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#1505 | Monday, July 29th 2002
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I woke up at about 3pm CET that afternoon, and only a few minutes later the news about a plane crashing into the WTC came on. At first I thought it was an accident, but when the second plane crashed I realized this actually was an attack. My boyfriend picked me up shortly after that, and we went to his house where we continued watching the news all day and night, discussing who might be behind the actions.
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Linda | 23 | Norway
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#1476 | Tuesday, July 16th 2002
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Well, September 11 in NY was a beautiful day, and the breeze was amazingly fresh. I was at work, in a construction site in Queens, NY, in the basement. I remember feeling horribly sad for some reason, and I wanted to go home.
Then came about 9 o'clock, a fellow worker came to see me, and said: "You hear that a plane hit the WTC?" and I, in shock, cursed, and said: "You have to be kidding me?" He said they were watching from the third floor, that it could be seen very clearly, and we proceeded to run up to the stairs to the third floor.
By the time we got there, the second plane had hit and almost every head on the job was there, watching. I demanded for a radio, and we got one, and played the news station as we watched.
I remember a lady being interviewed, and she was sobbing loudly, saying over and over: "There were people jumping out! Those poor people..." I'll never forget those words in my life.
And even as we watched the towers burn in full tecni-color, and listened to the radio, the news came that The Pentagon had been hit, and a silence came over the job. Then they said that there might be 3 more planes out there.
Everyone's eyes just widened, and we did not know what to do or say. There was a guy there that I worked with, who was trying to get in touch with his brother, who worked on the 80 something floor of one of the towers.
As we watched the towers collapse, I remember looking at him, and a lone tear spilled from his eye, he seemed to be paralyzed. I went up to him and just held him. Thankfully, his brother was alright.
I cried too, and many others did too. The next day, I got up, got dressed, sat down, and couldnt get back up again. I was crying for months after that, and I still choke up in tears now.
7-16-02
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Katia | 23 | New York
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#1431 | Monday, July 1st 2002
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I am from a suburb of Chicago in Nortwest Indiana. I had just started a new job the day after Labor Day. I had to be at work at 8:30am EST. Before I had gotten to work, I had stopped at McDonalds. I was in the line for drive-thru, and my buddy Erik, who had taken his mother to work, and was getting some food to go home, pulled up behind me. He got out of the car and shouted, HEY, NEW SLAYER CD comes out today. The SLAYER cd was entitled GOD HATES US ALL. I had purchased it a day earlier from, a independent music store.
After I got to work, I got dressed and went back to the garage. I was the first mechanic there, and the oldest one had just arrived. He said....did you hear about the World Trade Center? I thought he was just babbling on, and thought he had referred to 1993, so I had walked away, for there were customers arriving.
As I changed oil on the first vehcile, someone in the lobby area had the TV on. I had noticed people were sitting in there, even workers. My co-worker had called off, and I had got upset, because we had a lot of cars early. I occasionally walked by the TV, but I was so busy, I couldn't stop.One radio was on in the shop. It is normally some classic/blues, but it had a AM sound. I started to listen as I heard about the WTC getting attacked. I thought, thats terrible, but is it that serious? Why is it national news, and why isnt the music on? Next news flash was....Pentagon got hit. I started to freak out. I know the Penatgon is our defense capital, and began to worry. Then we had heard about the plane supposedly headed for Camp David/White House. I started to realize that these attacks were heading west towards Chicago. My sister worked at the SEARS TOWER. I worried for her life, and I have a relative in the Air Force who worked at the Pentagon. I swore to myself, if another plane hits OHIO or something, I was going home.
Work had finally died down, and it was luchtime. We got an hour for lunch, and I only lived 5 minutes from work. I went home and called my girlfriend. She was in hysteria, and could not stop crying. I assured her that it would be okay, but in reality, I was confused and shocked. I watched CBS for the next 40 minutes and went back to work.
When i went back to work, we had no more cars for the rest of the afternoon. I didn't really watch TV, becuase I was new to this job. I didn't want to get in any kind of trouble, so i kept busy. My managers and co-workers handled it differently. I just kept silent, and was more upset that the others. Finally, we got to go home.
I went home, and my g/f was supposed to go to college that evening, but instead she came over. She never felt better to hold on to. I didn't want to let go. She was afraid I would be drafted, and worried about a bunch of other things. At about 10p.m. CST, she had left. I watched the news for another hour and went to sleep.
One more thing about this, the next day at work, we still had the no-fly zone i effect. My co-workers and I looked into the sky. It was the most intense pain to know that a terrorist had the ability to slow us that much for 2 days.
