Today is Foto Finish Friday, but today is also September 11th. So this Friday's post is a little different.
Last year I asked you to share your story of where you were on that day in 2001. Some of you did and it was interesting reading them. This year, I'm asking you to share your story again.
On this day many have a story to tell. You can recall exactly where you were on 9-11 when you heard the news of the terrorist attacks. You remember what you were doing. You remember what you were thinking, how you were feeling, and even who you spent the day with. There are some that can even remember what they ate, didn't eat, and wore on that day.
I'm interested to hear your story. Share it with us in the comments. If you have already blogged your story, share the link in the comment stream. This year, I'll share my story in the comments too.
Pass this post along and encourage others to share their stories as well.
3 days ago
10 comments:
I was at work - at CFI, when the initial reports started trickling in. I remember after the 2nd tower was hit and we began to know it wasn't an accident, my friend and co-worker Brad and I wandered over to Driver Services to watch the news for a few minutes.
I will never forget the sickening feeling as we stood there watching on live TV, as the first tower collapsed into rubble.
I remember turning to Brad in stunned silence. Neither of us had words for what we had just witnessed. I remember thinking things would never be the same again -- in ways both obvious and subtle, they haven't.
It's funny, I wasn't impacted directly by 9/11 like so many others, but even I still remember that day perfectly.
I was actually still in middle school, 7th grade, I believe. I remember my mom frantically turning on the news after a call from a friend.
I led a kind of sheltered life as a child, so I didn't quite understand the impact of what was happening...but I remember going to school that day and consoling a good friend of mine who had been crying all day. It's one of those surreal sort of moments you don't quite forget.
I had just moved here to Joplin. The story behind that is a story in and of itself. I didn't have a steady job and I was living with a family here until I found a place of my own. My entire life was in transition, yet I had no idea how much all of our lives were about to change.
I awoke early on 9-11 and waited for a phone call from the school district. I was substitute teaching just to make some money until I found a job. The call that day never came, so I decided to go back to bed for another couple of hours.
I was woke up just an hour or so later by someone yelling into my room to turn on the TV. "Terrorists are attacking us!", she yelled. Still half asleep, I was very confused. I envisioned terrorists outside the house and thought, "Why would terrorists be here?"
When I turned on the TV I watched in shock like everyone else. I turned it on just in time to watch the first tower crumble to the ground. The rest of the day was spent in front of the TV and some radio (most stations were airing live feeds of the TV news).
I remember later that night being on the phone outside and talking to my great uncle about all sorts of things. As I looked up into the night sky, it was clear and the stars were shining bright. Not a cloud was in sight. It was also the first time in my life that there was not a plane in the sky.
I knew things would never be the same. I knew we were going to war. Like everyone else, I was confused and concerned about what the future held. I also knew I would never forget the events of that day.
I was a freshman in High School. We were in social studies class and another teacher came in the room and called the other teacher out. They went into this little room connected to the classroom which was all glass so we could see inside. Our teacher just started crying and hugged the other teacher. After a couple minutes she came out and told us what happened. We didn't do anything in class for the rest of the period, just sat there and talked.
When the class was over we ran to the cafeteria. I went to high school in Long Beach, NY and we can see NY from across the water. The entire wall of our cafeteria was one giant window which was filled by hundreds of students and teachers all watching the smoke fill the sky across the water.
I'll never forget that day. Everyone pulled out their cell phones to call their family to make sure everyone was alright. Some weren't alright.
We were all sent home early from school and I spent the rest of the day sitting with my family, glued to the tv.
I'll never forget that day.
That has to be one of the most difficult days for me. I was working for the principal of a Catholic school Preschool through 6th grade. Our Preschool director came in crying and we turned the televisions on and watched as the second plane hit and then the towers fell. You could hear a pin drop in the office, then tears. Then no time to stand there as we had to get word out to teachers and staff and figure out the best way to protect those precious children. All I could think of was the massive loss suffered. Parents came in droves desperate to hug and hold their babies and know that they were fine. The entire staff and children were affected in one way or another. Be it nightmares, regression, or depression somehow we were all shaken. I will continue to shed tears every 9/11 for all that was lost to never be found. I hope and pray our country never forgets either.
I was a freshman in high school. I was walking in the hallways between my first and second hour classes. Everyone was talking about something that had just happened. I remember hearing words like "Pentagon" "plane crash" "Twin Towers," etc. When I got to my second hour, the teacher turned on the TV just in time for us to watch live footage of the second plane crashing into the Twin Towers.
It was so surreal. The entire class just sat there silently, in shock. Because I live in Oklahoma, the experience immediately brought back memories of how I felt/where I was for the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.
Even so, September 11 was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. I naively thought America was invincible and that was the day I realized we weren't. I think I'll forever be a little jaded by that-- and that's okay.
I will never forget that day.
I was driving to work at my college when the first plane his. I admit that I really didn't have a clue what a World Trade Center was, so I just thought it was strange and sad that a plane would hit a building. When I got to work my boss had the radio on and we listened as the second plane hit. I didn't really realize the full significance of it all until my first two classes let out and I was able to sit and watch the news with many of my friends. We just sat in shock and horror and prayed about it all. I do remember going to an English class and our teacher making us discuss it. We were still all in shock and it was a terrible thing to have to discuss like that.
I just remember watching it all and praying and praying about it. Very awful and memorable time for all of us.
I now have friends from all over the world and each and every one can tell you where they were too when it happened. My Muslim friends are actually the most sorry about it still it seems though. They can't believe someone of their faith would do something about that. It really did impact the entire world and we'll never forget it.
James Maudlin
We were on a family trip in Los Angeles going to Disney Land that day. We were on our second day of going to the park. Dan, mom and my sisters family wanted an early start. We wanted to sleep in. Mom called(wanting to wake us up to go with them) and said they were leaving. I said we were sleeping. She called about 15 minutes later and told us we needed to turn on the TV and that the park was closed.
We turned on the TV and sat in amazement as we saw the destruction from the 1st plane and watched the second plane hit the second tower on TV. We continued to watch and saw the towers fall as well as the other reports happening at the pentagon and Philly.
Being on the Fire Dept at home I knew we lost fellow firemen and police in the destruction. The realization of all that happened brought many things into perspective.
We left later in the day to go to the beach to break away from the sadness. I remember how quiet the sky was as no planes were flying. Also I remember driving and numerous people were flying american flags and people honking in support of those who were lost. But I also remember it was another time in history where we came together, helped one another and did all we could to help support those who were lost.
I was within 20 miles of WTC when it happened. I had just arrived at our NY business location a few minutes after the first plane struck.
At work, the NYorkers were very strong - working hard despite all the bad news. That definitely left an impression. I think i was the only one who left work early other than my tax friend. He left immediately, because his brother-in-law was in one of the towers.
That night, the hotel area and streets were eerily silent and everything was closed because of bomb threats.
The trip home - that was more memorable, but is a long topic for another day.
Several weeks later my tax associate received confirmation that his brother-in-law died in the tragic event.
Thank you to everyone for sharing your stories here this year. It was very interesting learning them. May we never forget the terrible tragedy of 9-11.
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