Where Were You?

[TransporterMalfunction 1]

I was at college at the time and heard about it from a friend while leaving to go home. At the time I took it as a whined up and just laughed it off as I never believed that such a thing could have been carried out and that such destruction could have reached the heart of America.

 

It was only when I turned on the BBC at home that I realised what I was told was actually true.

[mj 7]

I was between classes, waiting for my ten o'clock class, when a student in that class stopped me in the hall to say that her father ( also a professor) had called her to tell her that planes had crashed into the World Trade Center Towers and the Penatgon. I expressed skepticism, and told her that class would be meeting. Before going downstairs to class, I decided to check the web (CNN, CBS, MSNBC,...) I could not get through. That was my first real inkling that something was truly amiss.

 

I went to class - all the students were there, getting their news from this same student, or having also been called by relatives. I felt that the best we could do for those who perished was to carry out our business, so we still had a full class period.

 

After coming back to my office my colleague in the next office said it was all true and that television had been set up in the Physics department office, I think. I did not go because I had office hours at 11am. Sure enough I had call after call from students wondering if my 12noon class was cancelled.

 

I have a policy. If the university is open, class will meet. For instance, the Thanksgiving Holiday officially starts at 1pm Wednesday, and all my classes are morning classes, so we meet. (I do not introduce new material, nor have a quiz on such days.) I once had a student complain that if there was an atomic bomb, Professor X would still be trying to hold class! University officials had not shut down the university yet, so I planned to be there. However I did not take role (I give extra credit for attendance), because our southern university has many students from DC and NY.

 

When I met my class, I found that most of my students were present. I put Proverbs 6: 16- 19 on the blackboard. " These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, an heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false withness that beareth lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren."

 

I apologized to anyone that may have been offended by my putting a scripture on the board, but said that I had to make a statement. I said that with all the planes that went down, there had to be children on those planes, and though some people (not me) might argue that the Pentagon was a valid target, the children were innocent. I said that the act was evil, and though done in God's name was despised by God. I said that Israel was a country that incessantly undergoes these kinds of attacks, yet they continue to live. I said the best thing that we could do for those who perished was to not be stopped, and not be fearful. These are not my exact words, but the gist of what I said. I gave the students the opportunity to make their own comments. I do not recall that anyone said anything. We finished our class. I believe afterwards word came down that classes were suspended for the rest of the day.

 

So I did not hold afternoon office hours.

 

We did not fall behind the course syllabus because of the terrorists. ( We are usually a little behind - but again, it was not because of the terrorists.)

 

I also continued to fly ( don't enjoy security checkpoints).

[Kyalia 0]

My next flight was in October ('01), to Hawai'i, and I virtually had the plane to myself.

 

And I've been stopped at security ever since. I can recall 1 time within the years since 9/11 when I've gotten through unsearched-- and I fly very often,

[Captain Bolivar 0]

I read an article about how shocking events cause us to remember where we were and what we were doing at the time of the event. I had just gotten back to high school. Whilie I was locking up my bike I was told about what happened. I didn't believe my friend at first, but once I saw a few poeple in the halls I knew it was no joke. Other than that I don't really remember much about the day.

[Admiral Kirk 1]

I was just waking up and I turned on the TV and saw that one of the towere was smoking. At first I thought a plane had made a mistake and hit the tower (a plane hit the empire state building 60 years ago) but when another one slammed into the second tower I knew it was deliberate.

[removed 0]

  you could hear lots of beeping type noises and they said that that was the locators of the firemen under the rumble.

that beeping was pass alrams we use them to locate any firefighter that went down in a fire. it goes off after there has been no movement for a 30 or 60 second period. so thats why they were all going off.

Oh my God! I have always wondered what those noises were... now I kinda wish I still didn't know. :lol:

[Bionicx 0]

I was in class in college, I still remmember what I was doing. "The use of Electric Test Equipment" when one of the tutors came into the class and told us that a plane had hit the world trade centre in New York. That is all we knew at that time, we could not get any information from the internet as it was down. I did not know what to think, I rushed home to turn on the TV and the first thing I saw was a street filled with smoke, at that time I thought that only a small plane like a learjet had hit one of the towers in thick fog. But then the BBC News ran the pictures and video of what happend. And I sat and watched the whole night.

