Just wondering....do you remember where you were on 9/11/01 when the world trade center got hit?

Yup, I was on my way to a meeting with Boeing guys. 6 weeks later we had the meeting and none of the guys I was due to meet still worked for Boeing... 5 days after 9/11 my first born entered the world. Shame it was a world with no twin towers!!

I was at work. Just like the people in the towers.

I was in a class in high school on composing music and had just finished my composition, which I worked on the whole year. I went out into the band room to hang out with the band director (I played sax in the marching band) who was watching the news.

We saw the planes hit the towers on LIVE television. Mr. Crohn's face was horrified, and I started panicking. I'll never forget the look on his face as long as I live. I think being around 15 years old, I was looking to him for reassurance, and there was none.

Being shuttled back from the dealership, where my truck was being serviced. We heard it on the radio and arrived in time to watch (on tv) the second tower be struck........

I was between classes, sitting in my car, at the University of Southern Maine. My next class was Islamic Civilizations. The professor was from Syria. We students all came in, sat down and looked at him with a silent, "And? What's this about?" and he opened his hands in a helpless gesture and sadly said, "Class dismissed."

Aside from the obvious, it was a strange morning. I was driving to work, and I was on the cell phone (yes, hands free) applying for a Southwest airlines advantage credit card. The woman taking my application seemed awfully distant and aloof. Not sure if she knew yet or not. My thoughts: she did.

When I got to the machine shop, the first guy I saw (Karl) looked sick. I knew something was wrong. Karl, is everything OK? No, Brad, it's not.

He is the only person I saw at that time, which with a shop of four, is not that unusual. Later I learned they had gathered around a TV in one of the offices. They had a TV on a training cart, and hooked up an antenna to watch.

Now, someone had just brought in a TV to the main area where Karl and I were standing and turned it on. As soon as the TV came on and got to a TV station, the images of the second plane was coming on the screen. I had no idea what was going on at this time. As Karl watched this second plane go into the building, I saw a face of a strong, hard-working man just become lifeless; he turned, and walked away. At that moment, standing in the machine shop, by myself, with the TV on, is my memory of 9/11.

After trying to get some work done, and do something to pass the day, I had to head to another building. I got in my vehicle, and turned to one the shock jock shows. Why did I do that? I never listen to that stuff . Maybe I thought listening to his stuff was much less painful than listening to the truth. However, the DJ had moved into full coverage of the activities; and did a very impressive job covering the events.

(Several months later, they had a town meeting with the local radio jocks about 9/11. They talked about how hard it was to do their jobs, cover something they did not want to cover, hide their own emotions and fears, and deliver good journalism; filtering through the millions of news bites coming in every minute. It was a long day for those folks.(

After going through an all-day funeral, I went home to start again with my family.

9/11- a day I would like to forget, but will always remember.

Sitting in second period Entrepreneurship class in High School. Turned on the TV and watched the news in every single class the rest of the day. After school our soccer game was canceled so our coach took the team out for pizza and gave the most inspiring speech on what it is to be a part of a team and an American.

Had just got home from my first leave from my military service, on the phone with my girlfriend, watching the TV at "mute" mode, thinking it was some kind of movie for some seconds.

My wife and I were in Hilton Head on vacation. We had plans for a horseback ride and before we left we the plane had hit WTC. At that time we just thought it was a tragic accident. It was not until we got back from our ride and went to a place for lunch that we found out what had happened. The television was on and I asked what was going on. We just stood there in disbelief as if we had not heard the answer correctly.

That week was unbelievably quiet with very few people at restaurants and the beach. I had a portable radio with me that we listened to at the pool. I remember how strange it sounded when a plane flew over because the only flights were the military. Later that week we were talking to a British couple that were trying to get a flight back home. The event was a world event and they expressed their sympathy for those who died.

Remember that first few weeks how everyone said it would change us forever and people would be nicer to each other. It seems a long time ago in many ways.

Bill Pflanz

I was in my car on the way to work when the first reports came in. As is the case with all spot news stories, the initial reports were wrong; I remember hearing a witness calling in to CBS radio saying that the first plane that struck was a DC-3 (an old propeller-type aircraft) and the initial assumption was that it was an accident. Before I got to work the second plane struck and it became clear that it wasn't accidental. The place where I worked at the time had a lot of conference rooms and all of them had cable-connected TVs, so everyone spent a lot of time that day watching the coverage as the story unfolded.

