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DPChallenge Forums >> General Discussion >> 9-11, 10th year...
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09/11/2011 05:22:48 AM · #1
Remembering September 11? I don't remember forgetting it ever. I've been in and on towers many times. My last entry tag with my photo shows September 7th and 8th 2001. People who were celebrating the horror that day are burning in hell right now and rest will be burning after they die... with their hairy ugly virgins.

Message edited by author 2011-09-12 02:16:45.
09/11/2011 07:50:35 AM · #2
The people that were adults at the time will not forget it. Specifically those from the areas affected. But, there have already been studies that show those on the east coast view it differently then those on the west coast. After all, for them it was three thousand miles away. For children, it's just a bit of history. It's no different than "the day which will live in infamy". My son was 2, my daughter 13. He doesn't remember it, and my daughter barely remembers it. My terror that day has been unmatched, as I sat in my office on the 20th floor in center city Philadelphia, directly across the street from the Philadelphia stock exchange and watched live coverage on my computer with coworkers wondering what I should do and how I was going to get home.
09/11/2011 09:17:10 AM · #3
i remember our internet at work was down that day, and we had no tv. i would listen to the radio in the morning and we kept getting reports, but they came in so slow, no-one knew the gravity of the situation right away. i remember that when the second tower got hit was when the report that the pentagon got hit shortly after. the woman on the radio said "my god, that the hell is going on? planes are falling out of thh sky!" with this panic in her voice that i never thought i would hear. it was chilling.

a bunch of us went to PJ Wheelihans for lunch and that was the first time i saw the images, it was so surreal not seeing it on tv live but only afterward knowing what happened. you dont really get a feeling for what happened until you see it with your eyes, i couldn't imagine seeing that live, i dont know how people held it together. when that second plane hit out of the blue must have sent shivers through the body. the only other time i can remember anything like this was when the challenger exploded and i was only in third grade.

When Bush gave his first speech the entire bar was crowded and nobody said a word. your could hear a pin drop. He had eveyone's attention.

i ended up staying at work all day, and driving home there was no one on the roads, no planes in the sky. the world seemed so empty. it it was a horrible feeling and i hope i never have that feeling again.

but even as tragic as that day was, we saw this whole nation come together after like i have never seen and may never see again. it didnt matter what color you were, gay, straight, rich, poor, man, woman, old young, we were all americans. we all stood as one, nothing else mattered. its a shame it was so short-lived.

Message edited by author 2011-09-11 09:17:40.
09/11/2011 10:27:09 AM · #4
09/11/2011 10:33:06 AM · #5
Wow Mike, well said.
09/11/2011 10:55:43 AM · #6
My husband and I were in Italy at the time. He had a conference, and he took me a long with him. My parents were kind enough to let our kids stay with them, so we could have a special trip. The kids were 2 and 6 at the time.

I had wandered around one of the open air markets in L'Aquila doing some photography. And then went back to the hotel for a rest until my husband was free for the day. He called the hotel, sputtering, unable to get the words out. "there have been massive terrorist attacks in New York and DC".

He asked me if he should come back to the hotel. I told him I had to call home and check on the kids (they were in Minnesota, so I didn't have to worry. But I kept thinking about the fact that the Mall of America was on the top 10 lists for attacks, which was only about 7 miles from my parent's house).

When he hung up, I realized that I didn't know how to call internationally from the hotel. It had taken us quite awhile to figure it out. I had no way of calling home. I had no way of getting a hold of him, and all the tv stations were in Italian. They were showing feeds from CNN, so they had an English scroll at the bottom, but everything else was in Italian.

Only about 1 in 15 calls to the states would make it through. When we got a hold of the airlines, not only could we not fly home, but our original departure date was delayed 4 days. I asked them to fly me into Canada, and I could drive back to Minnesota, but that wasn't an option either.

I remember crying in a hotel room because they wouldn't let me go home to my children.

We couldn't access any internet sites in the United states. We had to check BBC, etc. We could access VLM airlines for information, but not northwest.

