Where were you on 9/11

[DebbieM]

As the 6th aniversary approaches I thought it would be a good idea to reflect and remember that dreadful, dreadful day.

So where were you?

I can remember very clearly as I'm sure everyone else will -I was at work at RAC. The building I worked in, housed the DAFaid call center which because of the open plan designed meant that my desk was constantly bathed in the chatter of busy voices. My boss called me at around 14.30 to tell me that a plane had hit the twin towers - I was the first person to break the news to an office of around 500 people.

Frantically trying to get on the Internet to find out more information was impossible as everyone else was trying to do the same.

Over the next hour the events started revealing themselves - TV's started appearing as people went home and brought them back and the phones slowly but surely stopped ringing. By 16.00 the calls had dropped to a point where the office was almost silent with the only sound being that of the TV footage which kept replaying the vision of the two planes ploughing into the WTC's. I remember everyone was just in complete shock, the silence was deafening.

The directors of my business unit were standing side by side call centre operators in tears - we all became equals that day.

The next day it was business as usual but for a couple of hours on September 11 our world stood still as we watched the unbelievable, the unimaginable and the death of so many innocent people.

Debs

[kirtida8]

I was driving home from work when I heard the news over the radio. I couldn't believe my ears and rushed home to my dad watching the coverage on Sky News. We were all transfixed by those images and watched the coverage with tears freely flowing.
The next day I went to work at Heathrow's Terminal 3 - where both UA and AA fly from. There were UA staff on the bus from the staff carpark, and everyone was consoling each other and tears continued to flow. Anyone who has flown from Heathrow, Knows that it is usually a hive of activity and alive with voices - not this day. The whole place was as quiet as a graveyard - even all the people who had been stranded by the grounding of all flights to the US, just stood quietly in line watching the TV screens for news from ground zero.
Even now, just thinking about that day brings a lump to my throat. Heathrow marks the day with 2 mins silence each year, I don't remember ever having that over here - although I still do it.

[DEE F]

Hi Debbie,we were actually out here on holiday as my daughter was being married on the 12th Sept !!!Her wedding was planned for 11am on the morning of the 12th,but we didnt get to find out till midnight of the 11th whether or not she could go ahead with the plans,we then got a phone call sayin it was on,but during the day of the 11th it was absolutely surreal,the blowing up of the towers had put everything into perspective and we spent all day watching coverage of it in the villa,Carl ahd watched it all live and came running in the bedroom to tell me what had happened,none of us could believe it,in fact at one stage I thought he was watching a disaster movie,needless to say the whole thing for my daughter which should have been a wonderful experience for her turned into a nightmare,it was like a ghost town all you could here was the sound of car horns and people driving around flying the stars and stripes out the car windows,certainly a day we will never forget,still find it unbelievable.


Dee x

[kirsty41]

I was in the school playground, waiting for my kids to come out, Theo my youngest 14 months old and I got a call from my husband. He was at work and I just could not understand what he was telling me, the news was just too big and unbelievable.

I have a Muslim friend who can nolonger wear her traditional dress because she feels threatened. She told me that in Chicago, someone tried to rip her scarf off. Needless to say she would rather be living in her home country, Egypt.

[Kriz1]

I was watching a news report about a terrorist in court just across from the towers...you heard the crash on tape and started to see the people running up the road...I came out to the PC to see if I could find out what had happened...it said a plane had hit the tower...then that report was removed...the guy was chatting to a nurse by then on the TV report who was going home to get some things to come back and help..the nurse was covered in white dust...the report was then pulled...and for about 20 mins there was nothing on the TV or online....

[twen]

HI there,

I was sitting in my office when we heard the news....at first we could not beleive wat we were hearing and there was just the silence around the office then reality sets in and we were watching it on TV. Never has a day gone by that I have not remembered that day and the following days.

My thoughts and prayers go to everyone on the 5th Anniversary.

Wendy :hug:

[telco]

Isn't it the 6th anniversary??? The 5th was last year

[DebbieM]

You are right Telco - it is 6 years, how time flies, I'll amend the original posting.

