Would you like to share...9/11

[love2sing]

I have to write a ten page paper and I wanted to do it on 9/11. Sort of a day in the life. I remember it was a beautiful sunny day and I was unemployed at the time and I had the sewing machine out and was making my daughters Halloween costumes. I had wanted to get an early start on that.
One of my most vivid memories of that day was how eerily quiet the sky was. I happen to live very close to Islip/Macarthur Airport and am normally oblivious to the planes going overhead. The days that followed 9/11 were so quiet due to the cessation of aircraft. How ironic that the silence of the sky was almost deafening, if that makes any sense at all.

I know some of you, like Ira, have first hand stories about that day and was wondering if you would like to share your feelings on where you were or what was happening to you that day.

I am truly grateful for any information you would like to share and I thank you.

[puffpattiduke]

I 1st heard about it when I walked into work that morning - they were listening to it on the radio - I was wearing a purple silk blouse (weird thing to remember) - I called my mother & told her to put on the t.v. (she had no idea yet) - I remember hearing the sirens (all of our local fire companies & ambulances all day heading into the city to help), and I agree w/ you L2S, that the sky was so eerily quiet. I remember getting my son off the bus that afternoon and telling him about it - he had no idea, they never announced anything about it at his school. I remember people being extra polite on the roads, and tears in peoples eyes at the stores. My son's karate class was cancelled that night. I didn't know anyone personally that died that day, but I remember all of the local funerals for months afterwards.

[zebrarette]

Even though I do not live in New York.....I do remember that day very very well. I had taken a couple of days off from work that week...my oldest daughter was getting married in Lafayette (we were living in Monroe) on Sept. 15 so I was running around trying to finish up last mintue details. I was outside washing my car...I had stepped inside to get something when my phone started ringing. It was my oldest daughter...all she kept saying was..."turn on the TV Mom!"...."turn on the TV Mom!"....I remember the sound of her voice.....I ran into the game room and switched the TV on....I could not believe what I was seeing.....I started to cry and cried for days afterwards. We traveled to Lafayette a couple of days afterwards and it felt so good to be around family. We all hugged each other, we cried together and we attended a memorial service at the local church. At my daughters reception...we made sure we had an American flag hanging in the hall.

[love2sing]

Thank you so much, keep the info coming! Especially in light of the events today.

[mark]

As you already know I was a few stops away from the towers on the path train heading in too work on the 95th floor of the North tower. I was spared but many co-workers and close friends not so fortunate as our data center was hit point blank by the first plane. I've written before on this subject and there is all way to much to rehash. I woke along side of people who tell stories of escaping from the 76th floor elavator lobby. Helping people on fire. People screaming and emptying down fire escape stairways.
Tony who I still work alongside just got in the elevator and lifted about 6-7 feet up when the elevator cable snapped and stared snaking down atop it as the elevator fell back to the ground and jet fuel sprayed down on top of them sparking. He and another had to grab the doors and pull them open and help a lady out who injured her ankle in the fall. Katy who I work with. A spunky old 67 year old lady who was on the first floor lobby. A guard tried to tell everyone its ok and not to worry as he stood in front of the doorway. Katy kicks him in the shin, pushes him outta the way and runs for her life.
Screaming hysterical messages on my phone machine when I got home from friends wives. Going to memorial services over and over again in the following months.

A weenine of a boss calls me and wanted me to come in to the Disaster recovery sight less then 12 hours after the incident. I waited until the next day. The Comdisco D/R site was just about ready to go chapter 11. All of a sudden they were over burdened. Had to shuttle in people from different people from different D/R companies that were in the towers because of not near enough parking space. I drove in with my friend Francis who was paralyzed from the waist down and in a wheel chair so I managed to get up front handi cap parking with him.

But I know what you mean about that eeery silence in the sky. Only occasional passing fighter jet and the helicopter props can be heard. It kind of imbeds into your mind. Everytime I hear them helicopters anymore it stirs up those memories of standing outside the D/R site in Carlstadt NJ and watching the smoldering skyline.

