Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning

[HoosierHardGain]

I was on my way to work that morning, on the loop around Indianapolis. I turned on the radio and heard the reports of a plane slamming into one of the towers. It wasn't until I got to work and say the video that I could really grasp what had happened.


So, where were you when you heard the news on that day in 2001?

[TheLBM]

Work.. at first i thought it was a joke or something.
But then all the radio stations were reporting it.
I quickly came to the conclusion that it was a reality.
Very sad day.

[Marius_Ursus]

I was living in San Diego at the time. I'd just gotten out of bed and had turned on the TV and climbed onto my cardio rower to work out.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. My brain just couldn't process it. I had to check and double-check that I was watching the news channel because I seriously thought I'd stumbled into the middle of some lame Independence Day knockoff sci fi movie.

Then I thought about the Orson Wells' radio broadcast of War of the Worlds and wondered if someone were playing a sick joke by broadcasting a fake disaster. It took at least 10 minutes even to register what I was seeing, but it wasn't until I saw the second plane fly into the towers that I really understood what was going on.

[bamaborn67]

I was at work and a co-worker told me about it. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I followed the stories on TV all day. I never got up from in front of the set. How could someone be that insane to take so many innocent lives is what I kept asking myself all day.

[rpaul11]

I was getting an eye exam...THe nurse/assistant or whatever her position was asked if I had heard that a plane hit a tower. I was thinking....what stupid pilot could hit a building.....I left the office after my exam and walked back to work. I was pretty much glued to Fox News and CNN for about 10 days following this incident. I just couldn't stop watching it. Even at work all I did was search for stories about what was happening.

[freebirdmac]

I was at work and heard about the first one on the radio. I told everyone what happened. Then I heard about the 2nd. Everyone gathered in the conference room and watched CNN as they tried to figure out what had happened at the Pentagon. At first they didn't know it was another plane. I remember driving home with pains in my chest from the stress of realizing what this country had just experienced.

It was surreal in the following days as NASA and the adjoining Air Force Base shut down, then reopened to tremendous security. High alert meant protecting all buildings from car bombs. Barricades were put up. On the Base no one could park within 500ft of a building which made most areas look like ghost towns. Not to mention nowhere to park. It generally took an hour to ninety minutes just to get in the gates. All this just heightened the nerves.

[taf1968]

I was getting ready to go to work when I caught the news . . . they were showing a picture of the 1st tower smoking and were talking about a "small plane" that had hit it. All I could think of was the bomber that hit the Empire State building back in the 40's or 50's (I think). Thought it was strange that this could happen on such a clear day . . . but really thought not much of it other than obviously "wow--a plane hit a building."

Met my friends for the carpool and we all kind of talked about it on the way to work--but at the time there was really no mention or connection to a terrorist hit. By the time we arrived at the office, there was a tv set up in an office and everyone was gathered around. We watched both buildings collapse in total disbelief. I can still picture it as if it was yesterday. Kind of makes you understand what people muxt have felt like when Pearl Harbor was attacked--lots of emotions . . . anger, shock, sadness, all wrapped up into one.

I remember the eerie silence of not having planes flying . . . except several times a day, there was a formation of F-16s that would fly patrol over Denver . . . they would come south, circle around over where I live, and head back. Really, really strange to see that every day.

[Braindrop]

I was driving in to work, where I was one of the IT guys for the democrats during the Texas governor campaign. At the office, it was on all over the screens. I got to work about 20 minutes before the towers collapsed. It was a freaky day at the office, 50 people, dozens of TVs, everyone on the phone, etc.

[runner05]

Working...

Managed a medical clinic for four docs... two of whom were in the National Guard. They were panicked all day and we brought in TV's for every room of the clinic, so they wouldn't miss a thing while seeing patients!

