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I think I've talked about what I was doing on September 11, 2001, but its pressing on my mind, so I'm going to share again, and you'll just have to put up with it.
I was working a night shift as a security guard at one of my local hospitals in the intensive care unit doing what was called a patient watch - basically sitting with a patient on a one-on-one basis. This particular patient slept until about 630, so it had been a quiet night. Once he woke, he seemed like a nice enough guy, and he asked me to turn on the TV for him. He did the typical guy thing - flip through the channels so fast I wasn't sure he could actually know what was on any particular channel. But he stopped on CNN, and with good reason - there was a fire on one of the Twin Towers in New York. The initial reports seemed to suggest a small plane had crashed into the building, and while a terrible thing, it wasnt regarded as a crisis. They talked about other times a plane had hit a skyscraper, and no one seemed worried. And nobody mentioned even the possibility of terrorism.
We watched the smoke rise from the tower, and I thought of the old disaster film "The Towering Inferno" and wondered if like the film, it would prove a challenge to fight a fire that high up. We watched for a while, and then he flipped away from it.
The next time we paid attention to the channel, they were showing a plane hitting a tower. At first, I assumed it was footage of the first plane, and it was only after it had been repeated a couple of times did it become clear to me that this was in fact a second plane hitting the other tower.
Then things seemed to happen too fast for me to process. Another plane hit the pentagon, another crashed in Pennsylvania.
My shift ended, and I went home. I turned on the radio in my car and got the final body blow of the day - the towers had collapsed.
I made it home, and gave my then one-and-a-half year old daughter a hug and a cuddle, and then laid down, trying to make sense of that day, and also trying to rest.
I failed at both tasks.
The next while was a total blur to me, with the only bright spot learning that Gander, Newfoundland, had taken travelers from around the world who were suddenly stranded once the U.S. skies were closed to traffic. I thought it was as typically Canadian gesture as I could possibly have imagined, and I was proud of my countrymen.
Eventually, life went back to almost normal, with the ongoing story pushed into the background by my own life challenges. It would come to the surface with every new update, every new rumor of new threats, but it would subside again as I dealt with the pressures of the ordinary.
So that's my story.
Hugs to all.
Comments
The Towers
I lived in suburban NYC and had been in the towers up to the 103 floor and it was inpressive each time I went in them . I watch as the 2nd plane hit the tower and watched the fall and I cried for hours and maybe days . I didn't know anybody personally but had 2 friends at where to have had meeting that where canceled LUCKY for them and my sister in law lived up town and had smoke for days and fear that you would not believe That is my story-- Richie2
Hmm...
I was at school, a few days into my 10th year. It was near the end of the school day, given the 5 hour time difference. I heard of it from my mother a couple of hours later when I got back home.
*Huggles back*
We lived in Virginia at the time...
but that summer we were visiting and took the Circle Line around Manhattan, and saw the Towers much closer than I'd ever seen before. When I was younger, when traveling east on US46 from Mountain Lakes you could see the tops of the buildings when you drove over the hill toward NYC, and that was over thirty mikes away. It's still the first thing I notice when I drive the same route; it's not there.
Sad day in the history of the United States, and perhaps one of the worst ever, since the Towers were the business center of the country, and there were so many people from all over the world that died that day; death and destruction make no distinction between races, genders, age, etc, even if man does. I pray this never happens again.
Post Script: For whatever reason, none of the first responders...the firefighters, the police, the Med Techs...have been invited for the ceremony tomorrow. Someone wrote on a web site yesterday that "It's okay....just like ten years ago, they weren't invited then either, but they showed up anyway. Such courage and sacrifice that I'll never ever approach.
Dio vi benedica tutti
Con grande amore e di affetto
Andrea Lena
Love, Andrea Lena
It was my day off
normally I slept in on my days off, but I woke up at like 5 am so I went to the TV. I was in Michigan at the time and there was nothing on (no cable) so I flipped and flipped, then went back to my bed. I was reading and listening the Bob and Tom show when they cut in with an announcement. Normally that show never interrupted for a major story, but when they said the first tower had been hit, I listened for a bit, then went back to the TV. I turned it on as they showed the second plane hitting the tower.
I was shocked, but not as bad as my roommate at the time. He heard it (keep in mind, he never left Michigan) and he panicked, claiming that Lansing was next on the to hit list. He was so bad that days after the attack, when planes were allowed in the skys again, if one flew overhead, he'd cry, expecting it to come screaming down on Lansing...I know. Why hit Chicago, or Detroit, or New York City (again) Or LA when you can hit Lansing Michigan, home of very little.
