Remembering Sept. 11th... (1 Viewer)

[KarmaPolice]

Maybe instead of stories about what you were doing that day, how about stories about what you have done since then? How has it changed your thinking, etc....

 

[Neo]

Got into work late in midtown, walked in and a guy in the lobby was like "A plane just hit the world trade center". I was like Got to my floor, walked to the window where everyone was staring out in shock. The second plane had just hit. I had a clear view from central midtown right to the towers.....I remember a radio being on, and to this day, I don't know what station or who it was but they were basically making a joke out of the whole thing. I was pretty pissed at that. We evacuated my building walked across to our other building and watched the towers fall on a computer screen. A lot of freaking out among people in the office. I got out of there walked over the 59th Street Bridge, sweated my balls off cause it was so hot. Couldn't take my eyes off the ribbon of smoke coming from the site of the Trade Center.

The thing I will always remember is I drove along the BQE on Sunday night, September 9th and marveled at the view of the city....something I always did. The size of the towers always amazed me. It was the last time I saw them standing and I still remember how lit up and glorious they looked. That expanse of highway and that view is never the same and never will be no matter what they build there. They took a piece of our city that day.....and I hate the fact that everywhere in the city today are reminders of 5 years ago. Just sucks and feelings I thought I put away from that day definitely came back today.

 

[DPRugby]

I was up early on the west cost for a early back nine round of golf before heading into work. I heard about the first plane hitting before I got to the course but it was being reported as a small plane. Before we teed up the first ball we heard the 2nd plane had hit also. We decided to play on but we were all getting calls on our cells, one was my GF (future wife) and she was crying and she said that one of the towers fell. I didn't believe her but as we spoke she made it clear the entire tower collapsed. 3 of the 4 of us got calls when the first tower collapsed and we all thought it would be best to stop playing golf at that time and go home and be with our families. We did stop by the golf course bar on our way out and I watched the 2nd tower go down which shook me because I figured the number of dead would have been north of 10K.

A few days later I was playing the same back nine before work and I remember how weird it was because it's in the glide path for SFO and there wasn't a single plane in the air.

 

[Sweeper]

What was it, like two weeks later when that Jamica Air plane crashed into a Queens neighborhood?

Crashed right into someones house. Now that was a bit shocking and surprising.

 

[Neo]

What was it, like two weeks later when that Jamica Air plane crashed into a Queens neighborhood? Crashed right into someones house. Now that was a bit shocking and surprising.

Yep....the tail fell off....supposedly.

 

[Reality Football]

What was it, like two weeks later when that Jamica Air plane crashed into a Queens neighborhood? Crashed right into someones house. Now that was a bit shocking and surprising.

That was in November.My immediate reaction (and probably that of many of us in the city) was that it might have been another hijacked flight.

 

[El Floppo]

I was living uptown NYC (upper-west-side near the Hudson), working from home. It was a slow week work-wise, and I remember getting woken up by sirens. For NYC, sirens are an all too familiar sound- so I put some pillows over my head and tried to get back to sleep... not paying attention to just how many sirens there were.I decided to go for a run, and my biggest decision at 8-whatever was trying to figure out if I was going to wear a tank-top or a t-shirt for my run- still not paying too much attention to the never-ending sound of sirens on the West Side Highway. As JerseyToughGuys mentioned- it was a perfect blue day- no clouds anywhere and about as perfect a day, weather-wise, as you could imagine. We have a 24 hour local news chanel hear called NY1, which has always has the time and temp in the corner of the screen. I turned the TV on, just so I could figure out the workout clothes, and then stood paralyzed in front of the TV for the rest of the morning- like the rest of the world.I remember calling my family and friends in San Francicso to tell them I was ok and to warn them to stay clear of the Golden Gate Bridge- which I imagined to be another target. I was talking to my best friend's wife (who was trying to figure out why I was calling at 6 AM CA time) when the first tower came down. I remember that I literally fell to my floor with it, and started sobbing uncontrollably (freaking the crap out of my friend's wife) as I imagined that it had fallen to the side, taking out most of lower Manhattan with it.I managed to get a hold of my wife (GF at the time) who lived downtown right before the phones went dead. None of us knew what was coming next... we each decided to stock up on cash and food staples- not alone in that- and I filled my bath tub with water in case the water supply got attacked. I'll never forget... this was probably about 10:30... on the upper west side you still couldn't tell anything had happened. You couldn't see any smoke and it was still a perfect day- except... there was a steady and heavy stream of people walking uptown from the affected areas, some in the streets. And despite the lines at the banks and supermarkets, everybody was incredibly polite- making sure mothers with kids could get what they needed, allowing the other person to get in line and/or take the last item in front of them. And it was all eerily silent- no honking, no general street noise other than a constant low buzz of people expressing their shock at the day.

For those who live out here, pretty startling how the sky is today. Same crystal clear blue.

Very, very creepy. Same blue, same crisp but warm non-humid air. I thought the same thing as you this morning.

 

[El Floppo]

Couple of stories from friends...

My buddy worked high up one of the towers. He told me that some of the people in his office saw smoke in the other tower and started to wonder about it when the fire alarm went off in their office. A voice came over the intercom telling everybody that their was a fire or explosion in the other tower and they should evacuate.

My friend walked down the stairs until one of the floors that's an express elevator floor (like on the 45th floor, where you could then take it up to the higher floors), thinking that they'd go back to work. I think I remember him saying that somebody on the intercom told them (while he was walking down the fire strairs) that they could continue evacuating or return to their office. My friend was about to the latter when the plane hit his building. He says he doesn't remember a thing after that until he found himself running up Mercer Street in SoHo to another friend's bar/office- still in his business suit and tie.

Friend #2 was an architect, working in one of the towers and who was in an elevator when the first plane hit- shutting down the elevators and trapping him and two other people just below a floor. He was able to open the elevator doors, but the doors to the floor were being held together by a cable of some kind, allowing him to only open those doors about 8 or 9 inches- not wide enough to crawl out.

