Its the 9/11/02 daily thread, one year later..MKF

[Puff]

We were all eating breakfast and we got a phonecall from the kids dad too say what had happened and that we should turn on the TV. I couldn't believe what I saw, Sandra and I watched in shock. Then we had to go and get the kids ready and try and be normal for them.

When they were dropped off at daycare we sat down in front of the TV and went online. I remember just waiting online to hear from all the NY and Washington kittens, just talking to other kittens and trying to make sense from what was happening. I don't think that it's possible to make sense of the events of that day.

[Urn of Osiris]

WOW! I spent the morning at a candle vigil. Too many names were read and too many tears were shed.

On this day one year ago I walked my four year old son into a small christian preschool. It was his first day. He was happy. As we walked in I was met by his school administrator and she explained to me what had just happened. I was on my way to the school happily listening to the big purple dinosaur; Singing "I love you", as planes were crashing and thousands of lives were ending.

I was shocked, horrified and numb. I spent the rest of the day watching the horror unfold. Many of my friends and family have careers in Law enforcement & Fire and Rescue. I wanted so badly to be there helping, searching, bringing hope.

I lit a candle. It burned every day. I prayed every day for a miracle. That somewhere in that mass of rubble there was life.

I tried to explain September eleventh t my six year old son. He didn't understand. How could he, I didn't. I still don't.

I woke up this morning very sad. Then I heard a ten year old child read a prayer in school. I was reminded that evil will always exist but that if I teach my children that every life has value no matter how different our opinions may be, then I'm fighting that evil.

Thank you to every soul that helped to save lives, change lives and bring peace.

[tiredsoul]

[b:5cbe627a39] September 11[/b:5cbe627a39]

A day of infamy they have said
A day of tragedy will we always remember
A country attacked in senseless terrorism
A world that came together in sympathy

We cried as the Towers fell
We cried as the Pentagon burned
We cried as Flight 93 crashed down

Tears were shed and still fall
Candles were lit and still burn
Faith was shaken but still remains

In a country where freedom was a given
We felt that freedom threatened
In a country where politics often churned our stomachs
We felt a little safer from those sworn to protect us
In a country where religious diversity was abundant
We felt as one in our faith.

A year later, we still feel the pain
Maybe a little less or a little different
A year later, we have our memories
Of those lives lost, those heroes born
A year later, we still wonder
Why?

God Bless Us All!

[Tiggrscorpio]

I was in my office in the hotel I worked at in SC. I had just moved from Manhattan three months prior. Someone who knew I was from NY came to tell me about a plane hitting the WTC. I went to the hotel cafeteria and watched the tv for a few minutes. I immediately ran to my office to call my sister who still lived in Manhattan. She was supposed to be at a doctor's appointment around the WTC that morning.

The lines were busy. I tried to reach my friends, but couldn't get through. I sent off an e-mail to everyone requesting they send me a quick e-mail to let me know they were okay. My best friend took the train from under the WTC, every morning around that time, from her Battery Park City apartment to uptown. My dear friend worked in the Millenium Hilton just across the street from the South tower.

I finally got through to NY and got my niece and found out my sister had changed her appointment to a clinic uptown. While I was one the phone with my niece, she told me a plane had struck the Pentagon. My father works in Washington. Immediately hung up to call Mom to get an update. She didn't know anything yet, so more waiting, sitting around feeling useless.

I went back to watching the tv, just as the first tower collapsed. I never expected it to fall. Until that point I had been holding it together pretty well. At that point, I just lost it. I sat down and cried uncontrollably.

The phone calls and e-mails drifted in slowly. My sister and I couldn't even talk on the phone. We just cried. My friends and father were thankfully all okay. My friend from the Hilton had been in the South tower just 15 minutes before the second plane struck. He hasn't recovered from the devastation he saw. I don't think he ever will.

A former co-worker and the husband of a former co-worker were both lost in the North tower.

I was numb for months afterwards. When I flew home to NY for Xmas, I'll never forget the sight of the NY skyline forever changed. I went down to Ground Zero on Xmas day. The pictures on television didn't come close to conveying the enormity of the devastation.

