9/11 Terrorist Attacks and Their Aftermath

[cachluv]

Surreal. That's all that I can say.

And I fully believe the gov't if not some governments know exactly where that fucker Bin Laden is. I think they watch his every move and hear his every word. I think if they march in, like Saddam, and take him away in shackles all hell would break loose and there would be no end. They NEED him alive so that they can catch more of them. It would not work to "capture" him now.

Also, someone above suggested Bin Laden may not even still be alive. I thought that might be possible too but there was a recent tape released, I'm going to say in the past 2 months or so, where he made reference to current events. He urged Americans to convert to **Muslim (-ism??) for the new year, among a bunch of other stuff. He's alive alright. What kind of shape he's in can't really be determined by video but he at least he's still talking and barking out hate-commands.



**this was in no way meant to insult anyone who practices and believes in the Muslim faith or religion.

[baroque1]

I was living on Long Island at the time. It was horrible. I saw the whole thing on tv even though it was just mere miles away. We were trapped on the island for days after as they closed down bridges, tunnels, and air space. You have to go through NYC to get off Long Island unless you take a plane or boat which was impossible. At the time it seemed we were never going to be able to leave or recieve supplies but everyone was in shock anyway.
I went into NYC the first moment it opened and the SMELL of the burning was unbelievable and the entire feeling was indescribale. New Yorkers certainly got a whole lot nicer after that which is the only good thing to come from it.

[RaRaRamona]

If you have not listened to the tape of the businessman on the phone with 911 just before the buildings fell, you should. It is heartbreaking. It can be found here on another thread if someone can locate it.

I have heard it and Dear God I wish I never had. It haunts me to this day.

[tensecondstolove]

I am still very saddened about what happened on 9/11 and always will be. I remember that I was working and someone came in and told me what happened. I was in disbelief and couldn't get home to watch the news for like another 5 hours. Very, very sad. I try not to think about it too much because it still depresses me so deeply.

[Cettie]

I never forgot the call from my husband who told me to turn the tv on. I stood rooted to the spot, not believing what I saw. It was just before the second plane hit and it was during the Today show when they were relating the events as they happened. My husband works for the government and after a few hours the decision was made to send them all home and secure the buildings, like they did all over the state. I was utterly sickened by what I saw and made even more disgusted by a phone call we got from someone who'd been a houseguest with us for over three months and turned my house upside down in the name of his religion. He was shouting with joy, thrilled at the events and said he couldn't wait to get down there to "See what those brave men did for Islam!" I told him very firmly what he could do with that idea and let it be known that I will not have him in my home ever again, after the shenanigans he pulled while here and then this was the icing on the cake. He's still thrilled about what happened and I still mean what I said to him. (No, I daresay most of it isn't repeatable in polite company.)

[Irishlass]

Living in hawaii I slept thru the attacks
when i aoke up i signed on to read my email before work and my box was full of CNN breaking news emails ...man i knew something bad had happened My first thought was someone killed the president
I read the first one and it said a plane hit the tower and i figired it was a accident
then i read the second one and it said a second plane hit the other tower
then i knew it was no accident, flipped on the news
I work on a military base so i quickly got ready for work knowing the base would be on alert.
My rememberence of the day is how still and quiet the skys where
I live close to the airport so seeing and hearing planes is common..but the air was so still its was surreal
everyone on base was in slow motion and everyone was in shock.
I have seen so many of my military co workers go over in the war, one didnt make it back died in a helocopter accident.


I get pissed of everytime i hear people say it was a inside job i know everyone has there right to think what they want but damn it still pisses me off...unless i hear some confessions from the president i will never ever believe my own goverment pulled this tragety off

[cherryghost]

It occured about 10.30pm our time in Australia and watching the plane fly into the second building was indescribable! I dont think many Australians slept that night! I dont know any who did!

