Posted by: Perm Dude
- [5510572522] Sun, Sep 11, 2011, 13:15
I had gotten back home (Northern NJ) late the evening before, after heading to the funeral of my uncle in Cleveland. In fact, a few hours before, I drove not far from Shanksville on my way back, ironically enough.
My wife woke me up right after the second tower was hit, and (like many) I couldn't turn my eyes from the screen. I called my Mom in Ohio just to connect with someone--both towers were still smoking, and we both screamed watching the TV as the first tower fell.
I still remember I was completely freaked at what was happening.
Going out later to the PO, it was a completely beautiful day--gorgeous, in fact. And not a plane in the sky (many planes begin their approach to the NYC airports over our county so there were always planes up there). Most people were just stunned walking around--we all had connections to NYC, and many relatives and spouses worked in NYC. There were three buses a day from my town which went right down to Wall Street, in fact.
Afterward, as we all took stock, I was struck by the death of cynicism. It died for awhile, anyway. It was, and is, Bush's largest moment--going to the WTC site and just holding people who were still hurting. That simple and human act still gives me pause.
1
Perm Dude
ID: 5510572522 Sun, Sep 11, 2011, 13:29
A father remembers his sons (HT: Andrew Sullivan):
2
sarge33rd
ID: 138411112 Sun, Sep 11, 2011, 13:41
shock. Watching it all unravel in real time on TV after the first tower was hit...watching the second plane come in and hit...
shock,
3
Canadian Hack
ID: 164132618 Sun, Sep 11, 2011, 13:59
I was on a plane flying between Edmonton and Vancouver in Canada. The first plane would have hit the World Trade Center before we took off. The second plane would have hit when we were in the air. The whole flight I was oblivious to what was going on (as was everyone on the flight I was aware of).
We landed in Vancouver on schedule. For those of you unaware of Canadian geography the flight is about an hour long and there is no significant airport along the way. Probably we were one of the last flights in North American airspace in the air as there was nowhere logical to divert us. When we landed, they announced that there was "a security issue we will be made aware of as we enter the airport".
Upon entering the airport, every TV that shows arrivals and departures was tuned to CNN and not arrivals and departures. These TV's have no volume so we saw pictures of smoking buildings with captions that said America Under Attack. However it wasn't easy to figure out exactly what was going on with no volume. They were announcing where to pick up baggage on flights headed to various cities and diverted from various cities. The airport was packed with people picking up bags. I wasn't interested in hanging around the airport and got my bags and went to my parent's house (my planned destination for the day) via public transit. I got there and found my father was still home (not at work) and was watching the news. He was the one who properly filled me in on what had happened.
4
Tree
ID: 41512710 Sun, Sep 11, 2011, 18:07
i had just gotten in the taxi i took from the Port Washington, Long Island, New York train station to my office further in town.
The cabbies all knew me, since I rode with them daily. He turned to me and said "A plane just crashed into the World Trade Center."
my immediate thought was the 1934 incident where an airplane hit the Empire State Building, but then i quickly dismissed an accident happening, because, well, it's 2001, and accidents like that just don't happen any more.
i remember saying "it's terrorism. wow. finally on our shores. it's not just northern ireland or tel aviv or barcelona anymore. now it's here too."
the women next to me said "it's not terrorism. that's not possible. it's rogue air traffic controllers getting revenge for when they were fired in the 80s!"
i looked at her like she was crazy, because that was a damned crazy thing to say. i knew in my heart it was terrorism, and when i got to the office, i asked a buddy of mine in IT if he could get any TV reception and he asked me why.
at that moment, no one already in the office had any clue what was going on.
he got a TV hooked up, and about 25 of us gathered in a small office and watched. i think for a lot of us, we couldn't grasp what was going on, and when the first tower went down, it was still like we were watching a bruce willis action flick.
all the women who were watching started sobbing, and hugged each other.
that afternoon, our office released us. most people went home, but for the 5 of us who lived west of the office, there was no going home - they weren't letting traffic go west, so, along with 1000s of others, we were stranded on long island.
we couldn't find a hotel, because there were so many others in similar positions. in my haze, i forgot i had family that lived really close by. finally, we found a seedy pay-by-the-hour hotel with vacancies, and took them.
that night, nearly 12 hours after the attacks, i finally got cel service back. i must have had 50 voice mail messages. i spoke with my parents, my girlfriend, my best friend. i was in some awful hotel on the scariest day of my life, and everyone i knew seemed so far away.
it was the longest day i remember, but the next day i went to work - bought a pair of pants and a shirt and some insanely overpriced boxers at the only store i could find that that was open - most were closed because of terror fears.
that night after work i finally got back to my apartment, and it seemed...different...but, a the same time, i was home, and it felt safe.