After they had let up the no-fly zone, I was watching more of the news that evening, and a plane roared right over my home. For some reason, I thought I was going to die. Ever since then, I have realized that noone is ever guaranteed the next second of your life. This WAR in the name of GOD is disgusting. The Palestinians were celebrating. The old woman looked like a serpent flipping her tounge. I was boiling inside, because i do not find any form of death amusing. That is my story. I would give anything that I could, If I had the power to prevent those planes from getting hijacked. The flight that crashed into Pennsylvania are indeed heroes. All Americans were touched somehow. I really admire all the rescue efforts. I know deep in my heart the Osama Bin Laden, all terrorist networks, and Saddam Hussein will pay a extreme price. Saddam is behind this also. Guaranteed.
May you all be blessed, and my heart is with you. Feel free to E-mail me for a link to a site that is very heart-felt. OR E-mail me just to say anything about 9/11/2001.
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Justin | 23 | Indiana
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#1423 | Wednesday, June 26th 2002
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since the question of "where were you on september 11, 2001?" has been posed over and over, i decided i'm gonna need to answer it someday. i might as well do it while it is still just yesterday. i can still remember where i was when princess diana died, and john jr, and walter mathau. i remember being at my grandma hall's house (she hadn't even started dating my future step grandpa, irv, yet) staked out in front of the living room television set when they were bombed in like 1995. i still remember the feeling i had sitting in ms. robb's current event's class when i heard that mickey mantle had passed away. someday i need to write those things down. but right now i'm going to write about yesterday.
i was wearing my pink, yellow, and purple button down camp shirt over top of a white tank top, and blue jeans. i was also wearing my white sneakers that give me blisters. if i can remember the clothes i was wearing on a day, it makes it easier for me to remember the day. so shut up and stop laughing. i still remember what i wore the first day of fifth grade. so there.
so i worked the before school care at montessori from 7:30 to 8:30 this morning.
came back and went to my CDV 115 (child growth & development) class in the performing arts centre on the verge of tears. i really wanted to be at home for miss vicky's funeral. i was having a tough time coming to the reality that that was not going to be an option (i did end up going). so i got into class and sat down at my usual seat, right up front.
mary griffin (the prof/my advisor) came into class and asked me how i was doing today. she always asks me that. i think because its still early in the semester and i'm the only person she really knows. since all her other advisees in this class are still freshman and sophmores. so she asks me how i was, and just burst into tears. so she gave me a hug and generally fussed over me for a second or two. then we walked out into the hallway and she asked me what was wrong.
so i told her that the mom of one of my best friend's had died. which was kinda of true, but not really. miss vicky was like a second mom to kristy, but i didn't need to go into details right then. i was having enough trouble talking as it was.
then she walked me around the corner to her office. she gave me some kleenex, calmed me down for a minute, and told me that i didn't have to stay for class if i didn't feel like it. this was at 8:47 A.M., two minutes after the first plane hit. i happened to see the hallway clock on the way out. but being the good student that i am (or appear to be) i said that i wanted to stay. then she left me in there "until [i] was ready to re-join the class."
so i calmed down and wiped my face off. and walked back into the room. we watched the "hello baby" video, the required video for like all intro child development classes (the one where they show you babies being born and everyone gets really grossed out and swears they'll never have children) at 9:04 A.M. (yes, i watch the clock religiously).
then we break into groups to discuss the papers that we wrote over the weekend. and this girls comes flying into the classroom. and comes up to griffin. then she sits down with my group. luckily, as i find out. she was late because she was listening to the news on her radio. so i got to be one of the first kids in the class to know.
she told us that apparently a plane had flown right into the world trade centre in new york. and then like a few (turns out it was about fifteen) minutes later another one did the same thing into the other tower right next to it. i was just kind of like oh, okay.
it didn't even like sink in at all what a big deal this was. i didn't think anything of it. no one else, but the people in my group, knew anything about it. so no one was worried or talking about it.
mary let us out of class a little early. on my way out she told me not to come to class on thursday, "the last thing [i] need is a test." and i need to be at home with my friends and family. tru dat.
so i took advantage of the early dismissal, and hussled back to my dorm room to drop off the bulky course pack i was carrying around (read: 3-ring binder that didn't fit into my purse i was using as a book bag). when i walked in my new roommate, la'shawna, had the television turned on. she was like, "crazy isn't it." i wasn't thinking, but then it clicked and i was like, "oh, the two world trade centres." "and the pentagon" she added. i was like, "they got the pentagon too. damn." yup dumbass, they did.
so then in flung the folder on my desk and rushed to my rst 220 (introduction to the hebrew scriptures) class. by the time i got there everyone knew about it. this kid ryan seemed to know the most, or maybe he was just talking the most. either way he said that people were saying it was a terrorist attack and they didn't know from who. and this girl courtney said something about "a no fly zone" but i didn't know what she was talking about, so i didn't really listen to her. ryan said something about there being planes that the FAA had lost track of, but i didn't know why that would matter. so oh well, then we had class. i didn't cry at all in there. i had to bite my bottom lip a few times, but no actual tears.
