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I worked for a company in NJ with a beautiful view of the skyline. In those days I was a smoker, outside for a smoke, when I saw the first plane hit. I was dumbstruck. Another friend came out and told me about the plane and we watched until the towers went down.
My neighbor worked 5 blocks away and finally made it home to northern NJ at 10:00 that evening.
My cousin, lived in Hoboken, missed his train because he decided it was such a nice day he would have another cup of coffee. That train pulled into the World Trade Center just before the attack.
I worked for a company in NJ with a beautiful view of the skyline. In those days I was a smoker, outside for a smoke, when I saw the first plane hit. I was dumbstruck. Another friend came out and told me about the plane and we watched until the towers went down.
My neighbor worked 5 blocks away and finally made it home to northern NJ at 10:00 that evening.
My cousin, lived in Hoboken, missed his train because he decided it was such a nice day he would have another cup of coffee. That train pulled into the World Trade Center just before the attack.
I've heard that a lot of people were saved that day by playing hookie, taking their time getting to work, etc., due to it being such a beautiful day.Far fewer people were in the towers than was expected.
nothing exciting for me. i was working a 7p-7a (cst) shift, had just got off and as i did every day, went home, kissed my wife as she was headed out the door to her job, and went to bed. i was maybe asleep 20 minutes when my phone started ringing and it took a couple of dozen rings before it finally woke me up. it was my wife telling me a plane had just hit the world trade center. my first thought was "well that pilot was a dumb@ss, big deal, i'm in the middle of sleeping after a 12 hr shift, i'm tired, i'll read about it in the paper at work tonight." "no", she says, you should turn on the tv and look, it looks pretty bad."
ok, so i was getting a little annoyed, but i could tell by her voice that she was serious, so i turned on the tv and it wasn't 30 seconds into looking at the tv that the second plane hit. that was the end of any chance i was getting any sleep that day, i was glued to the tv the rest of the day. it wasn't a pleasant day, it wasn't a pleasant night at work that night, i think i ended up going about 60 hours straight without sleep, between work and news coverage.
At home, a friend called me & told me to turn on the TV news right away. I saw the 2nd plane hit live and the newscaster turned around and saw it and just fell apart.
How do you believe it has changed? From where I sit, the pro-America, Damn-everyone-else screeds have become more frequent since 9/11, not less frequent.
First- I wanted to let you know I am a patriotic person and a USN Navy Veteran. The reason I felt this was important is to let you know I am not some unpatriotic individual but an actual us citizen who did serve his or her country
For a while the country seemed more united- Like in the post I remember going to get a flag and the store had such a demand for us flags they had to backorder.
I remember people in my workplace would wear flags on their clothes and hang patriotic pictures of the events that had unolded before our eyes during the months after the attacks.
There was certainly a common ground a brotherhood so to speak of patriotic measures. Congress and the U.S. Senate agreed on measures and even quickly passed laws that eventually divided us better known as the patriot act.
I remember alot of the stores would sell merchandise with flags and patriotic images.
First- I wanted to let you know I am a patriotic person and a USN Navy Veteran. The reason I felt this was important is to let you know I am not some unpatriotic individual but an actual us citizen who did serve his or her country
For a while the country seemed more united- Like in the post I remember going to get a flag and the store had such a demand for us flags they had to backorder.
I remember people in my workplace would wear flags on their clothes and hang patriotic pictures of the events that had unolded before our eyes during the months after the attacks.
There was certainly a common ground a brotherhood so to speak of patriotic measures. Congress and the U.S. Senate agreed on measures and even quickly passed laws that eventually divided us better known as the patriot act.
I remember alot of the stores would sell merchandise with flags and patriotic images.
we just seemed in sync as a country.
No matter what part of the country we were from, or where we happened to live, we were all New Yorkers then.
Driving past National Airport and the Pentagon into DC in my convertible when the planes hit the towers. Was in my office for a bit then headed back out of DC only to see the Pentagon on fire. Stood in my backyard waching for the other hijacked planes they said were on the way to DC.
I was living in NYC at the time with my late grandfather. Earlier that morning my boss called and told me I was allowed to close the office so I could come in late. I was working in midtown at the time. It was a beautiful gorgeous day. As I was dressing I was listening to Z100.3. I remember clearly the gold dress I had laid out and I just spritzed on Lancome Miracle perfume. The dj came on to say that a plane had hit the first tower. Being a New Yorker and lived all my life in NY it was not rare for a plane to hit the Twin Towers. Small planes were notorious for hitting the atenna and people surviving. I did not think much as I dressed until the news came back that it was on fire. I ran to the tv and was shocked to see the tower on fire. I watched the second plane hit and my first instinct was to call my cousin who worked as a manager for a retail store in the Twin Towers. The phone lines were dead. I got dressed and changed into jeans and a shirt. I managed to get through to my boss and told her the news, but the phone kept clicking. I told her it was serious and to leave the city. The phone went dead.