CNN showed pictures of the northern alliance bombing in afghanistan. It was just background footage for history and perspective, but since it was in Italian, we had no idea if we had gone to war -- they didn't explain the footage of the bombings in the scroll.

The town of L'Aquila was a wonderful, beautiful place. But since we were stuck there for 4 more days, the walls started closing in on my. The conference was cancelled, so I said we really need to go someplace. I couldn't just sit there for 4 more days.

We went to Florence and Pisa. In Florence 90% of the shops had signs in their windows saying their hearts went out to the American people.

I was so happy to be on a plane and going home, when it was finally time. Yet it was terrifying being on a plane -- even though I knew it was probably the safest time to be on one with the heightened security.

It's not much of a 9-11 story compared with others. But it was such a helpless feeling. Not being with my children, not speaking the language, and being in a town that spoke very little english. The scrolls kept talking about more attacks possible, but then didn't say if there had been any, or if they knew of more planes that had been hijacked.
09/11/2011 11:09:19 AM · #7

09/11/2011 12:19:36 PM · #8
The beams of light had a bit of a test run for about an hour yesterday (10th). I was not expecting to see them. I will not go to the city today so it was an unexpected treat.


Message edited by author 2011-09-11 12:19:55.
09/11/2011 12:23:22 PM · #9
I remember that I was in elementary school at the time. At a school that my mother worked at (her birthday is also 9/11) in the library. We were learning how to solve some type of math question when my teachers phone rang... She turned on the TV and we watched the news. I don't really remember why I was so intent on the situation going on at the age I was but as Mike said "it was chilling." We did not watch the planes hit the towers live but we did however watch them fall live on TV.

I went on the bus and the last thing I heard my mother say right before I got on the bus was "get home as fast as possible, I will be home soon."

When she arrived to the house we as a family watched the news. Again I don't know why it was so powering for someone my age but it was.

I will never forget that day.
09/11/2011 12:24:16 PM · #10
Originally posted by Techo:

The beams of light had a bit of a test run for about an hour yesterday (10th). I was not expecting to see them. I will not go to the city today so it was an unexpected treat.


part of me wishes they wouldn't build new a tower and leave those light beams on permanently.
09/11/2011 12:43:32 PM · #11
Isaac was four ... we were staying at my mom's in Culver City, and we were supposed to go to Disneyland that day. They did re-open it the next day ...

09/11/2011 04:35:52 PM · #12
9/11 was very hard for me. I live near Washington, DC, and I work for the US goverment 4 blocks from the White House.

I flew to Boston that morning, going over Manhattan 30 minutes before the first plane hit. I had planned to return home that afternoon, so I didn't even have a bag with me.

Both planes hit while I was on the Boston subway to our regional office. When I walked in, no one had heard anything about it. News trickled in slowly for the first bit. Then we found a TV.

My day-long workshop was cancelled; we all spent the day huddled in front of TVs in our hotel rooms, scared out of our minds about being downtown in a major city full of high-rise buildings. Meanwhile, there were reports of a bomb at the State Department, another plane circling the Capitol, and a fire on the Mall.

I called my wife and left a message to pull the kids out of school and head west. Anywhere. Anywhere other than near DC. She didn't get the message until it was all clear, and I didn't know they'd stayed home until later.

Many of us took the train home the next day, passing through New York. Before arriving in Newark (a short ride further south), we stopped on a bridge and were told there was a bomb scare. That was a harrowing addition to an already tense situation.

Arriving back in DC, it took every ounce of willpower to get on the subway home. Deep in a hole was the last place I wanted to be.

I then ended up heavily involved in my agency's response to the attacks, leading what we put on the Web. Some of the most rewarding work I've ever done.

Three months later, a thunderstorm woke my wife and me up, straight from deep sleep. In my groggy mind, a nuclear weapon had gone off, and I threw her off the bed away from the window. That reflex has submerged since then, but it's still there.

To this day, I respond much more strongly to emotional movies, books, etc., especially where people put themselves on the line for others. And I dedicate myself at work to helping my agency respond to disasters manmade and natural.

