9.11.01 - Where were you when you heard?

[TMN]

That was a terrible day.

That morning I was driving to work in Mesa, AZ when the news came on the radio that something had happened. By the time I got there, it was evident we were under attack.

When I walked into the office I saw gaunt faces. Everyone knew. Radios were on in cubicles and nobody was getting anything done.

Our boss at the time was a devout Muslim man who was petrified. That day he was shaking and speechless. He was embarrassed and ashamed, barely able to look any of us in the eye.

Later that morning someone brought a TV into the office just in time for us to see the towers fall. It was at that point that we were all told to shut the place down and go home.

Where were you and what were you doing when you heard on that day?

[DayZee469]

I was sitting at the very same computer that I am sitting at now at work. I had just got my first cup of coffee for the day and had just sat down to check my emails. I had the radio on at my desk and they came across that the building had been struck so I quickly signed onto AOL to see if there were any photos...thinking wow somebody was stupid and couldnt see the building and flew their private plane into it.

Well then a few minutes later it happened again and immediately I knew something was off (as did everyone else). That was about the time that the boss was getting in so I told him about it (being from NY i figured he might wanna know). We stayed at the office for about a 1/2 hour until the real estate school at which he taught called to let him (and me since I was a student there and scheduled to take my final exam that evening) were closing since they are located in one of the high rise buildings in Uptown Charlotte so we decided to close up shop for the day and go home to watch the news and be with our families.

The morning talk show that I listen to every morning replays their broadcast every year beginning at 8:40 am as it was heard on that day and it still gives me chills to hear it because in my mind I can go back to that exact moment and remember every single detail...even down to what I was wearing and the coffee cup I was drinking out of!

[chiefstang]

My girlfriend woke me up when her mom called with the news. I was still rubbing the sleep from my eyes while she was telling me the facts: Some idiot flew a small plane into one of the towers, and it was on fire. As I was watching the live feed, awake for barely 30 seconds, the second plane flew in from the background. It was almost slow motion, as I tried to figure out if I was watching a replay. Not so. An hour or so later, I remember straining to see through the smoke. There was no announcement yet, but I remember saying to my girlfriend: " I don't see the other tower.." Then the second one fell. It was so horrible. I went to work waiting on tables that day. We had about three people came into our usually busy restaurant. Their food sat on their tables getting cold while everyone from the dishwasher, to the cooks, to the customers themselves sat at the bar mouths open and stunned. It was a long day. One that has smoothed into our long term memories over time. One that needs to be brought back to the short term every once and awhile. I recommend renting one of the 9/11 DVDs, or even buying one. When the memories stop being so fresh, plug it in and remember. Remember not only the sadness, but the pride we all felt that crisp September morning.

[DayZee469]

MSNBC replayed the footage last night as it happened that day and it was still just giving me chills watching it.

[07_427r]

I was at work that morning and my girlfriend called me from home and said that a plane hit the north tower. Word spread fast at work since I work for American Airlines and that was our plane that hit the north tower and also the Pentagon. I had worked on both those planes several times over the years. It was a surreal day and a sad day for sure. The following days at work we didn't hear one airplane take off or land at the airport. Very weird feeling.

[IKANDY]

I was at work too... very strange, somebody walked up to me and ask if, "I heard the news yet?" And I said, "Yeah, McCaffrey's leg is broken in two places, out for the season." I thought my coworker was talking about the Broncos season opener on Monday Night Football. Imagine my surprise when I heard the real news of the mornin.

Our company was very supportive, they wheeled in tv's and we all just grouped around to follow the story until we were told to go home and be with our families. I just remember wondering if there was going to be a tomorrow, or if this was really *it*. I did a lot of reflecting on my life that day.

[Mr Dayzee]

I was sleeping (I had worked night shift the night before) and one of my co-workers called and told me about. I woke up and got the TV on just in time to see the 2nd Plane strike the 2nd WTC