As you could imagine, the scene in the hallway outside the elevator was completely chaotic, and they weren't able to flag anybody down at first. But finally, a man saw him. My friend begged this guy to go one flight UP to his architecture office and find a dremel tool in the model-making department. And the guy ran off, leaving my friend and the two other people hoping to god that he'd come back. A number of minutes later (which must have felt like hours), they see a hand come through the opening and drop the dremel tool in without a word.

My friend quickly went to work cutting the cable and hightailed it out of there just in time, getting a few blocks away before that tower fell. He never got the name of his good samaritan or even found out if he survived.

 

[DPRugby]

Couple of stories from friends...My buddy worked high up one of the towers. He told me that some of the people in his office saw smoke in the other tower and started to wonder about it when the fire alarm went off in their office. A voice came over the intercom telling everybody that their was a fire or explosion in the other tower and they should evacuate.My friend walked down the stairs until one of the floors that's an express elevator floor (like on the 45th floor, where you could then take it up to the higher floors), thinking that they'd go back to work. I think I remember him saying that somebody on the intercom told them (while he was walking down the fire strairs) that they could continue evacuating or return to their office. My friend was about to the latter when the plane hit his building. He says he doesn't remember a thing after that until he found himself running up Mercer Street in SoHo to another friend's bar/office- still in his business suit and tie.Friend #2 was an architect, working in one of the towers and who was in an elevator when the first plane hit- shutting down the elevators and trapping him and two other people just below a floor. He was able to open the elevator doors, but the doors to the floor were being held together by a cable of some kind, allowing him to only open those doors about 8 or 9 inches- not wide enough to crawl out.As you could imagine, the scene in the hallway outside the elevator was completely chaotic, and they weren't able to flag anybody down at first. But finally, a man saw him. My friend begged this guy to go one flight UP to his architecture office and find a dremel tool in the model-making department. And the guy ran off, leaving my friend and the two other people hoping to god that he'd come back. A number of minutes later (which must have felt like hours), they see a hand come through the opening and drop the dremel tool in without a word.My friend quickly went to work cutting the cable and hightailed it out of there just in time, getting a few blocks away before that tower fell. He never got the name of his good samaritan or even found out if he survived.

 

[RoarinSonoran]

Maybe instead of stories about what you were doing that day, how about stories about what you have done since then? How has it changed your thinking, etc....

Can't say that anything has changed. As I posted, I'm out here in AZ and don't really consider it a target (yes, it probably is, but I feel it's so far down the list that it's not worth worrying about...and even if Phoenix were a target, I'm not in one of the skyscrapers downtown or other "more viable" target). Certainly, some small town in South Dakota is as much a target as Phoenix is, but I don't really think about it here. I don't look at others with suspicion, I don't see a plane that's not in the usual flight pattern and wonder if it's being directed at a building, etc.I'm also 200miles from the most-porous part of the border , and certainly an eager terrorist could just walk right across and do harm (there have been reports of the Koran being found in the desert along the border). I'm more worried about the illegal aliens coming across the border and committing other crimes in town, and wasting my tax dollars.But really, nothing has changed in my life.The only obvious "change in thinking" is that I notice the WTC in just about every pre-9/11 movie. I've even seen the towers in movies where they didn't really play up that it was set in New York, but there they are, standing tall in the background.

 

[tipsy mcstagger]

We decided we were moving back to NOLA (from Portland OR) on the evening of sept 10 due to major layoff at my wifes firm. My job was good, so we thought waiting until the new year would be the logical choice. I was also on vactaion at the time, and just hanging around the house.

I woke up around 8 that morning (11 EST) and walked down the street to get some TP & heard something about the WTC on the radio in a car passing by. Walked into the shop & saw it on their TV. I remember asking the guy (an Arab coincidentally) if this was for real, and he looked at me with tears in his eyes nodding yes.

Came into my house and told my wife to wake up in a very frantic voice. We turned on the TV and finally saw the actual jet crashes & building collapses. Very emotional. Shortly after 2 F15's flew overhead at well below 2000 feet and scared the living snot out of us.

We decided that afternoon to move back home to NOLA sooner rather than later as our families are down here, and we were not really sure what the future held in store.

 

[gman8343]

Couple of stories from friends...

Wow Floppo, that's some powerful stuff. I also lived on the Upper West Side at the time and was getting ready to head in to work at Lincoln Center - my gf (now wife) called and told me about the plane - she worked two blocks away. I turned on the TV and saw which tower it was and immediately called my buddies who worked for Cantor Fitzgerald -- couldn't get through. When the second plane hit I was in complete shock, and knowing my gf was right near the towers I was terrified for her. She was fine but had watched the second plane hit the tower as she was right outside - she'll never be the same. We live in Los Angeles now and there are always helicopters flying overhead. Sometimes in the middle of the night one will jolt her awake and she'll be panicked. Unfortunately, none of my friends at Cantor made it. The next few days were kind of a blur as family/friends of the missing made our apartment home base and we scoured the hospitals looking for survivors. I don't know at what point I "knew" they were all gone, part of me probably knew the moment the tower fell. The worst thing I've ever seen is my friend's father give up hope that their son was alive. You could just see him fold in to himself, age 20 years in a moment. I recieved a wedding invitation a few days after 9/11 but the guy who was getting married was gone. I miss those guys.

 

[Flying V]

I was working at the NVR plant in Thurmont (about 3 miles by air from Camp David). We saw an army chopper go over and figured Bush was on his way to the local golf course. Then we saw some more choppers and a couple jets flying low. A forklift driver came by and told us we were having an emergency meeting in the break room right away. We looked at each other like and I made the smart### comment "Don't tell me Bush accidently hit the button!"

Not much work got done the rest of that day.

 

[JerseyToughGuys]

Best job I never took:

Wall Street Planning - 89th Floor in Tower 1

Interviewed in Spring of 2000.

 

[RoarinSonoran]

A couple of months after 9/11, I was considering a re-fi on my house. In a fit of whimsy, I googled to see if there were any mortgage companies around with my name, you know, for a family discount. lol

I clicked on one hit and it turned out to be a directory of sorts. I searched down the page for my name, I came upon something like:

{his name}

Sandler O'Neill Mortgage

WTC 2 104th Floor

I went upon reading that last line. :(

I would imagine he was a distant cousin of mine, but I don't know the exact relationship.