[PvN73]

I remember watching it all night, just crying for all those people. I am crying now reading everyone's post. It was just one of the saddest things.
I went to ground zero when I went to the USA this year, cried my eyes out, especially when you go to the memorial building and see all the photos and the notes people left on the walls. Just absolutely heartbreaking for everyone. I also went to the fire brigade museum and they also have a few rooms set up as a memorial. I cried there too, it was just very emotional.
I could never imagine what it would be like to have been on any of those 4 planes, the horror of what those people faced.
I watched the documentry that the two brothers made - when they followed the new guy at the fire house and then they were called out to the twin towers and they got footage of being inside. It was so surreal to watch that documentry.

[mel306]

I am from NYC and was in Battery Park when the second plane hit. It flew right above the trees and it felt like it was just over my head even though it was much higher in reality. Until that moment, we thought the first was an accident and we kept heading to work. (I worked a block away that year.) When the second hit, we frooze and we knew instantly this was an attack.

I turned around and got back on the SI Ferry. I was there when the first tower fell and ashes got all the way to the boat. I had on black pants and you could them. (The boat is a ten minute walk from ground zero.) I was so upset until I got home and saw the news and got in touch with other people I know who were closer. Then I realized how easy I got off that day.

To this day, when I exist the boat each morning, I look in the direction of the tower. It is like I can still see the gap they left in the sky.

[Irishlass]

I dont know about everyone else but i get a sick feeling everytime i see a show shot in new york pre 9/11 and the towers are shown
or I see shots of the pentegon in flames...

[Cathy J.]

I was at a Target here in Winchester, VA when this happened. All of their TV's had the coverage on.After the second plane hit the store started turning off the lights and some voice came on the store's intercom screaming "America is now at War...Target is now closed...leave your items where they are at and exit the store at once ...right now !!". I always wondered if the closing was chain wide or just the store I was in?

I did what I was told as did everyone else...and interesting the other stores in the shopping center must have did the same thing. I remember seeing people running out of Petsmart and Home Depot screaming and crying. TJ Maxx was already closed.

[Nowereman]

I was awoken by a phone call from a mate of mine, telling me to switch on my TV cos World war 3 has just started, I couldn't believe what I was seeing, every time I see footage of the planes going into the towers, it brings back that feeling of, when is this going to stop, is this a surprise attack by the Russians,what the hell is going on ?

[secretsquirrel13]

I was working at a small dog grooming shop at the time...it was only 2 of us...
I remember her husband yelling and we ran into the house to see what he was watching...we had alot of dogs to do that day...so we took a small tv set out in the shop and continued..we saw the second plane hit...and all I could think of was it was the end...we were under attack. At one point I even remember a report (which turned out to be false) that the Sears tower had been hit as well...
I had cousins in both towers....both got out safely, thank goodness....
The world changed that day....

[Noelle Page]

I think about it every single day.

[geekygirl]

At the time, my husband would go to 6:20 a.m. mass, then go by the donut shop and get donuts and milk for our two little boys, then come home by 7:00 so I could go to work and he would then take the boys to preschool and go to work himself.

Oftentimes, I would leave him messages on his cell phone (like could you get gas in the car on your way home, go by the cleaners, get potato chips for the boys' lunches, etc.) that he would then pick up on his way to the donut store. That day, I called and left a message to let him know what was happening, but he didn't get the message until after he left the donut store. He heard my message but he didn't understand it... either it didn't make sense or I was so shocked that I wasn't making sense or a combination of the both. He did remember folks watching TV at the donut store, but thought it was some cheesy disaster movie.

Only when he got home and saw it happening on our TV did he begin to understand. I remember so vividly listening to Matt Lauer being in shock trying to describe the scene as the first tower collapsed. We wouldn't allow our boys (who were toddlers at the time) to watch TV for a long time afterward because quite honestly, we couldn't figure out how to go about telling them what happened. We sent them to pre-school that day to try to keep things as normal for them as possible while we stayed home and waited for the next shoe to drop, so to speak. We weren't sure if LA would be bombed soon, nuclear holocaust or what. Our plan was to go get our boys and bring them home so we could all die together if it turned out to be the end of the world.

My asshole boss was so pissed that I didn't come in to work that day. At the time, I worked in downtown LA in a large government building (translation: good target for terrorists). Years later I can only think he was one insensitive bastard.

