TV.

Every image is engrained in my mind. It still angers me to this day.

[Larvell Blanks]

I was then working downtown at The Ritz Carlton. I was actually heading out to our produce company in Aurora to pick up items for a banquet that afternoon. In the company car I was listening to Howard Stern when the first plane crashed into the WTC. The Stern show was my eyes and ears that day from the initial impact until the second tower fell. For as many people that bag on him and what he does daily, that was one of his greatest broadcasts. From Casey being scared and being one of the first to leave the station, to Stern himself declaring from the first impact that bin Laden was behind this, to the horror in Robin's voice as the first tower fell. These weren't anchors there to report the news as it happened, they were people just like us trying to decipher what they were seeing and letting us know.

By the time I got back to the hotel was when the Mayor evacuated the city. As a member of our hotels safety team I stayed to insure that all our employees left safely and that our guests had transportation to hotels outside of the city.

The first place I drove to once I left work was straight to my mothers house. Once there in the early afternoon, for the first time I saw the horrifying images of what I to that point had only heard. I was glued to the television until the early hours of Sept 12th trying to make sense of everything that had gone on the previous day.

A colleague from our property in Virginia was at the Ritz Carlton Battery Park as part of the opening training team. The hotel employees were the first to evacuate after the first plane hit. They were in Battery Park and witnessed the second plane come in. Luckily he was on a ferry during the first collapse. Ironically I had been asked to be a part of the same opening training team in NY but had declined because during those 2 weeks of training I was to play in a softball tournament in Fla.

[gotribe31]

Sept. 10 2001 was my first day working as an intern in the national security branch of what was the U.S. Customs Service (now Customs and Border Protection). My mom still hasn't recovered from dropping me off in DC on the 9th, and seeing the Pentagon in flames 2 days later.

I worked 96 straight hours, and 18 hour days for about 3 weeks straight afterwards. I walked outside on 9/11 and saw the F-18's flying over the city, a sight and sound that will stay with me forever.

TCF fans, please do me a favor...if any of you sees or hears any of the 9/11 conspiracy nutjobs today...shut them the fuck up, by any means necessary.

[gotribe31]

Sept. 10 2001 was my first day working as an intern in the national security branch of what was the U.S. Customs Service (now Customs and Border Protection). My mom still hasn't recovered from dropping me off in DC on the 9th, and seeing the Pentagon in flames 2 days later.

I worked 96 straight hours, and 18 hour days for about 3 weeks straight afterwards. I walked outside on 9/11 and saw the F-18's flying over the city, a sight and sound that will stay with me forever.

TCF fans, please do me a favor...if any of you sees or hears any of the 9/11 conspiracy nutjobs today...shut them the fuck up, by any means necessary.

[Mr. MacPhisto]

I was driving to USF when it happened. I was completely oblivious as I was in transit because I was listening to CDs in my car. That was the day that a new Bob Dylan CD, Love & Theft, was to come out and I was listening to a lot of Dylan in preparation. I stopped by a Target on the way to pick up the CD and that's when I saw what was happening. All the TVs in the electronics section were tuned in to coverage, replaying the first impact. The second one had not happened yet.

At that point we really didn't know what was going on. I tuned in to the AM station as I continued driving and heard everything else with great horror.

It was with a sinking feeling in my stomach, knowing that the towers had fallen and the Pentagon had been hit that I walked into a class on American history. The campus was actually full like a usual Tuesday when I arrived. Tough to find parking and the buildings all crowded.

Near the beginning of the class we were informed that all classes were canceled and the university was closed. We took a vote in our class and unanimously decided to stay, talking about the founding of the United States and our Founding Fathers in particular. It was what we were scheduled to cover that day and we had a guest lecturer that dealt most specifically with Ben Franklin. I think most of us wanted to get away from the tragic events for a while and it did seem like we were in a bubble for two hours as the founding principles of the country were illuminated and most of us had a sense that that was what had been attacked on that day.

I'll never forget the drive home. The campus was as empty as I've ever seen it. It seemed like a desert, bereft of life and sound. All of the roads were mostly empty, the businesses closed. It was like driving through town at 3AM on a Monday morning except it was the middle of the day - and it was a beautiful day. Eerily beautiful in my mind at the time.

I kept the radio off on the way home and sat in silence, thinking about what had happened and how everything had changed. It was a long ride home.

I remember the TV coverage being maddening. I think it was appropriate that every TV station had gone to cover the attack just as most every major web site had as well. Even so, I really just wanted to escape for it for a while and found it difficult between my own thoughts and the coverage. I was angry, sad, and proud all at the same time. Angry and sad for the obvious reasons, but proud because of the heroic reports of how people had stood up to help others. Proud of what was trickling in that may have happened on flight 93 when the passengers stood up against their captors.