[Minotaur]

I was at work. A coworker called me over to her cubicle to look at a photo on MSN of a plane crashed into the WTC. We thought it was kind of funny that someone would be that stupid to fly into the side of a building, not considering that people could be injured or killed. Then I got a cold sick feeling and said "hey, that's a commercial jet...look at the wingspan". We both turned white and got a sick feeling. Then the reports came flooding in.

[asleepatthereel]

I was working in an ICU. I heard someone who was looking up at a TV say "Hey, a small plane just accidentally hit the World Trade Center." I didn't look up as I walked by them, I was on my way to do something with my patient. I managed to look up right as the second one hit. I told them "That was no accident, that was terrorists." Like everyone else, we were glued to the TV for the rest of the day. We watched as reports that the Pentagon was hit and then as those brave souls went down in Pennysylvania. Watched both of the Towers fall.

That day changed my outlook on life. Nothing has been the same since. I still tear up and get goosebumps when I get still and really remember.

We also had a patient that was in the upstairs ICU who had rallied after having major abdominal surgery and almost dying. His daughter was on one of the planes, I think the second one to hit the Trade center or the one that hit the Pentagon. He died the next week. He had come so far, had rode out a very bad storm, then just gave up and died. It was very sad.

This is very important for us to do (share our stories). We should never forget. I know I never will.

[claycat]

I was down in Perdido key on the deck with a cup of coffee getting ready to watch the Blue Angels do their practice flights. They came flying over like a bat outta hell and kept going.

We were like wth is going on and, then the phone rang saying turn on the news, then we knew. Goosebumps.

[slave2beingFit]

I was late leaving the house for work. I was just about to turn off the tv and head out the door when the TODAY show had the coverage. I was frozen in my shoes, and that was only the first plane. After a moment or two, I went on my way and had the radio on in the car.

The second plane hit - my mind immediately thought an attack of some sort. I had a few tears and then stuck in my head were the following lyrics, I assume lyrics to a song, but this was all I knew of it:

"And the world as we know it is all over..........."


After arriving at work I alerted other managers. The leadership was so stupid and disrespectful of the entire situation. It took them all day and they never really did properly communicate to everyone. Sr Managers would not dismiss staff, but I turned around and they had all gone home to their families! WTF ! I dont work there any more.

I called my 80 year old dad mid-morning. A WWII vet and Bronze Star recipient. He was home alone, his wife was travelling. His voice was quiet, we told each other we loved each other, and he said, " this is worse than Pearl Harbor" because it was an attack on domestic and civilian soil.

I phoned my son who had recently completed his time with the Marine Corps. We were both in shock. It just helped hearing his voice and knowing what he was thinking that neither of us wanted to say outloud. He wished he was still active and wearing the uniform.

God Bless the USA!

[IronIc]

I worked 2nd shift at the time, and lived with my mother. We always liked to watch Good Morning America. I was sitting on the loveseat, still half asleep. My brother was there too. It was a beautiful, sunny September morning.

It was early, and I was drifting in and out of sleep on the loveseat. All of a sudden I heard my brother say "A plane hit one of the Twin Towers." That woke me up! At first I thought it was an accident until the 2nd plane hit the other building. Then it was quite apparent foul play was at hand.

We were transfixed to the TV, and watched helplessly, in horror, when the towers collasped. It was a very sad day

[chodan9]

I was at work getting ready to do a network service call.
about 10 minutes before I left the first plane had hit and it was on TV, we were stunned that it happened, but it hadn't dawned us about terrorists yet.
I had to go so I headed out, the site I was going to was about an hour away give or take a few minutes, I threw in the new linkin park CD and headed over to the site because radio was sketchy in rural ky,
I got to the site and called back and my coworker sounded weird, I asked if they figured out what had happened yet, he said one of the towers fell, he was describing what had happened and got quite then said "oh no the other one is falling!"
I quiclky did my work and came back and was flipping through radio stations all the way, they were all rebroadcasting television channel audio or something.