[Shano]

My hubby woke me up saying that a plane had hit one of the Twin Towers. I went back to sleep thinking that it was just a bad mistake by a pilot. When he woke me up after the second plane hit I jumped out of bed wondering what the hell was going on.

We were watching the coverage flipping back and forth on channels. My son he was little then reading books on the floor next to us. I remembering watching him and then looking up to see the first tower falling. I screamed Ron, all those people, Ron! Like my husband could do anything here in Missouri. But it was shocking.

A very close friend of mine has her office over looking the site. Can you imagine seeing that every day. She was on the phone with her husband, she was 5 months pregnant, she was looking at the World Trade Center Complex and then she saw the plane. She saw everything. They told her in her building to stay put but she felt after the second plane hit that she didn't want to chance it. Finally her and her secretary left the building only to come out on the street just minutes before the first tower fell. She had to run for her life... to this day she doesn't talk about it much. I feel so badly for her. A month later she lost her little boy. His name was Ryan.

I listened to and watched the utube on the 911 call from the guy on the 105 floor. I would be pissed too. I think he knew. He knew that they couldn't get to him. And then the building crashing around them. Oh my god.

May they all rest in peace. May our troops in Iraq come home soon. Everyone please think of my brother in law Mike that is being deployed in Jan. for the second time.

[Jersey Girl]

I'll never forget that day.
The calls from the victims on the planes... *shivers*
Like someone said... not seeing planes up in the sky the days that followed was VERY eerie. All that ran through my head was the Pink Floyd song "Goodbye Blue Sky." Especially the beginning, where the little boy says "Look mommy... there's no planes up in the sky."

[Area Man]

I played golf with a NYC firefighter on Sept 10, 2001. We were two single golfers matched together randomly. I remember that I asked him how he got off work to play golf on a Monday, and he said he had to go back to work the following day. I don't know his name, but have always wondered........

[Nowereman]

At the time, my husband would go to 6:20 a.m. mass, then go by the donut shop and get donuts and milk for our two little boys, then come home by 7:00 so I could go to work and he would then take the boys to preschool and go to work himself.

Oftentimes, I would leave him messages on his cell phone (like could you get gas in the car on your way home, go by the cleaners, get potato chips for the boys' lunches, etc.) that he would then pick up on his way to the donut store. That day, I called and left a message to let him know what was happening, but he didn't get the message until after he left the donut store. He heard my message but he didn't understand it... either it didn't make sense or I was so shocked that I wasn't making sense or a combination of the both. He did remember folks watching TV at the donut store, but thought it was some cheesy disaster movie.

Only when he got home and saw it happening on our TV did he begin to understand. I remember so vividly listening to Matt Lauer being in shock trying to describe the scene as the first tower collapsed. We wouldn't allow our boys (who were toddlers at the time) to watch TV for a long time afterward because quite honestly, we couldn't figure out how to go about telling them what happened. We sent them to pre-school that day to try to keep things as normal for them as possible while we stayed home and waited for the next shoe to drop, so to speak. We weren't sure if LA would be bombed soon, nuclear holocaust or what. Our plan was to go get our boys and bring them home so we could all die together if it turned out to be the end of the world.

My asshole boss was so pissed that I didn't come in to work that day. At the time, I worked in downtown LA in a large government building (translation: good target for terrorists). Years later I can only think he was one insensitive bastard.

You should of publicly named him, what a insensitive prick of a boss, I would of knocked him on his arse.

[sassie]

I was living in California then, and my husband was due to fly back from New York that morning. I got up, and got the kids off to school without turning on the news, and while I was taking the kids to school, his office called and said he wouldn't be arriving that day, but they didn't say why. I didn't think nothing of it-he often got delayed. So, I went about my housework, not realizing what was happening in the East.

Anyway, he called a few hours later, from LaGuardia, and said, "The World Trade Center is gone." That didn't make sense to me-six words that were too large to get the mind around. So, I turned on the news and watched the footage, and started to cry. I didn't even realize I was crying. He was crying, too, watching it on the television in the airport. We thought, at the time, that the WTC was fully occupied - thank God it wasn't, because that would have been close to what? 20,000 people?