I remember the great solidarity of that time and the clarity that it brought. I wish the solidarity could have lasted longer.

And now seven years later it seems that not as much has changed as I would have hoped. We often don't take threats against us and our allies very seriously and we've become a bit complacent once more, sunk back into our old ways. I hope that our lack of concern does not come back to bite us. I never want anything like 9/11 to happen ever again.

[WarAdmiral]

My father had passed on September 10, 2001. I was on the phone with the funeral director giving her all the information needed, for the viewing and service. I was giving her the list of names of his family, and walked into my mothers living room where she and my sister were sitting with their jaws dropped. I glanced at the television and quickly seen why both their jaws were dropped. The director noticed something had changed and asked if I had just seen what had happened. I told her yes, and continued with what I had started with her.
I look back, and I was deeply pained over the loss of my father, and I can't describe in words how fucked up everything was in my mind. I had to drive my family down to Kentucky for my father's funeral, because that was where he wanted to be. The trip was like none I ever had. The lines for gas, were in the street, until it became dark. Than it was me and the road. As I passed churches, I couldn't help but notice the lights were on, and the lots were full. I had taken all back roads, because the normal route, had me going by Ashland, Kentucky and I will admit , I was not comfortable driving through Ashland. We made it and really for all my family, 9/11 was really second on our minds. My father was a loved man, for he always took clothes and food down to many in the hollows of the hills. I still miss him, and the 10th is always a hard day for me, and the 11th is always a day of torn for me.

[BDFD]

Sleeping. I was working second shift at the time and my mom called and woke me up to tell me what was going on (at the time only a single plane had crashed into the one tower and it seemed like an accident at first). I ran to the TV and turned it on just in time to see the second plane hit.

At that point I knew for sure something was horribly wrong. It still makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck when I think about it. A very confusing, scary day. Or very confusing, scary weeks for that matter.

I was still angry driving to work today.

[hermanfontenot]

That day was cloudless here in NE Ohio. Beautiful. Oddly, I remember how freakin' deeply blue the sky was.

That's what sticks in my mind too, Peek. It was absolutely gorgeous that day, a perfect September morning. Crazy that something so awful could happen on such a beautiful day.

Something else that I remember; going to an Indians game the Sunday before 9/11, two days earlier. The Browns were playing the Seahawks at home the same day, and I remember looking up and marveling at the sheer number of flying machines- balloons, blimps, jets and prop planes- and their contrails criss-crossing the sky. I don't think I'd ever seen so many at a single time. I don't know why, but the memory of that Tribe game, and those contrails, always jumps into my mind when I think about 9/11.

[Ziner]

it does say for those not easily offended right? Well here is the image that is engrained in to my mind about that day...



Can you even fathom that sort of desperation?

[osucrazy18]

6th grade, everything stopped and we had no idea why.We were listening on the radio when the 2nd plane hit

[Ziner]

6th grade, everything stopped and we had no idea why.We were listening on the radio when the 2nd plane hit

Holy Shit I feel old... and I am 26

[budfrog532]

Was living/working in Houston at the time...totally bizarre day, watched a guy get killed in a car accident on my way in to work that day.

Then, I am sitting in a meeting, and a co-worker sticks his head in, and says - "a plane just hit the world trade center"...we sort of shrugged, mumbled "accidents happen", and finished the meeting.

He came back and said, "and a 2nd one just hit", and we realized that something crazy was going on...spent the rest of the day in front of a 4 inch portable black and white tv in my office, not believing what I was seeing, but also recognizing that the world had just changed, again.

[peeker643]

Ziner, your pic reminded me I still have all the papers in my desk drawer here at the office . Only papers I've ever kept. My p[arents had the newspapers saved after Kennedy was assassinated. 9/11 means roughly the same thing a generation later.

[Ziner]

Ziner, your pic reminded me I still have all the papers in my desk drawer here at the office . Only papers I've ever kept. My p[arents had the newspapers saved after Kennedy was assassinated. 9/11 means roughly the same thing a generation later.

Case always had free PD's (as they should be all the time for the quality you get), USA Today's and NY Times, I still have all 3. There is a similar picture in the NY Times that I will never forget... could you imagine seeing it live... Another image that will go down in history that gives me chills for a different reason is this one. How awesome

[StewieG]

I remember everything.

I was at Miami Ohio, it was my Sophomore year, and I was living in the dorms. I didn't have class til 1 that day, so I slept in til 9, then got up to take a shower. I didn't notice anything on my way to the shower, but on my way back, I noticed that everyone's doors were open, and everyone's TV's were on. I remember thinking how strange that was, first because everyone should be at class, and second because the doors shut on their own unless you used a doorstop.

