Nine Years Ago Today

#1

It’s amazing what sort of minor details you remember in a situation like that…

I was sitting in Math class when the phone rang. My teacher had a bad habit of being so engrossed in what she was doing that if there was a sudden noise, like a ringing phone or a door slamming, she’d nearly jump out of her shoes. She didn’t that time, and there was a lot of ribbing congratulations from the students. She answered the phone and said “Oh my god!” and then walked quickly out the door.

We didn’t know what to think of it, maybe something had happened elsewhere in the school, or there was some family emergency. Eventually curiosity got the better of some of us and we filtered into the next room where a cluster of students and teachers were gathered around a finicky, staticky old analog TV set…The only one they could dredge up on short notice. The budget at this particular school at that time wasn’t that great. One of the world trade center towers was burning. To get a better signal, some of us took turns standing behind it with a clothes hanger. I remember thinking, at first, that it was some kind of freak accident. I kept recalling the bomber that had run into the Empire State Building back in the 1940’s.

Then the second plane hit.

The rest of the day was spent in a gaggle of other students and teachers just watching the news.

Though the first real sense that ‘the times, they are a’changing’ happened about a week later. I lived, and still currently do, in Richmond, VA. And we’d often go up around DC to sightsee or to do some shopping. It was on one of these little excursions that we had a flight of F-16s buzz over our heads at low altitude when we were walking in a parking lot, in an obvious CAP pattern.

#2

So I suppose you should GTFO a thread about it, then.

But yeah, I was in my 5th grade classroom, we just walked in, and my teacher is there with the radio on saying something horrible has happened. She was a strange bitch, so she told us all what happened up front, scaring lots of kids.

The school slowly descended into chaos. Custodians rushed to take the flag down outside so we weren’t a target and teachers shut their blinds so the terrorists couldn’t see there were children in the building. Yeah, don’t ask.

I do remember hearing ambulances, police cars, and fire trucks speeding towards the city since there was a shortage there.

At some point the entire upper floor was herded into a single room and we began to watch the Recess movie, but then that was shut because it had a villain. So we watched Old Yeller instead or some shit. I was able to sneak out and catch a glimpse of the TV some teachers were watching and saw the towers on fire.

They let us out early that day, so my dad took me home and, along with my mother, we watched the events follow through, including the collapse of both towers.

EDIT:

Yeah, thousands of people dying in an open attack on US soil isn’t that big of a deal, anyway.

#3

I remember I was in the 4th grade. I was a dumb shit and didn’t know what the twin towers were so I really didn’t care when we watched the news in class. I thought it was just another stupid coverage of something blow out of proportions. Then the second plane hit on news. That’s when it hit me. Pretty sad shit went down on that day.

#4

I was in 5th grade then, living in charleston SC. I remember hearing something about planes crashing while in the lunch line, and then a vague intercom announcement asking for a moment of silence for “all the people who died in new york today.” then we all went home early and i went to my friends house where his folks were glued to the news coverage. I saw the footage of people jumping out of the windows and shat bricks

#5

The douchbaggery will stop now. If you feel the need, feel free to discuss political issues elsewhere. Lets keep this thread as a simple remembrance of what happened and how it affected our lives.

Flicks and thumps will happen from here on out for folks that are unable to comprehend my meaning.

#6

I remember where I was when it happened. I was home begrudging the fact that I couldn’t find a job and generally feeling sorry for myself when I flipped over to the news. I didn’t have the sound up (“mute” is the best button on the remote, by the way).

There was a newscaster on TV. They cut to the WTC. I saw the plane hit the building. My first thought was one that Bush would later claim, “My god, this is a horrible accident.”

I turned up the sound and the newscaster was saying that a passenger airliner had hit the building. While the newscast was going, they had live feed from the WTC in the inset and I watched, live, as the second plane hit the other tower. The newscaster didn’t react at first to what happened live on the inset, continuing the report until he put a finger to his ear and stopped midsentence.

“I have just been informed that…Oh my god…this is…this is…” These words still ring in my ears today and then they cut to a replay of what I had just seen. The newscaster couldn’t speak.

I turned off the TV, dumbfounded for a bit.

I turned it on a bit later and saw the words “WTC Tower Collapsed” on the screen. I turned the TV off again and curled into a ball.

It wasn’t until several days later that I found out both towers had collapsed, a plane had struck the Pentagon, and a fourth crashed in Pennsylvania.

To this day, I am horrified of what happened. And a bit guilty for bemoaning my fate at the time.

#7

I was sitting in class at the time, I remember it as clear as day despite being so young at the time.