My husband always says that the only good thing that came out of that day was that people all around the country stopped and connected with each other. Like in the airport where he was-total strangers, standing around in groups, and sharing the tragedy. He remembers two women, who had never met, with their arms around each other, crying and watching the television. We came together as a country that day, and I think we all still feel that way.

[mac_lorre]

I'll never forget that day.
The calls from the victims on the planes... *shivers*
Like someone said... not seeing planes up in the sky the days that followed was VERY eerie. All that ran through my head was the Pink Floyd song "Goodbye Blue Sky." Especially the beginning, where the little boy says "Look mommy... there's no planes up in the sky."

The lyric is "...there's an aeroplane up in the sky"...even more striking.

I was working at a car wash that morning, the second plane struck right before I left for work. We closed up by 10 am, because no one was out, everyone was inside glued to a TV somewhere.

[RaRaRamona]

It's interesting that a lot of people jumped to the same conclusion I did, that we were under attack & we were all about to be bombed. My roommate's dad had called her to let her know & she woke me up to watch it on tv. I thought it was a joke, & in fact when I went into the living room she had it on VH1 I told her it was some dumb MTV movie. I changed the channel over & over & every single station was showing the exact same thing.

I actually got in trouble for not going to school that day. Like I cared about college - I thought the world was ending.

It's odd now to think back & realize how innocent I was, that I thought we were America, this great nation, & no one could ever come in & attack us. I thought we were invincible.

My roomie was a manager at a shop in the mall & each store was called & told to just start closing down. They closed the malls & many stores in the middle of the day. They were instructed to put out signs that they were closed out of respect for the victims.

I think what Target did was kind of dumb & panic inducing. I can't imagine how freaked out I'd be if that happened. The truth was horrifying enough.

[Jersey Girl]

The lyric is "...there's an aeroplane up in the sky"...even more striking.

I was working at a car wash that morning, the second plane struck right before I left for work. We closed up by 10 am, because no one was out, everyone was inside glued to a TV somewhere.

Really??? I NEVER knew that's what he said.
A couple days after 9/11, I was talking to a friend and I was saying how weirded out I was because the sky was so quiet. She was saying how THAT didn't freak her out, but that every time she DID hear something in the sky.. she wigged out.

[cash]

I was listening to Howard Stern and thought it was a joke. Then I switched to a news channel and realized it was no joke.

[Bake]

It was eeriely quiet. I worked near the airport in Michigan, and recall going outside and looking up, nothing, but there was a jet stream up there, one of our mechanics said he saw a military plane fly over previously.
I'm sure we will never forget 9/11 the way our parents will never forget Pearl Harbor.

[SueWahoo]

It was eeriely quiet. I worked near the airport in Michigan, and recall going outside and looking up, nothing, but there was a jet stream up there, one of our mechanics said he saw a military plane fly over previously.

Wasn't that freaky? The eerie quiet? I lived in Superior Township (just north of Ypsilanti so I heard all types of aircraft all the time. Funny how you get used to it. I walked outside around late afternoon that day, I had to take a break. It was sunny and warm with a slight breeze. I look up and I see nothing but blue skies. I hear nothing but the breeze rustling the trees and corn crop. It seemed so wrong.

[cherryghost]

Yeah there is that amazing Ryan Adams video where the Towers feature as a prominant backdrop while he plays guitar and sings!
The video has a dedication at the end!

[SomeChick]

Wasn't that freaky? The eerie quiet? I lived in Superior Township (just north of Ypsilanti so I heard all types of aircraft all the time. Funny how you get used to it. I walked outside around late afternoon that day, I had to take a break. It was sunny and warm with a slight breeze. I look up and I see nothing but blue skies. I hear nothing but the breeze rustling the trees and corn crop. It seemed so wrong.

Yeah that was surreal.

When 9/11 happened, I was sitting in a little combination cafe and general store in Texas waiting for a friend of mine. The only other person there besides the cook who I never saw, was the waitress/store clerk. She was watching one of the morning news shows when all of a sudden it happened. Then a bunch of cops came in to see what was going on. After that, my friend came in. All of us just staring up at the tv on the wall for hours.