I remember running down to the Williamsburg Bridge and when I reached Broadway there were so many people out on the streets crying from Hasidic Jews to Puerto Ricans to Homeless people all running torwards the bridge. There were so many fire trucks, EMT and other emergency vehicles going torwards Manhattan, not stopping just a steady stream. My uncle who is a Firefighter was on one of those trucks. I made it to the bus plaza at the foot of the Williamsburg Bridge. It was a spectacle. The traffic was at a complete stand still and when the first Tower fell people got out of their cars and ran. A black woman who was near me passed out and me and some other guy helped her up. When we got her in our arms, she was crying how this world was ending and kept praying.
My cell phone buzzed it was my cousin screaming that our Uncle was down there and that my other cousin was trapped on the Manhattan Bridge watching everything unfold. She was on the train on her way into work but she was lucky that her train came to a dead stop when the first plane hit the tower. The conductor was in shock and told everybody to start moving away from the windows in case of a massive explosion. The original cousin who called was freaking out because she had an interview that morning in the second Tower. Then the phone went dead again.
I watched the second Tower fall and sat on a park bench in disbelief. I walked back to my grandfathers house to wait for a phone call to say that my uncle had died, along with my cousin and friends who worked in the Towers.
It was the longest 48 hours of my life. The first night you could hear the sonic boom of the fighter jets flying over head several times. The second day we some how went into work and on the trains that were working there was an eerie silence. Everyone had their heads in newspapers and did not say a word. If you did say something it was Excuse Me? Can I help you miss? Would you like this seat? When I got to Midtown there was military on the street and the streets were empty like that Will Smith movie where he is all alone in NYC.
The second night my cousin called to tell me he was ok! He did not open the store that day and that he only lost one staff member who must have went to help people. My other family contacted me to tell me my Uncle was alive but he lost many of his firefighting comrades. My cousin who was trapped on the train walked the tracks with many other Ny'ers and walked all the way home along with thousands of NY'ers who were weeping and crying.
My Aunt who lives in Red Hook recalls how the breeze carried thousands of bits of paper, and scraps of clothing her way. She went down to the docks to watch it unfold in disbelief.
A few months later I went on a date to a restaurant downtown literally a several blocks away from the Twin Towers. I could see all the lights down the street and when our date ended we drove by and it was massive pile of rubble and skeleton remains of a buildings that once were. I remember the smell. It was awful and I felt horrible for those who worked day and night to retrieve the remains of those who lost their lives.
Every anniversary that comes around I cannot bear to watch the news or anything related to 9-11. It hurts too much and the image will always be etched in my mind. Although I was bless with my relatives survival, I think of the many that perished and their heartbroken families. It is a tragedy no matter how you explain it, I will never understand.
For the families that have losted their love ones in the Towers, Flight 93 and the Pentagon my heart and thoughts will always be with you on 9-11. For all others who watched all over the world not just in America, who felt our pains and worries, my heart thanks you for your support and words of comfort.
My cousin, lived in Hoboken, missed his train because he decided it was such a nice day he would have another cup of coffee.
Quote:
Originally Posted by califorlorn
I've heard that a lot of people were saved that day by playing hookie, taking their time getting to work, etc., due to it being such a beautiful day.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOriginalMrsX
It was a beautiful gorgeous day.
I was living in Budd Lake, New Jersey, about 45 miles west of New York City, in the foothills of the Appalachians not far from the Delaware River.
I, too, remember it was one of those perfect, gorgeous days when the brilliant blue sky had no clouds, the air was warm but the humidity was low. 'One of the most beautiful days of year' a friend would say.
Because I didn't have to work that day I was doing a load of laundry. The phone rang. It was my brother from Florida. He said something terrible had happened ... turn on the TV. I was embarrassed because my TV broke a few days before and I was meaning to buy a new one. I drove to a local restaurant where everyone was glued to the TV. After lunch I drove to Watchung Mountain near Plainfield because of the magnificent view of the NY skyline from there, but the cops kept everyone moving so I couldn't stay long (hundreds of other people had the same idea as I).
Finally, I drove to Jersey City to the multistory public parking garage in Journal Square and parked on the top (the 8th) floor I think. This was just a mile or two away from Ground Zero on the other side of the Hudson River! Before me was the columns of smoke and all the pandemonium ... ferries of people crossing the Hudson, the sirens, etc. I shall not forget that day.
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