I had just set out on a 4 hour drive to Bradford to do a quality audit of our gamma sterilisation facility. It was before I had a mobile telephone, and throughout the entire journey I received updates every 15 minutes on Radio 1. The usual radio shows were cancelled, and morose music and the bulletins were pretty much all that kept me company. It was very distressing, and by the time I got to my hotel I'd started a severe migraine headache and had to go straight to bed. I can remember watching news item after news item showing those poor people waving handkerchieves and clothing from the windows. I was so ill that night the hotel had to get a doctor to see me.

The following day I managed to perform the audit, and on returning home got a puncture in my car. The morning after that driving into work I was involved in a serious road accident, so it was a few hours in hospital and a written off car. It ended up being one of the worst weeks of my life, and all before my birthday on the 15th.

Still, it was nowhere near as bad as the friends and relatives of the people who were killed that day.

Jo

I was in a meeting with my boss when the president walked in (my boss was the VP of Operations) and told us to go on the internet. We couldn't get on ANY website except for CTV (Canadian news site).

The rest of the day was pure shock. We couldn't finish anything rest of the day. I may not be American, but, I do live in a large metro area (Toronto area) where we felt like we were next.

Obviously that didn't happen but I remember having nightmares about planes crashing for some time afterwards (my in-laws live in a flight path for the International airport here).

The 3 days I will never forget - my wedding day, my child's birth, and 9/11

We were on an airplane.

My grandfather died on September 10, 2001 in my hometown in SE Wisconsin. We had made arrangements on America West airlines to fly to Milwaukee via Phoenix the next day. So my wife, our (then) 4-month old little girl and I arrived at the Salt Lake City airport about 6:30 am for a 7:22 am flight.

We had no idea anything was going on at the time. From the time we arrived at the airport to the time we took off, both towers had been hit. Fifteen minutes after we took off, the Pentagon was hit.

About 20 minutes into the flight the co-pilot informs us over the intercom that two planes had crashed into the WTC and that all planes in the US are to land immediately. We were being diverted to Las Vegas.

After landing, we called family members to let them know our status, then start to figure out what do do: Where will we stay? How will we get to Wisconsin for the funeral? Should we just go home?

My company has a branch in LV, so we start there. We get a ride from a co-worker to the general manager's apartment where we call a friend of mine from grad school who's a professor at UNLV and has 2 little kids. We finally get that arranged and end up staying at their place until we figure out if planes will be flying again soon so we can make the funeral. Grandma is worried about us and her great-granddaughter on a plane and told us not to fly and just find a way to get home. Planes weren't going to be in the air in time anyway, so we start to work on getting home.

It just so happened we knew our neighbor was at a convention in Mesquite, about 90 minutes away from LV. So we call her cell phone, and she knew someone who had rented a minivan to drive back to Salt Lake City. It was perfect for us - plenty of room for all our baby stuff -including an extra child's car seat we were taking back to my brother.

So on Thursday, the day of the funeral, our friends we've been staying with in Vegas drive us to Mesquite, we meet up with out neighbor and the person with the minivan, and head out for the 6-hour drive back to the Salt Lake area.

I was in my car, driving my son to his babysitter's house when the first report came in that a plane had hit a building in New York. When I arrived at the sitter's house, she had the news on with the live shot of the first tower - and I said "Something dosen't look right". We watch together for a few minutes and then left for work.

On the way to work the reports were becoming clearer as to what was occuring.

By early afternoon, the owner called a company meeting. He told us that anyone who wanted to could leave for the day. He asked all employees to let him know if they were personally affected by the tragedy (God rest his soul - he was prepared to open his wallet wide). Fortunately, no one had to take him up on his offer.

To all that were affected by this event - May the Lord wrap His loving arms around you and your loved ones.

I was in the middle of a lecture for Logistics in a large lecture room at the University of Michigan when another student burst into the classroom, stood up on a desk and announced the news that a plane had hit the WTC.

The professor immediately cancelled the rest of the lecture and advised everyone to go home. There is generally a large contingent of New-Yorkers at UofM and the adminstration was being very sensitive of that.

I made it home just in time to see the second plane hit on the news. My roommates and I stayed at home for the next several hours just staring at the TV as the events unfolded. Outside our building, we could hear some sort of military planes that had started patrolling the area, as there was paranoia that more terrorist attacks would occur, and that added to the feeling of all Americans being under attack.

The thing that really made me feel numb, was the fact that, literally 5 days before, I had been in the WTC in the basement at the shopping mall at 9am in the morning. It makes you question your mortality and the senseless loss of others.

... 5 days after 9/11 my first born entered the world. Shame it was a world with no twin towers!!
Wish your 8 year old a very happy birthday from Elmar Cove on Wednesday!! :hbday:

To all that were affected by this event - May the Lord wrap His loving arms around you and your loved ones.
Beautiful thought CarolX. I've seen a few memorials on TV today and alot of people have that same thought. To bad it doesn't last throughout the year.

