what did 9-11 do to you?

[ApeDosMil]

Re: what did 9-11 do to you?

well i didn't feel sad, nor happy. i wasn't like OMG america just got attacked.

[sambencuda]

Re: what did 9-11 do to you?

Man, before the pentagon and the crash in PA, I thought it was all over. We didn't know what was in the air or where it would come down. It really put things into perspective for me anyway.

[Spaceace]

Re: what did 9-11 do to you?

I was sitting on my bed getting ready for work....and I remember thinking that in a whole lifetime you may not see somthing that changes the world....And that I was watching one of those times

[etaeniura]

Re: what did 9-11 do to you?

I was at work when someone told us that a plane had just crashed into the WTC-I thought to myself "some jackass ran his cessna into the side of the building!' Then I happened to catch a glimpse of it on the TV in the office across the hall, and saw the footage of the second plane. At that point I was just kind of like "holy ****! that's F'd up!" Then when the first tower fell, I got a huge lump in my throat because my brother ans sister in law were living in Manhatten at the time. I had to call my aunt in NJ to get his phone number, and tried to call him a few times, but of course could not get through. I was freaking out and am getting teary as I write this. I am a very unemotional person, but that was the first time I can really say I was scared that I might lose someone I loved. I have had Grandparents and an uncle die in my lifetime, but they were already elderly or very ill, so it wasn't unexpected. As much of a bastard as my older brother was to me when we were growing up, I was scared to death at the thought of him being gone. Luckily a few very close friends that I work with were there with me to keep me sane. I guess I am very lucky that he called me back to let me know he and his wife were ok. It turns out my sister in law was in a starbucks a few blocks away and had the sense to get the hell out while she could.

[atomic charvel guy]

Re: what did 9-11 do to you?

couple of other things-
my best friend josh's father owns the biggest subcontracting company in the city. my friend josh was doing an estimate on the roof of 120-broadway, right across the street from the towers. he was standing right there when the 2nd plane hit. he and the other workers we're frozen, and then running for the stairs. my friend josh called his wife who was at the grocery store out on long island at the time. she came home to this message-"baby, i am running for my life right now, all kinds of s-h-i-t- is falling all around us, i love you forever". the most horrible thing for me is my friend richie who i taught how to play the guitar. he was up around the 84th floor, he just had a baby girl 5 months before this and he was on the phone with his wife christina. she said that rich called her and said that there was a problem in the other building.
then when they were talking about what was for dinner that night, the phone went dead as the 2nd plane hit. even tougher is that he made it out alive and then turned back to help others according to survivors that knew him.
he was a sweet kid, with a daughter. i don't know if i could have gone back inside to help if i had a daughter.
i miss that kid.

[cryoprison]

Re: what did 9-11 do to you?

me and a buncha' buddies had taken the day off to go into the city 'n walk around. hang back, relax, you know, what cutting school is meant to be like. didn't turn out that way... and that's all i'm gonna' say about that. i don't like getting too into it really, too many people i knew, too many unanswered questions, too much rage. luckily for me, no one in my family was hurt. friends, yes; but for me, family comes first.

i'll say this though, i definitely feel for alla' ya's that lost close relations. i can empathize with you all.

[atomic charvel guy]

Re: what did 9-11 do to you?

i know you were right in the thick of it cryo.

[Ninja Guitar]

Re: what did 9-11 do to you?

To be honest, I also didn't feel much of anything when those planes hit. Yeah it surprised me, and I felt sorry for all the people who dies, or were effected by the lose of loved ones. I know that sounds pretty selfish and shallow, but I have yet to lose anyone close to me. There are only 5 or 6 people I've known who died, and I wasn't emotionally attached to them. I've had a pretty easy life so far, which makes me feel pretty weak. But, it's only a matter of time before I lose someone really close to me, then I can really start to learn about myself and more.

[toejam]

Re: what did 9-11 do to you?

[ QUOTE ]
I was late for work as usual [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] I was in my car listening to Howard Stern. The first plane already hit I thought it was some Stern stunt by the way he was carrying on. Then reality slowly crept in to my gut [img]/images/graemlins/what.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]
Same here. I live in NJ and I was on my way to a job at an attorney's office in a town I'd never been to, got a little lost. I couldn't figure out why my cell phone couldn't get through to the office I was going to, then I pulled over at a gas station and couldn't get through on a pay phone either. I thought Stern was talking about the terrorist attacks a few years earlier, then I remembered there were no planes involved in that one. I was just in shock that it was happening now, and I was in a daze trying to make it to the place I had to be at by 10:00. When I finally got in there, I couldn't believe what I was seeing on the TVs they had on. Everyone went home and sent me on my way, I was just in shock and didn't know what to think, as I used to go into NY every once in awhile, take the train into Newark, then the Path train downtown and come up through the Trade Center. I don't know of anyone personally who died in the wreckage that day, but that's a day I'll never forget, and my heart goes out to all those who perished. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] Fuckin' terrorist piece of sh1t countries should all be destroyed! [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

[horns666]

Re: what did 9-11 do to you?

Yeah all for mass genocide and some good ol' Ethnic cleansing ....History will repeat itself ...it always does ..

as long as I'm on the winning to team (which I am ) ....then cool!

[Snoogans]

Re: what did 9-11 do to you?