I went back to my room and turned on the TV immediately. The second plane had already hit, but the towers were, at that point, still standing.

My roomate got back just before the first tower collapsed. I remember saying "holy shit" over and over again as it was going down.

I stayed glued to the TV until 12:30, when I decided I had better get ready to go to class, just in case (they weren't cancelled on our campus, at least not at that point). I went, and we just watched it on a projector screen in absolute silence. It was a computer class, so we had that kind of technology in the building. We watched ABC's coverage, but we watched it on ESPN.

Walking back, I remember how eerily blue the sky was. It was pristine, with absolutely no clouds. I remember thinking that it should have been raining. Nothing like that could happen on such a perfect day. It should have been raining.

The next (and last) class I had that day was at 4, and it was, of course, canceled. But everyone met up anyway. Our professor gave a speech there about patriotism and sacrifice that was incredibly moving, and I wish I could remember it. All I remember about it was how I felt afterwards. I felt a surge of patriotism the likes of which I had never felt before, and hopefully will never have to feel again, because only something like this incident could have brought it out in me.

I stayed glued to the TV after I got back from class until about 7, when we had a candlelight vigil by the Shriver Center (Student Union). There were stories about how one class, a Current Events class, was not canceled, and the professor insisted on teaching that day's originally planned lesson. How ironic, that of all classes, the Current Events class is the one that ignores the whole event?

And then I remember stupid little things that I really shouldn't. Like how the stores ran out of American flags, so students started making their own and hanging them in windows. I remember all the signs outside the shops changed to display a message like "God Bless America" or "Never Forget 9/11". Every single shop did this. Every one. I'll never forget that. I remember how polite everyone was to each other over the next couple of days. Whereas normally you wouldn't get a second look if someone ran into you on accident, now all of the sudden people were stopping and apologizing profusely, making sure you were alright. I remember I got up at 8 Wednesday morning to get a paper, and all of them were already gone.

But two things stick out to me more than anything else. I remember that face. The face of Mohammed Atta that showed up on the front page of every newspaper in America. The black eyes. The expressionless face. I still associate that face with pure evil.

The other things I remember are the stories. All the stories that came out about people risking, and sometimes giving, their lives so that others (in most cases complete strangers) could be saved. And it wasn't just one or two people, either. These stories were everywhere. From firefighters and police officers, to paramedics, to the people on Flight 93, and normal, everyday office workers. And more than anything I remember feeling so incredibly proud to be an American.

[cweiz32]

Two years out of college. Had a downtown job with Baker and Hostetler as a programmer. I had called out of work sick that day!

Cued up some Madden 02 on the PS2...nothing like spending a day under the weather playing video games. Got a call from my mom that something happened in NY.

Since I was home, I tuned in and even turned on the radio. Saw everything right after the first plane hit. It was unbelievable and easily the weirdest day of my life. Holy Shit was a popular term that day for sure. But what will always stick out is when some of the reports (false or not) started filtering in on the radio and TV about more planes being involved, my emotions went from sadness to pure fear thinking that this was going to be happen all over the country. That feeling didn't last long, but it was crazy.

[Ziner]

A friend of mine sent this to me... it should make you sad, however it made me absolutely infuriated. Infuriated that these people think that they were in the right. Infuriated of all those children who will grow up with out mothers and fathers because of these fucking pieces of shit. People just kind of have gotten numb to this, but there are thousands of children who will never get to know their parents, there are spouses who lost their husband and wife. I am sick to my stomach that we have wiped the earth with everyone of these fucking bastards. People just need not forget who were are fighting and the lengths they will go to to destroy us. We have been awful lucky that we havent been attacked and with out making this political, there is one place the Bush has not let us down. I have never seen a President more sincere than I saw him that day and more specifically that night crying in front of every household in America. I dont love much about the guy anymore but you have to hand it to him on his strength in those few weeks and keeping us attack free for 7 years.

Sorry if that is too political, I didnt intend to make this thread go that way, but that is also one of the things I will never forget.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0tzBVOEBto[/youtube]

[Mr. MacPhisto]

That was Bush's greatest moment. The quality of his person came through that day and the days that immediately followed. He took on the role of Comforter-in-Chief that day. He then became Commander-in-Chief once more and had many tough decisions to make. I remember being so thankful that Bush was our President at that point because I felt that he had the resolve to react appropriately. I still feel that way, though he's made mistakes along the way and his domestic policies aren't my favorite.

Even so, this is a big moment in American history:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4BkzuV0LYE[/youtube]

It's amazing how much younger he looks.