I didn't start work until 9AM. The tower I worked in was attacked at about 12 minutes prior. I might of been there had I caught an earlier train. But I did'nt have my drivers liscense at the time and had to wait for my brother to pick me up and drop me off at the train station. Otherwise I might of very well been at work already.

Here is a memorial site from our company which was situated beneath Cantor where Ira use to work. You can check out postings from me to many a friends I had on this site if you care too. Its something that you can never forget. Reading about my friends now 5 years later still brings tears to my eyes.

http://memorial.mmc.com/

Nicholas Bogdan
Joseph Mangano
Jeffrey Robinson
Katherine Bantis
William Caspar
Wiliam Bethke
Thomas Sgroi
Thomas Wise
Joseph Sisolak

[EVHFV]

All my dealings with that day were all second-hand. But it felt like I was personally attacked. I think we all felt that way. I, as usual, was listening to Howard Stern while at work. They were talking about things they usually do, being goofy and light-hearted, when Stuttering John walks in and says a plane just hit one of the World Trade Center towers. So, they turn the tvs on and start watching what many of you saw first-hand. And say what most will about Stern, that day, he did an amazing job on the air. I felt like I was right there. People calling in, describing what they were seeing, while it was happening right in front of them. People on rooftops, watching the towers in the distance. At first, there wasn't much tv coverage. The second plane hadn't even hit. Word came in that a second plane hit. Nobody could believe it. After hearing of one plane....ok...accidents happen. But what is going on when 2 planes hit two building under 30 minutes apart? This was no accident. The mood quickly changed from confusion to...well....a million different things. It wasn't long before people on the phone were watching what they knew had to be people falling from the burning buildings. People were saying "how bad is it in there when you'd rather jump out?". People would ask "how do they put a fire like that out high up in buildings like that?". Something nobody had an answer for. Not a good one, at least. I remember walking out of my room, going up to a co-worker, asking him if he was hearing this on his radio. I tried the local AM news station, thinking it would have better coverage, being a news station and all. It was sub par. Listening to Howard, blocks away from where everything was going on while they had CNN going on their tvs, it was the best coverage, by far. It wasn't long before I realized these buildings may have survived the crashes, but they couldn't withstand the fires that were being described. I walked back out to my co-worker, and said "these buildings are coming down". It was one of those things I thought I HAD to be wrong about....what a wild prediction. Besides, nothing like that would happen. It couldn't, it SHOULDN'T, or maybe I was just hoping against hope because I just didn't WANT it to happen. As the minutes passed and the buildings were still standing, I thought "well maybe, just maybe it'll all work out". Then you heard people on Stern, watching the tvs and they all at once just screamed out "Oh my God!!! The building just collapsed". Then it was "will the other one make it?". It wasn't long before that question was answered as well. I remember just wanting to go home and watch what was going on. Somehjow, I needed to see this for myself, what was REALLY happening to New York, and to our country. But we worked a full day, all wondering what had really just happened. How many would survive? How many got out in time? Too many questions, with more answers than we wanted to know. And what about the people that didn't even know this was going on? My mom, she babysat my (at the time) baby niece. The tv was never on during the day at her house. She never found out until the end of the day. What about the guy that works outside all day and doesn't listen to the radio? He's mowing your lawn, fixing your cable tv at the top of the pole across the street, or paving the road where they've been doing construction all summer. Or the people that work all night on 3rd shift, they're in bed. I had just started painting my house that weekend. I didn't paint for several days until that next weekend, and I felt guilty for it. Life wasn't supposed to just go on, even though we had to try to start again somehow. And I think that's how it'll always be for us that were witness to it. Moreso for those that were there or directly affected somehow. We'll just keep on going, trying to keep going.

[love2sing]

Keep the feedback coming. I am in the school library right now trying to start my paper. Anything you can contribute will be helpful and greatly appreciated!

Thanks again, all!!!