RIP cuz.

 

[JerseyToughGuys]

Best job I never took:Wall Street Planning - 89th Floor in Tower 1Interviewed in Spring of 2000.

I don't have much of a story but my recollections of the day are pretty vivid (like the "feel" of the morning as previously discussed). I was in North Jersey well removed from any harm, but we could see the smoke.The biggest issue was with my wife. She worked at Sloan Kettering (Upper East Side). Getting her out of the city and home safe was the biggest issue (remember the images of those walking across the Brooklyn Bridge). For a period, they thought they would be receiving wounded despite the fact that they are primarily a cancer center (the initial presumption was that the hospitals would be full). The sad reality is that there weren't enough survivors for them to be called upon.

 

[El Floppo]

Wow Floppo, that's some powerful stuff. I also lived on the Upper West Side at the time and was getting ready to head in to work at Lincoln Center - my gf (now wife) called and told me about the plane - she worked two blocks away. I turned on the TV and saw which tower it was and immediately called my buddies who worked for Cantor Fitzgerald -- couldn't get through. When the second plane hit I was in complete shock, and knowing my gf was right near the towers I was terrified for her. She was fine but had watched the second plane hit the tower as she was right outside - she'll never be the same. We live in Los Angeles now and there are always helicopters flying overhead. Sometimes in the middle of the night one will jolt her awake and she'll be panicked. Unfortunately, none of my friends at Cantor made it. The next few days were kind of a blur as family/friends of the missing made our apartment home base and we scoured the hospitals looking for survivors. I don't know at what point I "knew" they were all gone, part of me probably knew the moment the tower fell. The worst thing I've ever seen is my friend's father give up hope that their son was alive. You could just see him fold in to himself, age 20 years in a moment. I recieved a wedding invitation a few days after 9/11 but the guy who was getting married was gone. I miss those guys.

gman- damn... I am really sorry about your friends at CantorFitz- I hate even thinking about it. And getting a wedding invite from one of them... woof... devestating. Even though I went to college and grad-school in NYC and have lived here for almost 20 years, I am always thankful (and pretty shocked) that I didn't know a single person who lost their life that day.

 

[Skillet]

Was at work and the day just went into slow motion. Around 11am my wife was in an accident with my 3 youngest kids. None was hurt thankfully. I remember thinking what the heck was going on. Then in the afternoon I got the good news that my little sister had a baby girl. It was a real weird gammot of emotions.

A friend at my church was flying from Philly to Pittsburgh. While waiting to board he called his buddy from NJ who was a truck driver just to chat. The driver said he was behind schedule due to traffic and could not talk. My friend took of and landed in Pittsburgh and that evening the driver called and said he was delivering to WTC. He should have been in the WTC but the traffic placed him a couple blocks away when the plane hit. A wheel hit a car near him and he ran up the street and ended up okay. If he had been on schedule he would have been in the WTC.

 

[gman8343]

gman- damn... I am really sorry about your friends at CantorFitz- I hate even thinking about it. And getting a wedding invite from one of them... woof... devestating. Even though I went to college and grad-school in NYC and have lived here for almost 20 years, I am always thankful (and pretty shocked) that I didn't know a single person who lost their life that day.

yeah, it sucks; guys I had summer houses with, went out drinking with, had fantasy football leagues, it's a strange void. I can't imagine what it is like for their families. Here's a bit of a strange story. My best friend was moving from Hoboken to NYC with his brother. Right before they were going to sign the lease his bro backed out -- for no reason. They were incredibly close, they did everything together, but when my buddy asked him why he didn't want to live with him he just gave something vague about how it would be better if he lived by himself. Now they had to vacate their apartment in Hoboken by the end of September, but showed no inclination of looking for a new place. His girlfriend was pressuring him to look at apartments, and when she asked him what the hell he was waiting for, he told her "it didn't matter."His brother was also in our fantasy football league (for years), and the day of the draft he abruptly cancelled. Again, he had no valid reason. He was a huge football fan, loved the league. We were like huh? When I asked him he just shrugged it off, but had no real answer. He brought a bunch of usl out one night to dinner and paid for everything, something he'd never done before. He even proposed a toast to friendship and life and other stuff, which was completely unlike him. Later we found out he'd called some college friends he hadn't spoken to in a few years and reconnected.All this stuff took place in the two weeks before 9/11 - he died in Tower I.Every once in a while my buddy and me will talk about it, about how it seems like he knew something was going to happen (no he wasn't CIA or a terrorist or anything like that). Probably ridiculous, but to this day I wonder. I mean he acted SO different - we all noticed it. His brother, his girlfriend, his friends. It was bizarre.

 

[BGP]

One other thing about that day...

As I watched the events on TV, I remember wondering if, at some point, the feed would just STOP and we would see nothing but static. I was kinda expecting a major explosion that just took out the city and all communication would be lost.

 

[Alias]

Only person I know that died is Wayne Hobson (Cantor) - he owned a bar in Hoboken called Hobson's Choice, I believe his wife still owns it - they always have a memorial type evening there on 9/11 - everyone works for free and all proceeds go to a 9/11 fund.

 

[gman8343]

Only person I know that died is Wayne Hobson (Cantor) - he owned a bar in Hoboken called Hobson's Choice, I believe his wife still owns it - they always have a memorial type evening there on 9/11 - everyone works for free and all proceeds go to a 9/11 fund.

I used to go to Hobson's Choice alot to watch the games on Sundays - a few of the Cantor boys would show up there. Fun place, right next to the path. I met Wayne a couple of times but didn't know him well.

 

[superbeck1]

I too am nervous when I hear planes etc. Whenever I see footage from that day my hands get all clammy and my heart beat faster. I can still see this fireman's face hopping off one of the rigs on Broadway. I made eye contact with him for a brief second, we both looked back up at the towers, when I looked back at him, he was already packed up and running down Liberty street. I couldn't find a picture I recognize and often wonder what happened to him.