[mswerb]

A friend of mine sent this to me... it should make you sad, however it made me absolutely infuriated. Infuriated that these people think that they were in the right. Infuriated of all those children who will grow up with out mothers and fathers because of these fucking pieces of shit. People just kind of have gotten numb to this, but there are thousands of children who will never get to know their parents, there are spouses who lost their husband and wife. I am sick to my stomach that we have wiped the earth with everyone of these fucking bastards. People just need not forget who were are fighting and the lengths they will go to to destroy us. We have been awful lucky that we havent been attacked and with out making this political, there is one place the Bush has not let us down. I have never seen a President more sincere than I saw him that day and more specifically that night crying in front of every household in America. I dont love much about the guy anymore but you have to hand it to him on his strength in those few weeks and keeping us attack free for 7 years.

Sorry if that is too political, I didnt intend to make this thread go that way, but that is also one of the things I will never forget.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0tzBVOEBto[/youtube]

I am pretty sure that we all remember where we were at that point in time 7 years ago, so I will not go into my story. After having 2 kids since the attacks, I found the little girls voice to more disturbing than the images themselves. I feel for the people who lost loved ones. My Brother-in-Law is in the Army and was sent to Iraq for 18 months shortly after all of this went down. He has 2 kids, who this affected very much when he was gone. His wife is a strong woman who dealt with the best she could. I am very thankful to be able to hug my children and wife every day. It is the small things that we need to appreciate more. Needless to say, my American Flag has been flown every day since 9-11-01.
This is easily the one event in our lifetime that no one will ever forget.

[Ziner]

That brought tears to my eyes... I remember watching that thinking that that moment will go down in history with things like FDR's quote on Pearl Harbor living in infamy, LBJ getting inagaurated on Air Force One with Jackie O by his side and Ronald Reagan "Mr Gorbichov tear down this wall". It is and will be the most defining moment of a president that I have ever seen.

And you are right he looks like he has aged 30 years while in office, they all do. That is why I am not sure why they even want the job sometimes. Obama looks like he is turning grey over the course of the campaign (that happens when you have been at it for 2 years). God know what McCain would look like if he aged 15 years in office... father time?

[idoctribefan]

I was a sophomore at a small university in Nebraska. My first class was at 8am (9am NY time) so I didn't hear about any of it until I was on my way back to the dorm. A beautiful girl who had never spoken to me before came up to me and told me a plane crashed into the World Trade Center. It was now about 9:15CT and she said nothing about it being an act of terrorism. I tried to strike up a conversation with her but she wasn't having any of it, so I hurried back to my dorm to fire up the internet to see what had happened.

The next hour or so is a blur. I'm looking at a 9/11 timeline of events in another window on my computer right now, and the actual timing and sequence is all a blur. I don't remember how I felt when I found out, or what I did when I found out. At 10:10 I had another class. We were allowed 3 skips of this class and I didn't want to use one already in the 3rd week of school so I went. The classroom was half-empty. The prof came in and said even though a horrible event had occurred, we had to do what we were at school to do. When he said this, a few people got up and left. After about 20 minutes of realizing nobody wanted to be there, he let us go.

I got back to the dorm and walked into my hall on the top floor. The first door I passed was wide open and a TV was on with news coverage. The room belonged to a guy who I did not get along with at all. He and I openly disliked one another. Our respective "cliques" openly disliked one another (this is what intramural athletics will do to you). I peeked my head in to see him watching the TV with tears in his eyes. For the next 4 hours, he and I watched news coverage together, just the two of us. Talking to one another like each was the only friend the other had.

At 3pm he had to go to football practice and I had to go to golf practice. Out on the range, our golf team was usually happy-go-lucky, joking around. Not today. Coach wanted us to just hit balls. Take our minds off of the day. But it wasn't gonna happen. We all shared stories about what we'd heard, what we'd felt. Coach gathered us around and just as he was about to begin talking, 3 planes flew straight overhead. One big plane with a small fighter plane on each side. We knew all planes had been grounded, so it was obvious that either the President or Vice President was flying over us at that moment.

One of my buddies said that gas would be in short supply, so I went straight to a gas station after practice. The lines of cars were incredible. I drove a few miles outside of town to a station I figured would be less busy. It was, but not much. I sat in my car in line and heard on the radio that many stations in the area were running out of gas. I HAD to get gas. I had no idea what the day's events meant to our oil supply. I noticed that an old lady in another line was moving up really slowly each time another car finished filling up. So yep, I left my line and cut in front of the old lady right when she got up near the front. I fueled up real quick, fearing that an angry mob would attack me, but I'm not sure anybody noticed since I heard nothing.

I went to the school dining hall and sat with my friends and we discussed the day's events. What happened? What was next? What did this mean for us? What did this mean for our country?

