where were you seven years ago?

[Momo]

Re: where were you seven years ago?

9/11 I was in my apt alone.
DH had called & told me to turn on the TV. I was completely numb from the acts themselves, and from the fear that the terrorists might claim to be Muslim. I had been a Muslim for 9 years @ that point and I knew from that day forward that our lives( as in we Americans) would change, especially for Muslims in the US.
There I was grief stricken by the loss of my fellow Americans and dread filled @ the thought of the wrath that was now going to be unleashed on some part of the Muslim world. I get very emotional when reflecting on that day. The one thing that has continually been in my life is the recurrence of grief w/this war. I have a profound bond w/every "collateral damage" victim. It is heart wrenching to read that US soldiers are still dying and that innocent women, children and men are still being accidentally killed.

Re: where were you seven years ago?

I was eating my breakfast, pregnant, and saw the first one on the Today show, where they were unsure of what "it" was. Then they aired the second. At work, we all huddled around the t.v., said our prayers, and walked around shocked. It's a day I will never forget, and that's why I honor all soldiers (regardless of war status).

[scarlett09]

Re: where were you seven years ago?

I was a college freshman, going to school less than 50 miles from NYC. I was in class when both planes hit the WTC. I remember someone's cell phone going off in class when it happened, but they couldn't answer. As I was walking back from class with my friend, someone told us that there had been an attack at the WTC. I couldn't believe that it was happening again (I have some vague memories of 1993).

We went to the dining hall and they had the radio on, which was broadcasting about the Pentagon attack. I was completely confused. My friend and I got back to our rooms just in time to see the first tower collapse. Another friend came down the hall, completely scared and nervous: her roommate's father and uncle both worked at WTC and no one had heard from them (they both were okay, we found out later). You could hear her crying and screaming down the hall. It is still gut-wrenching to think about it to this day. I mean, we were all in shock and what do you say to someone in this situation? Especially someone you only met two weeks ago?

I did not have a cell phone at that time, so I was able to get through to both of my parents. I was able to confirm that all of my family was okay. We were concerned for awhile about my father's cousins, since they are pilots for United that regularly fly out of Boston, Newark, etc. We found out that they were all okay (one was on vacay, the other was just starting a transatlantic flight that had to make an emergency landing when they stopped all US air traffic).

Classes were immediately cancelled for that day and then for the rest of the week. I don't really remember what I did the rest of that day. Probably watched TV and walked around in a daze like all of my classmates. One memory that I do have is of how blue the skies were and how it was such a beautiful day. Apparently, some of my friends went to the roof of their residence hall and were able to see the smoke plume from WTC.

I also remember being at marching band practice a few days later and being startled by something but not immediately identifying what it was. It turned out to be the first plane I'd heard since, and several of us stopped and stared up at the sky as it went by.

Since we were so close to NYC, there were helicopters and other military aircraft flying around over campus. That totally freaked me out. I kept thinking that there were more planes out there, that one was going to crash into our campus.

My best friend from college was born on September 11. We never watched any TV that day while we were in undergrad. I still watch as little as possible, partially out of respect for her, but mostly because I cannot watch the NYC coverage of the memorial services. It is just too raw, too emotional.

[Rapunzel]

Re: where were you seven years ago?

I was pregnant and asleep in bed when dh called from the hospital (intern year of residency), told me to go turn the television on and abruptly hung up.

I turned the television on and just sunk to the ground. I watched as the second airplane slammed into a tower. I watched the entire day. Around the Pentagon attack I started thinking, "We're at war." I went numb around that thought.

The numbness stayed with me as I drove to the store that evening. I just had to get out of the house for a bit when dh got home. I remember driving past the park near my house and seeing a HUGE party there - soccer and a big picnic and balloons and just general celebration. It was the most shocking moment I had seen at that point. The local mosque nearest my house (which was subsequently shut down for terrorist activity - it was one of the big supporters) threw a party that afternoon right before Bush's statement was broadcast. It brought what had just happened on the television thousands of miles away to my front door.

I remember wondering if my husband would have to leave his residency to enter military service early. I remember worrying about the baby I carried and what kind of world she faced. I remember feeding the kids Poptarts that morning because I couldn't function with the shock.

I remember just a couple of days later talking to my sweet friend who worried because she was Muslim (although non-practicing) and didn't know what people might think of her. I will always clearly hear her telling me that she didn't think it would be appropriate to be seen alone with my nordic-looking son because she didn't want people to think she'd kidnapped him. That was shocking to me - that she could worry about that and that others might think that!

I remember that a couple of weeks afterwards a house in my neighborhood had a gas leak and literally exploded (killing the occupants). We were all so on edge after that - we didn't know what to think for the first few minutes when my house's walls literally shimmied.

We moved to Boston about nine months later and I think the shock came back because that city was definitely still in mourning.

The world changed that day- no doubt about it.

Re: where were you seven years ago?

I was in my freshman dorm room, during the first month of college....states away from home and just starting to make friends. I think we were all in the same boat which brought all of us together.

Today the whole thing still infuriates and saddens me. It is important to remember how necessary action against these groups is.

Re: where were you seven years ago?

I was an executive mananger with National and Alamo and becuase of the air travel being grounded we had hundreds of stranded passengers who were desperate to get back to the US (most were headed to NY) we spent the day trying to get them all cars they could eventually get across the border with and then leave there! I'll never forget the pilot from NY whose wofe worked in one of the towers standing at the counter sobbing...still makes me cry to think about it! Such a sad scary time....