9/11

[Emily Mitchell]

Five year anniversary.

I can't believe it has been so long.


Sad day.

[IsaP]

So.. they say after every major tragedy that you never forget where you were that day.. it will forever be etched in your mind..

Like Challenger.. I was in class, and we decided that we were going to watch the shuttle launch, but we'd be late because we had a test. When the TV came on, President Regan (yes.. I'm old.. I know) came on and kept talking and talking. I just remember thinking, "We made it! But why is he talking so long? Why don't they just launch the shuttle??"
When they showed the picture to the explosion, it was barely comprehendable.

So.. where were you when you heard? I was at home, sleeping before having to go to the night shift at my new (ish.. still on probation at that time) job. This is even before I got my first cat, and I was living alone in a nice apartment in Covington. My mom woke me up and said, "Turn on your TV. Someone just flew a plane into the WTC. The first one is gone."

I answered with, "You're kidding, right?"

I remember that whole day afterward. Listening to the radio at work.. watching the other tower fall.. worrying that other places may be next.

The whole day is clearly etched in my memory.

My landlady's comment, "You think it was depressing in North Carolina. It was WAY worse when you were RIGHT THERE."

My response, "Just because I was in GEORGIA, doesn't mean I wasn't right there. We were all right there. No matter where it happened, it was all our country."

[Becca Banner]

I was walking into my fourth period Algrebra 2 class, wondering how my teacher was going to punish me for not having my homework, when I saw the TV on and no teacher in sight. The girls were crying and the boys were stunned. We sat and watched as the second plane went into the second tower. My teacher ran and in and turned off the television, under orders from the principle. There was an announcement over the loud speaker that a help center for agrieved students was being set up in the cafeteria. We didn't do any math that day. Later, at vocational, we had a huge American flag painted on the wall in the hallway. I remember standing there, staring at it, in stunned disbelief. At home I was trying to find out what happened to my father, who works in DC, then making the calls to the relatives. Dad didn't come home for three days. He works in a hospital as a respiratory therapist (sp?), a lung doctor, in DC, he was taking care of many of the victims of the plane that hit the Pentagon. That night I staid awake all night in my then boyfriend's arms, because if I closed my eyes, I'd see the plane hitting the tower again and again. Its a day I'll never forget.

[Jolene Danner]

I was listening to the radio doing Laundry at work. It was crazy. It was the first time in 10 years that the U of MN cancelled classes. We had a lot of students from NY. Every class after Noon was cancelled. The first time i saw it My friedn and I were walking through the student union and i saw it on one of the big TVs that they have in a lounge there. My advisor was from NY and he had family that worked in the tower, but weren't there that day for whatever reason.

[Emily Mitchell]

I was a freshman in high school and dating a guy in the JROTC, during class change he saw me and said something about terrorists and planes. Of course, I had no idea what he was talking about and just blew it off as some ROTC thing.

But then, I walked into my next class and the TV was on- everyone was gathered around it, and no one was speaking. I remember watching the second plane hit. I get chills just thinking about it again. Everyone was so sad, people in my class started crying...

I don't even remember the rest of the day, too much shock. I think they made us go to all our other classes, but no one did anything except watch the news all day long.

[Mallory Claire]

I just remember I was only 13, had only a vague understanding of what the towers were, and walking into my parents' bedroom just as the second plane hit. My dad was freaking out, talking about what a huge deal this was, calling our relatives exclaiming about it, and I just didn't understand.

I was as far away as you could be in the country, but people were still hysterical at school. "Did you hear?! A fourth plane bound for L.A. has gone missing! They're heading for a west coast attack!" The Ontario Mills Mall, which is right next to the Ontario Airport, was pretty much shut down. No one wanted to go anywhere near that airport. Hearing a secretary cry over the PA system during an announcement was pretty sobering, too.

Opinions regarding this event and those connected are all Humpty Dumpty these days (fragmented, that is), but one thing we can all share is that it was a day in our lives, and I don't think anyone will soon forget that fateful morning, for better or worse.

[Ronda Figal]

I was visiting my mum in Southern California and remember walking out to the iving room(had jsut got up) and mum and dad were liked glued to the tv..then my dad said "this is real, its happing right now" about that time tthe second plane flew into the towers....talk about total shock....

[Sarah Chase]

My story is similar to Mallory's. I was only 11, and had never even heard of the World Trade Center before that day. When I got to school, everyone was talking about it, and one of the more outspoken teachers was swearing up a storm as she passed us to go up to her room. My parents were in front of the news all morning, I think my mom was crying, and I saw the replays of each tower going down in a cloud of smoke and dust. I didn't understand, and it might sound kind of horrible but I just felt really detached. I'd never had a pet or friend or relative pass away yet in my lifetime so maybe I just wasn't familiar with the emotions death brings up.

And correction, Mal, *I* am in the furthest away part of the country (:P). But yeah, life has not and never will be the same since 9/11. May those lives lost rest in peace, and may those whose lives were affected find or continue to find inner peace.

[The Steward]

We have a hero in our midst that we must remember, too. Bob Oliva, who lives in New Jersey and works in New York, spent something like 70 straight hours away trying to restore phone service back to the devastated area. He didn't go home or sleep, just worked and worked and worked and when the phone lines were restored, finally went home.

[Krystle Yanagihara]

And correction, Mal, *I* am in the furthest away part of the country (:P).

I have to say that too. We are actually the furthest away from any part of the country. I was in 8th grade that day. All day long we watched news, and my social studies teacher told us about the consequences and repercussions that were going to happen because of it, to help us get a better understanding of how greatly this impacted our country. I remember being worried because my friend was on a plane that day for her trip but she was fine.

[AlyseSchuver]

I was a freshman in highschool, and we were about the take a math test, when the principle came on and was like "Teachers, there is a situation in New York, you may turn on your Tvs" My first thought was, Who cares about New York? Of course, no math test, we watched right before the plane crashed into the Pentagon, I actually heard about the Towers afterward. I was freaking out because my dad was supposed to fly into NYC that day, but his plane was cancelled. I lived in NJ when I was younger, and have been to the Towers many times, up to a month before it happened, and the Towers where always my favorite stop, after I heard about the first bombing attempt as a little girl. They always seemed to strong.

I had a teacher as a senior that always allowed us to have our phones on in class, against policy. Someone finally asked her why she let us have them, and she said that a girl in her class got a phone call from her father, who was on one of the planes. She was able to talk to him right as the plane went down.

It hit my family hard. My mom used to work in the Towers, and my dad now works in One Liberty Plaza. My father lost his job as his company went under (they insured all the companies in WTC), but at least we are all safe. Prayers to the families still grieving.

[Nikki Everdeen]

I was in my English class, and I remember everyone being extremely angry, because after the announcement, our teacher kept right on teaching. It's one of those things that when you hear about it, you definitely want to talk about it, and find out what's going on. We certainly couldn't concentrate on English, that's for sure.

One of my family members worked in the WTC until VERY shortly before 9/11, so I wasn't all too happy until I could get ahold of someone to find out what was going on.