It still affects me very deeply a year later. I think it will for the rest of my life.

[Lindy]

Last year me and my (former) best friend made a trip through the USA. So, with me and my luck I happenend to be in NYC in September. We have been to the WTC the day before but decided to not go up the observation deck, because, well, it was raining. So we just checked out the building, spent a good amount of time in the mall inside and we also left a lot of money there. When we left, the rain was so strong that we had an apocolypse kinda of impression.

So, it also happened that we bought speakers for my discman .. but they sucked when we tested them in our hotel. So we said to ourselfs, well, let's get up as early as possible tomorrow and go back down to the WTC if the weather is good, so we can go up to the observation deck and give the speakers back. The alarmclock was all set, but luckily it never rang. I had mixed up a.m. and p.m. and we overselpt .. everything.

When we left the hotel we had no idea what was going on, but a lot of stuff was off. Nobody in the lobby, no taxis on the streets (in Manhattan!) and most shops closed. We walked a while, oblivious tourist on a sunny tuesday afternoon, till we reached 5th avenue and looked downtown the first time that day. My friend kept insisting that the towers weren't that tall, when I showed her on my map that we should be able to see them.

Well, the rest of the day was a mess. We found someone on the street with a little black and white portable TV that showed the skyline and huge bold letters saying 'America Under Attack'. We heard people shouting in their cellphones 'I saw the freaking PLANE!'. But we had no complete picture until we found an open McDonald's with TV sets all over the place.

It was late when we left McDonald's and realized that our friends and family are probably freaked out, waiting at home to hear from us.

We were staying in Manhattan for 2 more weeks, and still I feel as if I lost my heart there, and not in a good way. This event shook me to the core and I wasn't even awake when it happened. I don't even wanna imagine what it would have been like if we were downtown like planned that day.

[runnerbird]

Look others, I still can't believe it's a year later..

I was three blocks away from the WTC on Wall Street. It's so hard to accept its been 365 days because I remember everything so clearly, like it only happened a few days ago. The smoke, the paper littering the street ... the way my building shook when the first tower fell, the rush of debris rushing past my office window... And after it was all over, the smell... the smell in the air was something I will always remember, like the gates of hell had opened and swallowed the city, my city whole.

And today is bringing all that back... it really hit home this morning, realizing it took a little over three hours to read all the names of all the victims. And some of the names were people I knew...

Other people I've talked to about their experience in downtown NY on September 11, 2001 want to forget everything that went on.. and although I understand their sentiment, I don't want to ever forget. I want to remember it all. Everything.

The lesson I learned that day was to just love... love the people in your life that matter, love everything about your life... just love... because in the end, that's all that really matters.

[ruby]

Warm regards to everyone who's reading and everyone who's posted here so far.

I was teaching an 8:00 class at NYU that morning. School had just started and I was doing the Odyssey with my western civ. class. I let them out about 10 minutes early, and we all stepped out into a huge crowd and an eerie quiet on West 4th St. Looking down Mercer St., we had a clean sight line to the towers. Just two jagged red lines and black smoke. It seemed completely unreal. A guy next to me said it was airplanes embedded in the buildings. I said, "Are you kidding?"

I realize now that I must have been in shock, utterly unable to process what I was seeing, because the next thing I thought to do was [i:0e7df73312] go to my office and prep my next class[/i:0e7df73312]. I tried to call my girlfriend at home to see what was on TV, but all the phones were dead. That's when I realized there probably wouldn't [i:0e7df73312] be[/i:0e7df73312] a next class.

The secondhand bookseller's stall just outside my building had a crappy transistor radio with at least a hundred people crowded around it. It was so odd that we were only about a mile away from the site, but we still didn't know anything. Cars simply stopped in the street and turned up their radios too. The most reliable news we had was the view of both towers burning from Washington Sqaure Park. I remember seeing hundreds of people covered with dust and blood walking north up Lafayette St. in complete silence. One of them mentioned a tower falling. I ran back over to the park and as I got there, the second one fell. There was this disembodied, choked scream that scared the shit out of me, and I realized it was my own.