[towser]

This happened "in my backyard" (I'm from the Bronx) and I remember feeling so violated and angry that day.....I could not believe what I was seeing. I didn't move off the couch for about 10 hours....

The weird thing for me was that my wife & I flew out of Newark on September 9, 2001 and 2 days later this happened....

What really pisses me off is how the Republicans (starting with Bush) have used this tragic event to advance their agenda...Now I feel angry and violated about that.....

[Katie]

This happened "in my backyard" (I'm from the Bronx) and I remember feeling so violated and angry that day.....I could not believe what I was seeing. I didn't move off the couch for about 10 hours....

The weird thing for me was that my wife & I flew out of Newark on September 9, 2001 and 2 days later this happened....

What really pisses me off is how the Republicans (starting with Bush) have used this tragic event to advance their agenda...Now I feel angry and violated about that.....

It must have really been hard on you. We only had to see it on TV, you had to smell it, and be involved with all the after stuff too.

I am sorry the Republicans also made you mad. The nerve of them to try and do something about what happened, and try to keep it from happening again. They should be ashamed. Darn, if Clinton had been in office he would have gone over there and patted them on the butt and said, "Bad boy, you can't do this to us."

[Twobeatlesleft]

I think about 9/11 every single day. I worked about a half mile from the WTC and would often visit the towers and eat lunch in the plaza. My office had a picture-perfect view of the day's events. My building shook when the towers fell. I left work around 11am and walked to Penn Station, but refused to look back at the devastation. I recall being very angry that the attack had taken place in the city that I was in and I took it very personally, and vowed to always hate and fight against whomever was responsible. I returned to work the following Monday, and recall seeing dust on the revolving glass doors entering my building, and the smell of the still-burning fires and seeing the smoke continute to bellow from the site.

[MorbidMolly]

My daughter lives in Jersey, and has been to the site.....she said she couldn`t begin to put into words the feeling she experienced while there....she swears you can feel the souls of all the lost, and she had to leave soon after arriving....they`ve wanted me to take the tour when I go see them, but I don`t know if I`m ready yet, even 6 years later....

[FloridaDeathHag]

I used to think about it every day for years, but the last 4 years or so, I don't think about much at all anymore. I guess that's cold, but I'm being honest. I stayed at the Millenium Hilton about 3 years ago, it's across the street from Ground Zero. I didn't know that or else I probably would have stayed somewhere else. It looked like a construction site, I got no vibes, creepy or otherwise. I did fly out of Logan on a Tuesday morining at 8 am 2 years ago and I was in first class and there were two casually-dressed arabs up there with me, I was SHITTING BRICKS!

I also remember at the end of 2001, I was visting a friend and she had one of the tabloids out that I don't read, so I was reading it while we were going somewhere and it had an article on stars who had turned 30, 40, 50, etc. in 2001, with the dates and it had Kristy McNichol turning 40 on 9/11/01 and I told this to my friend, and she just laughed, "she must have had a wonderful 40th birthday." So 9/11 and Kristy McNichol are inextricably linked in my head forever.

[guyinpto]

It must have really been hard on you. We only had to see it on TV, you had to smell it, and be involved with all the after stuff too.

I am sorry the Republicans also made you mad. The nerve of them to try and do something about what happened, and try to keep it from happening again. They should be ashamed. Darn, if Clinton had been in office he would have gone over there and patted them on the butt and said, "Bad boy, you can't do this to us."

Katie dear, please don't take this the wrong way but you are a dumbass. WAKE UP!

[Katie]

Katie dear, please don't take this the wrong way but you are a dumbass. WAKE UP!

Think about it!!!

[RaRaRamona]

This happened "in my backyard" (I'm from the Bronx) and I remember feeling so violated and angry that day.....I could not believe what I was seeing. I didn't move off the couch for about 10 hours....

The weird thing for me was that my wife & I flew out of Newark on September 9, 2001 and 2 days later this happened....

What really pisses me off is how the Republicans (starting with Bush) have used this tragic event to advance their agenda...Now I feel angry and violated about that.....

Thanks for taking a valid mourning & sharing of memories & making it political.