D

[byjove]

We too were here on holiday, our friend we were staying with goofed off for the day and we were all going to universal, the kids were in the pool swimming and we were drinking our coffee. As soon as the second plane hit our friend said this was not an accident this was organised, and as we were just down the road from nasa, there was an eliment of fear from us all. We just sat watching tv all day, waiting for more news. But what really broke my heart was a week later we were sitting on a plane ready to take off when my son 5 at the time asked "do these pilots love America mummy?" I said ""yes, hun, why?" he settled back into his seat and said "thats good, coz then they wont crash this plane into a building!" With this I broke down, you really dont relize how much the munchkins take in and I became much more aware of what WE watched. And every time we saw a building that was in dis-repair he asked if it had been hit by a plane. I feel the events of 9/11 go much deeper and will be held for longer in the hearts of our children.

[telco]

Time sure does fly.

I was in Northern California that day, should have flown back to UK on the 12th. But got stranded in USA until 19th. No thanks to BA!!

Sure was a surreal day, and strange ride (was on a Harley Vacation) back to San Francisco. seeing the Galaxy Nuke bombers flying up and out of Travis AFB was a worrying sight too!
Will never forget it, nor the fact some of my business aquaintances were in WTC 1 (but survived thank god)

Jim

[SHEILA 13]

I was at home in the Uk on my own,just come in switched the tv on ,clicked the kettle on ,I couldnt believe my eyes or ears !!!!
It was like a disaster movie,my heart was pounding and I was numb with the shock just watching it all unfold,it still makes me shiver whenever I think of all those innocent lifes lost and how all the people left behind have been effected.

[lxh11]

I was here in Orlando in my office with TV on, husband called to say, "did you hear about the plane crashing into the WTC", I thought it was one of his silly jokes, and as I sat back in my chair, I glanced over at my TV and saw the 2nd plane hit.

Everything stopped, we have huge TVs everywhere and people were just crowded round, within 2 hours, all the parks were on lock down and everyone moved out, and we were on high alert.

I still have the shirt I was wearing that day in my closet, it has a coffee stain on it that never came out, and I've never worn it again, but I still keep it for some reason.

I manned the phone banks for Disney on the night they did a telethon - it was an odd experience.

Soon after Disney installed military check-points in the back stage area - I hate driving over them every single time, I'm always waiting to get hurtled 50ft into the air!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Liz

[peter gold]

I have just returned from NY and seen the evidence first hand so I don't need a reminder.

[Cassie]

I was holed up in a hotel near Gatwick doing interviews all day. My Husband called on my dodgy reception mobile phone and said the twin towers had gone and I thought he meant Wembly ? When he explained, I ventured out of the interviewing room and the whole hotel had become ghostly quiet with everyone crowded round the tv......6 weeks later we were in NY for a wedding that had been booked for months and walking through the streets which were still caked in rubble/dust it was a very solomn time. As we walked through Time Square Americans kept coming up to us shaking our hands and thanking us for coming.

[Susie]

Remember it as if it was yesterday,

Walking past the TV in the USA I saw the report of the first plane hillting, for a moment thought it was a trailer for some film or the other, I then reliased that this was real and live TV when I saw the second plane hit

Terrible, just terrible, have no words to describe how I felt

[OberonSH]

I was at work in a tower block, my then boyfriend called me to tell me about the first place, so I got on the news websites to see what was going on, and got the office junior to turn the radio on. I rememeber stopping at the fish shop on the way home, and that was all that was playing on te TV. Horrific.

[TeaPot]

Was at work in our shop - I remember getting a telephone call from Mr TP around 3 pm - he was in a customers house and was at that point sitting in their Lounge with them watching the events unfold on the TV.

I will never forget that day. It affected us both terribly, we went to Grosvenor Square to the Embassy to take flowers and we also signed the book of condolence.

Then the following Spring we went as a family to visit New York as a way of showing our solidarity with the USA and its people, and to show that we were not afraid of travelling.

I particularly remember all the Stars and Stripes flags everywhere, and also banners thanking people for coming to visit their City.

[sparkin]

I was attending a sales meeting in Londonderry NH when one of my colleagues came into the boardroom and said that a plane had crashed into the WTC. We switched on the TV only to witness the second plane hit the building, needless to say the meeting didn't go ahead. One of our Boston associates lost her daughter (a flight attendant) on the AA flight. A terrible tragedy which I hope will never happen again in any country.

[reecey]

I still remember it like yesterday, very pregnant with Reece and turned on TV, my first thoughts were utter disbelief,