Across from the park, a new law building was going up on West 4th. It was just girders and beams at that point, and when the tower fell all the steelworkers fell to their knees in the skeleton of the building, 50 and 60 feet up in the air, and sobbed.

We stayed put for several hours. When we got the news that everything south of 14th St. was being evacuated, I was getting ready to walk the 12 miles or so home when my gf finally got through on the phone and told me the F train was still running. So I got on, and that took another several hours. For a very long time the subway car was held in a tunnel under the East River, and the crowded car was starting to panic. We didn't know what was going on above or if we'd ever get moving again. I was being crushed and thought I would be trampled until a very large man, a stranger, shielded me with his arm just enough that I could stand up and breathe. I will always be grateful to him.

I got home safely pretty late in the afternoon. Showered, watched the news. We sheltered a family of four, friends of ours who had lived in the financial district and their two children, for several weeks after that.

This story doesn't say much about the grief or fear or resolve that has come since. But I do think that every person has to testify, to be a witness to what they saw and felt. And I believe that using this day to justify any further violent military action (as Bush seemed to do in his address this morning) is disgraceful, and disrepectful to the memories of the dead from one year ago.

[Grimaldi]

I was getting ready to go to my web design class and was watching Good Morning LA, when i saw the first plane hit the World Trade Center, i couldn't believe that something like that could happen in this country. but i guess it shows that even the US isn't immune to terrorist attacks by a bunch of cowards.

[BBOvenGuy]

I'm back - and wow do I feel drained.

It was still dark when I got up at 5:00 this morning. After I showered and got dressed, I stepped out on my balcony for a moment. I could see stars, which you can't always do this close to Los Angeles. It's only at 20-25 minute walk over to City Hall from where I live, so I decided a little exercise was worth not having to worry about a parking mess. We had a good dress rehearsal with the orchestra, and even though the performance was an hour away there were already people there watching us.

When 8:30 arrived, we took our places again. The crowd looked much smaller than the ten thousand the city had been expecting - it was still a good crowd, just not a huge one. But that was about to change. The center of the plaza had been kept clear because the color guard and a phalanx of police, firefighters and soldiers were marching in from elsewhere in town. Once they arrived, the crowd closed around them, and from where I was standing it looked like there were suddenly twice as many people there. Where had they all come from? There wasn't time to figure that out.

The thing about singing at such an emotion-filled occasion is that you have to keep tight control over how much of the emotion you let yourself feel. A small amount enhances the performance, but too much and you lose your focus. It's wonderful when you can pull it off, but it's also really tiring. We all did a really good job, though, and the crowd was very appreciative. I was impressed with them, too. We were in the shade, but many of them had to stand there in the rising sun as we performed.

There were some guys with TV cameras there, so I'll be scanning the news broadcasts today looking for a report. There were some photographers too, including one who was right in front of me for a long time. He probably wasn't getting a close-up of me, though - more likely he was looking at the cute alto standing next to me. I guess I'll find out in the newspapers tomorrow.

[Pixie gishmock]

September 11, 2001 was supposed to be the first day of Hebrew School. I had gotten up early, planning to go over to the temple to finish cleaning my classroom and doing my bulletin boards. I turned on the tv as a way to sort of ease into my day. It was about 10 minutes to 9 and I was stunned to see the Tower burning from the 1st plane. I called my mom and we watched together, me saying that it couldn't be an attack because wouldn't they have already heard if the plane had been hijacked? Then we watched, shocked, as the 2nd plane approached and hit. At about 9:15 I called the temple to see if they had heard (they hadn't) and then spent the next several hours glued to the tv, crying. My principal cancelled Hebrew School. My brother-in-law works in Manhattan, but not downtown. Finally in the afternoon I needed to get out of the house so I went to work to do some things in my classroom and be with people.