After the first impact, our building was evacuated, I was working in 1 Liberty Plaza. I remember standing on the street by Century 21 and my throat being all scratchy. There was a lot of stuff blowing around the street. Paper, foam, etc. And one of the people near me kept yelling "but it was such a small plane" and such and she couldn't understand where all the damage was from. I was trying to call a friend in the WTC and my phone was not working so I walked i block south down to Church and Liberty street, with the South tower standing right in front of me. Trying to use my cell and talking to people around me, we kept looking up in shock when I heard a high pitch whine. I caught a glimpse of the second impact and a huge fireball. I ducked across the street by Brooks Brothers, which was much higher than street level and it provided what I thought was some protection......I stood there for a long time in shock when a fire truck pulled up and that's when I saw that one fireman.....I began walking uptown. I turned around at Pace University by City hall when the first tower collapsed. People just started running in all directions just screaming....

My buddies older brother who I will call Bob is in our FFL and worked at the WTC. He was responsible for all buying of food, beverage, knick knacks, etc for the mezzanine and Windows on the World. His office was on 101 in the South tower. Coincidentally, 9/11 is his wedding anniversary. That morning when the first plane hits he was downstairs at ground level with a coworker. He noticed that the building management was letting tourists head up in the elevators. Bob took elevators up to get workers to start evacuating and make sure tourists were turning around to head back down. For those who have not been to WTC the elevators are broken up into levels, there is no straight run from bottom to top. They begin to tell people to leave when they arrive at the top when his coworker says I am gonna take a quick walk around, I'll meet you downstairs.

Bob was in the main lobby when the second plane hit. He was hit with debris in the head and was in and out of consiousness. Sitting on a planter in the plaza a policeman grabs him telling him to run. They wound up crawling under a parked phone truck when the tower collapsed. His wife watching on TV believed he was gone.

He remembers waking up several minutes later and walking over the Brooklyn Bridge where a couple of people helped him clean the stuff out and off of him. He got through to one of his brothers who is a county police officer. He got in his cruiser and drove into Brooklyn to get him.

The brother police officer says the happiest day of his life was when he pulled up in front of his brothers house and his wife and kids all ran out to hug Bob.

He now has the same job at the Empire State Building. Not kidding.

 

[superbeck1]

He now has the same job at the Empire State Building. Not kidding.

Great story.

Whatever guy

 

[Fiddles]

He now has the same job at the Empire State Building. Not kidding.

Great story.

Whatever guy

I think TB was serious.

 

[JerseyToughGuys]

Only person I know that died is Wayne Hobson (Cantor) - he owned a bar in Hoboken called Hobson's Choice, I believe his wife still owns it - they always have a memorial type evening there on 9/11 - everyone works for free and all proceeds go to a 9/11 fund.

I used to go to Hobson's Choice alot to watch the games on Sundays - a few of the Cantor boys would show up there. Fun place, right next to the path. I met Wayne a couple of times but didn't know him well.

Never heard about the connection to 9/11. Have been out of the Hoboken scene for a few too many years.

 

[DPRugby]

He now has the same job at the Empire State Building. Not kidding.

Great story.

Whatever guy

I think TB is expressing the same that came to my mind thinking this guy went back to a life where he works at the top of the world in what is now the most reccognizable building still standing in NYC. That takes some guts.

 

[superbeck1]

then I read that wrong. Apologies

 

[MrPack]

He now has the same job at the Empire State Building. Not kidding.

Great story.

Whatever guy

I think TB is expressing the same that came to my mind thinking this guy went back to a life where he works at the top of the world in what is now the most reccognizable building still standing in NYC. That takes some guts.

I agree, i don't think TB was making fun of anything.

 

[DOVCommish]

I was home from work that with my son who was sick. I was watching the Sportscenter loop and after about the fourth time seeing Giants lose in Denver I decided to change the channel and hit NBC. The first thing I thought of was how the hell they would get the fire out. Terrorism didn't occur to me at all. The second Matt Lauer said a second plane hit, it was hollowing.

My father in law is retired CIA and lived in Fairfax (just outside DC) at the time. My wife called in a panic and he said everything was fine and that they were staying since all the planes were grounded. About 20 mins later, he called her back and said that they were leaving the area. He couldn't tell her why or who told him to. Still hasn't to this day.

Ironically, he got sick again and I had to stay home September 11, 2002.

 

[DPRugby]

I'm pretty sure I posted this story here before (pretty sure it was purged) but I guess it's a good time to retell it.Two guys I went to HS with here in Central California ended up both living in the NYC area. Bob lived in CT and Mike lived and worked in NYC. Although both of them (and myself) were friends in HS we didn't stay close after graduation. And though both Bob and Mike lived in the NYC area they didn't hang out together.On the night of September 10th Mike and his wife are at a baseball game (not sure if it was Mets or Yanks) and it gets rained out. On the way out they run into Bob and his girlfriend. This was a pretty interesting coincidence since neither one of them knew the other was going to be at the game.The four of them decide to go have a couple of drinks at a nearby bar. Those couple of drinks turn into 4 or 5. Eventually Mike invites Bob and his girlfriend to stay the night as his apartment so they don't have to make the trip back to CT. Back at the apartment they have a few more drinks, reliving old times before everyone heads to bed.The next morning Mike's more than a little hungover and decides to go to work about an hour later than usual. I'm not sure of the details but he either didn't get a chance to get on the subway or he was forced to evacuate just stops away from his apartment. Mike never made it to work that morning which was a good thing since his office was in WTC 2...somewhere around the 100th floor.It freaks me out a bit to think of all the things that happened that the night of the 10th that eventually kept Mike out of work the morning of Sept. 11....the ball game was rained out. ...he runs into a guy he'd known since the 6th grade even though they were 3000 miles away from where they grew up....they end up drinking more than they had planned....Mike decides to go in late even though it was something he hardly ever did.Oh the other thing that gets me is that even though Bob and Mike weren't that close of friends growing up when one of them had tickets to a Dodgers or Angels game they would invited the other one since they both loved baseball. Meeting up at a baseball game all the way across the country almost 20 years later is just nutty.