Over the years, I've avoided almost all mention, news stories, and thoughts of 9/11. This year, I've allowed myself to look at some things around the 10th anniversary, but it's still hard to do.

What I hope everyone does:
- tell your loved ones how you feel
- keep a 3-day supply of food and water (1 gallon/day/person)
- plan how you and your family will rendezvous if the phones go down and you have to evacuate
- carry critical contact info on a card in your wallet

Five years ago, I was in the middle of a 30-day DPC self-portrait side challenge. Here's the image I made that day:


Message edited by author 2011-09-11 16:36:36.
09/11/2011 08:09:56 PM · #13
I'll never forget where I was when I heard about it. I was approaching a corner on the way to my first job of the morning, when they said on the radio that a plan had struck the WTC. First thought was that it was a little Cessna or something, then the details came a little later. The whole day was worked in a daze.

I don't think anyone was untouched. My mom used to work with the fireman whose badge former president Bush carried with him. (Does he still carry this reminder, I wonder?) I was in a training class with another technician a couple of years later who was almost in the towers that morning. Just by blind dumb luck, he chose to start the day at a different service call a few blocks away.

What a horrible way to start the new century.
09/11/2011 09:11:56 PM · #14
Originally posted by Kelli:

The people that were adults at the time will not forget it....For children, it's just a bit of history....

It was my first childs first birthday. A very special day for every parent, celebrating your baby's first birthday.

This was before we moved to Oz, I was in UK. I was shopping for party food with my mum and just at the checkout as one of the staff was saying "something" about the World Trade Center crashing. We just dismissed it as being "something boring about stocks and shares". We then heard someone else mention that his flight to US would be cancelled the next day. Still oblivios to anything.

We then got in the car and heard the news about a plane had crashed. No mention of terrorism, just sounded like an accident. On the way home the second plane crashed and I dont think another word was said in the car while we listened in shock.

We watched the images on the news as soon as we got home and I cannot explain what I felt as I have never felt it before and never want to feel it again.

I had to watch it over and over and still now when I see those images on the net I still cannot believe it.
I have brought a newspaper on the birth day of each of my children. For Jake I brought one on sept 12 2001 to remind him of the significance of that day. I showed him the paper a few months ago as he is now old enough to understand and again, the pictures are chilling.

He will not remember his first birthday but he will never forget it either.

May God bless the friends and families of those who died
09/11/2011 10:12:04 PM · #15
I was 13 years old when it happened, but I remember it pretty clearly.

I remember that when the planes hit, I was in gym class. I didn't know the planes had hit until much later, but when I found out, I figured out where I was when it happened. We were playing football in the lawn behind the school. I even remember what I was wearing (white t-shirt, blue gym pants).

I remember that I was in health class when I found out that *something* had happened. They didn't tell us what exactly had happened because so many of the students had parents who commuted to NYC for work. I remember that the health teacher, who is usually very playful and bright and smiley, was withdrawn and had a look of terror on his face for the entire class.

I remember that the teachers kept leaving class to go into the teacher's lounge to watch tv. They wouldn't let any students in. None of our cell phones worked because the cell towers were overloaded, so everyone started panicking.

The school finally let us out early. I remember the bus routes were all messed up because they had to put several runs on each bus.

My mom was already home when I got there, which was very unusual. She made my younger sister go sit in her room and close the door. She let me watch the news.

I also remember hearing about all the horror stories of people who had been there and the stories of people who should have been there but weren't for some reason or another.