For the next 3 years, my friends and Pat's friends continued to butt heads. For the two of us, however, all those negative feelings were gone. He and I never again talked about that day with one another. We never spent one more minute hanging out together. But every time we passed each other on campus, our eyes would meet and we'd give the small nod of acknowledgment. We both remembered the morning of 9/11/01. We may not have been friends, but we were both Americans.

[Mr. MacPhisto]

Obama looks like he is turning grey over the course of the campaign (that happens when you have been at it for 2 years). God know what McCain would look like if he aged 15 years in office... father time?

[SteelersStillSuck]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaVYdg9BoNI[/youtube]

this is the stuff that was shown before the attacks. Very, very creepy stuff. Also saw a channel flipping video posted on youtube. Was creepy to see the video being played on MTV2 was "let the bodies hit the floor".


As for myself. I was a 6th grader. I remember the night before, there was a monday night game, it was the giants against the broncos. I know it sounds weird, but thats a stupid detail I remember. We started class around a little before 8, and I remember specifically me and my classmates faking scared about the date when the teacher wrote it, little did we know . I went to the bathroom when I came back, the whole school was buzzing, when I first heard about an explosion or a plane crash into the towers. I thought that they were discussing a movie or something. I was soon told the details. I freaked a bit, my dad was on a plane in detroit, on the way over to Toronto. I was sure he'd be okay, but if he had made it Toronto by that time, he'd be stuck inside Canada away from us. Luckly he had just arrived in detroit, and he rented a car to drive back. But he said, he watched the second the 2nd plane hit the towers on CNN, the whole airport shut down. He asked the pilots if he was going to be able fly today as they walked off. "Not today", and they walked off.

On a stupid sports related note. I remember listening to Triv. and others being paranoid about not wanting to see the Browns play that upcoming week when the NFL came back, because of a fear of seeing the stadium get hit

[swerb]

Remember that morning like it was yesterday.

Was working the trading desk at the old Metropolitan Bank and Trust. Market went in the tank, saw the news come over the wire, switched my attention to the TV.

Like most people, simply thought the first plane was a bad accident. Second plane hits, all the markets shut down. That's when you know some shit is going on.

I remember, had a very important lunch meeting that day. We still went. Were the only ones in Giovanni's on Chagrin, which was a really weird feeling. Hasn't been one time I've walked in that restaurant since that I am not reminded of that day, that lunch.

Remember driving home that day, looking up in the sky half expecting to see planes heading for downtown Cleveland. Remember spending like 3 hours on the phone with my future wife, watching the news channels together and worrying about what might be coming next.

[consigliere]

The images of the people jumping to their death is still what sticks with me most today. What these people must have been thinking to get to that point to think jumping out a window and falling 100 stories was a better outcome is beyond me. I can only imagine how awful it must have been inside the building.

Discovery did a piece 2-hour piece on "What Happened Inside The Building" awhile back and it is all on You Tube broken up into 12 parts. A fascinating piece. Here is part 1 and you can see the other parts in the tab to the right:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntmgZBJ4YH0[/youtube]

Anyway, I remember being at work that day and listening to the radio and they broke in with an ABC News update that a plane had hit the WTC. I thought nothing of it and that it was a small plane, but then my fiancee at the time who is now my wife and mother of two kids who weren't around then called me and told me they were watching it and that something had gone seriously wrong I was worried. Then Peter Jennings broke in with news of a car bomb going off in front of the White House or whatever, the second plane hit, the Pentagon was hit, and United 93 crashed, and the towers both fell....all this within like an hour of each other. And I saw none of this on TV, all on the radio....and I'll tell you it was a veyr scary experience. Left work early around noon and camped out in front of the TV for the next 15 hours.

What I can't get over is they are rebuilding the complex with the new Freedom Tower which will go right on the same site. There will be other buildings, but one large main tower.....and it will be the home to offices and all that like before. There is absolutely no way you could ever get me in that building. Ever. And especially being on top of a burial ground where thousands lost their lives.

[dmiles]

I was on a consulting gig at Eaton Cutler-Hammer down in Moon Township PA. For whatever reason that day I might have been working from home or at least starting from home.

They sent word out that nobody was to come in to work because Cutler-Hammer is just outside the airport and at the time the email was sent there was that one plane still missing. If I recall wasn't Pittsburgh the destination for that flight? Or was it just that it double backed after flying over Cleveland? I can't recall but I was glued to the TV all day. Quite sad, and a little worried about what might be next.

[consigliere]

Anyone see the "102 Minutes" documentary on the History channel? Saw it last night. I couldn't move. Couldn't breath. All it was was the 102 minutes from the time the first plane hit at 8:48 to about 2-3 minutes after the final tower fell at 10:38.

