Where were you when the world stopped turning?

[carebear4eva]

Sorry, this is utterly, utterly random, but I just thought I'd post it here and get some responses.

I'm honestly not sure what "caused" it, but 9/11 has been...affecting me...in some way recently. I have no idea why, but gradually over the past month or so, I've been spending stray time on the Internet looking up photos, videos, tributes, speeches, etc. about that day. I think it may have started when I saw the famous Falling Man picture, and since then the horror of that day has been following me. I even dreamed about it 2 nights ago.

Personally, I was far too young that day to fully grasp what had happened, or what was going on - I was 7. Despite that, I can still remember "where I was". Unlike most people on this site, it was actually dinner time where I was (Dubai), so we were all eating together. TV dinners were frowned upon by my mom, so we had no idea what was going on until my dad finished his meal before us and casually turned on the TV. The second tower had already been hit by that point. I have several other stray memories.

The most distinct one was rather unexpectedly crying in a temple a couple of weeks after the attacks. I had just lit a small candle-lamp thing and was observing the shadows cast by the lamp. With the matchstick in my right hand, I sorta moved the match such that the shadow of the match "crashed" into the lamplight. For some reason that made me burst into tears; it was as though that childish action suddenly made it real that people were actually in a building when a plane crashed into it.

Anyway, I honestly don't know what I'm hoping to get out of this thread, but I'm really becoming a little depressed. I had a similar phase years ago when I first studied World War Two and the Holocaust in great detail; I recall a similar practice of reading on it for hours, then falling asleep with a heavy chest only to revisit the horror in my dreams.

This year will make twelve years since the day the world changed forever, since we all became a little more fearful, and a little more distrusting, regardless of how old we were, where we lived or what we believed in. I'm not even sure *why* that day will remain so painfully etched in all our memories - whether it's the sick glory of the nature of the attacks, or the fact that it happened in NEW YORK CITY, or perhaps just how little time these random innocent people had to so much as suspect what was happening before their lives were snapped.

All I know is on the morning of September the 11th 2001, a little under 3,000 people from the most diverse backgrounds got up and headed out, worrying about jobs, families, or if you're anything like Tee, country music sales. 3,000 people had plans for that evening, be it a lazy night at home, a date, some cuddling-time with the kids, or if you're anything like Tee, ranting on Twitter and CFs. 3,000 people had it all end before they could suspect anything.

I guess because I was so young then, I sorta "skipped" the depression that everyone else went through then (and probably still goes through, to some extent, today). I don't mean to open stinging wounds, but if anyone can share their 9/11 story, share something that helped them cope or cheered them up, or at least say something pleasant, I'd highly appreciate it.

And now it's 1 am where I am, and a night of waking up crying at the thought of the mothers of those people in the planes awaits me.

 

[allamericangirl8]

I really, really hate to say this, but I honestly don't remember. It's weird. When I learn something, I always remember how I learned it, but this was like it just seamlessly integrated itself into my memory. So whenever people ask me this question, I always feel bad because I just remember nothing. But it's that very lapse in memory that informs me of how I reacted, seeing as I never seem to remember cripplingly devastating events.

Anyway, I love reading about everyone else's stories, so thanks for creating this thread! I'll be lurking.

 

[robinannhunt]

I was at work and the first plane hit. I was not concerned about the fire because large buildings have fire sprinklers. I felt bad for the innocent people affected. The next plane hit the other tower and then I realised that it was a terrorist attack. I became alarmed at that moment about terrorism hitting the largest city in the USA but thousands of miles from the center of the culture where life is not valued. A place wher death is encouraged in the name of religion. Someone asked me if the buildings could stand the hits and I said sure. The buildings were made of concrete and steel. Little did I know that a few minutes later both towers would collapse and 3,000 people would be killed. It is something that will be more solidified in my memory than even the killing of president John F Kennedy.

 

[Suellen]

I was at work, two blocks away from The World Trade Centers, and that is one day I won’t ever forget. The Path trains stops at the WTC and my manager was leaving the building and had to run for his life, people I knew saw men and women jumping out the windows (luckily I was in work already and didn’t see that). No one was allowed back in NYC (downtown) so after two weeks when I finally went back to work I had to walk by the site every day seeing more and more pictures of the innocent people who were killed in the attack.

 

[Marie2011]

that September day.....

I was in the 3rd grade, in my English/Reading class doing class work.