[SHOELUVRSIS]

cant rehash it right now - probably like 'nam - never will

but since tecnically i work for the government i was required to be at work,
even as on my ride in 1010 told me now there was a plane heading to hit the pentagon, i had to laugh at the absurdity of the world as i knew it basically ending, there was a plane headed to hit the pentagon, and here i was, driving to work! i couldnt wrap my brain around it and when i got to work i
sat there and cried ALL day. :( - and for many, many days after - and
many a nightmare later....

as for moving on - easier said than done and as for ever feeling "safe"
at any major event -sports, concerts time square new years eve?
NEVER AGAIN! i dont spend my time in fear but i've been to such events since and i think about it everytime and after today,
i'll probably never fly again. did they win? i guess for the time being they did
hopefully this "paranoia" will go away in time - but it hasnt since '01
and we will be embarking on '07 soon enough.
as a side note i think something MAJOR will happen again b/c these
fu!@s are BRED to hate.

when katrina happened it was all over the news - i couldnt watch it it
was too much a reminder of 9/11
and recently i saw something on the news about the affairs
down there STILLLLLL! (angry) this is the government
i excpect to protect me from terrorists? PUH-LEEESE
i've never been so crestfallen on the activities of our government in my life.
its been a tough time.

[love2sing]

I had just started painting my house that weekend. I didn't paint for several days until that next weekend, and I felt guilty for it. Life wasn't supposed to just go on, even though we had to try to start again somehow. And I think that's how it'll always be for us that were witness to it. Moreso for those that were there or directly affected somehow. We'll just keep on going, trying to keep going.



Thank you so much for sharing this day in your life. You are so right about feeling guilty about going about your "business as usual". I felt the same way. My marriage was still in tact then and my husband worked on Park Avenue. He called me when it first happened he saw the smoke as he came up from Penn Station and was wondering what was going on. I didn't hear from him until he got home the next day. He wound up at his brothers house in Queens. His cousin Debbie was in the one of the towers and managed to get out alive, walked across the Brooklyn Bridge to get home to Brooklyn, but no one knew if she was still alive for quite some time that day.

[shoeluvr]

i remember speaking to a lot of frantic customers, even for months after. so many businesses effected. some wanted to take about it, some didnt. i remember 1 woman saying everyone was so calm, and her boss told thn to leave right away. she said he is the reason shes alive. a friend of mine worked there, before 9/11 i asked him about the first bombing, and he said no one talked about it, and you didnt ask anyone. i was up there 2 weeks befor with my kids. we were there so many times, i rememeber 2 weeks before i dodnt have my camera, my daughter wanted me to buy one, and i said "next time" i thought we would be there again, i had no reason to believe we wouldnt.

[TPJM]

I would've walked right into it as I work across the street but was home that day - faked being sick and called in - God was with me that day I guess.

The day was surreal. My sister called me up and told me what happened as I was sleeping. I put on the TV and thought I was dreaming or having a nightmare.

It was the strangest day and changed my life forever.

Many TV and radio stations were knocked out. The rest of the day there were reports that the GW bridge was bombed and bomb threats at the Empire State Bldg. I felt in the middle of a war.

Suddenly, nothing else mattered except the health and security of me and my family and I was grateful I was spared.

For the next few months I had to endure the stench and view of the workers taking the remains to the morgues and dumps.

As it's the first thing I see every morning when I get off the subway, I'm constantly reminded of how evil "people" can be.

[mark]

Here's a story from a guy I met at the Diaster Recovery site. I asked him what tower he worked in and he said the top of the south tower. I said 'You got out ok'. He replied with, "They said not to panic over the South tower intercom and there was no need to evacuate". He then proceeded to say "Would you stay in your house if you looked out the window and seen your neighbors house on fire?". I told him "Smartest move you ever made in your life" 15 minutes or so later the south tower was hit.