There was no narrative, it was just a collection of never before seen amateur video of people right there on the site getting video of people's reactions, the horror on their faces, and so on. It also mixed in 911 calls and the fire department dispath to tell the story as things unfolded. The shots on video of all these firemen walking by the video camera looking up, giving big sighs, the fear in their eyes.....man. The one guy saw one entire ladder company walk right by him, and they all eventually perished in the collapse.

If anyone ever gets a chance, check it out.

[fundamentals]

Anyone see the "102 Minutes" documentary on the History channel? Saw it last night. I couldn't move. Couldn't breath. All it was was the 102 minutes from the time the first plane hit at 8:48 to about 2-3 minutes after the final tower fell at 10:38.

There was no narrative, it was just a collection of never before seen amateur video of people right there on the site getting video of people's reactions, the horror on their faces, and so on. It also mixed in 911 calls and the fire department dispath to tell the story as things unfolded. The shots on video of all these firemen walking by the video camera looking up, giving big sighs, the fear in their eyes.....man. The one guy saw one entire ladder company walk right by him, and they all eventually perished in the collapse.

If anyone ever gets a chance, check it out.

Consig,

Do you happen to know when this will be aired again?

9-11-01 was my oldest child's first day of pre-school and one I will never forget.

[consigliere]

Anyone see the "102 Minutes" documentary on the History channel? Saw it last night. I couldn't move. Couldn't breath. All it was was the 102 minutes from the time the first plane hit at 8:48 to about 2-3 minutes after the final tower fell at 10:38.

There was no narrative, it was just a collection of never before seen amateur video of people right there on the site getting video of people's reactions, the horror on their faces, and so on. It also mixed in 911 calls and the fire department dispath to tell the story as things unfolded. The shots on video of all these firemen walking by the video camera looking up, giving big sighs, the fear in their eyes.....man. The one guy saw one entire ladder company walk right by him, and they all eventually perished in the collapse.

If anyone ever gets a chance, check it out.

Consig,

Do you happen to know when this will be aired again?

9-11-01 was my oldest child's first day of pre-school and one I will never forget.

Dunno.

Certainly worth the watch. It is done in real time. Some of the footage after the building collapsed seeing the people in the cloud of smoke choking to death was sickening. And the shot of the girl shooting from her apartment filming person after person jumping and than BAM the 2nd plane hits and she screams.....then proceeds to tell her roommate "I'm getting the @#$& outta here, and I am not living on the 32nd floor of this building anymore....I gotta get out of here" you could feel the same worry we all had that day which was if another building was going to be hit.

The "102 Minutes That Changed America" is the focus on their website right now:

http://www.history.com/

Here is the direct link to the show:

http://www.history.com/video.do?name=91 ... 1759853687

[Bayou Tribe]

Sig, the wife and I watched that last night. We didn't talk, didn't move, just sat their and watched. I had a huge knot in my stomach the entire show.

Hearing the girls in the dorm at NYU when they realized people were jumping was just horrific.

[fundamentals]

Thank you for the links.

I still can remember watching coverage and hearing those transponders(?) going off, over and over, and over, very unsettling for me.

[consigliere]

Sig, the wife and I watched that last night. We didn't talk, didn't move, just sat their and watched. I had a huge knot in my stomach the entire show.

Hearing the girls in the dorm at NYU when they realized people were jumping was just horrific.

I've watched a ton of 911 stuff......

Nothing has affected me like that show I watched last night.

To watch it all unfold real time with nothing but 9-10 amateur videographers showing it and some dispatch calls mixed im? Stunning. Left me gasping for air.

And the part where the 2nd plane hits and to hear the reaction of the girls in the dorm room? Might be the scariest moment for me ever watching a TV or movie. I felt like I was in the room with them when the plane hit.

Here is the interactive map for all the videos:

http://www.history.com/genericContent.do?id=60326#

It is probably better to watch in real time in the actual show, but it is all stunning nonetheless.

[Larvell Blanks]

I dvr'd this show last night. I couldn't commit the time last night to watching it.(finishing touches on baby's room) I saw maybe 3 minutes last night and was riveted for that time.

I know that watching this will affect me in a much different way from other 9-11 films. The only other one was the film by the French brothers

9-11

that followed a fireman trainee on his 9 month probation with a house less than 10 blocks from WTC. This film had the only known pictures of the first plane and pictures from inside the WTC. It's shot from the perspective of the firemen and in many of the shots you can see the horror and uncertainty of what they had to do. Then you see them go do it. The scenes from back at the firehouse were very dramatic as you see fireman from this company come back one by one and relive what they went through. This is a must see if you haven't already seen it

[idoctribefan]

"102 Minutes that Changed America" will re-air on the History Channel at 8pm/7CT Sunday 9/14/08. DVR it and watch the Browns.