 

[thunder92]

I was in 4th grade sitting in the back of the room when the principal got on the intercom and explained (in a elementary way) what was going on. I really had no idea what it all meant but I do remember going home afterwards and watching it on the news.


Even though I was young, it was something that will forever be in my memory.

 

[liz278]

I don't know why I turned on the TV that morning, but I was ready early for work so I sat down to watch the Today Show. I remember looking at the TV not really comprehending what had happened, and then they said a second tower had been hit. I remember just watching feeling horror but not really understanding it. There was a sense of it being unreal because this doesn't happen here, especially NYC. I was late for work, but then everyone was, we didn't get much done that day, just watched TV in shock. Then we heard that another one hit the Pentagon. That was when it became a little scary. If they can hit the biggest city in the US and the Pentagon, it was just an unreal feeling. I know it was a Tuesday and I know that I hugged my kids and family a little more after that. I remember being depressed for a few weeks after the attack, and feeling a little less safe.

 

[gaycarebear]

I was in 10th grade. I didn't hear the news until second period in my health class. I just remember sitting there stunned that something so horrible could happen.

 

[bearball49]

I was in upstate NY in a BJ's Wholesale club shopping when the news of the first plane hit and the video was on every tv in the store. The first words out of my daughter's mouth after hearing that it was terrorism was should we pick up her daughter from school as we did not know if the attacks would head further upstate. My step-son-in-law worked in the pentagon on the navy side in security. He had just retired from the navy and the job was a good fit. My step daughter called us hysterical as her husband could not be reached. She was one of the fortunate ones as Gary did work the section that was hit, but was miraculously in a different area that day. He changed jobs shortly thereafter. He decided that when he was full time military, it was ok for your life to be at risk, but not just to work security in Washington DC. There were so many people that my heart bled for that day. It seems lie everyone knew someone that was lost. The school children on the trip with their teacher on one of the planes...another that really touched me was the man in charge of security at the WTC. It was his first day on the job....there was quite a lengthly story about him somewhere. It turned out he was the one that firt recognized the threat of terrorism and was involved in much investigation including that of the Cole and other attacks. He was adamant on where the attacks were coming from and insisted the WTC was a target and shared information with the FBI and CIA. To no avail, everyone discounted his information and made his life hell until he was either let go or quit. WTC was his first job after the government. I also remember crying watching films of jumping people and others waving flags thinking they might be rescued. The brave firemen and police that also lost their lives. As a person that grew up during the cold war, we were constantly at fear of war, nuclear war on our soil. I can remember not only civil defense drills, but military puttingon assemblies in school, trying to convince us how important to our safety that bomb shelters were. As a child from a poor family, I knew there was no money for a bomb shelter and assumed we were at real risk. I can not tell you the nightmares I had as a child and this was like it is finally happening....war is coming here. It was truly the loss of innocence for Americans. I am so sad for the hatreds that this started as well as the lives lost to war. The war never made a bit of sense to me as it was clearly radicals and not the act of any political power......but I think there is always an attitude that someone has to pay, unfortunately it always involves more innocents than those responsible. Of course equally painful to seeing thetwers collapse that day was seeing the cgeering from the middle east. I have always had a problem with blanket hatred for any reason and that was very personal to me as those lost were from every background not just the "evil white Christians". Those list were Jewish, Agnostic, Christiam, Muslum as well as Athiest so it makes no sense to target anyone, but that is just my peace loving child of the 60's live and let live mentality. It still bothers me and now that I have moved to Charlotte, I have learned how they handled the tragedy. This is the banking capital, so there was a real fear that they would be targeted. People were sent home early and much money was lost because of that, but once again....it was the loss of innocense they remember.

 

[buckeyecarriefan]

I was 13, and in 8th grade. We had a delay that morning for teacher meetings, and at the actual time the first plane hit, I was watching Sportcenter and getting ready to head to the bus. I knew nothing of the attack until I got to school and heard people talking about it. My first reaction, being the naive young kid I was and not grasping how serious it really was was "Oh my God, did anyone get hurt?" It wasn't until we got into the building that we realized just how bad it was.

We attempted to go on with our normal routine for the first 2 classes, but after a while it became apparent that no one's mind was on school that day. All we did the rest of the day was either listen to the coverage on the radio or watch it on TV. It was and still is THE most horrifying stuff I've ever witnessed and I hope no one ever again has to watch that happen, whether to their own country or another.

