What were you doing 8 years ago? (war, bomb, Washington, president)

[zz4guy]

What were you doing at the time the World Trade Center was attacked 8 years ago? Today is the 8th anniversary.

I was coming home from a college class when I heard the news on the radio. All radio stations, even the FM music stations, were carrying live coverage all day. After I got home I stood in front of the TV watching live coverage of people jumping/falling out of the buildings and then saw them both collapse. Unbelievable.

[jtur88]

My neighbor came over and told me to turn on the TV. A couple of minutes later, I watched the live picture of the plane flying into the second tower, I went to the bank and withdrew $5,000 in cash.

By the end of the day I had learned several things that stick in my mind, which very little has ever been remarked about since.

1. The employees in the building started to head for the elevators and stairwells, but they were told by their bosses that everything is under control, go back to their cubicles. Had they been allowed to evacuate, the death tolll would have been near zero.

2. The upper third of the towers were not built to code. due to cost overuns.

3. The media were unable to find a single person to talk to, who had actually seen a plane crash into the Pentagon, even though the crash site would have been clearly in view of thousands of commuters driving to work.

By the way, what ever happened to Ashleigh Banfield? Her street coverage for NBC was one of the finest, coolest, most professional jobs I've ever seen from an on-the-scene reporter winging a developing story. Having done that job, I know quality when I see it. I understand she was fired from NBC for her failure to stenographically report the Iraq war in lock step. I think she's now safely hidden away on Court TV where she can't do much journalistic boat-rocking.

[kemcnyc]

I was working in Midtown NYC watching everything unfold on television. (My work has televisions hanging on the walls). The first plane had already hit. There was some concern, but everyone basically assumed it was a small plane hitting the building by mistake.

After the 2nd plane hit.... the mood immediately changed to horror and we all knew something was very wrong. I am actually getting chills writing about it.

[mwruckman]

I was living and working in Gaithersburg MD a town about 20 miles NW of Washington. I watched on TV the burning North tower of World Trade Center just before I went to work at 9 am which was about 3 miles from my home. The weather here like in NYC was bright and sunny. By midmorning after the other attacks and a report of another plane heading our way, our company President decided to close up shop and told us all to go home. At this time we heard a very loud jet plane fly over which I just caught a glimpse, I thought it was a F-16. My thought was this guy was going to blow that plane heading our way out of the sky. On the way home a pair of Cobra attack helicopters flew over at nearly tree top level. This is not normal even in the DC area. I took a back road home because I though the local Interstate I-270 would be jammed with traffic trying to get out of DC. After I got home, The TV showed what looked like an evacuation out of downtown DC along with reports of possible car and truck bombs along with the black column of smoke from the Pentagon.

[Chickrae]

Watched it on tv at work. Someone had a tv. I remember that year well. I got divorced a month later too.

[Rakin]

What was amazing living near DFW Airport was watching them bring in the planes 7 runways at a time. Not sure where they stacked all those planes.

And then for the next week there was not a plane in the sky, very unusual for one of the worlds largest airports.

[kevxu]

I was living in a small village in Cyprus, and I never watched daytime TV as it was only talk shows in Greek. There was an English couple on my street. The husband appeared to be developing Alzheimers, and when he walked the dog his greetings and conversation were often quite bizarre. As he passed that day he began excitedly babbling about wars, New York being bombed, and so on. I assumed that he must be caught up in some fantasy...but when I went into the house, I though, "Well, let's see if I can find out what this is really about, if anything." I turned on the TV to see one tower billowing smoke and in a few minutes a plane go crashing into the other. Except to go to the bathroom I didn't leave the TV until the collapse.

Not knowing who had done this, I could only think that there might be a nuclear retaliation on some country...and who knows what would follow that.

[Hengist]

I was asleep having a nap and heard about it when waking and switching on the radio. Went downstairs and switched on the telly. Must have still been tired because I can't remember if the second tower had been hit yet, just remember seeing that clip of the collision over and over and over and over again. It was like a weird dream. The commentators were totally clueless. Later went online to talk to American friends on a message board, but remember being unable to log on due to traffic.

[Chava61]

I was getting ready to go to work in Manhattan. I got a call from overseas from someone who was watching CNN. They told me to turn on the TV, but wouldn't tell me why. All they said was that something was happening in NYC but I wouldn't believe them if they told me. So I turned on the TV and saw the first tower burning. After that I saw the 2nd plane hit the 2nd tower and later on the collapse of one tower and then the other tower.
Since I didn't have cable TV, after that I was only able to get reception on the CBS channel. Also I couldn't make any phone calls to Manhattan or New Jersey.
Needless to say, I never left my apt. for work that day.

[dkf747]

I was driving to Gallaudet University. I got there just before the Pentagon was hit.

I watched MSNBC's replay of that morning and witnesses were reporting it was a planeithin minutes of it happening.