[budfrog532]

"102 Minutes that Changed America" will re-air on the History Channel at 8pm/7CT Sunday 9/14/08. DVR it and watch the Browns.

Definitely DVR it, was absolutely gut-wrenching...they did a great job of just letting the video tell the story -- no narrator, no explanations, just exactly what people were experiencing that day.

I finished the show ready to fight...ready to make somebody pay for that cowardly act.

[consigliere]

"102 Minutes that Changed America" will re-air on the History Channel at 8pm/7CT Sunday 9/14/08. DVR it and watch the Browns.

Definitely DVR it, was absolutely gut-wrenching...they did a great job of just letting the video tell the story -- no narrator, no explanations, just exactly what people were experiencing that day.

I finished the show ready to fight...ready to make somebody pay for that cowardly act.

That is what was so compelling about it. We all know the story. We all knew what was going to happen. But, to see it play out and watch the emotions of the people change from shock and awe when the first plane hit....to terrified when the second plane hit....to scared for their lives when the towers fell.....man. All that in 102 minutes.

I mean, the hardest thing with that day for me to this day is how these people went to work like you and I do everyday. And one minute they have little kids, a wife, a promising career, a long life still ahead of them......and then literally 10 minutes after the first plane hit there same people who had all this going for them were jumping to their death. It is still the hardest thing for me to grasp with how in a matter of minutes their lives changed so much and how the heat and smoke must have been so bad that they felt a better fate was jumping.

[StewieG]

I found myself watching a lot of videos last night and this evening. I went through many of the same emotions I did that day, including anger and disbelief.

I kept finding stories that I had forgotten about, like the sailors on a German destroyer flying the American flag at half-mast, performing the "manning the rails" ceremony, and displaying a banner reading "We Stand By You".



I also found a commercial Budweiser put out at the Superbowl in '02. It was the only time it ever aired, because it was meant as a tribute, not an advertisement.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2d17gXJp5v8[/youtube]

I cried like a baby when I first saw it, and I cried again watching it a few minutes ago.

[4thQtrGlory]

Hey guys, I also saw "102 minutes" last Thursday night and I could not change the channel even if I wanted to. I'll share my experience too. I was in the 11th grade and decided to take a stroll during studyhall. As I was walking through the hallway I overheard one of my male teachers talking about a plane hitting the WTC. I went back, relayed the message to the people at my table. Of course, most of the ditsy girls at my table didnt even know what or where the WTC was. About 10 minutes later, I went to Spanish class and we just watched the TV the entire time.

After school, my buddies and I went to play basketball at the playground, but we just sat there and talked. When I got home, I immediately pulled out my bible and started reading Revalations (it scared me when I compared what happened in the bible to that day) because I truly believed that it was the beginning of the end of the world. I watched the president's speech with my parents, and had to walk out of the room to fight back the tears. That day inspired me to become a firefighter and I actually went through with all of the schooling in the next 2 years. Unfortunately, it wasnt for me and I left that field. I cant get it out of my head how perfectly blue the sky was that day. It was the brightest and most beautiful morning I can ever remember.

[Larvell Blanks]

one of the scenes that was eerie for me was the videographer in the plaza below the WTC filming the clutter and strewn about after the second plane hit. There was not a sound to be heard other than the Muzak playing Billy Joel's "She's always a woman"

[Ziner]

bump.

Just re-read through this thread. Wish those links still worked.

[peeker643]

The pics are so much more impactful after going back to NYC for the first time in years. The second one is an approach anyone riding the SI Ferry would see every day. Just makes it that much more incomprehensible. Still a massive crater there, people still speak in hushed tones and with reverence as they approach the site, the ladder company next to the buildings still right there.

I imagine it's a lot like Normandy was for vets of that era.

[exiledbuckeye]

9/11 has started to have a bigger impact over the past year for me. I started a new job about a year ago, and one of my coworkers and good friends lost her mother on 9/11. Her mother worked in the impact zone of the North Tower where American Airlines Flight 11 hit.

MSNBC is replaying their 9/11 coverage today. I'm glad I'm not home to watch it.

[papacass]

The Rising. One of Springsteen's best songs, IMO. I always listen to it this week every year, usually many times over. It's not The Boss at his most raw and accessible, which is why people tend to like his music to begin with. But it's a deeply meaningful song about a firefighter climbing into the burning towers and dying, but still living on after his death. It's a sad song about triumph, if that makes any sense.

Debate all you want about the best era/album for Springsteen, but The Rising seldom fails to give me goosebumps. The storyline, the use of a string section, The "li, li, li" vocal riff in the chorus, the way the song builds through the first two verses. It's an amazing, inspired piece.

