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#252 | Wednesday, November 14th 2001
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I will never forget the events of September 11th. Altough I was not immediatly affected, my heart was. I work at a TV station and was watching the events unfold. At first I thought it was a terrible accident, but I was watching live when the second plane hit. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I think I cried more that day than I ever have before. My family are all in law enforcement, as well as my boyfriend. I have such respect for the firemen and policemen who ran to help. Everyone that died that day are heros. I will never forget...and although I have turned my attenion to the men and women now fighting this war overseas...my heart still goes out to all the family and friends of the victims of September 11, 2001. We will never forget. *SRP
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Shauna | 23 | Ohio
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#235 | Sunday, November 4th 2001
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i think i first realised something wasn't right when i saw the number of people on the street. i was working in the restaurant of a midtown hotel at the time, and happened to glance out the window to see what looked like a small parade going by on the sidewalk. it was roundabout 10am...too early yet for lunch, but late enough that most folks should've long since been settled in their offices. still, i just kind of shrugged it off. looking back on it, there was also an unusual amount of phone-ringing going on in the main hall, but at the time i thought nothing of it. i was just concentrating on doing my damn job so no-one would be too p.o.'d when i decided to dash early...the weather was incredible, and being as it was the start of september, i was going to take full advantage of the summer sun while it lasted.
then the hysterical guy came running in. i don't know who he was, all i do know is that he told us the world trade centre had been attacked by terrorists and the whole city was being shut down, and then promptly ran back out into the street again. no one knew whether to take him seriously or not, but as we stood around in shock watching the crowds of exiled workers outside get denser, we figured we'd better. as our brunchers fled, we all started grabbing our stuff to leave, even as we'd not yet been told to...most of us were anticipating a long trek home as the subways had been shut down, and though it hadn't actually sunken in to ANYONE exactly what was going on, i think i speak for all of us when i say we just wanted out of manhattan.
we didn't have to worry about permissions, though, as it turned out. the restaurant was officially closed down before even one of us could leave.
even as my coworkers and i joined the man stampede up lexington avenue, i really had no clue how bad the situation was. as we walked, i took out my mobile and began ringing people i knew would be in the city at the time, and a load of us agreed to convene in (or at least around...if they too had decided to close) a pub up in the e90's and make the rest of the journey to the bronx and points northward as a group. turns out the place WAS open, packed to capacity, in fact, and each and every one of their big-screen tvs, usually reserved for sports matches, broadcasted video footage of the towers being hit. i think seeing that...the second one in particular, being literally sliced in half by the aeroplane...was what jolted me into reality. this was not an accident. this was not a minor event that would be forgotten in a week's time. this was an all-out attack on a city that had seemed just hours before to be completely invincible. i didn't even want to think about the number of people that might have been killed, but i knew at that point it was going to be astronomical.
we ended up having to walk as far as 149th street in the bronx before the trains began running again. it was a relief, yeah, but honestly in the condition the lot of us were in, it didn't make too much of a difference. i don't know what time it was exactly when i got back to my apartment, but my answering machine was full to capacity with phonecalls from friends and family in ireland worried about the state of myself and my room mates. i'd expected those, but among them was also a call from my aunt here in new york...regarding my cousin and good friend, who happens to be a fireman. he was officially missing as of sometime that afternoon. he hadn't even crossed my mind, as he didn't work anywhere NEAR the trade centre. for nearly two days we assumed the worst of his condition, when someone finally decided to contact my aunt and uncle to tell them he was indeed alive and had been in a downtown hospital the whole time. i would learn later on that while he and his brother (also a fireman) were among the lucky ones, a number of guys they worked with who i knew through them were not. even now, most of them are still "missing"...no bodies yet or anything.
i moved to new york 2 years ago with the usual visions of the greatest city in the world. as much as i like to view myself as a cynic, or at least a realist, i was caught as much by surprise by all this as anyone else. even in my short time here, i'd come to see new york as MY city...and i, like everyone else, never thought in a million years this sort of thing could happen in MY city. but it did. and i think it can safely be said that though life will indeed go on...it has to...nothing...not this city, this country, or the world as a whole, will ever be the same again.
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ciarán | 23 | New York
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#208 | Tuesday, October 16th 2001
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On that horrible morning that has changed the history of the world for ever and more, I was involved in a simple but needed task of having my morning bowel movement at my home in preparation for going to my workplace (hubby and I had eaten out at a Mexican restaurant the nite before so I was in an urgent situation).
I have a little tee-vee in my bathroom and I was watching the news and just tending to my business when the first plane rammed into the tower and then the second one rammed into the other tower and I was like "OHMYGOD" I just couldn't believe this was happening.
It just proves that while what you're doing may not be important to other people there could be things going on in the world that you don't even know about.
God Bless The USA!!!
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Andrea | 23 | Nevada
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#186 | Friday, October 5th 2001
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I was working at 17 Battery Place on the 11th floor. It was a very frightening day for everyone. The tremendous loss of life is one of the worst tragedy's I have witnessed in my life. My heart is with the families of those who lost a loved one in the WTC Disaster. Lets all work together to keep living our lives and not let terrorism win.
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Anthony | 23 | New York
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#179 | Monday, October 1st 2001
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I was at work, listening to the radio and joking with my partner, like usual. The announcer broke into the broadcast to report a lone plane had flown into the side of the WTC. I remember thinking that was pretty terrible, and how on earth would they remove a plane from inside such a tall building. As they were speculating the reason and talking to passerby's and witnesses, the second plane forcefully and deliberately slammed into the other tower. At the moment that happened a woman was describing the incident of the first plane and all of a sudden she was hysterical, "another one just crashed into the other tower" she screamed as though the world went off its axis.
By that time I was in utter shock, astonishment was running through my mind and then the question as to whether or not this was a terrorist act came into play. I immediately made my mind up that it had to be. I sat scared and frantically pulling up websites for more recent news and pictures as my co workers formed around my desk in disbelief. Then the Pentagon was struck and I could not imagine what more these people were going to do. They were playing with no rules and anything could happen now.
I made a comment as to whether or not the WTC towers could stand a burning inferno for very long and within a few moments one was crumbling to the ground. Then went the other. I had never been more horrified in my life. I had been calling my mother giving her updates and she was already crying. I wanted so badly to cry right there at my desk. I could not imagine being able to complete my job that day I was in so much distress it had become visible on my face.
I heard that we were allowed to leave for the day to reflect, pray and be with family, so I left. As soon as the doors of the elevator shut behind me, I went hysterically into tears. I couldn't handle the amount of fear or sorrow running through my body. I never thought I would see the day when something so horrific would happen, but I have. I'm all the way in Florida and know no one in the WTC or the Pentagon and I am still profoundly effected by this, as everyone else is. I will never forget where I was or what I was doing the very moment the world came crashing down.
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Victoria | 23 | Florida
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