[TrekkieMage 0]

I was in school at that point and I didn't have any classes so I was sitting on the edge of a fountain in the auditorium lobby sketching in the back of one of my notebooks. I wan't quite awake yet and so when our pinciple came on the PA system and started talking, I went out into the hall (the lobby echoed, I couldn't hear what he was saying) and heard something about a plane hitting the WTC, it never occured to me what had just happened.

 

I don't quite remember the order in which he announced it, but I remember when I realized what was happening. He said that a plane had just hit the Pentagon. That's when everything was disrupted. You see, I live 4 miles from the Pentagon, I think less than 15 from the Capital.

 

Everyone was rushing around and watching the television trying to figure out what was happening. I remember the first real class I went to was on the top floor of our building and we were waiting outside to be let in when our principle came on the PA yet again to tell everyone that another plane had turned around and was headed for Washington D.C. he told us that if it got too close everyone on the second and third floor would be asked to move to the first floor.

 

After lunch everyone had returned to classes, shaken, but on a normal schedual. When I got home I found out that my mother had walked home from work because the Metro was shut down and that she had been stopped by a solder with a very large gun and directed home. My poor dog had been so scared by the plane flying at tree-top level over our house that she had gone to the bathroom in our back room.

 

It was such a terrifying experience, it didn't sink in imediatly, but when I talk about it my hands start to shake and I get a weird feeling in my stomach... :lol:

[Luvin1stdegree 0]

I was in the training room at work learning to solder parts onto a circuit board. Like most people, I assume, when the first plane hit we thought it was some kind of accident due to mechanical trouble on the plane. One of the managers came in and asked to speak to our instructor outside in the hallway. A few minutes later she came back in tears. Her daughter lives in New York and the manager knew she worked in Manhattan somewhere so she left to try and get in touch with her. Just about then, we were told the second tower was also hit. We turned on the radio to find out what was going on and kept it tuned in for the rest of the day. I think we were all stunned into silence, much like the rest of the world. I remember sitting there thinking that the world I lived in would never be the same. All I wanted to do was go home and watch the news but we couldn't leave. Later we learned that the instructors daughter was in the building directly across the street from the towers and she saw the first plane just before it hit. Thankfully, she made it out of her building and home safely. My immediate supervisor did lose her niece in the North tower.

[ddillard 2]

I was working as a Field Supervisor for Pinkerton/Burns Security and had gotten home at about 7am from working a sixteen hour day due to call offs during the night and went straight to bed. My boss called me at about 9:30am and told me that I needed to get into downtown immediately because the WTC had been hit. My mind was not working very well yet so I did not really understand what he was telling me, so I told him to let me get a cup of coffee and I would call him right back. About ten minutes later I called him back and he explained what had happened and that our clients in the downtown area (in the state capital) were all requesting large numbers of extra officers and the needed me to get down there and go from building to building to coordinate our officer and to call in our S.O.R.T. Officers that I was in charge of. Most of the contracts were asking for triple or more of the normal coverage especially the highrise buildings near the state house.

 

I was in the downtown area with my bosses for the next 28 hours making sure that we had everything in hand. I was just astounded that someone had actually attacked our country.

[Sam The Smuggler 1]

I Was Just Waking Up As I Heard The News Of The Plane Hitting The Pentagon Was Coming On. It Didn't Quite Register At First, Then They Said Something About One Of The Towers Being Hit Earlier..Then It Clicked. I Just Sat Up Real Quick And Couldn't Believe It.

 

I Turned Off The Radio And Turned On The TV. I Watched Some There..Then Went Up There To Find Everyone Else Watching. I Actually Can't Recall If I Saw The Second Plane Hit, But I Know I Saw The Second Tower Collapse Live.

 

That Day, Like Every Other Day At The Time..I Went To My Brother's House To Babysit His Kids, My Niece An Nephew, While He And His Girlfriend Went To Work. We Watched Cartoons As We Usually Do...I Also Found Time To Get Some News In Too. It Was Really Hard For Me To Concentrate While I Was Playing With Them. I Probably Hugged Them More In That One Day Than I Ever Had Before...