[Doc]

Here's my story:
I took my normal Path train that am. It gets into the sub-basement of the WTC at 8:46 AM. The morning of 9/11 was no different. If you know the Path system at the WTC, you know it takes 2 or 3 min to get up to the concourse level. As the escalator neared the concourse I could hear the sounds of alarms. Once on the level, I could see smoke off to my right in the elevator area of one of the towers. Thinking it was a small fire, I did not pay much attention to it. I then noticed that the Chase bank atm area which was always filled with early morning commuters doing some kind of transaction, was absolutely empty. I took the oppurtunity to withdraw 100 bucks. As I was in the middle of the transaction a frantic woman grabbed me and told me I needed to get out of the building because it was being bombed. I dismissed this woman as a whacko and finished my transaction. Back out on the concourse I ran into a coworker who asked me what was going on. I told her of the frantic woman and another commuter informed us at that time that the tower had been hit by a plane. It was then that I noticed that along the concourse corridor, women had literally ran out of there shoes. We exited the concourse at the street level to a downpour of paper coming from the tower above. Looking up we saw a hole in the tower and smoke along with a small fire. Once at work I was informed that a commercial jetliner had hit the tower.
I started to call loved ones to tell them that I was safe when my building which is 3 blocks from the WTC shook from the explosion of the secound plane
hitting its intendedd target. It was then that we at work all realized exactly what was happening.

[love2sing]

I truly thank all of you for your responses so far. I am sitting here doing my homework outside and enjoying this beautiful day we are having and in reading all these statements I am thankful that I am able to just that.

I think we have all changed our view of a lot of the things we take for granted since 9/11.

My son is taking my daughters and himself to see World Trade Center at the movies today. I am not ready to watch that.

[ZEBRAFREAK]

I have to write a ten page paper and I wanted to do it on 9/11. Sort of a day in the life. I remember it was a beautiful sunny day and I was unemployed at the time and I had the sewing machine out and was making my daughters Halloween costumes. I had wanted to get an early start on that.
One of my most vivid memories of that day was how eerily quiet the sky was. I happen to live very close to Islip/Macarthur Airport and am normally oblivious to the planes going overhead. The days that followed 9/11 were so quiet due to the cessation of aircraft. How ironic that the silence of the sky was almost deafening, if that makes any sense at all.

I know some of you, like Ira, have first hand stories about that day and was wondering if you would like to share your feelings on where you were or what was happening to you that day.

I am truly grateful for any information you would like to share and I thank you.



I WAS HOME DURING THE 1ST ATTACK AND MY SINGER/ GUITARIST CALLED ME TO LET ME KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON...
I LEFT FOR WORK IN QUEENS RIGHT AWAY...
WHEN I GOT THERE THEY SENT MY BUS AND I TO THE 59TH ST BRIDGE TO PICK UP PEOPLE...
WHEN I GOT TO THE TOP OF THE HILL ON NORTHERN BLVD I COULD SEE WERE THE TOWERS WERE...
THEY WERE DOWN ALREADY... I STARTED CRYING LIKE A BABY...
ON THE WAY TO QUEENS THEY HAD A ROAD BLOCK AND I SAW THEY WERE LETTIN COPS THROUGH...
I TOOK MY BADGE OFF MY SHOULDER AND ATTACHED IT TO MY WALLET TO LOOK OFFICIAL... I FLASHED MY BAGED ANN THE TROOPER ASK WHO I WAS WITH...
I SAID TRANSIT (NOT REALLY A LIE) BUT HE MUST'VE THOUGHT I WAS A TRANSIT COP...
I HAD THE WHOLE ROAD TO MY SELF AND DROVE 90 TO 100 MPH TO GET TO WORK TO DO MY PART...
THERE WERE PEOPLE COVERED IN SOOT GETTIN ON THE BUS...
I HAD TO HOLD BACK THE TEARS... WE WERE TOLD TO DROP THEM OFF WHERE EVER THEY WANTED TO GO... PEOPLE WALKED FROM WALL ST. DOWN TO WALK ACROSS THE 59TH ST BRIDGE...
I DROPPED THEM OFF ANYWHERE IN QUEENS THEY WANTED TO GO...
I MADE 8 ROUND TRIPS UNTIL EVERYONE WAS HOME SAFELY...
I DIDN'T MENTION MY WIFE DOREEN BEGGED ME NOT TO GO TO WORK FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HER LIFE... AND IT'S THE FIRST TIME I WANTED TO GO TO WORK... I KNEW THEY NEEDED ME SO I WENT AGAINST MY WIFE'S BEGGING... ALL THE OTHER DRIVERS FROM LONG ISLAND THAT I WORK WITH COULD'T MAKE IT THROUGH THE ROAD BLOCKS... I'M NOT A HERO LIKE THE FDNY AND PAPD BUT I WAS PROUD THAT I COULD GET THEM HOME SAFELY!!!