The lyrics by themselves are powerful (EDIT: I cut and pasted the lyrics from a site, so accuracy is not guaranteed):


Cant see nothin in front of me
Cant see nothin coming up behind
I make my way through this darkness
I cant feel nothing but this chain that binds me
Lost track of how far Ive gone
How far Ive gone, how high Ive climbed
On my backs a sixty pound stone
On my shoulder a half mile of line

Come on up for the rising
Come on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight

Left the house this morning
Bells ringing filled the air
Wearin the cross of my calling
On wheels of fire I come rollin down here

Come on up for the rising
Come on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight

Li,li, li,li,li,li, li,li,li

Theres spirits above and behind me
Faces gone black, eyes burnin bright
May their precious blood bind me
Lord, as I stand before your fiery light

Li,li, li,li,li,li, li,li,li

I see you mary in the garden
In the garden of a thousand sighs
Theres holy pictures of our children
Dancin in a sky filled with light
May I feel your arms around me
May I feel your blood mix with mine
A dream of life comes to me
Like a catfish dancin on the end of my line

Sky of blackness and sorrow ( a dream of life)
Sky of love, sky of tears (a dream of life)
Sky of glory and sadness ( a dream of life)
Sky of mercy, sky of fear ( a dream of life)
Sky of memory and shadow ( a dream of life)
Your burnin wind fills my arms tonight
Sky of longing and emptiness (a dream of life)
Sky of fullness, sky of blessed life

Come on up for the rising
Come on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight

Li,li, li,li,li,li, li,li,li (to end)

[Bayou Tribe]

Two days each year I get pits in my stomach watching news recaps, recounts, etc. Aug 29 and Sept 11.


God Bless those who have served, are serving, and will serve.

[Doc]

Wow. I don't know how I missed this thread last year. I've been reading off and on for the last hour at work, and every story had me covered in goosebumps. The sky was definitely very blue and clear that day. I remember being at Baldwin-Wallace, where I was a freshman at the time. I made the commute from Brook Park to Berea that day, class started at 8ish. Psychology, I'm pretty sure. The class was going on while everything was happening, so I didn't get to see anything live. Not sure if I made it to any other classes after that was cancelled, but I remember going back to one of the lounge areas in the dorms where the commuter students normally gathered. It was unreal, as I finally got to see what was happening. That day was eerily quiet. I don't even remember what I did for the rest of the day. Stayed with some friends at school, but went home and just took it all in. Still gives me chills.

[peeker643]

Cass, I couldn't agree more with your thoughts on 'The Rising'.

The entire album is outstanding. 'Waiting on a Sunny Day', 'Into the Fire', 'Empty Sky', 'Nothing Man', 'You're Missing', 'My City of Ruins' (which was actually written about the decaying of Asbury Park before 9/11 but obviously applied afterward) .... even love 'The Fuse' and 'Mary's Place'. Mix of reverential and hopeful songs that was his best work in years.

Get goosebumps listening to that album nearly every time I hear it. Read an article that called Springsteen the 'Poet Laureate' of 9/11. Listen to that album and it fits.

Into the Fire

The sky was falling and streaked with blood
I heard you calling me then you disappeared into the dust
Up the stairs, into the fire
Up the stairs, into the fire
I need your kiss, but love and duty called you someplace higher
Somewhere up the stairs into the fire

May your strength give us strength
May your faith give us faith
May your hope give us hope
May your love give us love

You gave your love to see in fields of red and autumn brown
You gave your love to me and lay your young body down
Up the stairs, into the fire
Up the stairs, into the fire
I need you near but love and duty called you someplace higher
Somewhere up the stairs into the fire

May your strength give us strength
May your faith give us faith
May your hope give us hope
May your love give us love

It was dark, too dark to see, you held me in the light you gave
You lay your hand on me
Then walked into the darkness of your smoky grave
Somewhere up the stairs into the fire
Somewhere up the stairs into the fire
I need your kiss, but love and duty called you someplace higher
Somewhere up the stairs into the fire

May your strength give us strength
May your faith give us faith
May your hope give us hope
May your love give us love

[Cerebral_DownTime]

I was sitting at my place on OSU's campus, listening to Howard Stern, smoking a joint. It broke over the Stern show that a plane hit the WTC, for a bit it just seemed like a horrible accident. Until that second plane hit, then all hell broke loose. I remember watching it on tv and wondering how many people were stuck in those towers. Stern stayed on the air until almost 2 pm that day, to stay with his listeners. I'm so glad he was on the air, I got the perspective of a life long New Yorker. I think it's an embarrassment to Americans that Bin Laden and Zawahiri are still out there, attacking our guys in Afghanistan. 8 years....... Wow.