Now I hate planes, but that's if I'm in them. I rarely have problems of them flying overhead, unless they're coming in for a landing. But he was freaking out about everything, all because he thought that Lansing was on the Terrorist hit list.
Then a few days later my boss holds a meeting and goes on to tell us that if a cop pulls us over to demand to see his badge and if he's in an unmarked car, to demand a marked car and uniformed cops. He swore that the bad guys would take vans which were Black with lots of red and yellow on them.
I just let life run it's course. Sure I fell bad for the family of those dead, but I refused to live in fear from it. I had enough stuff that I'm afraid of
9/11 -- Then and Now
There is no question that we all experienced the trauma of that day differently. The real tragedy for me was how shabbily the leaders in US government retrenched into paranoia and over-reaction. It was an opportunity to show the world how real democracy worked and we failed miserably.
My feelings now are to use the anniversary as a time for healing and reconciliation.
I have the privilege of contributing to my church's worship experience through various means. One is our church bulletin. Interestingly, the key passage for tomorrow is from Matthew 18, where Peter asks Jesus how many times we should forgive each other.
The passage I used for the cover I think is important: "The poor wretch threw himself at the king's feet and begged, 'Give me a chance…’â€
The image I used is:
And about the Scripture and image I wrote this: "Today we commemorate events that caused us great harm and greater pain. It is natural for us to seek revenge for the damage done to us. Jesus, though, told us to turn the other cheek, to forgive those who harm us. When Peter asked Jesus for clarification, the answer was stunning.
So, as we hope for forgiveness, we are also called to forgive."
The reason I bring all of this up is that I feel that there is a larger meaning for our community. We are, by and large, a pretty subjugated portion of the population. We are persecuted and taken for granted. There are those who cause us great harm and greater pain.
If we are to overcome our challenges, we have to be better than our oppressors. If we let them keep us in pain and despair, how can we thrive?
To paraphrase Jesus on the cross, "Dad, forgive these idiots. Maybe they'll get a clue next time around."
This is not to push Christianity down anyone's throat. There are many faiths that include forgiveness and redemption as part of their tenets. If we wallow in our depression and despair, we will never gain acceptance. If we have trouble accepting ourselves for who we are, how can we expect anyone else to accept us?
Janet
Mistress of the Guild of Evil [Strawberry] Blonde Proofreaders
To be or not to be... ask Schrodinger's cat.
Janet
Mistress of the Guild of Evil [Strawberry] Blonde Proofreaders
To be or not to be... ask Schrodinger's cat.
No flame war please?
It has been extremely difficult for me these last days, because of the constant use of the image of the first tower burning. In the spring of 2011 events were already leading me down toward a full blown psychological break and at the time I did not know it.
After the event, working for a small city, I saw close working relationships we'd had with county, state, and federal agencies suddenly metamorph into something that was really, really frightening. In our town in Oregon, I saw and heard officials talking about suspending First Ammendment priveleges, interning all Muslims, negating the Right to bear Arms and a host of other very scary measures. For a while the city IT guy was tapping the phones of all city employees, thus causing him to lose his job and perhaps go to jail.
I mark that year as the time when I really had to start to address who I was, and it eventually led me to be who I really am.
I saw other things that I can't even mention for fear of starting a flame war, because I know other people violently disagree with me. The whole thing caused some people to act according to their lower nature, but I am thankful that a great many others rose to the challenge and did things to insure that our government would not utterly crumble, though it would be damaged and still is.
If you do a nationality by nationality study of who died during 9/11, you will find an astonishing diversity, including the fact that 10% were Muslim.
Much peace
Gwendolyn
I Was At Work When My Boss Came Out
I was in the library.
I was in grade six. I had been kicked out of my computer class for supposedly "hacking the computer" by playing a game of solitaire. The librarian and the Principal had plugged a TV in, in front of me, and I watched the whole thing unfold over the course of an hour.
I remember thinking "What if they fly a plan in to my school?" I remember I kept visualizing it, and worrying about it, over the following weeks. I guess it just goes to show the silly thought process of a 10 year old. Anything is possible to a kid.
Actually there were planes diverted to
Halifax and Sidney too and Moncton, pretty much every major Maritime Airport landed planes and it was one of those times when the old values came back. People opened up their homes to the stranded it was good to see.