 

At The Time, My Niece Was 2 And My Nephew Was Turning 1 In October. I Know They Had No Clue As To What Was Going On. So I Just Did My Best To Play With Them Like I Usually Did.Even Though I'm Not Their Father, I Love Those Kids More Than Anything In The World..And Thinking About The Parents And Children Killed That Day Because Of Some God Damned Son Of A (I'm trying to say a bad word but can't) Terrorists, Made Me Sad, Furious And Confused, All At The Same Time. I Just Wanted To Hold Those Kids And Never Let Them Go.

 

And I Too Was Mad, Angry, Furious...Not A Good Enough Word To Describe The Way I Felt...Beyond Belief At The Images Of The Celebrations Over In The Middle East. I Was Thinking "You're Think We're The Evil American Empire Now?? Just Wait!!!!" I Was All For Leveling That Entire Region Of The World Until We Found Every Last Sorry, Dirty,Stinking Piece Of Camel (I'm trying to say a bad word but can't) Resposible For This. While I Don't Feel Quite That Way Now...(Don't Want To Level Eveything Now), I Do Think We Should Stay Over There Til The Job Is Done.

 

Ok...I've Made Myself Alittle Upset Typing This.

 

Peace My Friends

[LadyNarana 0]

I was at the laundromat, sitting on the floor folding clothes when two women told me that a plane had hit the first tower; that's all they knew. And they said it so casually, like it was no big deal. So the first thing I thought of was when a plane hit the Empire State Building years ago - a small plane, no big deal. So I came home and switched on the tv and heard about the second plane hit. My father was here, working on the foundation of my house, and I went outside to tell him. We both came in and watched nothing but news for hours. To this day, I can't watch the footage of the towers coming down - I flash back to watching it live that day, and I feel ill.

 

I went to work at 2:00 pm, and noone at work knew anything except what customers were telling them, so after filling them in with what I had been hearing, I got my portable radio from the car, and we listened to the news while working. I stayed late that night; went home around midnight. It was very, very strange - there was absolutely no traffic on the road, and yet lights were on in almost every house - and I live 26 miles from work. Like a lot of people, I'm sure, I had nightmares about collapsing, burning buildings that night.

[barry 0]

I was at home when I switched on the TV and a news flash came up about it all, I ended up watching it all for the rest of the day.

[Gotabite 0]

I had just arrived at the office.............the moment I opened the door people began asking me had I herad about the plane that crashed into the building in New York. Only the first plane had hit at that time...........I rushed to the TV in the office where everyone was crowed around, just as the second plane hit........................it was a nightmare come to life.

[KayTroi 0]

I was visiting a relative in the Nursing Home.

 

That was one of the most memorable days ever. I will never forget it as long as I live. The day was a shock; it was unbelievable to me that something like that had occured. It became a reality when I saw the news reports on every major channel.

[captainfreeman 0]

I was at work.Second Period,I think.I heard the news over the radio and was thunderstruck.I didn't tell the class anything about what had happened,though.That day school ended early,as many of the staff were so upset about what had happened they just wanted to go home and absorb everything.It was a very long few weeks thereafter,and I tried to answer a lot of questions from the students and allay some fears.I'll never forget what that was like.

[Jeanway 0]

Standing in front of the radio, looking up at the sky, thinking how blue it was, when it said a plane had hit one of the towers. I thought it was some kind of joke or mistake.

[Star Trek Fan 0]

at school

[WEAREBORG4102 0]

I was on a bus with all my classmates heading for Mo Ranch. We weren't allowed any electronics so we didn't know till we got teir. We thought that they just hit and a few people were injured. We thought it was a small plane. We didn't find the full extent till we got back one week later.

[Star Trek Fan 0]

...sry...this was when this thread was on games and i was talking about contacting the mod...

Edited March 9, 2004 by harrykim

[edmcgon 0]

Down boys. It is nothing to get that excited about.