[Zebra 3]

I'M NOT A HERO LIKE THE FDNY AND PAPD BUT I WAS PROUD THAT I COULD GET THEM HOME SAFELY!!!

you did well my friend, but please let us also not forget NYPD 23 who went in and subsequently perished when others ran out.

[chinarain62]

I'll never forget the the attempt of the first attack if I recall was in '98. StiX used get sent to World Trade alot and I remember that day in '98 for some reason his company didn't need him over there that day.

Forward to 9/11. Thankfully StiX works no where near where WTC was. However the day it happend, I remember being at my old job and the marketing mgr. came out and said to me that his wife just called and that a plane flew into one of the towers. I looked at him like it was a joke. I went on the internet to MSNBC to see if there were any reports and by then more had happend. I called my mom (who was alive at the time) and had her keep me posted. Then I called StiX and while we were on the phone - the cell phone tower went down. The only way we could communicate was thru AOL IM - then eventually they lost power. I was freaking out that I had no way to communicate with him from that point on. I didn't know how he was going to get home or even IF he was going to get home. We had friends who lived in NYC so I knew that worse case scenario he could've always gone to their place. Thankfully, he was able to carpool with other co-workers and he got out of the city and was able to come home. Needless-to-say, he didn't go back into work for the rest of the week and just worked from home. I wish others had been as fortunate as he. We took a ride through our beach later that day because on one side of it we could see that side of NYC. All we saw was smoke of what once was. I sat on a rock and cried. I felt like I lived in a different place - places where things like this happend more frequently sad to say. I couldn't believe it happend on US soil; my homeland - the place where I felt safe everyday. StiX and I went to where the WTC was maybe about 6 months later. The wall of photos was still up along the fence by the church - so many faces of loved ones. I studied the pictures, looked at what people had written and wept for each one.

[GuitarPLYR]

Granted, I do not live up there so my story isn't as good as most of yours has been but another story from the outside looking in can't hurt L2S's report!!

I remember it like it was yesterday. I was getting out of the shower to get ready for work. When I got out of the shower, Jen (my wife) told me that a plane had crashed into the WTC. I immediately told her that it probably was an accident and that it happened to the Empire State Building back in the 1940's. One thing that striked me as particularly odd was how clear the sky was that day. I knew that the plane that struck the Empire State Bldg. did so in a heavy fog. Anyway I went about my business of getting my clothes ready and preparing my lunch for the day when I heard Jen scream VERY loudly. OH MY GOD!!!! ANOTHER ONE JUST HIT THE OTHER TOWER!!! My heart sank as I then knew what was happening. As bad as I wanted to stay and watch on TV, I knew that I had better be getting to work. On my way into the city, I heard that the Pentagon was hit by yet another plane. I was thinking "Oh shit!!!" I work in one of the skyscrapers in NOLA and absolutely did not want to go in but did not know what to do. I didn't know what scale this attack was on. Were they attacking all major cities? We are the largest port city in the U.S., we may be next on the list....should I go in? I went there anyway. Everyone in the office was glued to the set. I told them that I was going home and did just that. I watched in horror for the entire day, hoping that no more attacks would happen. I was furious when the news showed muslim people in our United States cheering the fall of the towers. I wanted to kill them. It was a sad day that nobody from our generation will ever forget. I think I now know what my grandparents felt when we were attacked in Pearl Harbor.