I lived in NYC in 2007 and 2008 and worked there in 2009. I've only been to Ground Zero once, fleetingly, on accident, late at night, driving by in a cab with a co-worker. He was one of those people who was supposed to be near the WTC, but his alarm didn't go off. I'm not sure why, but I never had any desire to go anywhere near the spot any time after the attacks.
09/11/2011 10:24:27 PM · #16
I was getting ready for work, and was in the shower when my wife told me that the news was saying an airplane crashed into one of the towers. As I was getting dressed, she said a second plane had just hit the second tower. I remember saying that this could not be an accident, but it still took a few minutes for it all to sink in. I remember emailing a friend, that as a child I had learned about the reaction to Pearl Harbor. On that day I understood.
09/11/2011 10:31:17 PM · #17
im a native new yorker, moved to florida in 2000.

was in a team meeting when we all got pages with news alerts. after the 4th or so alert, or boss said "ok let's all go check on our loved ones".

left work at 10:30a. went home. my wife picked up my son at elementary school, i went to the middle school for the other two kids. i was waiting with about 40 other parents outside the office for our kids to be released, all of us standing around numb. a plane flew overhead, low. everyone...EVERYONE crouched down and flinched while looking up. it's my strongest memory of that morning.

my wife's cousin lost his life that day, denis carey. NYPD hazmat 1. i still marvel at the fact that they were running in while people were running out. true heroes.
09/11/2011 10:56:02 PM · #18
Will never forget...

I was 13 years old, in 8th grade in Riverdale NY.. Classes were beginning and I of course was using one of my many home built antennas to try to get a TV working before class when we one of the news channels came up... I was one of the first people to inform the faculty of what happened and will never forget this day.

I know so many people who were supposed to be working in WTC that day but for some reason could not make it into work that day...
10 Years...

I have so much I want to say but my fingers just aren't working.

Message edited by author 2011-09-11 22:59:50.
09/11/2011 10:57:53 PM · #19
was there tinfoil involved?
09/11/2011 11:02:00 PM · #20
Originally posted by FourPointX:

was there tinfoil involved?


tinfoil, paper clips and a metal clothes hanger. Used what I had around, although I don't remember why I had a hanger with me.
09/11/2011 11:33:29 PM · #21
Until 9/11, I thought the most horrific thing I had seen in real time was the explosion of the Challenger, but being home recovering on that horrible day, I turned on the tv, just as the first plane had hit and called my mom to tell her...only to have the second plane hit!!

I don't live on the East coast, but do know many people that were impacted. My cousin was actually working at the Pentagon that day and I had to call to make sure he was OK. His secretary was not going to put the call through until I told her who I was and what I wanted. She put me through right away and Chuck informed me that he was in the inner ring and all was well. That was the only day I have ever journaled, and I go back at times and read what I had written. I've never shown it to anyone, but it is my reminder!

There are a couple of acquaintances that I barely knew that I never did get a return phone call from and don't know how they fared, but they lived in Manhattan and had 4 little boys. I can only hope all is well. Calling me would be the last thing on their minds, but I did leave a message on the machine, so they know I was thinking of them that terrible day!

An interview shown today mentioned how many children now will only know this event through the history books. I don't know of an adult that will ever forget it.

In my lifetime there have been a few significant events that will forever be remembered instantly. Some good, some bad, but 9/11 is in a category all it's own.

My heart goes out to all touched by this tragedy and to all in other countries that have experienced similar tragedies in their countries.

09/12/2011 02:17:08 AM · #22
So, those guys who are blowing themselves up for the name of "Allah" get to have sex with 72 virgin girls, and women blowing themselves up get to have sex with 72 virgin guys? It looks like they all become porn stars for Devil's pleasure!
09/12/2011 06:26:41 AM · #23
I was working at an investment bank here in Dublin. It was lunchtime when the news started coming through. The traders were all tuned in to the news channels as part of their job, so we saw the whole thing unfold from the beginning.

Many of the people I worked with were doing business with traders in the WTC, or had friends working there, so it was a strange mixture of personal emotions, and traders running back to their desks watching how the markets were reacting.

It only took a matter of minutes for the 'trading suspended' messages to get sent out globally.

For me, the piece that'll stick in my memory was a group of us watching the TV when 'the second plane' hit. The mixture of shock, disbelief, and confusion - I actually thought they were showing a re-run of the 'first plane' hitting.

Most of us went to the pub for the afternoon when the banks shut down (yeah, the Irish solution to everything, go to the pub!), but it was all very surreal - The TV screens were showing that same footage over and over again.
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