I remember spending the next several days listening to and watching the news constantly (which I rarely do) and always crying or on the verge of tears. I was worried about my students and how they were feeling; I was worried about my community, which had lost 4 middle school students the previous April in a bus crash in Canada (one of whom had been a student of mine) and so it felt like things were getting back to normal and here we were reeling again. I walked around feeling weighed down, sad, and feeling my heart alternately break for the victims and their families and swell with pride at the response from emergency workers, volunteers, and people in general.

As time passed, I was frightened at the thought of the need for extra security during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I was creeped out by the fact that several of the terrorists stayed at the motel right next door to the Barnes & Noble where I work. I loved seeing all the kids who dressed up as police officers and fire fighters at Halloween.

I am so grateful and proud of the people who gave of themselves in all the myriad ways, in order to do good in the face of evil.

Last night I lit a yahrzeit candle (special candle that is lit on the anniversary of a death and burns for 24 hours) and read a few psalms, readings and prayes.

Mariacomet has given me permission to post the prayer she wrote yesterday to read while we lit candles:

Oh Lord, Great Lion who is the Maker of the earth, and stars and sky.
I grieve for those that we lost one year ago.
But in your presense and with your blessing, I wish to honor their spirit.
I pray that you will help us remember thier lives - that they were mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, and friends.
I ask you to help us remember their courage - for each of them that day were fighting in their own small way for what they believed in. From those trying to make the American Dream come true, to those that took to heart the idea that you must love your neighbor as yourself.
I ask you to help us remember so that we may be vigilant.
I ask that you comfort us as we grieve, and that you help us to grieve as one nation.
I pray that you help us be grateful for small victories on a dark day. For the grace you bestowed, even when it seemed that what we loved, and thought was invincible was under attack.
We stand before you afraid of what the future holds.
Please comfort our fears.
Please touch our eyes with wisdom.
Please protect us from those that mean us harm.
We are a nation of dreamers, Lord give us the strength to continue trying to find our way to making the dream a reality. Bless us on this path, but let us never forget those who have sacraficed so that we may continue our walk.

In your name we pray,
Amen.


Blessings of joy and peace to you all.
Michele

[KathleenWolf]

I will start my little addition to this thread with one fact, I am not American... I do not make this distinction first out of malice or negativity but only for my entire 27 years I have formost always descibed myself as a Canadian... but with visits to my beloved fiancee's in England I learned of a new designation for us here on this side of the world.

North Americans.... and after 9/11 I was reminded more than ever that though there is a border between our two nations... there has always been a spirit and idealism that goes far beyond a difference in flags or money.

On that day an attack was made not only on New York or Washington... it was made on the entire world with the American landscape acting as a shattered backdrop.

Fundamentaly that attack has made a distinct change in our mentality as North Americans. We had in a way until then lived a life of freedom without fear and a feeling of mobility that was rarely encroached on.

On that day I felt the world stand still... I felt a darkness come over everything that did not lift for days. I had only a few weeks before begun a position with Canadian Immigration and was less than a half mile from the international airport in Toronto. It was the first time in my life on Canadian soil that a threat sunk so deep into me that I feared for the days ahead. As officers in my building mobilized to deal with the influx of passenger jets rerouted from the closed American skies and we were all but locked into the building for secuirty purposes it was as the world took a step back from progress and returned to a more savage theme of survival.

It was also on that day and the days to come that as a North American I witnessed so many things we have to be proud of. The border between our countries fell and I truely feel that in a time of ultimate tragedy two neighbours came together and were forged into family.

I am a stanchly proud Canadian... but since Sept 11, 2001 I am also proud to call myself a North American.

Kathleen Wolf

[dazed and confused]