I remember this story from before. Fate is so weird, for 3000 families fate was a mother f'er that day but for countless others fate saved their lives.ETA: Hey TB, do they still hang out now, did that event bring them back together for good?

 

[KGB]

is there a place to watch the CNN feed form that day?

 

[tipsy mcstagger]

is there a place to watch the CNN feed form that day?

Yes. CNN.com

 

[Edubb]

Wow, there are some very powerful and moving stories here. Thanks for sharing. Mine isn't nearly as touching, but hopefully interesting nonetheless.

I was pulling into the parking garage of my office building, across the street from the FBI building in downtown DC, when I heard Howard Stern say that a plane had hit Tower 1. At first, my wife and I thought this was probably (a very bad) joke - not uncommon for Howard (and why we love him), so we parked and went our separate ways to our respective offices. As I arrived at my floor and made my way to the conference room where everyone had gathered, the second plane hit Tower 2. Obviously, everyone stayed glued to the big-screen...until the third plane hit the Pentagon. Then, all of the sudden, what was just a terrible tragedy in distant NY, now had personal relevance. It was intersting how differently people reacted (fwiw, I was working at a well-respected international law firm). While I wouldn't say anyone panicked, some of those present certainly had an immediate change of attitude.

Several of my colleagues and I went to the roof our the building, where you could see smoke billowing from the Pentagon. By then, rumors had started spreading of other planes and bombs on The Mall, and an over-stated panic descended on DC. Cell phones and land-lines were already of no use, so I walked several blocks and scooped the wife. Long story, just a little bit shorter - with a car in DC, we hit the roads. It took literally two and half hours to get eleven blocks out of the city, yet once outside, the major arteries were eerily clear. We drove home along 395, passed the Pentagon, where we stopped in the middle of the highway to survey the damage. If anyone is familiar with the DC area, you know how odd it is that we could simply stop where we did.

All that said, the most powerful image I've personally encountered from 9/11 actually happened today. Although my job and routine have changed since then (in no way related to the happenings), I still drive by the Pentagon every day on the way to work. This morning was really crappy in DC - cool and drizzling. As we drove by, my wife and I noticed a man standing by his car on a "closed" off-ramp - in the rain, no raincoat or umbrella - just staring at the Pentagon. He had obviously been there a while and his body-language made it clear why he was there and what he must be thinking. GB that guy, and all the victims' families. Today has to be tough.

 

[Don Quixote]

I was working in Arlington, VA at the time (no TV in the office). Got our first news from the internet of a plane crashing into the WTC and thought it was some joke (small plane got off course, tried performing a trick of flying between the towers). Then came reports of the second plane and it was clear it was bin Laden.

A few minutes later we heard a "boom," causing someone to ask, "Was that a transformer?" We soon heard a dozen or so fire trucks and realized something else was going on; someone's spouse called in to inform it was the Pentagon.

After that, I went back to my apartment in Foggy Bottom. Eeriest Metro ride ever. Someone on the Metro had said the Towers had collapsed, but I didn't believe until I got home and saw it on the TV for myself. I got a call from my mom who was in hysterics after she heard a news report that a car bomb had gone off outside the State Department, knowing I lived only a block or two away from State. I looked out my window and saw no smoke; I spent the next half hour trying to calm her down, telling her, "No, State Department is okay, I am okay."

I remember seeing armored tanks every other block or so for the next month afterward.

I was away in a small town attending law school the first anniversary. A lot of people there didn't understand why people who didn't lose anyone were getting so worked up over 9/11, but it is hard not to be affected by what happened that day.

 

[Spanky267]

My Wife and I were in the hospital. She had given birth to our youngest son on 9/6. But because of complications she had to have emergency surgery right after the delivery. I almost lost her. She was in ICU from the 6th until the morning of the 11th. She was brought to her new room in the maternity wing at about

7am. She had only seen our new baby boy once while in ICU and he was in an incubator. So I helped get her settled and then the nurse brought him down from the nursery.

I was feeding him when we turned on the Today show and they mentioned a plane had crashed into the WTC. We watched the reports come in and went about taking care of the baby. As we continued to watch the news I began to change his diaper. While I was doing that UAL175 slammed into the South Tower.

We were incredulous. For a minute youre think to youself, "Did that actually just happen?"

We watched the attack on our nation on TV as though we were watching a sporting event. I think it was part of AQ's plan. They wanted massive casualties and maximum TV exposure and they got it. We watched nearly every event unfold and were helpless to do anything about it. We saw the second plane at the WTC, the collapse of both towers, the damage at the pentagon and the tradgedy outside of Shanksville. I would liken it to listening to a live radio broadcast of the Pearl Harbor attack had such a thing actually been covered by the media in real time. It was both riveting and revolting. We cried helplessly throughout these events.

I went out to get us lunch and no one was doing anything other than watching the TV or listening to radio.

We arranged to have our oldest son picked up from nursery school. We celebrated his 1st birthday the next day. 9/12/01.

I will never forget that day and neither will my family.

 

[Major]

I thought I'd share my friend Paul's experience on

9/11. It's not for the faint of heart but I think

it's an important read as it offers a different

perspective than what's being broadcasted through the

media.

-----------------

Everyone has a September 11th Story. This is mine. It

is an exclusive excerpt, from Chapter Six of my book,

Chasing Ghosts (www.ChasingGhosts.com).

I had quit my job at JP Morgan on Friday, September 7.

I was planning to spend the day sleeping in late,

going to the dentist, and taking the train up to the

Bronx to play some golf.

I tried to ignore it, but the phone on my bedside

would not stop ringing. I figured something must be

wrong, and I finally picked it up. It was an

ex-girlfriend in Miami.

"Paul, turn on the TV." she said, calm but urgent. As

I saw the first tower smoking on CNN, I went numb and

heard her say, "Paul. This is what you have always

been waiting for."

I had always complained that mine was a generation

without a cause. Not anymore.