 

As for 9/11, I was at work. When I heard that a plane had crashed into the Twin Towers, I really did not think anything of it. Just another plane accident. When I heard about the second plane, I knew that was trouble.

[Jim Phaserman 0]

I was on watch on a Submarine. we got the message over ELF, and at first, we didn't believe it. then we got a second message confiming the first. General Quarters was called. it was the scariest moment in my career.

[Nemesis 0]

I was at school and didn't hear about it until I got home.

[Jim Phaserman 0]

My younger siblings were all at school. You wanna talk to someone about where they were on September 11, 2001, the person to talk to is hardcharginsarge. he was at the Pentagon.

[t'mir 0]

I was sitting up in my living room, doind homework when my mom came up the stairs and told me that there had been an explosion at the Towers, and they thought maybe a helicopter crashed. It didn't really register as being really serious at the time, but she told me that I needed to pray. I didn't.

 

 

My mom went back downstairs, and then my dad called from work and told us to turn on the tv... that's when I went down and just as I sat on the couch, horrified, I saw another plane flying into the second tower. I screamed, "Oh my God, look-- what-- it's happening again!" I sat paralyzed, and had to leave the room. Then my mom gasped, so I ran back and saw that the first tower had fallen. I began to be filled with a slow, quiet, rage.

 

 

I sat still, barely breathing as the second tower fell, and stayed there in dumb amazement. I walked upstairs and sat on the couch, from which I could normally see planes flying back and forth (I live near an airport) but the sky was silent. The reality didn't sink in for a while... it could have been hours or minutes.. time had no meaning when the Twins fell.

 

 

The very hardest part of all was the fact that I could not find comfort in tears... I couldn't cry for the longest time, because it hadn't even fully registered. I just remember thinking, "Who did this? They WILL pay." When my mom tried to hug me I pushed her away... I was ready to bomb anyone possibly responsible into the Stone Age. I'm just glad I wasn't the President. WWIII would have probably started.

[Jim Phaserman 0]

I remember being on the boat, everyone was scared. one of the senior enlisted guys had a relative at Pearl Harbor, and got a familygram shortly thereafter saying that this family member had flashbacks to Pearl Harbor. and ya know what, people say the President is a warmonger, if he were really a warmonger, we would have gotten the orders noone wanted to get. our boat would have turned the whole area from Baghdad to Beijing into one big glass parkinglot.

[SpocksBrain 0]

I was ready to bomb anyone possibly responsible into the Stone Age. I'm just glad I wasn't the President. WWIII would have probably started.

 

^this is why we don't have female presidents, imagine if she was next to the "Nuke" button during a mood swing?

 

(Don't hurt me! This was said with tongue firmly in cheek!)

 

I remember praying alot that fateful day, and wondering just how may more tragedies would occur...

Edited March 9, 2004 by SpocksBrain

[t'mir 0]

I was ready to bomb anyone possibly responsible into the Stone Age. I'm just glad I wasn't the President. WWIII would have probably started.

 

^this is why we don't have female presidents, imagine if she was next to the "Nuke" button during a mood swing?

I'll "nuke" you! Remember, I know where you sleep.

[SpocksBrain 0]

I was ready to bomb anyone possibly responsible into the Stone Age. I'm just glad I wasn't the President. WWIII would have probably started.

 

^this is why we don't have female presidents, imagine if she was next to the "Nuke" button during a mood swing?

I'll "nuke" you! Remember, I know where you sleep.

Pish-Posh! You coundn't nuke a Hot Pocket...

[Delta 0]

I was at work that day. It was the afternoon here in the U.K we have a small television on a shelf in all the patients rooms it was on with the sound off I heard someone say outside there had been a plane crash I looked up and saw smoke billowing I couldn't make out what I was looking at.

 

Later I went into the day room where most of the staff and patients had congregated my friend said there had been an accident and one of the towers had been hit we were watching as the plane hit the second tower. I don't think I have ever heard a silence like it as we all stood there our mouths open unable to take in what we had just seen knowing it couldn't have been accidental.

 

Later at home I watched the news with my family still unable to believe what had happened. So many innocent lives were lost that day just normal everyday people going about their business it makes me so sad to think of it.