On Saturday, Sept. 15, i walked from my apartment in Sunnyside, Queens, New York, across the 59th Street Bridge where i could see smoke rising from lower Manhattan, and down into Times Square, so i could watch the news tickers with 1000s of other strangers who were probably experiencing the same numbness i was.
The next morning i woke up, determined to move forward from 9/11, and that's what i've been doing ever since.
5
Boldwin
ID: 35615181 Sun, Sep 11, 2011, 18:18
I was at work almost ready to leave for home when the first hit. My first thot was 'If they think they have terrorized me they have another thing coming...this isn't going to change my mindset at all...[if it's really terrorism]'
Second plane hit shortly after I got home. That clarified the terrorism issue.
That was my main thot. Don't let them profit. Don't let them induce the slightest character change.
Don't let them induce the slightest character change.
Sadly, it did. Because the President was a Republican, the GOP got onto the nation building habit (while the Democrats, not wanting to look weak, enabled them every step of the way). The US started torturing people. It began to hold innocent people in prison because it was afraid to release them. It borrowed (and then spent) billions and billions of tax dollars for no real security except that which comes from higher anxiety.
The US was rocked by 9/11 and has, for a time, lost its moral compass.
Now I see why it's the worst Volokh post I've seen. Volokh didn't write it.
11
Khahan
ID: 54138190 Mon, Sep 12, 2011, 00:30
I was at work, sitting in my cubicle surrounded by friends and co-workers. I forget if I saw something on yahoo or somebody said something about a plane hitting the world trade. I googled world trade center and the very first link was 'video cam from on top of the WTC.' I clicked it and it was blank. Nothing there.
A murmur kind of swept across the office and our office manager came out, very out of character and announced she was putting the news on in the conference room. Anybody who wanted to watch was welcome to and don't worry about work. A pretty group of us gathered around and watched for about an hour. We saw the second plane hit. We saw the people falling/jumping. We saw the buildings collapse. We saw the dust and debris and mayhem. And then I got called to my desk for a phone call from my brother. He was letting me know that Dad was in Manhatten today and nobody had heard from him. Nobody could thru to him.
We found out later he was fine. He was at a hospital at the other end of the island for business. A co-worker of his lent him his cell phone and they were some of the very lucky ones who got contact outside of Manhatten that day. 3 days later he was finally able to get off the island and come home.
About lunchtime Dottie our office manager announced we should all go home and spend time with our families. Thats just what I did. My daughter was 7 months old. I picked her up from day care and went home. We sat in the front room watching the news with the door open and neighbors coming by. I just held her knowing our world was changing in a drastic way.
12
biliruben
ID: 59551120 Mon, Sep 12, 2011, 11:02
I was woken up my up by my roommate after the first and before the second tower. We just watched everything unfold on the screen.
I had a friend who's wife was working in Manhattan and young daughter was in daycare in lower Manhattan. He was working at home in Brooklyn. He ran all the way from Brooklyn to Manhattan to get his daughter after watching the second plane hit from his roof.
They tried to stay in NY, but the fear for their growing family wore on them and they moved to California.
14
Mith
ID: 23217270 Mon, Sep 12, 2011, 14:36
I had delete my accout of how that day unfolded for me. I debated sharing it at first since my overexposure to 9/11 stuff the past week left me feeling like it was all a bit gratuitous for my taste. But I certainly didn't expect it to be used as a cheap shot against me or anyone else. I guess nothing is too shameless for some.
15
sarge33rd
ID: 318171211 Mon, Sep 12, 2011, 14:47
Sorry MITH, you felt it necessary to do so.