I also remember that I was supposed to walk to my cousin's house that day after school, and I was scared(no idea why, I live in the most boring town in America where nothing remotely dangerous would ever happen). Just as I'm getting ready to cross the street, my mom was there...apparently she got permission to leave work long enough to pick me up and take me where I was going. Again, being the naive kid I was, the first thing I said to her was "so did you hear what happened today?"(as if ANYONE in America didn't know by that point). The rest of my evening went alright, just watching news coverage and trying to wrap my brain around what had happened. Then all of a sudden I remembered that dad was a truck driver and often times would have to go to the New York area. I hardly slept at all that night, part wondering where he was and part just being scared that it could happen again somewhere else. Luckily I talked to my dad the next day and found out he was alright....but he WAS in Newark, NJ when the whole thing happened and saw it happening from his truck.

I also remember that we had bomb threats for the next week solid at school. Same time every day, right around 9:30 or so. Ended up just being a kid looking for attention and a way out of class, but after everything that had happened, wasn't funny in the least.

 

[Carrieflattsfan]

I was in 4th grade, and I remember my Mom picking us up from school that day. But other than that, I don't remember much at all, because we were sent home to be with our families after the news came out. We watched it on the news, but at the time, it was kind of a blur; I wasn't old enough to grasp what was truly happening. Now I can't even watch coverage; it literally makes me sick to my stomach.

It's awful to think that so many other horrific things have happened since then, too. Our world is a completely different place now; in a way, I think we've all lost our innocence because of it. As I've gotten older, I've come to realize the depth of what happened, obviously, and I feel like it affects me more as I get older. I think even if we don't remember specific details about what WE were doing, it united all of us in a way that can never be undone.

 

[carebear4eva]

I just wanted to drop in and thank everyone for posting. Re-reading my original post, I realise I was a tad dramatic (and desperate) that night

Thanks everyone

 

[buckeyecarriefan]

I just wanted to drop in and thank everyone for posting. Re-reading my original post, I realise I was a tad dramatic (and desperate) that night

Thanks everyone

You can never be too dramatic about that. It was absolutely one of the worst things to ever happen and to watch it unfold on world wide TV made it even worse. We all lost our innocence that day and no matter how hard we try, we'll never get that back. Which is why I think I'm so obsessed with the 1990s lately. I just want to go back to simpler times where I could walk out of the house and not worry about if I was coming back. The world now is a crazy, horrifying place.


Anyway, now that I finally went back and read your original post, I think what got me past the tragedy was just seeing how my fellow Americans came together in the coming months. Didn't matter if they were white, black, Asian, Mexican, rich poor, lived on the East Coast, West Coast, or Midwest, young, old. We were simply Americans, and our country was hurting. The way everyone came together to grieve and then resolved to rebuild and not let the terrorists win is one of the greatest things I've ever seen, and while we may disagree with the way we've gone about it since then, I truly believe that's why we (luckily and so far) haven't had another attack. Terrorists around the world saw that while you can do a lot of damage to America, all you do in the end is make her stronger. I've never been prouder of my country than I was in late 2001 and early 2002.

 

[Carrieflattsfan]

You can never be too dramatic about that. It was absolutely one of the worst things to ever happen and to watch it unfold on world wide TV made it even worse. We all lost our innocence that day and no matter how hard we try, we'll never get that back. Which is why I think I'm so obsessed with the 1990s lately. I just want to go back to simpler times where I could walk out of the house and not worry about if I was coming back. The world now is a crazy, horrifying place.


Anyway, now that I finally went back and read your original post, I think what got me past the tragedy was just seeing how my fellow Americans came together in the coming months. Didn't matter if they were white, black, Asian, Mexican, rich poor, lived on the East Coast, West Coast, or Midwest, young, old. We were simply Americans, and our country was hurting. The way everyone came together to grieve and then resolved to rebuild and not let the terrorists win is one of the greatest things I've ever seen, and while we may disagree with the way we've gone about it since then, I truly believe that's why we (luckily and so far) haven't had another attack. Terrorists around the world saw that while you can do a lot of damage to America, all you do in the end is make her stronger. I've never been prouder of my country than I was in late 2001 and early 2002.

Totally agree with this post; well-said, Tom.


If anything, I think it would more tragic to become numb to what happened to our country on 9/11. Sometimes I feel like we have become numb to all the war and violence happening in the USA and worldwide, and it's sad to witness. We will never forget what happened, and there's no shame in discussing it, or becoming emotional thinking about it.