I woke up at 7am, just like I always did. I rolled over, picked up my glasses and the remote and turned on the Today Show...just like I had everyday for the previous 6 months. My boyfriend was in the bathroom, he had just gotten out of the shower. The first thing I saw when I turned on the tv was a picture of the towers on fire. I checked about 5 times to be sure I was actually watching NBC and not one of the movie channels. As soon as it registered that this was indeed real I yelled for my boyfriend. He came running in, still damp and looked at the TV. He collapsed onto the bed next to me in utter disbelief. Suddenly my senses returned to me, my entire family lives on the East Coast. (I moved to San Francisco from Philadelphia in February of 2000) I called my mother and she hadn't heard yet. I called my grandfather and he was watching in shock. Then we heard about the Pentagon...my cousin works in DC so we started making calls (she actually works just across the river in VA). Thankfully, she was fine. As soon as I found out everyone was OK, I broke down. I was crying over my family's safety when the first tower came down. My boyfriend held me as I bawled my eyes out worried about all of my friends who lived and worked in New York that I wasn't able to contact. As the second tower came down I started to panic. Where would they attack next? Were we safe? We lived directly under the flight path to San Francisco Int'l Airport. Then we heard the reports of the still missing flight from NY to SFO and it's subsequent crash in Western, PA. Should I go to work? Should I leave the house? I got up and numbly got ready for work. As I drove north on CA-1 towards the Golden Gate Bridge, my daily route to work, I was terrified. I had to drive across that bridge. God, could that be a target? The roads were deserted and Downtown SF had been shutdown. The buildings evacuated, "just in case". As I approached the bridge I saw Hummers on the side of the road, as I passed through the toll plaza I could see on both sides of the bridge there were armed guards with automatic rifles stationed. Then a military helicopter did a sweep over the bridge. I was scared to death. If the bridge was taken out, how would I get home? How would I get to work? (Fear can bring out the strangest questions.)

I work in the National Park at the beach in what used to be a first-strike army base. (Meaning we are situated at the mouth of the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay). The military helicopters and planes that were sweeping the bridge would come out over the park to turn around and sweep back. We heard them every few minutes all day while we sat in shocked silence listening to the reports on NPR and watching images on the TV.

A year later, I'm still a little scared driving over the bridge every day but my fears are quelled by my respect and gratitude to the soldiers, the men and women in civil service, the healthcare workers, the volunteers who have labored to keep us safe this year, to all the men and women who strive to restore this country to its past granduer without forgetting what happened last year, by learning from that horrific incident and by putting our newfound knowledge into practice to make this country better than it was before.

To all those reading who lost a loved one or feel that they lost a little bit of themselves, May you be at Peace. My thoughts are with you.

[Jennpurr]

I don't really have a story to tell of the events of last year. I just remember waking up that morning and checking my e-mail and seeing the news there. The night before I had attended a Melissa Etheridge concert, not thinking what the next day would bring. I remember breaking down into tears when I saw the news.

I didn't have anyone in my family or close to me that was involved in the tragedy. Although, I have a friend in NY who would give me updates on the happenings and what it was like actually being there while all of this was taking place.

For me, this is very hard. I'm a very sensitive person and it's easy for my to cry just by thinking about it. Today has been a very hard day for me. Emotionally it's taking it's toll on me. I can't begin to imagine what it's been like today and for the past year, for the families and friends of those lives that were lost.

All of my love and hugs and prayers go out to all those affected, in every way. I hope you can be strong and just know that there are millions of people who love you. If anyone needs to talk, my e-mail is open to you. I'd love to offer an ear, if you need it. truthotheart@aol.com

God bless you all.

I love you, guys,
Jen

[BoredNow99]

I was in the newsroom at my paper when we first heard a plane had crashed over the press wires.

It was just after lunch and everyone was back in the office, so we put the TV on and all gathered around.

At first we were trying to make sense of why a plane was flying that low, why it had gone off course. Then as we watched, the second plane hit. And it was then it dawned on everyone that this wasn't an accident.

Reports started to come in about the other hijacked planes and for several hours, no-one moved. Strange, for a newspaper office, to be so still.

Eventually, after prodding from our head office, we had to start making sense of what had happened, start to write about something that we had no chance of comprehending at that point - or ever, really.

All the time I had in the back of my mind thoughts of my brother, who lives in Maryland. He regularly goes to NYC on business, and usually stayed in a hotel next to the World Trade Center.

It was difficult to sit and write about something without knowing he was safe, no matter how minute the chance of him being there was.

I eventually got the call to say everything was fine, and although I was relieved it was only really then that I allowed myself to take in the full horror of what had happened.