17
Perm Dude
ID: 5510572522 Mon, Sep 12, 2011, 15:15
t'was a good story.
18
Tree
ID: 41512710 Mon, Sep 12, 2011, 15:36
I debated sharing it at first since my overexposure to 9/11 stuff the past week left me feeling like it was all a bit gratuitous for my taste.
i think a lot of people who were in NYC at the time feel the same way. i sure do. my best friend, who now lives in florida, sure does. I spent yesterday on the patio of a popular mexican restaurant here, eating and drinking with friends, sharing laughs and good times, so i could spend most of my day away from TVs.
But I certainly didn't expect it to be used as a cheap shot against me or anyone else. I guess nothing is too shameless for some.
damned shame, but i can't say i'm shocked.
19
Boldwin
ID: 35615181 Mon, Sep 12, 2011, 15:40
damned shame, but i can't say i'm shocked. - Tree
Spoken by the guy who used my memories to accuse me of being a selfish bastard.
20
Tree
ID: 41512710 Mon, Sep 12, 2011, 16:17
Spoken by the guy who used my memories to accuse me of being a selfish bastard.
that would be great, but i didn't respond to your post 5 or 6 at all. nice way to make stuff up again.
21
Khahan
ID: 373143013 Mon, Sep 12, 2011, 16:27
MITH, glad I got to read it. It was good glimpse into you and reminds people like me who butt heads with you so often on these boards that we are more alike than anybody would ever guess from reading our discussions.
What does "never forget" really mean? All things fade from national consciousness a little bit as the years go by. Who can forget the Maine, I mean we were ordered to Remember the Maine, to hell with Spain! But every 2/15 I seemed to have forgotten.
These stories. The stories of people who died that day. The images of bodies plummeting hundreds of feet to the earth. The images of a twisted plane wreck in a Pa field. The heroes from NYPD and NYFD who risked their lives to save as many as they can.
And the extremists who brought these horrors to us. Because they are winning. As we see people still today who want to villianize a whole religion, in this country who has freedom of religion as a cornerstone of our founding. As we see our elected officials use the events of 9/11 to justify laws like the patriot act and actions like we see from the NSA.
People have forgotten what 9/11 was originally about - an attack on our way of life from a radical group who just can't accept anybody who doesn't think like them. It was an attack on a symbol. And we're still feeling it today.
Seattle Zen
ID: 3310162612 Wed, Sep 11, 2013, 17:40
I'd actually prefer that we never forget what was brought up here.
Police and fire officials pledged Monday to improve command procedures and communications as they released two reports examining emergency response in the wake of the World Trade Center attack.
The two reports were prepared by high-ranking department officials and management consultant McKinsey & Co., who together conducted dozens of interviews and reviewed hundreds of pages of computer records and hours of radio transmissions.
A lot of firemen and policemen died unnecessarily that day. Hopefully the lessons learned in that report are used and will prevent similar mistakes in the future.
These stories. The stories of people who died that day. The images of bodies plummeting hundreds of feet to the earth. The images of a twisted plane wreck in a Pa field. The heroes from NYPD and NYFD who risked their lives to save as many as they can.
i couldn't disagree more.
i wish i could forget the images and video that people feel is perfectly acceptable to repost on facebook, that media outlets feel is acceptable to play over and over again.
f.uck that.
i lived it. i was there. and i don't care to see it over and over and over again.
words are one thing. the stories of survival, the stories of pushing through, the stories of those who didn't make it.
but the images? they're seared into my brain, and i can never forget. i don't want, nor need, to see them replayed constantly in every possible media outlet.
I agree we shouldn't have them replayed constantly at every media outlet. And we don't need to dwell on them. But we shouldn't forget who those images and memories represent.
All joking aside, what bothers me about this thread is the stench of self-ritiousness. As if you are the only one who remembers, and we all have to be reminded.
So is that #35 directed specifically at Khahan, or at everyone who's shared their 9/11 thoughts in this thread? Trying to follow where you've pinpointed the appropriate line to be.
You are good chode. I'll let you know when you step out of line.
I didn't say khakan was inappropriate. I just personally was rubbed the wrong way. He should feel free to continue to annoy me however. I can take it. Just explaining my flippancy.