in my noon class (gen 301 - the adult learner) we were supposed to have a speaker (sr. sharon from the dominican sisters on campus) come talk to us about something. but by that time of the morning the whole country was in shock and no one could concentrate on anything. we heard that another plane had attacked camp david. but as it turned out that was just a rumour, it really crashed somewhere in pennsilvania. melissa (the prof) had called a friend she had that works in the capital, and she could hear sirens blaring and people yelling over the phone. the girl that was sitting in front of me cried the whole time we were sitting there. melissa said sometihng about today being september 11th, as in 9-11. get it 911 (like the number to call in an emergency for those of you that don't know). then sr. sharon came in and told us that it was SUPPOSED to be like world peace day or something. yeah, that went real well. so the university already had prayer services planned, and a moment of peace at twelve o'clock. so we did that. then she tried to talk to us about some stuff, which i don't remember, and i doubt that anyone else does either.
the blonde kid sitting at the end of my row (who i thought was cute...like on the first day of class) said something about osoma bin laden. but i don't remember exactly what. like maybe he was the mastermind guy behind all this. so the nun talked some more. then she gave up and we walked over to the t.v. lounge in ledwidge hall. we watched that for a while.
then i had to leave for work. i went to my room and saw that it was only like one o'clock, so i turned on the television. i wanted to see how MTV was handling all this. but they (as well as VH1) were running live feed from CBS. so i watched that until it was time for work.
when i went into work, i was told not to mention any of the day's events to the children. one of the kids, isaac, was wearing a shirt that said "washington d.c." on it and had a little picture of some of the monuments and such, including the pentagon. so we did our normal montessori after school stuff. when pam and peggy (my before and after school supervisors) came in, i told each one of them that i had a funeral to go to, so i wouldn't be back until friday morning. fine fine, sorry for your loss, etc...
i went back to my room and watched some more news. by this time everything had already happened. all the planes had crashed, the towers had fallen. two other towers (building five and seven) were about to collapse. i think it was about six o'clock that building five collapsed. just as i was walking over to my six o'clock class in the science building. but before i got to my room i remembered that we were supposed to be in the library today.
so i like flung over the sacred heart hall (where the library is) as fast as i could. then i got lost, then i found it. turns out since i already had two sources for my research paper, i was home free until seven o'clock. so i quickly walked back to my dorm room and called home.
no one at home, no one at church. so i called mom's cell phone on a whim (she never leaves it on). she answered. so i told her that i was coming home and that i had permission from all my teachers to do so. okay, someone will be there to get me in about two hours. yahoo.
somewhere in there i talked to dad too, i just don't remember when. i think it was in between class and work. i told him and he told me about what was happening back in wyandotte. apparently mom's school was in lockdown mode. whatever that meant. and mary griffin had called him to tell him what had happened in class today (remember from the beginning of this reeaaaaaalllly long entry...i cried about miss vicky) and that she thought it best i come home. so blah blah blah. dad needs my phone number. i don't have it. here's the number for the security office. okay.
then my english class got out early because no one could think clearly. so i watched some more of the news. as did the rest of the school.
any where you went was the sound of televisions reporting the events as they unfolded. dan rather (the CBS man) played a couple of tapes they had received from private citizens who happened to catch the events on video. lots of swearing, and an apology from mr. rather, ensued. apparently, as he repeatedly stated, the tapes had never been watched before they went on the air. there were fuck words all over the place. as you can well imagine people were in shock. i'm certain i would have had a similar reaction, had it been me. i can't even believe they would time it so all of america would be watching as the second plane hit. that just pisses me off.
so dad came to get me. campus security wouldn't let him come to my room (even though he was wearing the "clergy collar"). there were security people at every opening to the campus. dad said he was stopped three times before he could even park the car. the entire country is freaking out. on the way home we saw crazy lines, ten and fifteen cars deep, waiting in line at gas stations. apparently there was a rumour of a gas shortage. dad kept saying, as did the radio man, "you people are creating your own gas shortage. this is just what the terrorists want, mass hysteria." tru dat. so we got home eventually.
mom had locked the door because she freaks out easily, and she was home alone. then some more talking and boring stuff happened. then we went to taco bell and got one of their yummy quasadillas (definitely try 'em).
then mary and tracey came over. mary is leaving for new orleans on the thirteenth. so darn on that. they stayed and talked for a while. then i went to bed.
that was what i was doing on september 11, 2001...in detail. not that you really care. not that i care. but someday i just might.
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Krystn | 23 | Michigan
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#1391 | Wednesday, June 12th 2002
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I had gotten up with my seven-month-old son at around 7:30 est. I had the TV on in the background tuned to The Today Show. When the first plane hit, our local news station came on to tell us. I can remember thinking, naively, that it was just an accident. A horribly dumb pilot. I sat down to watch the coverage, and when I watched the second plane hit live, I went with a shaking voice to wake my husband. We sat glued to the TV for the rest of the day. When the first building collapsed, I turned to my husband and said, crying, "Oh my god, all those people! They just sent in all those firefighters!" It was unreal then, and it still seems unreal now.
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Kelly | 23 | Indiana
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