As I said, I was sitting in class when the school councilor walked in to explain what was going on, and said for me to walk outside to see my mother.

I asked her what was going on in that innocent little way your young child does. She simply stated that something very bad had happened and we should head home. I was thrilled that I was leaving school early, wouldn’t be for long…

Leaving the school I could see smoke coming out of a building in DC I asked my mom what was going on again and she explained that the Pentagon got hit and we’re in the mist of a terror attack on US soil (that’s putting it in my words, not hers). The rest of the car ride was spent in silence.

Later I learned another jet hit in Pennsylvania. 9 years later that image of smoke is still drilled into my mind and every time I think about it it makes my blood run cold. The amount of people that died, the chaos that ensued, and the changes this country has undergone since that traumatic event.

Let’s hope that doesn’t happen again else I’m gonna decapitate the entire security force in the United States and replace them with brain-dead monkeys as that’s what it basically was back then…

#8

i dont really remeber tbh. probably doing something way coo ltho

#9

i was in school and everyone was taking their kids out of school. i was pissed cause i didn’t get to come home. i went home and my mom was like they flew planes into a building. i was like, oh that’s pretty lame. she was like yep and she had the news on and i was like bitch what the fuck i want to watch fucking spongebob so we watched spongebob and then my dad came home from work and he was like did you tell nichole what happened? and she was like yeah and he was like what the fuck why she’s like ten why would you even do that so my mom was like it’s not like she understands what’s going on and i didn’t but i didn’t have to go to school the next day

bscly though it’s not like the government didn’t have a chance to kill bin laden or any other high ranking al queda people way before any of this happened and they knew that the people who flew the planes into the buildings were living in the us AND associated with al queda so yeah. go clinton/bush administration

#10

I was on my way to work. All my meetings in house and with clients were cancelled as we all huddled around the tv. Eventually, bossman sent everyone home. Later, we learned we lost several clients due to them being either based IN one of the towers or around the vicinity / block. We felt the effects (sp?) not just personally, but also as a business.

#11

Nothing etched into my mind about it except that it was a day were we got off school, not truly knowing what had happened I was boasting about the awesomeness of being let out of school because some people somewhere had crashed a plane or two.

#12

I didn’t even find out until my mother came to pick me up from school that afternoon. They don’t tell kids about these things.

#13

oh wait i was flying a freaken plane. turns out by 72 virgins they mean fucking videogame forums.

#14

Was at high school during the last class of the day (HTML). While we were twiddling away on some assignment, the teacher was surfing some news sites and saw the first news sipping in. I remember looking at the projector screen and going “wtf?”.

Was probably the first time I heard the word “terrorism” as well.

It’s funny how something that happened on the other side of the planet can leave such an impact on your memory.

#15

My school actually had a view of Manhattan, so when our teachers told us, we all looked outside, and some student started crying because his mother worked half a block away from the WTC. I remember it was a scary day, the whole school was in complete shock and a lot of kids left early that day.

#16

I don’t really remember much about that day, only that the news was showing the footage. I was too young to be properly horrified. :frowning:

#17

I didn’t find out until a few years ago.

I would have been in nursery at that point and I don’t know if i would have cared that someone flew a plane into a building 8000 miles away, let alone know what a plane is.

But when i found out, I wasn’t really that bothered. Terrorists flew 2 planes into 2 buildings. Big whoop.

#18

I was 9 and didn’t know much about it, all I knew was something about a building collapsing and a minute of silence.

#19

I still cry today when I see them fall. Every time. Cuz I know in the small few moments it takes for the buildings to land on the ground, the lives of thousands of people are wiped out. It isn’t a movie. It isn’t a video game. It is real. I watched thousands die.

#20

Well actually we had something like 9/11 but it was much worse and had nothing to do with terorism.
In the year 1999. When I was a little kid. We lived in a city near the sea of Marmara. There is a very dangereous fault line under the sea that causes big Earthquakes every 10 to 20 year. That year there was this very long and powerful earthquake. It happened near Istanbul. But Istanbul was fine. The City of Izmit (a.k.a. Kocaeli) was razed to the ground. Only a few poeple made it alive from the ruins. It was like the worst thing that could happen to a group of people. I saw what happened there on TV and I was terrified. Our Government was not able to help everyone so there was a short time of chaos. The whole amazing beautiful city was in ruins in 45 seconds. Unofficial casualties were 50.000 deaths 100.000 injured people. 133.683 collapsed 320.000 damaged buildings. Nearly 600.000 people were left Homeless. World Helped us alot thought. We owe the countries who helped us back there

So I can Imagine What do you feel like actually.

…But still we don’t go bombing the Fault line for revenge.

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