[jsmircich]

I was walking into my previous job at a juvenile detention center when the 1st plane hit. The staff and I watched the 2nd plane hit than had to organize all the kids, get them calling home, call our own families. On a unit with 30 teenagers it was one of the quietest days we ever had. We spent the entire day watching the news and folllowing up with family and friends.

When Alan Jackson sang the song that this thread is titled for at the CMAs for the 1st time I was sitting at home with tears streaming down my face.

[dbx]

We kind of have to competing threads here, so I'll just cut/paste my post from the other thread here Hoosier .

I worked in Consumer Affairs for Delta at the time, and was searching for an instructor pilot to get specific information about a particular aircraft's characteristics, in order to be able to respond in depth to a passenger's complaint. I saw one instructor, Rod, and asked where Brett was. He said, "He's running around here somewhere, I just saw him and he was mumbling about a plane hitting the WTC. You know Brett!" (Brett was a quirky kinda dude. You might even say kooky). We both nodded and laughed, and as I passed someone's office they said they just heard on the radio that a plane hit the WTC. I went back and told Rod that Brett might have had reason to be trippin'. We both headed to Flight Control and now had a line of folks behind who had overheard us.

It was surreal. We stood there in Flight Control, staring up at these big screens, and watched what little footage CNN had of the first plane. There were 3 VPs there, and a slew of other people who didn't belong in there, who had all gathered to see what was happening. The footage made it hard for our own pilots to even identify what kind of aircraft it was that hit. They argued anything from a Beechcraft to maybe a 737. The scale was just too hard to tell from the shots they were looking at.

And then, the 2nd aircraft appears. We stood their in total disbelief as we watched it fly into the other tower. It was the first definitive sign that this was no accident. After the room erupted with gasps and loud talking, a VP shouted for everyone who didn't belong in there to clear out. The rest of the day was spent anxiously awaiting confirmation that all of our aircraft were contacted, accounted for, and were on the ground after being ordered to land at the nearest airport. It was total chaos. I still can recall pictures from the airport in Nova Scotia, where many inbound international aircraft were ordered to land. It looked like a Photoshopped pic that was made to look like it was impossible for all those planes to have landed and sit in such close proximity. Unbelievable.

As the hours went by, our office headquarters and parking lot was barricaded. Nobody knew what might happens next, or if the attacks were just pointed against the airlines. I mean, nothing made any sense to anyone during that entire day.

I came home and promptly told 2 of my children to come watch the TV, and that they needed to see it, and be aware that they were witnessing a horrible, yet historic act of violence against our country.

And no, we'll never be the same. And I will certainly never forget 9/11.

[hornedn]

I was at work in Illinois, far from the chaos. Somebody heard on the radio that a plane had hit one of the towers. We were thinking small plane, isolated incident. After the second hit my wife calls me in tears and I got that feeling that just about everybody across the country got... helplessnes. What was I supposed to do. Nothing I could do except pray.

[Tyrbolift]

I was doing residential carpet cleaning for a living. So my boss told me when I first got to work, then I went to do my job and the lady had GMA on TV, so I asked heer to turn it up and I watched some of it.

She had to leave, so I still had it on, and then saw the second plane come in while the commentators were talking. I left her tv on the whole time I was there and kept going back to watch it.

And when the first tower crashed I couldn't believe it. Just the plane was bad enough, but when the building imploded, I knew, like everyone, that this was a very big day in history indeed.

[Reality_Check]

I was lying in bed in my old flat (Sydney, Aus). My sister (who i was living next door to at the time) was knocking on the door and telling me to turn on the telly. I pulled my little portable telly of the floor and onto my little bedside table and turned it on.

I keep seeing replays of planes flying into sky scrappers, then followed the news throughout the day as the sky scrapers eventually collapsed. It was very surreal. I couldn't believe what I was watching, it was like a bad B grade movie with a realy stupid plot.

I said to myself this means war, you can't do this to the world's only super power and not get a war out of it. I was 100% certain there would be a war coming out of it. I thought idealy there should be two wars, one for each tower.