It made me think back to the death of Princess Diana. I was on holiday when it happened, and I remember returning to work and my editor telling me I had missed being involved with the biggest story of my journalistic career.

On September 11, 2001, I wanted nothing more than for him to have been right.

[drlloyd11]

I didnt know what to say a year ago, and I still dont know..
I think I was unable to "get" it for several hours. The company I was working at shared offices with a number of firsm who had offices in the WTC. The buiding managment infact had its HQ in tower 1.
We walked around to and from meetings, and there was a growing group of people around the TV. But our boss, Segei, would stop for a second, look.. and then keep on going. The rest of us were craining out necks to see, but he seemed to be business as usual. In front of the TV an older woman crossed herself . They were all talking, I could still get to web sites on the WTC but the NY Times was offline .
It never seemed real, and on my way home. It hit me
the flags everywhere
on every building. The radio talked to a man who saw 200 firemen crushed by a buikding. An thats when it all hit me. When they talked about people in wheelchairs waiting by the steps patiently for some one to help them down...
Suddently it was more real. I got home, made some phone calls. I was pretty depressed.
The next day I listening on the radio to a man who saved an older woman in a wheelchair, and for the first time it occured to me some people got out (Yes, I know they been saying that all day, I was kind of numb). Then I started remembering there was more to life than madmen and lunatics and hate..
Its weird, the death of thousnads and I could not lock my mind on it until I found someone to focus on.
That weekend we watched a brady bunch marathon and school house rock videos over and over...
Ok, stupid story, but its what stays in my mind..
Thanks to Ruth who was online that day and told me what the BBC was saying over chat..

[Guess]

I can't believe it's been a year. When i woke up this morning and realized what day it was, i felt really weird, almost like it couldn't possibly have happened so much time ago.
I remember how I first heard about it: It was a nice day for me, because I was going to watch the Buffy 5th season finale. I was comming back from school, at about 12:30. But as I live in Brazil, it had happened just a few hours ago. I was at school at the time, so no one heard anything. When I was almost getting home, my mom just happened to mention that the towers had been hit and all. To tell the truth, I didn't really know what towers she was talking about, and I just thought it was some kind of joke or something. Then she turned on the radio, but still I couldn't believe it. I was totally shocked when I got home and turned on the tv. I spent the rest of the day watching it, and I didn't go to school the next day, because I just couldn't sleep.
It was nothing compared to what people who had relatives and friends there went through, but it did get to me, because it was just so awful. My heart goes out to everyone who was affected by this in one way or another. God Bless Everyone.
Julia.

[tkheaven]

I don't believe it's been a year. I've been edgy all day, well, according to my gf. Living in NJ and working in Brooklyn. Having to travel Manhattan to get to and fro, holding back tears today at work; remembering seeing mass destruction a few miles away and how it was like feeling the possibility of not going home that day. Knowing what I experienced emotionally did not compare to those who lost loved ones that day. My heart goes out to all who have suffered and lost....
ok, going home now.

[Urn of Osiris]

This was read at a memorial vigil I attended today:

[u:a26ce8f754]ONE[/u:a26ce8f754]

As the soot and dirt and ash rained down
We became one color

As we carried each other down the stairs of the burning building we became one class

As we lit candles of waiting and hope
we became one generation

As the firefighters and police officers fought their way into the inferno
we became one gender

As we fell to our knees in prayer for strength
we became one faith

As we whispered or shouted words of encouragement
we spoke one language

As we gave blood in lines a mile long
we became one body

As we mourned together the great loss
we became one family.

As we cried tears of grief and loss
we became one soul.

As we retell with pride of the sacrifice of heroes
we become one people

We are:
One color
one class
one generation
one gender
one faith
one language
one body
one family
one soul
one people

we are united
we are America.


I have no idea who the author is but I wept as a ten year old child read these words.

