Today marks the nine year anniversary of September 11th 2001. It's one of those events that I think everyone can remember exactly where they were when they found out.At that time I was living in upstate NY, a little town called Craryville about 100 miles north of NYC. I was a single mother living in a traller part of questionable repute. (I left alaska for two years after Uyaana was born) I was working at the worst job I have ever had at Taconic Farms a place that breeds rats and mice for biomedical research. I hated that place with the passion of a thousand burning suns. It was the most back breaking, ball busting job I have ever done. The one good thing about this place was it made me realize I was going to move back to Alaska and never live anywhere else EVER again.
I was listening to a morning radio show (can't remember which one it was I used to listen to) when the usual morning banter was interrupted by then saying that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. I remember thinking that it must have been a horrible accident, until the second plane crashed into the other tower. When the towers fell all I could think was all those poor people. I sat on the floor in a room filled with thousands of rats and mice and cried. It was so awful.
Where were you when you first heard the news?
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14 comments:
I was in Inuvik, NWT, almost directly east of you. I'd taken the day off work because my babysitter was out of town. I was sleeping in with my eight-month-old when my husband came in, woke me up, and told me the WTC had been destroyed. I went downstairs and watched news coverage all day like a zombie.
I was teaching 4th grade, and it was a beautiful sunny fall day, and my kids were out of the room, at a special, and I was sitting at my desk, using the computer, when we got an email saying that we were not to take our kids out for recess, or gym, or anything, and that we would be on a modified lockdown the rest of the day until we had a better idea of what was happening. Then I started getting emails from people outside of school, filling me in on what was happening, so I turned to CNN news on the computer.
THe sad thing for me is, it is also Savannah's birthday, this day, the 11th of September, so we had to attempt to celebrate a little girl's birthday that day - she was only 6 that day - amidst all the suffering. That was the hardest part for ME. She just said this morning that all she remembers from that day is that it was her birthday, and we were all glued to the TV and the friends of our family who came for her birthday dinner, were all crying. A day never to be forgotten, and a day no one will ever forget.
We were stationed at the Naval Submarine Base in Groton CT, packing for our transfer to the submarine base in WA state. My husband came running in and told us to turn the TV on, and we did that just in time to see the 2nd plane hit the 2nd tower. The base was immediately shut down, parents were asked to get their kids from school and since I was a firefighter/EMT with the city we were instantly put on alert and told to be ready to head into the City. Its a beautiful sunny day here in the Mat-Su Valley, just like it was that day 9 yrs ago, but blue skies on 9/11 will never be the same to me. Those lost in D.C., PA and NY will forever be in my heart....
I was working at my job in the Detroit area, a job that I also hated with the passion of a thousand burning suns (I love that phrase!) We all worked in isolation, every office door was closed all the time. I got up to go to the bathroom and saw my boss and a coworker watching television in an empty office, as I passed the doorway I saw the second plane hit the towers. My boss hadn't bothered to tell any of us and he told me to go back to work. I closed my office door and stayed glued to the internet until it was time to leave.
I remember that day so well....
was visiting a customer just in the next city, about 12 km away. A good customer; had lots to do.
When I had done this job I felt lazy and hungry and tired and as I was not far away I drove home for a break. Turned on the radio immediately and in this very minute the first plane crashed in. I thought of NY in September: lovely blue skies and crispy fresh air with a slight taste of Fall - and that it is no wonder that this has not happend before. I thought it was an accident! It was said it was a small plane. I started preparing a small meal. The girl on the radio suddenly started screaming, became hysteric and said the other tower was hit as well.....I turned on the TV and stayed there for about 7 or 8 hours. You all know what followed. I just sat there staring into my small TV in disbelieve. It was already early afternoon in Europe then - I never returned back to work that day! The TV people on all channels did an amazing job, untill complete exhaustment...
I thought about a friend I once had, living in East 15th St. and how I was walking so often through Manhattan...
I was getting ready for work at the bank. My mum had the TV on because she was doing the ironing (the only reason why she'd turn on the TV that early in the day). I watched as the second plane flew into the tower. A friend of mine lived in apartment building almost right next to the towers. I spent much of the day trying to reach him.
I came home from work early - for once - and turned on the TV for some reason that I don't remember now. It must have been maybe 10-15 minutes after the first plane had hit, but it all seemed so unreal. I thought for the longest time that it was some kind of disaster movie...
Then it dawned on me that a friend of mine worked somewhere in the WTC and it became so real to me.
The following day I found out that my friend had been home sick and was OK.
I was driving my oldest to Kind. and had heard on the radio that a plane had hit the building. I figured it was a small plane and an accident, they didn't give details yet. I heard something a s2nd time but can't remember what. When I got home I turned on the t.v. to see what was going on. I watched as the 1st tower fell and totally disbelief, maybe even shock. I didn't cry or anything because I think I was too stunned especially when the 2nd started going down. I also remember asking his teacher after school if they had talked about it in class or not to see what I'd have to explain later when we got home.
I was working at a christian school in Lakeland, Florida as a secretary and my 4 children also attended the school. The principal came running out of his office yelling turn on the news and we all huddled around the TV and prayed, we didn't know what was next. Then every parent, aunt, uncle and grandparent started arriving and checking out their children by the end of the day no children was left except staff children and we closed the doors and went home trying to explain to our children what happened but yet we didn't really know ourselves.
I was working in a basement office for a university in the midwest. A worker on the physical plant staff was working in our office when the news came over her two way radio. At first, we thought it was a tragic accident. When we heard about the second plane, we all gravitated to the TV in a lounge on the floor above. We watched the TV for hours, all thought of work was forgotten. Late that morning, we had a prayer service for all who had lost their lives in this act of violence.
I was in college, and that morning as the rumors got around, somehow, like in the game of telephone, "planes hit the twin towers turned" into "the cafeteria is on fire." When we got to class I was so shocked to find out the truth. There were T.V.s set up all over the campus, in the mess hall, the classrooms, outside, and we watched the news and prayed in every class. Cried and cried. I can't look at a picture or even think about 9-11 without tears. God help the people whose loss was personal.
Ah, I was kid sitting for someone and they were due back on 9-12 on the morning jet. They were in the air and called from a hotel saying that they would NOT be back on the 12th and that their plane had diverted to LasVegas or something. Their daughter's birthday was on the 16th, and they still hadn't made it back. Actually I think it took them eight or nine days to get back to Kotzebue. I remember watching the news ALL day. And what the news didn't cover, the internet did. Sigh...
I was going to work, listening on the radio. When the second plane hit, the radio host said "Were at war". (The Calif. guy)
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