What were you doing when you heard about the 9-11 tragedy?

[Garet Jax]

My thoughts are with the friends and families of the 9/11 victims on this sad anniversary

My wife and I were on our honeymoon. We were in Hawaii on the big island. I got up very early that morning to go for a run and turned the TV on while I was getting ready.

The first channel had the news, but I thought it was a sick joke, so I changed the channel. When the second channel had the same story, it was then that I knew it was true.

 

[nord1899]

Note: I live and work on Long Island.

I had just gotten into work and was getting my computer up and running. My boss who sits behind me, got a call from his wife. She had just gotten off the subway below the WTC right after the first plane hit. At that point, I loaded up the news sites (I think CNN was first). Went downstairs to the cafeteria where we have TV's. I was watching it when the second plane hit and both towers fell. I spent the next few hours there till they told us around lunch that we could go home if we wanted to, which I did.

 

[Lola]

i was getting ready for the second day fo my freshman year @ u of m. I was just finishing my make up and getting dressed. My boyfriend called me and told me to put the news on.

I remember going to get gas before going to school...it was surreal: everyone at the gas station had the same thing on their radios. Everyone was just satnding there in shock. I will never forget that

 

[xospec1alk]

was sleeping when the first plane hit, and then i heard my roomates going nuts when the second one hit...i was too tired i was like "friggin roomies...im gonna kill you for waking me" they burst into my room..."dude someone just flew a plane into the wtc"

watched the first tower fall...i was speechless...then walked to washington square park and pretty much saw the second tower falll...then walked to ground zero to see the action...

 

[FuzzyBee]

I had just moved to Salt Lake City for the Olympics, and that was the day I was taking one of my best friends to the airport after he had ridden out there with me. He was in the shower, and I had to tell him that a plane had just hit one of the WTC towers. Minutes later, I let him know that the second hit had occurred, and he realized that I wasn't kidding. Needless to say, he didn't get to leave that day.

The rest of the day, we fiddled with a jury-rigged antenna trying to pick up the local news. Luckily for us, AT&T had accidentally disconnected my cable / cable modem service the previous day. :|

 

[Red Dawn]

I was sleeping

 

[Draco]

It was like 7:45 CST when I first heard... I was still in an half-sleep, half awake state. My radio woke me up and I heard some reporter very loudly explain that a plane had hit the WTC, and I thought to myself... i must be dreaming, and I think I did dream for a few minutes of a Cessna type plane hitting the tower. Anyone ever have that happen? Where the radio starts to alter your dreams? WEIRD.

Anyway, I woke up not really knowing what was going on. I lumber upstairs flip on the tv... see the first tower on fire, tell my mother. I had to go to work, so I hit the shower. I did not see the secone plane hit live, it was just to surreal. I got to work really not wanting to be there, and all hell broke lose that day at the ISP I work at. Nothing was working, it was the worst timing in the world. I must of taken 65 calls in a few hour period, that's a lot if your the only one doing tech support. I couldn't believe all these people. Our country under heavy terrorist attack, and they needed their e-mail. I only had sympathy for one customer who called. She was crying saying she had lost her father that morning and was trying to send e-mail to NY. I didn't know what to say. It was a horrendous day. I still find it hard to deal with. Words cannot describe it.

 

[ATLien247]

I was on my daily morning commute when my wife called to tell me the about the terrorist attack. I was listening to a CD at the time, so I turned on the radio and listened to it for the rest of the commute. When I got to work, people were watching the event unfold on the TV in the conference room. Everyone was silent...

Then, I get a call from my boss asking me to come up to his house to fix his computer (he telecommutes). When I got there and figured out what the problem was, I realized that I had accidentally left a CD that I needed back at work. Rather than drive all the way back to work (about 40 miles) for the CD, I just decided to download what I needed. Well, on a fully bonded ISDN connection, it still took a hell of a long time to download. So, I took this opportunity to watch the news for a couple hours.

In hindsight, it would have been faster to drive back to work, but I figured what the hell, sh|t's going down in NYC, my boss won't mind if I take my time.

Now, I don't usually like to share much personal information on the internet, but this next part is what I most remember about that day...

My wife's grandfather was checked into the hospital in the ICU the night before. He had been battling cancer for the last year, and wasn't doing that well. Unfortunately, he passed away the morning of 9/11. The story I heard later was that he was comatose most of the night before and earlier that morning. He woke up to hear the bad news. Being a WWII veteran, I guess something stirred inside him, and he became more alert as he saw what had happened on the TV in his room.

My mother-in-law was there with him during this time, and she tried to explain what was happening in the aftermath. She said she'll never forget what he said next... and neither will I.

He said: "I better get going, so one of them can stay."

Seemingly exhausted, he then went to sleep and never woke up.

I never was really close to my grandparents on my side of the family, so I considered this man to be my Grandpa. I miss him, and this whole 9/11 memorial just underscores that feeling...

 

[GundamW]

I just got up and was getting ready for work. Turned on the TV. Saw the second tower collapse live. It was unbelievable. Went to work and everyone was talking about it.


Love & Peace.

 

[toant103]

I was in Torgenson Hall, minding my own business. Some dude just sreamed out the WTC has been hit.

 

[Maverick]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
Sleeping, roommate pounded on my day saying planes had crashed into the World Trade Center and The Pentagon I was like WTF? Went back to sleep then woke up, turned on the TV and I've never been the same since then

Same thing except I woke up and walked out in my boxers in a half asleep daze. I woke up real quick when I saw that burning building.

 

[BigJohnKC]

I had just gotten to work and I was walking into the building when some guy on the staircase with me said that someone flew a plane into the World Trade Center. I thought it was an accident or something until I got upstairs and everyone had gathered around a tv in the corner. I got up there just in time to see the first tower collapse, live on CNN. Spent most of the day on the internet, as much as possible, trying to find out what happened, posting here, getting more info, etc. Hardly any work got done that day. I still have a few mpeg clips of the planes hitting the towers and the towers falling.