I bounded the stairs in threes to the roof of our

building on East 24th Street. As I slammed the rooftop

door the first thing I saw was the cloudless soft blue

sky. It was a gorgeous day--a perfect day. The next

thing I saw was the smoke smudging the sky's flawless

color. I heard the cacophony of sirens and people

yelling from Third Avenue below. I ran to the street

from the roof and over to Broadway, where I could get

a clear look at the towers.

Breathless and focused, I stood among a crowd of

stunned New Yorkers with mouths frozen open, eyes

wide. They were hypnotized. It reminded me of the

scenes in Godzilla when everyone in Tokyo franticly

jumped out of their cars, dropped briefcases, filled

the streets and stopped everything to collectively

freeze and look back-- before running like hell as

Godzilla crashed through the city.

Then the second plane hit. We were in awe. Petrified

but unmoved. No one ran. No one panicked. They just

stared and cried.

Game time. Back in my apartment a few minutes later, I

pulled a crumpled BDU set from a duffle bag on my

floor and moved quickly. Training kicked in as I

assembled my webgear in fast forward. I called my dad

and told him I was going and ran out the door into the

smoke and sirens. I got downtown sometime after the

second tower fell.

In all my days of military training, I never imagined

I'd be called on to serve in my own city. Grotesque

scenes were everywhere. So was the heroism. For days,

I was working in "the pit" alongside everyday New

Yorkers trying to save our own. I worked with three

firemen, a Port Authority cop and a guy who looked

like a steelworker. Very little small talk. Just

cooperative commands, grunts and labored breathing.

And the sounds of people trying to choke back rage,

sorrow and awe. Looking across the vastness of the

wreckage, I remembered the first time I took in the

magnitude of the Grand Canyon as a child. Pictures

just didn't do it justice.

Sirens roared so constantly that I stopped hearing

them. We were all covered in a uniquely 9/11 coat of

fine powder that a few guys called "the dust." A

gigantic plane engine sat calmly uninterrupted on a

street corner like a bizarre piece of modern art. My

eyes numbed from the constant sting of the dust, and

they had developed a scalding red color--just like

everyone else's. A combination of incinerated drywall,

soot, and the dead--the dust blanketed everything in

sight and covered the streets six inches deep like

fine gray doomsday snow.

We were hunched and tired, and had just finished

digging out the bloated body of a corpulent older

woman in a black dress. A stocky older fireman in

front of me stopped and gasped. "Oh god. Oh Jesus.

It's another lady," he murmured, and started to sob.

Over his shoulder I saw what he saw: a black pump on

her right foot poking out from behind some concrete

and re-bar. And my head started to spin. I felt

lightheaded. But it cleared as I tried to focus on

moving the twisted metal around her. As we cleared the

bigger rubble to pull her out, we found her clutching

a black purse. This was somebody's mother. Somebody's

wife. And she was smashed so thoroughly that when we

finally got her freed to lift her out, her body

flopped like a giant rag doll over our outstretched

arms. Her face was unrecognizable and almost seemed

fake. I had never seen anything like this. The bones

were gone. All of them. Lifting her body felt like

holding a big bag of skin filled with water. I found

myself guiltily amazed that the human body could

withstand such trauma without tearing. Her body had

almost no cuts or abrasions, and no blood. Just every

single bone in her body broken.

Later that day, as the bucket-brigades snaked into the

smoldering chasm, a young guardsman called to me, "Hey

sir! What do I do with this?" holding up a red paint

bucket.

His question baffled me. We had been passing buckets

back and forth for hours along the lines. Full ones

were passed to the rear to be dumped near the Burger

King.

"Pass it back!" I told him shortly. "Same as the

others."

But he insisted, "No, sir! What do I do with this?"

And as I looked at his face for the first time, his

eyes swelled and his hands shook. He leaned his young

frightened face forward to show me the contents.

Inside was the right stockinged leg of woman, severed

below the knee, black heel still on the foot.

The long cold refrigerator trucks parked next to the

stacks of body bags. I stood on the pile and heard a

man scream on the bucket line behind me, and turned to

see his left arm erupt with blood. The swirling winds

and helicopter rotors overhead had blown shattered

glass off of a building somewhere stories above us,

and sent it raining down like bullets. Architects and

engineers warned us that at least three other

buildings could still come down at any time, and kill

us all. Everything was totally unstable. The deafening

sound of three horn blows from the trucks, a warning

to all in the area that another building might be

coming down any second. It was the signal to run like

hell if you wanted to live. It seemed like a command

from God himself, workers dropped their tools and gear

and sprinted north, like they done so many times that

week. Despite the incalculable risks, they always came

right back.

I never in my life have seen human dedication like I

did during those days. Amidst the unimaginable horror,

the way we worked together was a thing of beauty. A

pure and selfless human devotion to our fellow man.

The firemen, especially, worked literally until

exhaustion. They whispered, inquiring about the

friends and brothers they feared were trapped under it

all. And they knew every second was precious. They had

to be ordered by superiors to eat and take breaks--and

would still sneak back onto the pile minutes later.

By the second day, FEMA workers and fire departments

from as far away as California and Oregon were on the

scene. They led search dogs that wore booties on their

feet like socks to protect them from cuts. The dogs

worked tirelessly and were never once wrong. Sometimes

it would take hours of work, and the movement of tons

of wreckage, but the bodies were always in the spot

where the dogs indicated.

After some especially difficult digging, we found an

older woman's body stuck beneath a mammoth block of

concrete the size of a small house. In her wallet she

carried a New Jersey license and pictures of her

grandchildren. The women were always so much harder to

deal with. It just hurt more. Concrete and steel

locked her into the pit. The lower half of the body

was solidly trapped and immovable. We pulled and

twisted in vain to try to free her. Men poked

tirelessly with tools and yanked at different angles,

but we couldn't get her out. We were locked in a

gruesome game of tug-of-war with the wreckage.

We all knew how many people worked in the towers.

There were thousands. And we had no idea whether or

not another attack was on the way. F-14s roared,

curving around the tip of Manhattan low enough for us

to see the numbers on their tails. Terribly concerned

about fires and secondary explosions, we had to move

quickly. All day we worked at a frantic pace to find

the living and recover the dead. There we so many more

we needed to save and this one body was slowing us

down terribly. We worried that if a fire started, and

we didn't get at least part of her out, her family

would never know.