I am proud to be an American, and that will never change. Like Tom already mentioned, the way that we came together and lifted each other up following 9/11 was really inspiring and beautiful to see. I honestly think America has become a more united country because of 9/11; if anything positive came of this, seeing the way our nation came together during this time would be it.

We lost our innocence on 9/11, and I pray nothing like this ever happens again. But, there are still millions of wonderful people in this world, and nothing will ever change the fact that the USA is still the best country in the world. I can only hope that 9/11 inspires a change that can improve our future.

 

[HuiZ]

I remember it so clearly. It was late at night over here in Australia. My housemate was watching tv and suddenly she shouted to me to watch the breaking news. Both of us started watching the news coverage when they showed the first tower after it was hit. And then to our horror, the second plane hit. And then the most unthinkable happened - watching the buildings crumbled to the floor like they are some lego blocks. We were both so shocked that we were left speechless. I remember thinking repeatedly "Omg is this real news? Please tell me it's some kind of really sick joke on tv."
Then I called my parents (we were in different countries) to ask them to turn on the tv. My dad was worried that it could be some planned attacks on not just US, but other big countries as well, he asked me then to stay away from crowded areas, trains etc unless necessary.

The next day when I was in class, a plane flew over the building at a rather low level, thus it was loud and disrupted the teacher. For a few seconds when the plane flew by, it was complete silence in the class. You can practically hear everyone breathe in relief after it passed.

 

[HuiZ]

Another news I remembered very clearly was Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004. I was in tears when I saw the news on tv. I think I have never looked at the sea the same way again.

 

[carebear4eva]

Totally agree with this post; well-said, Tom.


If anything, I think it would more tragic to become numb to what happened to our country on 9/11. Sometimes I feel like we have become numb to all the war and violence happening in the USA and worldwide, and it's sad to witness. We will never forget what happened, and there's no shame in discussing it, or becoming emotional thinking about it.

I am proud to be an American, and that will never change. Like Tom already mentioned, the way that we came together and lifted each other up following 9/11 was really inspiring and beautiful to see. I honestly think America has become a more united country because of 9/11; if anything positive came of this, seeing the way our nation came together during this time would be it.

We lost our innocence on 9/11, and I pray nothing like this ever happens again. But, there are still millions of wonderful people in this world, and nothing will ever change the fact that the USA is still the best country in the world. I can only hope that 9/11 inspires a change that can improve our future.

Great posts, both you and Tom (although India is clearly the best country in the world )

Yeah, that day really did shape the new millennium, didn't it? More so, I can't help but feel that my generation is largely defined by that one day - we were mostly 5-10 year olds when it happened, and something like that in one's childhood doesn't go away.

One man's lunacy changed the very fabric of the world as we know it. Two wars, several thousands of lives, international relations (our own countries of India and the US grew much closer), and, I remain convinced, the Harry Potter series all changed (Oh, c'mon, the books grew *SO* much darker so suddenly!)

 

[buckeyecarriefan]

Another news I remembered very clearly was Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004. I was in tears when I saw the news on tv. I think I have never looked at the sea the same way again.

That tsunami and the one that hit Japan were both terrible. I think the 2004 one was made even worse by the timing....right after Christmas, in a popular tourist area, where millions were off on vacation. Christmas is supposed to be a happy time, and now there are unfortunately people around the world who can't celebrate without thinking about that tragedy.

 

[carebear4eva]

Another news I remembered very clearly was Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004. I was in tears when I saw the news on tv. I think I have never looked at the sea the same way again.

Again, I was too young to distinctly remember it, but I do remember going over the newspapers in the ays to come and just reading...STATISTICS

So many graphs, pie-charts, tables...List of countries by deaths, list of countries by damage caused, percentage of deaths by country. It was horrible.

I actually had a friend who was vacationing in South India when it happened. He was Catholic, and he was with his entire family in Church when it happened. He says the entire congregation climbed to the highest point in the church, and spent 3 days there, with brave volunteers sporadically leaving and risking their lives to get food and water for the many, many young children and babies present. One woman who elected to make one of those runs was electrocuted and died.

 

[carrieismy1idol]

I Was In My 7th Grade Homebase A.K.A.Homeroom Class & My Teacher Had The News On I Started Watching It & I Remember Being A Nervous Wreck Because My Grandma Used To Live Near There I Was Afraid Something Had Happened To Her But Luckily She Called My Mom & Told Her She Was Okay So I Was Relieved.