[geekygirl]

Thanks for taking a valid mourning & sharing of memories & making it political.

It's okay to share your feelings, even if they are political. I am a lifelong Republican but don't always agree with the "party line." For that matter, lately I can't agree with ANY "party line." My son asked me who I was going to vote for, and I don't have a clue at this particular moment in time.

I don't mind whatever anyone says about anything. Feelings are just feelings, they don't necessarily reflect the truth or reality, just what one person's emotions are at any given moment. I actually love to hear good arguments so I can try to understand different perspectives on various issues.

In short, in the spirit of this forum, it's okay to agree to disagree, but please remain respectful of views different from yours. Thanks!

[crimson and clover]

My and my ex wife actually were supposed to fly from St. Louis to Sacramento on 9/11.........needless to say we did not fly that day, kept our rental car and took a three day drive back home. The most surreal experience I have ever had was standing in the lobby of Best Western in Iowa with about 20 other people watching Bush's speech the night of 9/11. By the the third day, there were no hotel rooms in this little town in Wyoming, so we slept in the hotel's conference room. I still have my plane ticket from that day.

[RaRaRamona]

It's okay to share your feelings, even if they are political. I am a lifelong Republican but don't always agree with the "party line." For that matter, lately I can't agree with ANY "party line." My son asked me who I was going to vote for, and I don't have a clue at this particular moment in time.

I don't mind whatever anyone says about anything. Feelings are just feelings, they don't necessarily reflect the truth or reality, just what one person's emotions are at any given moment. I actually love to hear good arguments so I can try to understand different perspectives on various issues.

In short, in the spirit of this forum, it's okay to agree to disagree, but please remain respectful of views different from yours. Thanks!

I didn't say anything about the opinion they voiced, what I object to is bringing politics into this particular discussion. I really can't see how I was being disrespectful. As you can see already there are a few response posts, & they're getting ugly. Now that politics have introduced to this sweet thread it's gonna get ugly...unless we can agree to not mention it again. See where I'm coming from? Not everything has be about that.

[ReluctantDeathHag]

I was living on the west coast when heard the news. My daily routine was to wake my son , make him breakfast and let him watch cartoons before I had to take him to school. Whenever he would run off to the bathroom or where ever a little kid runs off to I would always flip the channel to the news. That day I flipped it at such a perfect time that I saw the plane hit one of the towers. My initial reaction was it was a horrible accident. Needless to say, I didn't flip back to cartoons (which pissed my son off - he was 6 at the time with no comprehension of the severity of what we were watching). I quickly realized it was not an accident and our nation had become a victim of terrorism. My husband was listening to Howard Stern and thought it was a "schtick" until I told him I was watching it on the news and it was real. When they did ground all planes during the days that followed it was an incredibly eerie silence. It sounds so stupid and cliche but I wish we could change the hands of time and this never happened. It certainly changed my life forever.

[geekygirl]

I didn't say anything about the opinion they voiced, what I object to is bringing politics into this particular discussion. I really can't see how I was being disrespectful. As you can see already there are a few response posts, & they're getting ugly. Now that politics have introduced to this sweet thread it's gonna get ugly...unless we can agree to not mention it again. See where I'm coming from? Not everything has be about that.

I don't think you personally were being disrespectful, but perhaps not recognizing that 9/11 is a very controversial event. There are a great deal of folks out there for whom 9/11 is very political... and that's okay, really. This is only their perspective. EVERYTHING these days have become political, from Marilyn Monroe fans blaming the Kennedy's for her death, all the way to the Space Shuttle crashes being blamed on Congress for not giving NASA appropriate funding. Other examples include the Viet Nam war, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the Holocaust.

The reality is that tragedies such as these and 9/11 do have a political overtone to them. Consequently, it's okay to express your feelings, political or otherwise -- as long as you do so in a respectful manner toward others who may have opposing viewpoints. Hope this helps.

[Katie]

As far as politics goes, I do not want to make it that way. We have seen what politics can do to this country, but when someone comes on here and turns a perfectly good tribute to their political agenda, it makes me see red.

My info on what is going on has nothing to do with CNN or any other political info channel, if is from being on the front lines.