Those were days without good options. Fireman and cops

are a lot like soldiers. Many nowadays are soldiers.

When faced with a decision under pressure, we are all

trained to think about the "80 percent solution"--a

decent plan executed now is always better than a

perfect plan later. We had no more time to spend on

this one body. Limited on tools, a fireman had an

effective and grisly idea. And we all agreed to it. It

was a collective decision, and any possible

repercussions would not be pinned on him alone.

Burned in my mind forever were the tears that streamed

down his face as he raised a shovel high above his

head and drove it thudding into her bloated

midsection. We had cut her body in half at the waist.

Half a dozen men wept in mournful awe as the young

fireman continued to labor, until he realized the

shovel was not sharp enough to cut through her spine.

A young doctor rushed up and fell to his knees. As he

lifted the scalpel, he fell in a heap, crying

uncontrollably. The exhausted fireman with the shovel

dropped his tool and put his arms around the doctor,

saying, "Doc, you have to do it, man. You're doing the

right thing. It's the only way we can get her out. You

can do it, Doc." He nodded, choked back his tears and

cut through the last resilient parts of her spine with

his hands. It was the most macabre and selfless act I

had ever seen.

 

[Fiddles]

thanks for the post major :(

 

[mojorizin]

Knowing what our NY/NJ pals went through that day, nothing that I felt or saw that day really matters. Just know we all felt helpless thinking, praying, and hoping the best for you. Damn, choking back the rage and sorrow again like it happened yesterday.

 

[Nigel]

A couple of months after 9/11, I was considering a re-fi on my house. In a fit of whimsy, I googled to see if there were any mortgage companies around with my name, you know, for a family discount. lol

I clicked on one hit and it turned out to be a directory of sorts. I searched down the page for my name, I came upon something like:

{his name}

Sandler O'Neill Mortgage

WTC 2 104th Floor

I went upon reading that last line. :(

I would imagine he was a distant cousin of mine, but I don't know the exact relationship.

RIP cuz.

Creepy...a guy I went to HS with worked for Sandler O'Neill in the WTC 2 as well. He wasn't in the office that day though. That's a great story. I posted it here once but it might have been purged. I'll see if I can repost it.

My buddy from Sandler O'Neil: Beezo

 

[avoiding injuries]

I was working at a financial lending institution a few months out of college. A customer came in and broke the news to me. My manager then received a phone call from our Regional Manager who instructed us to close up shop and head home to our families. My **** sucker of a boss didn't tell us for an hour and did so only after the RM called back and was wondering why we were still there. I drove home and the streets were eerily empty.

 

[Native]

On September 11th, I was in Dinseyworld with my wife on our honeymoon. We got an early start and made our way to one of the Water Parks. Sometime past 9:00 AM, a concession salesman dressed up as a clown on stilts told me that the first tower crashed. He was wearing a red wig, funny tie, makeup. It was an absolutely absurd moment. The man looked ridiculous, yet the words out of his mouth were frightening. Like everyone else at the park, I had no way of knowing either the severity or validity of the story. I almost didnt want to believe that the man's words were true.

About an hour later, an announcement was made over the loudpseaker that the park was closing. Im glad they shut it down because the people inside had no idea what kind of chaos was unflolding in NYC. I remember one girl asked a ride conductor if she could slide down one of the waterslides one final time before going home (he said yes). We went back to the hotel and spent the rest of the day watching the news, calling family, etc.

We were scheduled to leave that evening for NJ but there was no air travel. We were "stuck" in Disneyworld for 2 days (The hotel didnt charge us for the extra nights). Eventually, we decided to rent a car and made the long drive back upto NJ. It was a very somber, two-day trip. When we got back to NJ, we saw the remains of the smoke from across the river.

Talk about an eerie, surreal experience.

 

[SteelCurtain]

Never Forget.......

 

[Pygmy Marmoset]

Maybe instead of stories about what you were doing that day, how about stories about what you have done since then? How has it changed your thinking, etc....

I decided to stop being an actor and a waiter and actually do something with my life. I went to college, starting completely over at age 24, got my A.A. from a Community College, went on to get a Philosophy Degree from UCLA, and am now in law school with 2 years left to go on my 7 year plan, started in the summer of 2002.9/11 and my brother's suicide five months later completely changed my life.

 

[e-mom]

Maybe instead of stories about what you were doing that day, how about stories about what you have done since then? How has it changed your thinking, etc....

I decided to stop being an actor and a waiter and actually do something with my life. I went to college, starting completely over at age 24, got my A.A. from a Community College, went on to get a Philosophy Degree from UCLA, and am now in law school with 2 years left to go on my 7 year plan, started in the summer of 2002.9/11 and my brother's suicide five months later completely changed my life.

Wow, that must have been a very tough time for you and your family to say the least. Glad to see you are charging through with school though...that's awesome

 

[Reaper]

I was at work like most - My cousin just started a dream job working in the towers PICS.... At 1st also, like most we thought it was a small cessna and not much would happen - When you 1st got the news there was no way you imagined what was about to happen....

We hoped for the best....

He started a web site not too long before that date and the messages will always give me chills.....

Paul's Site

Paul, I hope to god that you are ok. You are my brother and always will be. Andy

Andrew Finiasz <afiniasz@hotmail.com>

binghamton, ny USA - Wednesday, September 12, 2001 at 10:14:29 (PDT)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Paul, we're really worried about you down here at the good old H. Please let us know you're alright.

Nicholas E. Venti <nick@whrwfm.org>

Binghamton, NY USA - Tuesday, September 11, 2001 at 20:35:33 (PDT)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Paul, where are you? Are you okay? I have been trying to get in touch with you. If anyone reads this message and has any information or contact/phone information on Paul, please email me ASAP.

Erin <brownee@georgetown.edu>

Washington, DC USA - Tuesday, September 11, 2001 at 10:47:56 (PDT)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey Paul are you alright? You weren't in there were you?

