Reflection, 9/11 Where were you?

[DamionStJames Webb]

This is a question that's been asked of me alot, and now I'm asking you all. Where were you either when you heard the news or where you were at at 0 hour.



I was actually asleep at 0 hour. I had just quit my job the day before, and I was enjoying a good night's rest for once. I woke up around 10 am Pacific Standard time. At that time it was already 1am at Ground Zero. I walked out into the living-room, and my 14 year old sister was playing with the cats in the living room. I asked her:

"Why the hell aren't you in school?"
"Because of the bombing, they let us all out."
"Someone bombed St. Mary's Academy?" I asked, thinking someone had bombed St. Mary's All-girls academy in Portland. My sister looks at me like I'm a dumb ass and says.
"No because of the bombings in New York."
I didn't understand. "They let school out in Portland because of a bombing in New York? Did the President die or something?"
She grumbled and walked outside, where my mother was pulling up in the driveway. After my mother handed her some Mcdonalds, my mother apologizing that she didn't buy me anything cause she didn't think I'd be awake She broke the news to me.

I remember saying "How could anyone hijack 4 planes, let alone 1 with today's security? Someone had to be in on it, this has to be an inside job..."

But I sat down and I watched the horror unfold on every channel. Every channel pretty much was running footage of that day. And much like Dale Earnheart's death crash, they just played it over and over and over. I was mortified and horrified beyond belief, but I couldn't stop watching.

Since it'd be forever until my mother returned I walked to my local high school, where classes were on hold. Everyone was watching the news. I had just graduated that summer, so I wasn't a student, but I went to go and talk with the guidance councilors as I didn't know who to talk to.

Edited September 11, 2013 by Xoza
tagged / merged

[Cygna]

7th Grade, in the band hall. The director got a phonecall from his wife almost immediately after the first tower was hit. He told the rest of us at that time.

[Trevor Russell]

In my living room, studying with my mother in the 6th grade (I was homeschooled for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade). The phone rang, my mom stopped, got up, and walked over an picked it up. We had been reading aloud, so my studying was on hold for the time. She remained collected, but there was a note of seriousness in her voice as my grandmother broke the news. As soon as she got off the phone, she started calling Will, my brother (who was in class at Florida State University at the time). Because he was in class, he could not be reached. My mom was a little more distressed now. She called the school, and insisted that he be called out of class. She was tranferred to multiple people, all trying, almost frantically to get in contact with him (it was his first year out of the house). Finally, she got in contact; he already knew. She wanted him off campus, anywhere, but not on one of the largest campuses in the state, within view of the state capitol building. After she got off the phone, she came in, calmly (a fast transition from the fraught voice I had heard moments ago) and sat down. She informed me, in the most sensitive yet lifeless voice she could manage (she is a social worker, so she is good at this). The TV was not turned on the entire day, as protection.

[Achtai]

I was actually in bed at the time, I was sleeping in very late, at that time I didn't have a job, was suffering from depression.

My dad came into my room, he came home very early from work, and said to me something horrible happened. The first thing I actually thought was it my mother, since she has already started to have health difficulty back then.

I shot out of bed, and I remember asking him "is mom ok?" He told me that she was fine, and continued into his own room, to get changed..he said to me not long after that, that someone attacked New York.

I went into my living room, and sat down to watch the news...I cried as I watched the people jump out of the buildings..all I thought to myself was "why in the hell would someone do this?"

That day, was the first time I ever saw my dad cry, as we both continued to watch the TV. My mom was at work, and couldn't come home actually till the next day, so she took on a few of the other nurses shifts who left, who's loved ones where in the towers.

The rest of that day, my dad, my sister, and myself all stayed glued to the TV..

[Rei Kuhr]

I was sitting in class, dont remember which one. I was leaning over to talk to a friend about something and one of the teachers ran in and told my teacher to turn on tv. We watched literally as the second plane hit. The rest of the day, no classes were held. Instead class after class we sat and watched the news as the disaster unfolded.

[Gulliver Carpool]

I was in the middle of a fight over some meaningless shit with my then fiancee. We went at it all morning. Probably from 0 hour until about 1pm EST. She slammed the door and got in her car to drive off in a tizzy, and I turned on the TV which was permanently dialed on ESPN to check the pennant races. I did a double take when I realized I was watching ABC news. I turned the channel, more of the same. I sprinted out to her car and brought her in. We soon made provisions: Got cash, carton of smokes, and lots of gas and water. Then we watched and called family in NYC.

I don't think she and I ever even thought of whatever piddly shit I did to set her off that time again.

She wound up nailing both my best friend and thesis advisor.

I'm no longer with her.

[Vladimus Nikolaidis]

I had just gotten home from a 5 month routine deployment to Cuba and was on leave in Florida visiting my girlfriend.... she was at work, and I was sitting in Fort Lauderdale in the waiting room of some car detailing place getting my car washed. Watched the entire thing happen on live TV. It was less than 20 minutes before my phone rang and my vacation was over. Less than two days later I was sitting in New York harbor, guarding the USNS Comfort which was a Navy hospital ship brought in to assist. Today was the day that my life and the lives of most of my friends in the military were changed forever. We went from a peacetime military to a wartime military pretty much overnight, and nothing was ever the same again. Afghanistan, Iraq, and everything else we did from that point on all stemmed from 7 years ago today.