[Zahir al Daoud]

My roommate's boss called up to say he didn't have to come into work that day, and why. I remember watching the tv, and thinking about how many times I'd been to the WTC when I lived in NYC. The sight of those streets where I'd walked and gone to school awash in thick clouds of concrete reduced to powder...! Even more disturbing in a way was to see those same streets in the days that followed--quiet. New York isn't supposed to be quiet. It isn't supposed to be silent. But it was.

I went downstairs to tell Colleen what had happened. She usually sleeps late, and the idea of her finding out alone, by accident was not something I was willing to risk. She clutched me for hours, and I can still hear her terrified whispers "We're at war...what if they attack here?" That night and for several after she cried herself to sleep. Nor was she alone.

Thank god none of my NYC friends were anywhere near Ground Zero.

[mscheckmate]

I remember the silence that day. I live 20 minutes or so south of LAX, and ten minutes from a general aviation airport, so airplane noise is a constant. But, after the attack, the only planes in the air were military jets patrolling the coastline.

I spent the day trying to contact my cousin, who had reported the previous day for military reserve duty in Washington, D.C. I wasn't sure whether or not his office was in the Pentagon, and I was worried about him. As it turns out, he was across the Potomac when the plane hit.

But it was sort of a day of near misses for friends of the family. My brother-in-law's friend was staying at the WTC Marriott Hotel, and ran out, in her pyjamas, after the first plane hit. She saw several people killed or injured by falling debris as she ran from the area. My mother's best friend's son worked at the WTC, and was taking the subway to work. The trains going into the WTC were stopped after the first tower was hit, and he had to walk the rest of the way. As he was walking, he saw the second plane hit. And the day before, my sister's friend had come back from vacation on one of the Logan Airport to LAX flights that had crashed into the WTC the next day, 9/11. When you're one of the lucky ones, one of the people who aren't in the wrong place at the wrong time, you spend the rest of your life wondering, "why them, and not me?" And knowing that every day since is a precious gift.

My heart goes out to the families of those killed or injured on that terrible day. My gratitude goes out to the emergency personnel and members of the military who risk their lives to keep us safe. And my love for this vital, diverse, generous, compassionate country knows no bounds.

[Jennpurr]

[b:11e950a79c] Urn,[/b:11e950a79c]

That is beautiful. It's very touching and true.

Love to you all,
Jen

[Taz]

I was at work, my wife just happened to have come with me that day. I work in a call center and at some point, suddenly the phones stopped ringing. We heard a gasp from the lunchroom by our desks and it was after the first plane hit. We all huddled around the TVs' shocked at what we were sitting. Suddenly, the second plane hit. I felt tears roll down my face as we watched in horror. My wife and I were shocked and began making phone calls trying to reach our friends who worked in the North tower, 6 hours later we found out they had escaped shaken but, unhurt. Eventually, they sent us all home instead must of us went to a local sports bar to keep watching. I've never had a beer in the morning before but, on that morning I did. When the first tower collapsed, I had another.
I also never prayed before 9/11/01 but I did then consistently until it became clear that a miracle would be needed to find anymore surviviors and then I prayed for a miracle. None of our friends died that day but, a part of me did. The part of me that felt safe and sound. The part of me that wanted to believe this kind of thing could never happen here. That part of me I don't think can ever completely heal. However, the rest of me honors those who died on that day and later due to injuries that day. My thoughts and love go out to their wives, sisters, moms, dads, nieces, nephews and especially their children who will either never know their parents or who will only get to remember them through faded pictures and memories. We shall persevere, we will never forget. Let's Roll.

[Magrat70]

My thoughts today are for the families of the people who died. I still can't believe the evil the happened that day and as I watched it live on T'V because I was on holiday i hope I never ever witness anthing again. But lets never ever forget the victims

[Yelowsub]

I'm just going to cut and paste something that I wrote in my online diary earlier today...

I had walked into math class and everyone was sitting down and getting ready for another day of class. (In every classroom is a tv set that is attached to the wall almost touching the ceiling. The school can set the tv network up to normal tv stations.) The teacher walked in and made her way to her desk.

A student suddenly ran into the classroom, jumped up, turned on the tv and ran out again. Not everyone had even noticed him, but slowly we all got quiet and looked at the television. The school had put on CNN.