Fluffhead <nick@whrwfm.org>

Binghamton, NY USA - Tuesday, September 11, 2001 at 10:14:16 (PDT)

 

[El Floppo]

I was at work like most - My cousin just started a dream job working in the towers PICS.... At 1st also, like most we thought it was a small cessna and not much would happen - When you 1st got the news there was no way you imagined what was about to happen....

We hoped for the best....

He started a web site not too long before that date and the messages will always give me chills.....

Paul's Site

Paul, I hope to god that you are ok. You are my brother and always will be. Andy

Andrew Finiasz <afiniasz@hotmail.com>

binghamton, ny USA - Wednesday, September 12, 2001 at 10:14:29 (PDT)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Paul, we're really worried about you down here at the good old H. Please let us know you're alright.

Nicholas E. Venti <nick@whrwfm.org>

Binghamton, NY USA - Tuesday, September 11, 2001 at 20:35:33 (PDT)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Paul, where are you? Are you okay? I have been trying to get in touch with you. If anyone reads this message and has any information or contact/phone information on Paul, please email me ASAP.

Erin <brownee@georgetown.edu>

Washington, DC USA - Tuesday, September 11, 2001 at 10:47:56 (PDT)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey Paul are you alright? You weren't in there were you?

Fluffhead <nick@whrwfm.org>

Binghamton, NY USA - Tuesday, September 11, 2001 at 10:14:16 (PDT)

Jesus.This is flat out devestating. Thank you so much for sharing this with us- I don't even have the words to describe how much this just put me back into that day in a way that, even living here in NYC, I didn't think I'd experience.

I'm frigging crying here.

 

[Rayderr]

I was working at the Video facilites on Fort Belvoir (about 15 miles south of the Pentagon). In our control room we have several monitors and we usually kept at least one tuned into CNN. I noticed the story about a plane crashing into the WTC. Informed some of my coworkers about it and turned on CNN in the main lobby. Of course, since none of us had ever been to NYC, we really thought it was a small commuter plane that had crashed judging by the size of the whole, completely oblivious to how massive the Towers actually were.

So we're sitting there talking and suddenly, we see the second plane hit the other tower. "Holy ####!" we all thought. Of course, we were still morons thinking someone had merely managed to hack into a planes autopilot system to do this. Never occurred to us that Hijackers were flying them kamikaze style into buildings. We turn on MSNBC, and local Channels NBC4, FOX5, ABC7, and CBS9 in the control room. Now I was already kinda freaking out since all that day, my Sister was flying in to visit us from Alaska and my dad was returning from a business trip from Stanford (flying in from SFO)

Then came the news that a plane had hit the Pentagon. The local stations reported about a minute before the national networks. From that point, the local stations kept with local coverage concentrating mostly on the Pentagon while the national networks kept most of their focus on NY. A few minutes after the plane hit the pentagon, we get the news that we've gone to ThreatCon Delta. We we're all prepared to leave, but we're told to stay in case the Colonel wanted to do a live address over the Post channel.

So we stayed. One little story that does not get any airplay is that CPOC, an agency on Fort Belvoir had closed down a week ealier and most of the personnel were relocated to the Pentagon. Their offices were actually in the area that got hit (all that construction you heard about in that area, that was for them.) As luck would have it, that morning, they were having the closing ceremony for CPOC. So many of the people who would have died that day (including the wife of our audio guy) were saved by a simple pointless ceremony

That day also happened to be the day that companies looking to bid on our contract were allowed to come in and inspect the facilities. Normally we're not there for those things, and honestly, we were surprised that still went down despite the fact that we were under attack. So we were shuffling between buildings (we had 3 buildings total) trying to avoid the contract bidders watching news coverage in whatever building we were in.

When we went into the graphics building, one of our graphics guys was on the edge of a panic attack. He's from NYC so he was fearing the worse. He lucked out in that no one he knew directly was killed in the attacks.

So the bidders left and we returned to the video building to watch out the coverage for the rest of the day until we were given the ok to go home.

 

[Otis]

I was at work like most - My cousin just started a dream job working in the towers PICS.... At 1st also, like most we thought it was a small cessna and not much would happen - When you 1st got the news there was no way you imagined what was about to happen....

We hoped for the best....

He started a web site not too long before that date and the messages will always give me chills.....

Paul's Site

Paul, I hope to god that you are ok. You are my brother and always will be. Andy

Andrew Finiasz <afiniasz@hotmail.com>

binghamton, ny USA - Wednesday, September 12, 2001 at 10:14:29 (PDT)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Paul, we're really worried about you down here at the good old H. Please let us know you're alright.

Nicholas E. Venti <nick@whrwfm.org>

Binghamton, NY USA - Tuesday, September 11, 2001 at 20:35:33 (PDT)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Paul, where are you? Are you okay? I have been trying to get in touch with you. If anyone reads this message and has any information or contact/phone information on Paul, please email me ASAP.

Erin <brownee@georgetown.edu>

Washington, DC USA - Tuesday, September 11, 2001 at 10:47:56 (PDT)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey Paul are you alright? You weren't in there were you?

Fluffhead <nick@whrwfm.org>

Binghamton, NY USA - Tuesday, September 11, 2001 at 10:14:16 (PDT)

Jesus.This is flat out devestating. Thank you so much for sharing this with us- I don't even have the words to describe how much this just put me back into that day in a way that, even living here in NYC, I didn't think I'd experience.

I'm frigging crying here.

Seriously. Absolutely horrifying. #### Bin Laden.

 

[Usual21]

I'm a teacher and that day was just like any other. As I was walking my students down to the library, I overheard the secretary say that a plane had hit one of the towers. When I got to the library, I asked the librarian to turn on the TV. Like alot of people, I thought a Small prop plane or cessna had hit the building like what happened with that Cory Lidle last year. When she turned on the TV, it was exactly at the same time that the 2nd plane hit. I yelled "HOLY SH__!!" in front of my students. I was so shocked that I forgot where I was.

Streams of parents came in to get their kids. One of the secretaries lost her sister-in-law and one student lost his Mom. I will never forget waiting with that student for his Grandma to pick him up.