[Sazuka Yatsenko]

I was in the middle of of my anatomy class when my teachers' cell went off and he turned on the radio. At the time most of us thought maybe there was an accident on the highway or something until we heard it was in New York.

[Gunau Sodwind]

Sitting in 10th grade watching it on TV.

[Aryte]

8th grade. I was eating breakfast and turned on the news in time to watch the second plane hit the towers.

[Mith Wakowski]

Came home from school round 3 30-4 pm no clue when exactly, depends on when the second plane hit, cause I was just walking up the stairs shouting "I'm home" to my mom who then called from the bedroom and then the 2nd one hit.

[Cyphre Iredell]

Senior year of high school, ironically I was in Recent American History class, and the teacher turned on the TV as soon as we got into class and watched it as it happened; and for the rest of the period (our periods being 1.5 hours long). It was a very quiet period and a very somber day.

Though nothing changed as a direct result, other than stepping up security and going crazy if there was like a box sitting around for no reason.

[Lestat Umarov]

10th grade in high school. It was the beginning of the school year and I hadn't picked all my classes yet so I was sitting in the Auditorium waiting to sign up for some classes. A buddy of mine had a walkman radio and leaned over and said a plane hit the world trade center. I remember saying "That sucks, wonder how much it's gonna cost to fix." because at the time of the first plane people thought it was an accident and I figured it was a cesna or a small jet. I think we heard about the Pentagon getting his soon after so I went to go call my parents and tell them what happened. They turned on the tv and told me what was going on as I went back to the auditorium where they had a tv. I walked in right as the second plane hit and just kindof sat there dumbfounded. I couldn't believe what I had seen. I left school early that day on my own, without getting dismissed and went home. So the next couple day I mainly sat in front of the TV and read the newspaper for new information.

[Krow Ames]

Highschool.

[Hunter Abrams]

I ws sleeping... My dad ran downstairs and woke me while turning on my tv to CNN I stayed home watching the entire thing. I watched people fall out/jump out of the towers... The next day I bought a Newspaper and placed it in my safe.

[Mizar Korobase]

I was in 7th grade at the time, and had just woken up. I headed down to the dining room and decided to turn on the TV for some reason. It was very unusual as it was outside of my normal routine. The TV came on, and I was about to go to DVR when I noticed something significat was happening. The first plane had already hit the tower, and they were covering it.

I just watched, struck with awe as the whole thing unraveled infront of me. I watched the splitscreen of the pentagon and where it was hit, and I watched the second plane hit the twin tower. My departue to school was delayed as I stayed to watch everything unfold.

I watched people jump from the buildings, my mind numb the whole time and I watched the towers collapse. I didn't know what to think, but it was time for school and I needed to leave.

At school the principal mentioned what had happened, but everyone was already talking about it. There were a number of tasteless jokes being passed around, but myself even as a 7th grader understood the graveness of the situation - we had been attacked on our own soil by terrorists, and many american lives has been lost. I knew we would remember this day like our grandparents would remember the bombing of Peral Harbour.

[Jester Spearmann]

no idea where I was

[Xang Xiao]

Germany, I was about to get off work.

[Aelus]

I was in my seventh grade US history class. The teacher was a pompous bitch.

[Aeriese Descenna]

I was visiting my mom when It happened. She was watching tv in her room and called me in when the first plane hit

[Cheeso Szydlowska]

I was walking down the hall of my junior high, and overheard a few people talking about bombings and planes hitting things, didn't pay it much mind. I walked into my first class of the day, history I think, and the teacher was sitting in his desk, not saying anything.

The bell rang, and class started, nothing seemed out of place. Then the teacher got up, turned on the TV in the front of the room, then slowly walked back to his desk. We sat there in silence for about an hour, then got dismissed and sent home, to watch the same 4 clips of the planes hitting for about 4 hours until the first tower fell. Then the second, I kind of mind blanked, having no idea what was really going on. I barely remember the rest of that day, except for the almost 'convoy' that drove past my house. A bunch of rednecks and locals chanting "nuke 'em! nuke 'em!".

[Akurei Sieyes]

Sleeping after a long night shift....

My stupid roomates didn't bother to wake me up while they were watching it. e_e

"Oh we didn't want to bother you."

....... thanks guys.

[Kristian]

At our parliament building in The Hague. No one was allowed to leave or enter the building .The hague was on a lock down. I was stuck in the dutch parliament building for 4 hours.

[Inoue Katsu]

Was at work, getting informed about something happening through IRC that i had open by coincidence, then went downstairs to the lunch room and watched the tv like 10 minutes before the 2nd plane hit

[Guest PADI321 Arida]

Like seroiusly...... all jokes aside i was in the bathroom and heard "this is an important annoucment. A T (whatever) plane has crashed into one of the Twin tower building..... (again all jokes aside) i pissed on my foot to run outside and watch what happend because my first thought was "OH FUCK MY DAD IS 3 BLOCKS AWAY FROM THAT" thankfully he didnt get hurt because they went into this huge fucking basment they have in his basement but yeh.... I hated that day. :[