I also thought to myslef that the US has suffed 3,000 civilian casulties so they will be prepared to suffer at least as many military casulties again maybe 1.5 to 2 times that number (i.e. 4,500 to 6000) before they get Vietnam syndrome and pull out.

In the end I was amazed the two wars took so long to start after the event, guess they needed time to invent the BS weapons of mass destruction excuse (guess the president couldn't really be honest and just say, hey we need to invade some Middle Eastern type countries to show them whos boss and regain our honour-even if one of them wasn't directly respopnsible).

And honestly if i were the US president I would probably do just as he did - at the time (in hind sight I would question if the loss of life is worth it). In any case I probably wouldn't stay as long (once you invade a country I think you owe them 5 years to get their act together but after that if they aint doing it, that should be there problem not something US blood should continue to spill for). Realy I think the us should have just invaded, bloodied their noses (showed whose boss) which the US military does well, and not hung around for the occupation but let them eat themselves up with civil war which they will do when the US leaves anyway).

[HoosierHardGain]

Thought I would revive this thread from last year for everyone else to share their stories and memories of that day almost 8 years ago.

[SeaSiren]

I was thinking about this just last evening.

I had just dropped my daughter to school and was in the bedroom and turned on the news.... Totally devestating. Then desperately trying to get a hold of my then FIL who worked at the pentagon.

It all still seems so fresh ...... a day I will never forget.

[so-tex]

I was working out on the King Ranch driving around inspecting cattle when the news came over the radio that a small plane hit one the twin towers. It happened to be my birthday that day and the girls at the office had made me a cake. When I got back to the office headquaters, the secretaries were watching the news, and thats when I learned that a second plane had hit. We were glued to the t.v. the rest of the day.

[GnomusMaximus]

I was at work when a parent called me to ask if we were going to send all the kids home. I had no idea what she was talking about. Once I got things figured out I started getting the secrataries to make me two lists of kids and staff. First those that had family in New York and second those that had family at the base. We live near the 10th Mt. Division base and as soon as they mentioned Al Quaeda (sp) and the Taliban I knew they'd be heading out. Only one staff person had family in the city (worked in one of the other buildings), and unfortunately many army families. We've lost former students since then and many of our staff have children and kids have parents that have spent long times away from home.

I was worried when they first said there was a plane down near Pittsburgh because our families were still there, but when I learned where it had went down I knew there wasn't anything in that area except farms and some old race tracks.

[Barry Bonds]

had a serious sinus infection. Wife called me from work and told me to turn on the tv, a small plane had hit one of the towers at the WTC.

I turned it on in time to catch the end of some commentary and to catch the second plane's collision. To this day, I can still feel the numbing what-is-going-on feeling.

I sometimes wonder if we would not have been better served closing off the borders of this country securely and militarily, having a better immigration policy, and being more diligent with our transportation services than going overseas fighting wars. Not to demean the sacrifices of brave men and women who answered the call to do so at all.

And I love the fact that immigrants can come to this country. Legal immigrants. That's what this country is made of besides native Americans.

The best item for rememberance of 9/11 is a DVD by the same name. Coincidentally, brothers Jules and Gedeon Naudet were making a documentary about a New York City firefighter. They captured everything that happend just as if the viewer was there in person. I highly recommend it, but warn it is way too intense for children in my opinion.

On September 11, 2001 every American was a New Yorker.

[cozener]

I hate to say it but thinking about that day brings up an old sore with my wife.

I was laid off at the time. On that day I didn't have any where to be, no interviews, etc. and I was asleep when it happened. My wife calls me just afterward. I wake up and pick up the phone. She yells at me, "Are you SLEEPING?!"

"Uh...yeah..."

"You need to GET UP and turn on the tv!" Her tone was accusatory. She was angry...at me. And I had no idea why. I thought I was going to turn on the tv to see that there was a statewide manhunt for me or something.

I say, "Ooookay." and turn the tv on. The attacks were all over the place. I say to her. "Oh my God..."