I'll never forget the look on his face as long as I live. I think being around 15 years old, I was looking to him for reassurance, and there was none.
You were so young but it seems that it really had a big impact on your life. Maybe you can give some reassurance to someone young yourself today.

At that moment, standing in the machine shop, by myself, with the TV on, is my memory of 9/11. 9/11- a day I would like to forget, but will always remember.
Ironically, I was doing the same thing. I thought my friend was beside me when the second plane hit but when I turned around, she had gone to make a phone call. Quite eerie I recall standing there alone.

After school our soccer game was canceled so our coach took the team out for pizza and gave the most inspiring speech on what it is to be a part of a team and an American.
You were very lucky to have such a wonderful coach. Sounds like a great guy.

Remember that first few weeks how everyone said it would change us forever and people would be nicer to each other. It seems a long time ago in many ways.
I do remember the first few weeks and only 8 short years later, some have forgotten or seem to have at least pushed it aside. Unfortunately, it does seem a long time ago in many ways. Today many are on planes heading to DC to protest tomorrow.

Still, it was nowhere near as bad as the friends and relatives of the people who were killed that day.

The 3 days I will never forget - my wedding day, my child's birth, and 9/11
Thanks to everyone for your stories that you've shared. It really hits home when something can affect so many lives around the world.

I was at work listening to my then Freshman duaghter at Syracuse University sobbing over the phone as a girl on her dormatory floor had both parents who worked in the towers. They never did come home.

Remember that first few weeks how everyone said it would change us forever and people would be nicer to each other. It seems a long time ago in many ways.

Flags are certainly much easier to come by these days.

I was just pulling into work when news of a small plane hitting the first tower came over the radio. After hitting the office, news reports started to surface that it was a bigger plane that hit the tower. Then we had news of the second plane hitting and found a TV in one of the break rooms where a croud was starting to gather. Everyone at work was sent home early so they could check on their family and keep an eye on the news. On the way back home, I saw a lot of cars on the shoulder of the main road and looking towards where NY city is, when I looked, I could see the smoke from the towers just off the horizon; I live and work just off the Hudson River, about 30 miles north of NYC.

I later found out that the father of one of the guys I bowled with was one of the firefighters that didn't make it out alive, http://www.legacy.com/gb2/default.aspx?bookID=151767 or http://www.lohud.com/article/20090816/NEWS02/908160339/1232/NEWS0216.

I was at work too. Taking my morning break out on the patio when someone said a plane hit one of the towers. We thought it was an accident. Then I went back in to my cubicle and my wife called, she was crying and saying we(the USA) were under attack, and she was really scared. She thought is was the beginning of a war. I went home a little later and we watched the rest of the tragic news unfold. I had lunch in the towers in September 1991, and we parked in the basement.

On Sunrise Highway - Bohemia NY driving to 1101 Lakeland Avenue - the first plane hit at 8:46 and it was about 8:55 when all the brake lights on the highway lit up. I turned off the highway thinking it was an accident ahead and pulled into our Lakeland Avenue building where I was meeting customers from the west coast.

No one was in the offices, conference rooms,lab, cubes or shipping - everyone was in the cafeteria watching the TVs - the second plane hit and it was too much to watch - everyone was devastated. The news spread that there were seven planes targeting NY and DC - we all now know it was 4 - one hit the Pentagon in Alexandria VA an hero passengers brought the terrorists down - with the plane in the field in PA.

As the news was coming though with hollow hearts we started reaching out - my cousin Peg worked at Verison accross the street from Tower 1 and was in the WTC getting coffee before she took the elevator up to her office - I kept calling her and my cousins in MD who worked in DC and Alexandria Va. Others tried to help our customers get out of NY - they rented cars and crossed country back to CA.

Many or our fellow employees are volunteer firefighters on Long Island and others had trucks to go into the city to bring supplies - we went to local stores to purchase water, masks, underwear, socks and the chefs made trays of food to bring relief for the many volunteer workers on September 11th and the weeks that followed.

The parking lot at 1101 Lakeland Avenue is empty most of the days when I drive by - it distributes toilet paper - no more Enterprise Mobility products.
In the end all my cousins were ok - and one of our most dynamic marketing directors met a NYC cop - she now has twin girls - from twin towers to new lives for some and unbearable loss for many.

In bed asleep.

Woke up to hear something from a newsreader on the radio. Snapped awake in a flash because I couldn't believe what I'd just heard. Spent the next few hours glued to the TV, still unable to believe what I was hearing and saw.