The first tower had already collapsed. We all tried to process what was going on. The bottom of the screen said something about a terrorist attack. A few minutes later we all watched as the second tower collapsed. or the rest of the day, every room had the television set on, so we were able to watch the story unravel as reporters were trying to figure out what was going on. The entire school was silent for hours. No one talked while changing classes. We all listened to the television sets in the rooms as we walked. The only noise you could hear were people crying.

In accounting class we were watching the news when they mentioned that a plane had crashed in Somerville. My heart stopped. Then they said that it was Somerville Pennslyvania.
My Dad lives in Somerville, New Jersey. That split second seemed like an hour, I suddenly thought, what if Dad is there, what if he was hurt or killed. That split second changed my life.

I will always remember that student running into our classroom, I will always remember watching the second tower fall I will always remember how many tears I saw that day, and I will always remember that split second when I thought that my father could be dead.

[MadeinNZ]

Over here in New Zealand the attack happened in the early hours of Wednesday morning. I awoke at 6am and listened to the morning news still half asleep. The headline was "America under attack". It took me a few seconds to realise what they just said - I thought I was still asleep. Then I jumped up and turned on CNN. It was very surreal and devastating.

It was very hard to pull myself away to go to work. The NZ television ran the story all day so we tried to work while keeping one eye on the TV.

Its a bit bizarre because 'Family' was showing that night so I taped it (cause its Buffy - so have to tape it). At the start of the episode, there's a message on the bottom of the screen about the attacks. Now, whenever I watch the tape I'm reminded.

I'm so far away and it still grips my heart. I can't imagine what its like for you guys in the States.

God Bless and keep safe.

[walker(d)]

I just want to add my voice to those who are remembering today. My thoughts go out to the families of those who died. Today is a painful day for everyone so I can't even begin to imagine what they're feeling. Peace be with you.

[PandoraSpocks]

I just wanted to send my best wishes and love to the families and friends of the loved ones they lost. Through out Canada and B.C. where I live, they are holding many memorials.

Again, I wish to send my love

[Blue Athame 1]

I had posted earlier but wanted to add something that feels very important. I am working now...taking calls...talking to people, many who have been affected by this event. In doing this I am reminded of the amazing indomitability of the human spirit. Many of these people have weathered undescribable pains and yet they get up every morning, they feed their kids, they go on. I have been told by many that they take great comfort in the prayers and caring of the individuals in our nation and the nations that have supported and grieved with us. And I have been told by many of us bystanders that they are inspired by these survivors and resonate with their loss.
We are amazing creatures...and those among us who are still shattered are my heroes as they try so hard to fly with broken wings. I pray for them tonight as I keep my watch....I pray for our dead...and all of us who grieve and remember. I pray for our world and always, always for peace. May we nor any ever know anything like this again.

Joy

[Tulipp]

Just wanted to thank everyone who has been sharing their memories and thoughts here; I didn't go to an actual memorial of any kind today, although there were plenty to go to, so this thread has served that function for me today.

And thanks, Shinnen, for the image from the very beginning.

[Arafel the Witch]

I was heading in to work here in Denver when the news came on the radio. As soon as I got to my desk I called my husband. We kept talking (he had the day off) and shortly thereafter I heard him say "Holy shit, the tower just fell down." I started crying. We had a bomb scare in our complex and everyone got out of work. I went home and watched the display over and over. One of my best friends lost someone close to her. My maid of honor, my closest friend in all the world, saw the whole thing from her apartment window and even months later, in her office, which was only a few blocks away from Ground Zero, she told me about "bad smell" days.

I grew up in New York, and when I was in high school I spent summers working in the WTC. When I got out of college, my first job was a few blocks away. On Friday nights, we sometimes played whiffleball late at night in the plaza between the 2 towers; we hippie-types always got a laugh out of the businessmen watching us play. At a gut level, part of me still can't accept that they are gone. I don't think I will until I go back to New York and actually see it in person.

I haven't been watching much of the TV today. I am not sure I want to. I think silence in many ways is a better tribute.