She's "Yeah...and YOU were ASLEEP!"

Dude...I don't know what her deal was. It was as if she thought that if I had been awake it wouldn't have happened...like I had nodded off on fire watch. I guess she was just upset but she took it out on me. I wanted to be a smartass and tell her that even if I had been awake my red cape and blue suit are at the cleaners and I couldn't have done anything about it anyway. Instead I just hung up on her and watched the news all day like everyone else.

I've never really gotten over that. This is always my first thought when someone brings this topic up and I resent that. I resent the fact that, because of her ill placed petulance, the first thing I think about with this issue isn't firefighters, policemen, the people that brought down their own plane by a Pennsylvania mining quarry, or and the rest of the victims of this horrible act. Its about her and her stupid little anger.

[Fiend_73]

Originally Posted by HoosierHardGain

Thought I would revive this thread from last year for everyone else to share their stories and memories of that day almost 8 years ago.

A damn fine example of when to bump a thread, good one Hoosier.

I was getting off of work in the morning and one of my acquaintances told me on the bus. I was shocked to say the least, I actually pitied the poor country that wanted to go to war with our neighbours. To awaken such a giant was a big mistake!

And I got home in time to see the 2nd plane crash...and the people jump, and run, and the shear panic.

The jumpers though...that got to me. Real bad.

I prayed, all I could do over here.
The gym was deathly quiet that day, all the TV's turned to the news, people gathering around to watch and share, no one was into their workouts. But we needed to be there, if not for the weights then the comraderie and solace we could offer one another that day.

During the fallout what I despised the most was the propagation of FEAR instilled in the population.
You can't sort out the b.s when your scared sh*tless, and there was a lot of b.s around this event that the people needed to sort out.
Anthrax letters, terrorists in our midst, weapons of mass destruction all contributed to the mass hysteria.

All I know is 8 years later we're still fighting a war we cannot win.
The initial toll of 5,000 lost on 9/11/01 continues to climb as we bring home our soldiers in body bags.

[biggun_]

At work. When it came on the radio we didn't think it was real. Production basically stopped the rest of the day. Everyone just wanted to go home and we couldn't.

[Keltron]

Since I don't turn on the TV while I'm getting ready or listen to the radio on my way to work, I had no idea until I actually got in to work.

I walked in and said good morning to a few people like I normally do. But there was something strange in the air. A few people actually gave me dirty looks. "What the hell?" I thought.

By this time, both planes had hit and it was OBVIOUS that it was a deliberate attack.

Still wondering what was wrong w/people, I walked into the my department's room and said, "What the hell is going on here? Did someone tell Alan I killed his goldfish? Because he just gave me the ugliest look ever."

"We're under attack" said my boss.
"WHAT?"
"Two planes just crashed into the World Trade Center towers in New York." she said.
"You're ****ting me." I said in disbelief.
"Go into the break room and look at the TV" she said.
"OK" I said, walking to the breakroom picturing a small plane stuck in a building.

What I saw was NOTHING I had imagined. Two huge buildings were engulfed in flames and on the verge of collapsing. People were running for their lives. Commentators were on the verge of crying. The most disheartening thing to watch were the people jumping out of the buildings. I can't imagine what kind of horror could be coming towards you when you'd rather jump to your death than face it.

For the first time in my life, reality wasn't set in stone. I could always distinguish real life from a dream but this time,it felt different. And for the first time in my life, I didn't know if the world as we knew it would exist in the near future.

[KimberleyRN]

I was in my kitchen, checking the Iowa weather because I was getting ready for a Christian Women's Club committee meeting and had to get the foster kiddos all dressed appropriately.

My then 13 year old son was heading to school. He saw the first plane hit and told me it looked like a commercial passenger jet. (He was in Civil Air Patrol so I did not argue.)

I saw the 2nd plane hit and remember Charles Gibson say 'This is obviously an act of war.'

The rest of the day I was glued to the TV... it was horrific. I wrote a blog about it.