[rushtrader]

I'll never forget the the attempt of the first attack if I recall was in '98. .

1993 actually. I was in florida on vacation for that one.

Here is what I remember. There are large gaps and the times may not all make sense, but here is my day:

The morning of 9/11 was gorgeous. It was one of those perfect days that you get once per year if you are lucky. I worked about 3 blocks away at the time. I was in the office alone when the first plane hit. I didn't know what had happened. It sounded like really loud thunder and I just sort-of dismissed it. Then the second one hit and shook my whole building. It must have been travelling far faster than the first one.

I jumped onto IRC and asked my friend what was happening? He said "Dude, another plane just hit the WTC!" "What do you mean another plane?" "Dude, we're under attack or something". I called my wife and she told me what had happened so far. I told her I was going to check it out.

I ran the 2 blocks to Broadway, jumped over the police line, ran through Liberty Square and was standing across the street from the SE corner of the towers. I was walking through pieces of airplane and building. Papers were rainind down. There were other things dropping and going thud. I didn't know what those were yet.

I picked up a mangled CD-R from inside a piece of airplane fuselage and was examining it when the firemen all started showing up and running into the buildings and the cops chased me out. I ran again back to my building and got inside just as the first building fell. I ran up to my office but there was smoke and shit pouring in through the windows. I took a deep breath in the lobby, ran in and closed all of the windows. I went back downstairs where tje lobby at this point looked like a triage scene from a war movie. People bleeding and with broken bones. I took off my shirt and wrapped it around my face and went outside and headed away from the buildings - toward the seaport. From there up the FDR to 14th st, across to 7th ave and up to penn station.

No trains were running yet. I went to Mustang Harry's for a beer. That was the first TV I had seen up to that point. That's when I realized that the "things" I had seen and heard hitting the ground were people. I walked out of the bar, across to a deli and grabbed 4 oil cans of fosters. I stuck 3 of those in my backpack (no memory of having it on before this) and started drinking the other one.

I walked back to MSG to wait for trains to start. A bunch of us who were grey sort of got together in the lobby area in front of MSG and started talking about the morning... I don't remember a lot after that except that I hopped on the first LIRR train out of manhattan which just happened to be a Huntington train. I drove home, sat down in front of the TV, which happened to be on fix news, grabbed a bottle of whiskey and did nothing but watch TV and drink for the next 36 hours.

It would take 2 years to get these memories back and the memory of the weekend before when my family and I had gone to the renaissance faire.

To top it all off it was my daughter's 9th bday and from the call where I was going to check it out until sometime later when i apparently borrowed someone's blackberry to send my wife an email, nobody knew if I had survived. There was no cell phone service and my phone's battery had died.

RT

[chinarain62]

[QUOTE=rushtrader]1993 actually. I was in florida on vacation for that one.

Thanks RT for the actual date. That was a scary day too!

[mark]

During the 1993 bombing the company did not have their location at the world trade center. It was at 125 broad Street. I worked in Princeton NJ. But we had a departmental meeting that day and had to meet up with the rest of the staff that worked at 125 broad. for a 1PM meeting.

So there you have it. They missed me by a couple of minutes on the path train in 1993 also. Yet then I prosceeded to come into the office via the 33rd street path line instead of the WTC path line. Big mistake. Took me over 5 hours to get home for a normally 1 1/2 hour trip.

[TPJM]

I was working on Water St during the 1993 bombing. I said then that 1 day they'd come back and knock the towers down as they wanted them down for the longest time. Sadly, I was right.

I fear that 1 day the NYSE will get attacked as they want to F up our economy.

[mark]

Your office must of been right around the corner form my companies building back in 1993.

[love2sing]

I haven't been on the board lately as I just finished 2 rather demanding classes and I just wanted to extend a warm thank you to all of you for contributing your stories. I received an A+ on my paper and I just want all of you to know how much I appreciate you for sharing your experiences from that horrible day.