Four Hours after it happened we were sending rescue workers and EMT's down to NYC, we had two firefighters and one of our EMT's go down from our little town and they were driven down full lights by two RCMP who drove fast as they could and in shifts.
As horrible as it was there were people that really stepped up, and even ten years later I can see or hear some of these stories and get moved to tears.
*Huge Hugs to Everyone.*
Bailey.
Bailey Summers
My parents had been at the
Samirah M. Johnstone
Remembering when . . . .
I remember where I was when JFK was assassinated.
I remember where I was when Challenger blew up.
I remember where I was when Columbia burned up on reentry.
I especially remember the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.
And I remember where and when I heard about 9/11.
I notice a trend here. Things are getting worse.
What's next?
P.S.: I know the shuttle losses are different from the other events. Still, these are the major events I easily recall.
I went outside once. The graphics weren' that great.
Like most of us...
I watched on TV. A friend in NYC had some warehouse space that wasn't too far away, he and his employees wound up sheltering almost 1000 people, just getting them in out of the dust so they could breathe.
As horrible as the event itself was, what was to follow makes me sick at heart. The day before that, we lived in a world that was growing closer together, where the divisions between peoples were finally beginning to lessen. The doomsday clock was actually back into "Don't worry" territory. The spirit that had us all singing about "The winds of change" in 1991 was still strong and growing, or so it felt.
That hopeful world died that day. As terrible as our own losses were that day, our world lost far more. We who should have been leading the world into the light of freedom suddenly became something other. Now we founder where empires have traditionally gone to die...
We have to recapture that lost world, or at least try. Enough picking at the wounds, keeping them raw. Let them scab over and heal.
Weirdly I was usually a late riser
... and I was unemployed at the time but also in a weird coincidence I only had my GRS about 3 weeks prior so I had to do a lot of .... well, you know. And it is well, boring, to say the least, so there I was dilator embedded, turning on the TV to divert myself and the world trade center was smoking. To say the rest of the day was surreal as I watched the coverage and doing more sessions ( the Doctor required at least 4 sessions per day for the first few months if possible! )
The sad part of it is the contrast of going through airport security before and after that tragic event. I had to fly home after my surgery and it would have been a lot more complicated for me to go through security with my errr 'kit'.
Kim
9/11
At the time of the attack I was working on the south Boston waterfront in a building also called the World Trade Center (apparently they exist all around the world), now called the Seaport World Trade Center. It was originally called Commonwealth Pier and consisted of an exhibition hall and office space.
I was at home getting ready for work with the news on when I heard the first reports of a plane hitting the first tower. I ended up staying at home and watching the TV all day. I have two sister-in-laws who live and work in New York City. One of them worked in the area of the towers and occasionally used the subway stops there for her commute.
For a prior job I had often travelled to New York. I had a few meetings with one of our clients in their office space in tower two and I occasionally stayed at a hotel then called the Vista in the complex next to tower one. As far as I know I didn’t personally know any of the victims but it’s very possible that I had met at least some of those affected.
Michelle B
Tour of New York
In 1992, I visited New York my one and only time. I was there four days on business and stayed two extra to try to see as much of the city as I could. Being American, I've seen and read as much about New York as I have about cities closer to me, I actually know the geography of New York better than I do San Diego or San Francisco. From movies, books, television and comics, I've lived in New York all my life. I really felt I knew the place, more than I've ever felt I knew L.A.
I took a bus tour Saturday evening, We drove from Midtown up to Columbus Circle, down to the Battery, across Brooklyn Bridge then to Queens and back to Midtown via the Triborough. There were numerous stops along the way, including Central Park and a delicatessen in Brooklyn where we had dinner. About the middle of the trip we stopped at the World Trade Center. The bus stopped on one side, we walked out and through both buildings, some of us pausing to use the bathroom, then we got back in the bus on the other side. It was after hours so the elevator tour was not running or it just wasn't running that day.
Our tour guide knew a lot about the WTC and filled us with facts and anecdotes. He'd grown up in Little Italy and on the Jersey side and had watched the towers going up. I remember that one of the towers had an arboretum inside. There were palm trees in it, some of them fifty feet tall or more.
ON September 11, 2001, I was in bed after working the night before at Disneyland when my mother called. "Turn on the TV," she said, "we're under attack."
"What channel?" I said.
"All channels," she said.