Bringing President Bush's name up tells us nothing about what is really going on.

It does not tell you that as of this day, the bad guys are busy in foreign countries, on the run from the American military, and other countries who have realized this is a fight that needs to be won, so they don''t show up on our door step tomorrow.

For those of you who think this will all go away when Bush is no longer in office, is so misinformed. They are waiting until a time that we don't have a leader who is willing to kick some ass. They will also not have to go to far to get to you. They are here, my friends, in this country, just like the pilots on those doomed flights of 9/11

You have heard about the patriot Act? It is a way for the gov to spy on those who wish to do us harm in our own country. Our own people want to take that power away, because it violates our right to privacy, but guess what, I would rather them spy on me and learn my secret recipe for Mac and Cheese, than for them not to have the ability to spy on the bad guys who might at this moment planning the next attack on your city or town.

Call me a dumb ass all you want. It doesn't hurt nearly as much as being bombed by those who wish to see us dead.

[djdeath-hag]

Back to our "where were you when".....I was here at home, playing on my computer some mindless arcade style game & listening to local morning radio. The discussion that morning was about Andrea Yates claiming her insanity. I was outraged by the callers who wanted blood from this sick woman (my opinion) when I was on hold, waiting to express my opinion.....they took me off hold & told me to stay tuned for a bigger story. Minutes later, as I thought to myself, how sad that a small plane had wandered off course & hit one of the WTC towers, a friend called me from work & asked me if I was watching the today show....I went into the bedroom, turned on the tv as they were talking about whether it was a small plane or possibly a commercial jet...when we all saw the 2nd tower hit. I was still in watching tv 8 hours later.

[mel306]

As a New Yorker I go down to the Postcards memorial here in Staten Island and look at the face plagues of everyone I had a connection to and was lost on 9/11.

We lost 267 that day. We have the highest from one community or some similar fact like that. We lost an entire firehouse in fact, Rescue 5.

We learned a lot about each person here from stories over the last few years. But one thing we never learned was their political affliations. There is no reason.

I don't argue which political party may have gotten us into this or how the other would have reacted, because my friend's brother will not be brought back by my doing that. He had just gotten off his shift with the FDNY and ran BACK.

My uncle's best friend will not be proposing to his girlfriend as he decided to do on 9-10.

And my other friends sister will never get to use the baby names she had picked out with her husband of 3 months who had the day off, but went to work so he could take off the next week for, of all things, the test for the fire department!


At the end of the day, a bunch of terrorists are the cause of 9-11 and they are not republican or democratic.

[Katie]

As a New Yorker I go down to the Postcards memorial here in Staten Island and look at the face plagues of everyone I had a connection to and was lost on 9/11.

We lost 267 that day. We have the highest from one community or some similar fact like that. We lost an entire firehouse in fact, Rescue 5.

We learned a lot about each person here from stories over the last few years. But one thing we never learned was their political affliations. There is no reason.

I don't argue which political party may have gotten us into this or how the other would have reacted, because my friend's brother will not be brought back by my doing that. He had just gotten off his shift with the FDNY and ran BACK.

My uncle's best friend will not be proposing to his girlfriend as he decided to do on 9-10.

And my other friends sister will never get to use the baby names she had picked out with her husband of 3 months who had the day off, but went to work so he could take off the next week for, of all things, the test for the fire department!


At the end of the day, a bunch of terrorists are the cause of 9-11 and they are not republican or democratic.

God Bless you for what you and your community have been through.

[djdeath-hag]

As a New Yorker I go down to the Postcards memorial here in Staten Island and look at the face plagues of everyone I had a connection to and was lost on 9/11.

We lost 267 that day. We have the highest from one community or some similar fact like that. We lost an entire firehouse in fact, Rescue 5.

We learned a lot about each person here from stories over the last few years. But one thing we never learned was their political affliations. There is no reason.

I don't argue which political party may have gotten us into this or how the other would have reacted, because my friend's brother will not be brought back by my doing that. He had just gotten off his shift with the FDNY and ran BACK.

My uncle's best friend will not be proposing to his girlfriend as he decided to do on 9-10.