It was around lunchtime for us over here when the news first started coming through. One of my workmates said that he had heard something on the radio, so we turned on the TV in the tearoom. I didn't get much work done for the rest of the afternoon. I was just feeling kinda numb, and every few minutes I was having to assure myself that this was really going on.
I remember saying to a buddy "Someone wearing a turban is gonna REALLY get ****-over for this!"
I'm still waiting for that...

[lerxstcat]

Re: what did 9-11 do to you?

I lived in Santa Monica, CA then, so I had just gotten up and turned on the Today Show as usual, and saw the first tower smoking. Then the second plane hit and I knew this was an attack.

I have lots of cousins in NYC and Long Island, and a couple worked in that part of the city, but luckily none were hurt or killed. I felt
pain for that city where my mom grew up though, and for the nation. By the time we heard of the Pentagon getting hit, all I could think was "This is our Pearl Harbor". I knew this was only the start of something much bigger. I guess that's the history student in me, knowing smething is not just an event by itself, but a trigger to a huge upheaval.

All those people - office workers, NYPD, NYFD - who died that day became like the soldiers who have fallen in battle in all our wars. They didn't choose it, but they died for our country, didn't they? They deserve our honor for that. Just like Pearl Harbor, the sleeping tiger has been awakened again, and the tiger will break Islamic terrorism if it takes 100 years. It may very well take 100 years, but we'll do it for the memory of those 3,000 people who died on 9/11/01.

[Tekky]

Re: what did 9-11 do to you?

I didn't lose anyone to that fateful day, but it did leave a huge scar on my psyche...

I was at home lollygagging and generally avoiding getting ready for work. Every morning I have the radio on and more often than not it's the Howard Stern show. As I was listening, he went on commercial break. Usually when they come out of a break, they play a bit or something. When the first plane hit, WGCI (the radio station here in Chicago an Infinity/Viacom station) immediately cut Howard off and simulcast CBS. Problem was is that they didn't mention it. For a while it was Bryant Gumbel, talking about the World Trade Center and bombing, but he never really came out and said anything specific. So my frame of mind was, "Oh, Bryant is gonna have a caller, by the name of Bob O. Bouie and we're all gonna have a big laugh." Well I thought that until he said something to the effect that this was worse than the bombing in '96.

At that point I raced into the living room and turned on the TV. At that time the CBS affiliate here in Chicago was the station that my TV was tuned to. So there I am sitting on my couch and getting the audio in stereo while the video is showing me this horrible atrocity. I just remembered that my jaw just about hit the floor. I watched and watched. Not until the second tower collapsed did I start to debate whether or not I should go into the office.

I finally decided to go. I jumped on the 'L' and went into the loop. The train was eerily quiet, hardly anyone was on it for that time of day, but all of the trains coming back from the loop were packed to the gills. I got off on my stop and walked into my building. At the elevator banks a team member told me that my boss was sending everyone home. At that point I was positive I wasn't going to stay long.

I got to my desk and there was a voice mail from my boss confirming what my team-mate had said previously. After I got off the phone it rang again. This time it was my mother. She knew that my office is only blocks away from the Sears Tower (I can see it out of the window right in front of me) but as usual, all she knew is that if they're attacking the WTC, the Sears is next.. She was on the brink of hysteria and asked me why I was still in the office. I told her not to worry. I heard the report that they shut down all air traffic and to me that was my cue to go in. I was only there to pick up my e-mails and then I was gone.

At that time, my boss comes up to my desk and tells me that everyone's leaving. Like with my mom, I assure him that I'm only picking up e-mails and I was out of there. Nobody had to tell me twice to bug out of the Loop, but it was nice to hear. Once the trusty Palm Pilot signaled that the sync was complete, I grabbed it and hi-tailed it back home where I watched the TV in stunned silence for the rest of the day.

[Emthrax]

Re: what did 9-11 do to you?

What did 9-11 do to me?!

Fukked up my head. Sent my husband to war.

Em

[RP]

Re: what did 9-11 do to you?

I slept through the attacks, only awaking after all flights had been grounded and the towers already having fallen. I was numb about it. I'd been to New York City several times growing up and been to the Towers. It was really just too incredible to believe.

For a short time, though, the aftermath gave me hope for the future. I remember seeing a photo of Russians leaving flowers at the American Embassy in Moscow. And it wasn't just a few flowers, it was a massive amount. Here were these people who I grew up thinking of living in the "Evil Empire" who were concerned about what happen to us and willing to give a personal show of support.

And, for a short time, we Americans banded together and we put aside all those things that divide us and became, first and foremost, Americans and tried to do whatever we could think of to help the healing process begin. Monetary donations, blood donations and far more than that poured in.

Of course, it didn't last. In a nation as disparate as this one, it just takes to much to keep us together (and part of being an American is being apart to some degree and disagreeing about things), but I think that despite the misguided actions of a number of people, I saw a whole lot of true human decency come out of people from across the world that day. I saw the goodness that's inherent in man show its colors. Sure, there's still plenty of people against us, but that people living in our once mortal enemy were offering sincere support and sympathy, it gave me hope for the future.

On a more practical level, though, I've been unable to step on a plane since 9/11, and it's entirely possible I'll never fly again. I get choked up just thinking about what they went through (and what those in the buildings went through).