Where Were You Nine Years Ago?

reply to post by Calender


I was living in a coastal camp-ground at the time, going on a month or so. How it came to me being in that predicament is another story entirely. I had my things in a storage shed while homeless, so I wasn’t too bad-off. I maintained employment as well.

On the morning of 9-11-01 while I was getting my things ready to head-off to work, there was a couple sitting by their car listening to the news on the radio. They called over to me and asked if I was listening to the news. “An airplane hit the World Trade Center.” We sat for a short while listening to the broadcast.

I went to my tent and rolled everything up. I had been saving-up for the deposit on a rental. Instead, I paid for a month in advance at a motel close to my work. I called-in sick, then put the news on and got glued to it. I knew the moment I watched those buildings crumble that that was unreal. I built footings and foundations for a living most of my life. I was completely flattened, just like those towers.

It took every bit of my earnings to stay in that motel room, (I went without eating most days) until one day when a friend introduced me to a neighbor that was looking for a room-mate. So in short, I survived 9-11-01.

reply to post by Calender


I'll post what I had on the other thread that was closed.



I was getting ready for school. I believe I was in 6th Grade at the time. My dad was going through the channels when Breaking News appeared on one of the new's channels.

I ended up staying home and watching the new's with my family.

Was a really big eye opener for me at that age. I always thought that We, the US never would have any type of war, or attack on our soil. And always looked at things like we were safe.

But from that day I understand now, how little I knew.

I'm from Scotland but was on holiday in Florida and was sitting by the pool at a hotel in Daytona Beach.

My wife returned from the bar and said something was going on on the tv, so I went over to see what it was.

I knew right away it was big trouble.

I remember the radios going into meltdown going on about rag heads, and there was a panic buying of fuel. Prices went up but the radio was reporting which garages were hiking up the price and shaming them.

At the local Walmart the checkout woman started crying when we went through, she felt sorry for us stranded so far from home.

We got delayed about a week before being able to fly home. Didn't bother us as we had money and a car and the travel company paid for the hotel. Others were not so lucky. There were families with no money and there were angry scenes as they demanded to know what was happening. Didn't help that a tropical storm blew in the same week.

The oddest thing was when we arrived back in the UK it was like nothing had happened. There was no outward signs. In Florida everyone was going round with a stars and stripes on their car and from their homes. Everyone was consumed by the events. It was just so different.

I was at work. Oddly enough, originally I would have been flying into NYC that day, but my business trip was postponed, so I was in the office. Good thing too, or I would have been stranded there for days...

One of the employees heard about the plane hitting, on the radio, just after it happened. A bunch of us realized something important was going on, and jury-rigged a training TV (usually for training videos) to get a news channel in.

The second plane hit just minutes after we got the TV on. At first, we thought it was footage of the plane hitting, not realizing it was ANOTHER plane, until the news clarified.

Then it went from speculation of terrorism, to a sure thing. All I could think of was that this was the start of WWIII, and this was probably just one instance of a worldwide hit. Thank goodness those fears were unfounded.

As the day went on, more stories emerged, we saw the towers fall, and the confusion in the media seemed to go on for days. Seemed no network got the story straight, whether it was casualties, about the planes going down, etc.

Seeing those folks jump from the burning building....knowing how many died trying to get out, or those who died while trying to help others out...just tragic, and senseless...

I was in 7th grade living in Buffalo, NY at the time. I was in history class, when I looked on the computer and saw the photos of what was currently happening. Odd that I was in history class, while history was being made at that moment. At first I thought it was a joke or not real and did not fully comprehend what was going on. Not until I came home and was with my parents did I fully realize what was going on and that it was in fact real. My brother was supposed to have a meeting in the building right across from the towers, however his meeting was cancelled. It is such a blessing that that meeting was cancelled. Such a sad, sad day in our lives. 9/11 will always be remembered.

I was in 10th grade, middle of class. I don't really remember what we were doing. Another teacher knocked on the door and said something to our teacher, she went kinda silent and then left the room. When she came back she was pushing a tv. She put it in the middle of the room and said to the class "something has happened" and told us that if we don't get too distracted she will leave the tv on. Needless to say, when the 2nd plane hit there was no concentrating on class and she wasn't going to make us. Every classroom had a tv on that day. We all understood why the high schoolers were aware of what was happening as it unfolded, but when I got home I found uot that my little sister in elementary school had watched the same thing all day. She was crying and scared. She was 7. She shouldn't have been shown (especially with people jumping from the top of the towers and the news zooming in on it) that at school, it was her families place to tell her.