I lay there in bed with Jeanne and we watched as the news developed. We saw a video someone had taken of the first plane hitting and then minutes later, we watched live as the second plane hit. We watched the news for about two more hours and found out about the other planes. I got a call from work, Disneyland was closed for that day and the next at minimum, and maybe for the rest of the week. We did nothing but watch the news and eat sandwiches that day and into the night.
The next morning, I had to take Jeanne from Huntington Beach to see her doctor in Westwood. The trip normally took well over an hour in the middle of the day but we made it that morning in about 40 minutes because there was no traffic. For someone who lives in the LA area and is used to measuring distance in time, it was as if the world had shrunk. Many businesses were closed including both airports that we passed on the way. Many people called in and took the day off, afraid to go to work.
Days later, as we passed a re-opened LAX on another trip to the doctor, I had to pull over and stop the car so I could cry for the empty skies that had planes in them again.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
I was at work
after taking my son to his middle school. I was an operations manager at the time and usually got in about 8am. One of the later arrivals came in and told us, we went out to our cars to listen to the radios, and tried to find out what we could on the Internet. I finally went out to Walmart and bought a small TV (now in my bedroom) so that we could watch and listen in the office.
The complex manager came around at noon and told us that they were evacuating the place as it was a bit of a landmark in Oak Ridge (all of 12 floors tall, it was the tallest building in the city). The schools didn't close, so I waited until then to leave, picking up my son on the way.
I spent a lot of the morning, trying to get a phone call through to New York. See our Marketing Manager lived there, and had a meeting scheduled that morning at "Top of the World"... Fortunately, it had been canceled at the last moment, and she was back at her apt. when the planes hit. My bosses, the CTO, and CEO, were in a meeting directly across the river in NJ. I managed to reach them before leaving.
I called the club president of the fencing club where my son & I were new members. We went ahead and practiced that night, though much of the time was spent discussing the day's events rather than fencing.
Janice
Far from the front lines, I'm sittin' on my front porch
This!!
from:
FWIW: Ten years ago today I overslept. I was about fifteen miles from the Pentagon as the crow flies, but I hadn't heard the crash or the sirens (I lived in a basement apartment (but with a walkout)).
I woke to seven messages on my phone. I was supposed to drive my nephew's carpool that afternoon (I had an suv that could hold five of those eleven/twelve year-olds plus me, so seven calls was three less than it might have been).
Did I want to go early. No. There's a missing plane in the air. It's going to the mall. We all knew that. The whole world knew that. It's going toward the mall. The school wasn't very near the mall. Their homes weren't that near the mall. The roads between were near the mall. Craziness on the roads. I waited until three thirty. The usual time. I road home with five brave, frightened, yakking, chattering, not quite little boys.
A week latter, maybe it was two or three - I don't want to use my google-fu to help my memory on this - a run of the mill, ordinary mad man killed someone on Georgia Avenue, right smack between me and the school where two days a week I picked up kids. Not all the wack jobs who shoot at people, or the Holocaust Museum, or the Mint, or the Archives, or the Amer. Indian Museum (IDK why!), or the Air and Space Museum (IDK why!!) in DC make the national news; just comes with living there, and they are Wack.
This guy did. He drove a white suv (he didn't but that was the first story), I drove a white suv ( a Cherokee, not even a Grand Cherokee, I was doing lots of property maintenance(ie. landscape tending) then).
The National Guard was called because of this guy. The DC National Guard is, apparently, a small contingent so they were supplemented by several, a few, a lot of infantry brigades.
Soon the mad asshole started killing people in suburbs (so it was decided it wasn't a political wack; which is the only kind DC cares about.), but for three days every time I drove up a major road, I was stopped and questioned; the guy behind the cop in desert camos with the huge automatic supersonic rifle was not hard to spot. He wasn't hard to spot for those kids the two times they were in the car either.
I've talked to my nephew a few times since then, and some of his friends too, they're all university seniors now, and all brilliant, my only hope for tomorrow.
Guess which kind of total insanity frightened them the most. Go on guess. Mad politcal zombies flying into buildings? Mad crazy guys with hunting rifles shooting random folks on the street? "Sane" agents of their government with 500 hundred rounds a second weapons demanding they stop on a city street?
Then we went into another country to find 'weapons of mass destruction'.
Hate is the ultimate evil. Fear is the mind killer. We have nothing to fear but fear itself. Except for those who use fear to extend their power and wealth.