And my other friends sister will never get to use the baby names she had picked out with her husband of 3 months who had the day off, but went to work so he could take off the next week for, of all things, the test for the fire department!


At the end of the day, a bunch of terrorists are the cause of 9-11 and they are not republican or democratic.

Mel,
I am so sorry that you have such deep & meaningful insight....just as I am so sorry for everyone who lost a loved one that horrible day. (This includes the grandson of a dear family friend.) Thank you for reminding all of us that this is NOT about a political party. I FIRMLY believe that this could have happened under any president's term. I do not think that it couldn't have happened before "W" was in office any more than I believe that had the candidate that I voted for had been elected, this act of war against the United States might have been avoided. It is a tragedy that history will never forget. The entirity of human existence has been altered by the events of that dark day. May the world never see such heartbreak again.

[mel306]

I have a WHERE I WAS STORY to add. It is not mine but the person is not here to speak.

An employee of a huge company at the WTC was laid off on Monday Sept 10th. His boss had been told no one in her area was being let go. Then she had to let many go regardless.

He was distraught, left immediatelty and didn't tell his family. On Tuesday morning, he got up regular time and went to work to clean out his desk!

The company never told his family, they quietly reinstated him and gave full benefits for him.

His boss told me this story. She survived by being late that day because she was still mad about being lied to.

It has been 6 years and we are still getting facts like this here.

[KristinEileen]

I will never forget where I was or what I was doing that day...

I was sitting in biology class playing cards with a friend. We had a free day because of a test we had taken the day before and were just sitting around watching CNN because our teacher said that if we were going to watch something it had to be educational. So there we sat as the second plane hit the building. And we all screamed. I remember thinking oh my God what is happening, who could do this, why would they do this? The the reports came in about the Pentagon and then about the plane in Shenksville, which is a few hours from me.
Our principal called any student who had a parent that worked in New York or at the Pentagon or the White House down to the offices so that they could try to get a hold of their parents. Thankfully no one had been hurt. By lunch time people were talking about the whole country going into a state of emergency, my mom had already go wind of this and picked my the oldest of my younger brothers up from the middle school and then came to get me at the high school, the tenth grade monitor found me in a classroom attached to a friend staring at the t.v. When we picked up my youngest brother he had no idea what was going on...I still don't think that he comprehended it all.
The next day there was a call for a candlelight vigil across America and I remember being so mad that only a handful of my neighbors were outside with candles. There was a woman walking down the street with her daughter and husband that stopped to talk with me and my mom, she told us that they had walked four blocks and my street was the first that they found anyone on. My heart still breaks because of the shock and horror of what we saw that day.

[RaRaRamona]

I was in college & working at a steakhouse; in the middle of dinner rush one of the managers announced to the entire restaurant that we were taking part in the vigil & that anyone who wanted to join us could come outside. The place emptied. Every customer dropped their forks, those waiting for seats got up, and every server, cook, and bus boy, went out to the parking lot. It was amazing. It was beautiful.

An aside: Thanks to those who feel this is a solemn tribute & not a political rally. I am glad I am not alone in that.

[Cathy J.]

speaking of 9/11...

Does anyone remember the attempt by Lisa Beamer ( her husband Todd was on that Untied 93 flight that crashed in PA ) to try to copyright the words "Let's Roll"? The words that Todd supposed to have uttered to some operator ( other say it was a cell phone coversation to Lisa herself ) just before he and a few other passengers tried to take back the plane. "the words "let's roll"..they belong to Todd now". Many felt that was a bit much.

I do remember that for the longest time whenever 9/11 was brought up, there was Lisa Beamer going on TV about Todd and I think at one point she even tried to give people the idea that it was Todd Beamer and Todd alone who tried to take back the plane. She even had a cd out in memory of Todd..called "Lets Roll".

Then suddenly Lisa Beamer dropped out of sight. For awhile she was a hot topic on the talk radio circuit and many of those talk show hosts weren't exactly kind to Beamer because of her actions. Some believed she had every right to copyright the words "Let's Roll", others felt that Lisa was just hungry for fame and money at the expense of her dead husband.