9/11 -our JFK

I'm probably going to come off sounding like a jerkoff, but...

I woke up, and got ready for work. It didnt faze me in the slightest. Lots of things dont faze me, I dont know what it is. The only thing I really felt was wanting to call my friend that moved down here from New York a few years ago.

Like I said, I have no clue what it is. A lot of things people see as terrible tragedies I just shrug off and go about my daily business, and do the things I need to get done. Work, chores, etc.

*waits for drama*

Dude, you KNOW people are gonna wig out on you.

i had stayed over at my boyfriend's house. as usual i was sleeping in. i woke up to the phone ringing. it was my boyfriend calling from work.

he said "they just blew up the towers in New York".............half asleep, i didn't catch what he meant. i kept saying "what" "what do you mean".

he told me to go turn on the tv......
i trapsed into the living room to see somthing that felt completely unreal...like a movie. a horror movie.

it took a moment to sink in, and then i became numb. my sister and her family live in NYC. i didn't feel panic, i didn't feel sad...........just nothing.

i got off the phone with my boyfriend to begin the calls to my family to see if they had heard from my sister. relief came quickly as she had called in. they were all safe.

the rest of the day i was glued to the set. i just started crying at one point and couldn't stop. then i became numb again, and was for a very long time after that.

Best case scenario, a disassociative emotional defense.

Either that or a sociopathic lack of empathy for the suffering of others, or a distorted sense of reality, E.G. tragedies on TV have the impact of a video game.

I knew people who were like, literally only two days later, going "Man, I'm so sick of hearing about it." and I'm all... ...what the fuck is wrong with us?

Later that day, I just started getting angry. When they started talking about Bin Laden and Al Qaeda and all that, I almost went to join the Army. I was telling my dad that I hoped they bombed Afghanistan back into the stone age, and my dad said "Well, that wouldn't take much." I was very much against the Iraq War, but I supported Afghanistan 100%. Still do. I just wish we had done it right and followed through with it instead of running off to Baghdad and leaving Afghanistan to wither and die.

And, oddly enough, that day I was actually glad that Bush was president instead of Gore. Correctly or incorrectly, I felt like Gore would've just sent a few cruise missiles in Bin Laden's general direction, or something similarly half-assed, but I knew crazy cowboy Bush would bomb the fuck out of somebody.

[Edited on Sep 11, 2005 by Keith]

my sister and her husband both work in manhattan and live in brooklyn. i remember my sister telling me that she had to walk from the broadway district home via the brooklyn bridge.

I was in college, in my dorm room. Woke up to commotion in the hall, and opened the door to see my RA across the hallway crying in front of her TV.

And I did the same thing as thorr74. I thought they were replaying the 1st crash, until it hit me that it wasn't possible.

I actually posted my 9-11 story in my journal at 12:30 this morning, if anyone wants to read the long version...I don't feel like copying and pasting it, it's long.

I do remember specifially, which surprises me. I was playing Gran Turismo 3 at the time at my granny came up to tell me, she seemed mildly amused at the fact that a second one hit as they were watching the aftermath of the first. I watch the news for an hour or two after that, but I don't remember anything more than that. I think I contemplated getting angry about it, but I just didn't feel it inside. A friend of mine got a little wrapped up in it, but it seemed more like an excuse for him to be philospocial about his own personal future, and he forgot about it in a few days. I knew a few people who laughed at it in an attempt to be alternative... I don't recall meeting in person anyone who was actually concerned much about it at all, but I just felt like sharing a different perspective.

It was nighttime in Australia by then, late evening. I was watching The West Wing alone, and about halfway through the episode they broke into the broadcast with an announcement that a plane had hit a building in New York. I went "how odd" and then the show came back on. I watched until the end of TWW, and there were a few announcements that afterwards the network would show details of what was happening in the US.

I watched for a long time, and saw the towers collapse. Finally I went to bed.

Early the next morning, I had a gym appointment. (I'd been gifted some personal training sessions.) I went in around 6.30am or so, and clearly the people there had no idea what had happened the night before. I was explaining how the WTC had fallen ("You know when you see a shot of the Manhattan skyline, and there are these two really tall buildings towering over everything else...? Well, they're gone now...", spoken to vague looks) ... and one of the staff made an offhand comment about how it was time for the US to get given a bit of a hard time by someone it had pissed off.

My response was polite but firm, and I made sure the subtext was clear. As in, some mad fuckers had just flown two planes into two buildings and killed thousands of people for the fucking hell of it.

"Oh," he said, nodding, "yeah...."

I was in year 11 at the time. It was 11pm or a bit later, and I was sitting at the laptop in the sunroom bored, trying to do some homework. My mum was half-watching television. She changed the channel, and the news was on, with a confused anchor and sketchy reports of a plane maybe accidentally hitting the world trade centre. So I came out to watch the news and see what was happening, and I asked my mum 'how could you accidentally hit the world trade centre? It's kind of big, isn't it?'

She didn't answer, and we just watched the live coverage. And within a few minutes, the second plane hit, and it was obvious it wasn't an accident. And the news was live on scene, and soon enough there was footage of small people jumping out of giant, burning buildings, and it was all too fucked and bizarre and horrible, and I watched the live coverage for hours trying to work out what was going on.

The rest of the week at school were really weird. All my friends and I were really shaken up, and I think most of Australia was too, trying to work out what was happening so far away, and what it meant for the world, and the US, and us. A friend of mine said to me, during lunch, 'well, I guess we're not going to go through life free from war.'

I was at work the next day, and just said to a colleague "Did you feel the world shake beneath your feet?"

yeah, same deal with my mom. she walked across the bridge..but it's not far from her office. weird thing is, my mom sometimes took her shoes off while working, to feel more comfortable. in all the commotion of that day, she never thought about the fact that she wasn't wearing any shoes. when her building was evacuated, she left the office barefoot. then on the brooklyn brisge, some woman saw my mom walking barefoot, took off her socks, and gave them to my mom so she would have at least some protection from the ground. small gesture, but it went a long way.

It was just a Tuesday.

Looking back, the morning seemed so serene. My dad promised to pick me up from school. I took the same bus and train to get to Whitney Young, and looked out over Chicago so nonchalantly. I sat down in the computer lab that morning before class and noticed that I couldn't get to any of the major news sites; it was at that moment that one of the school's security guards came in and told us that a plane had just crashed into the World Trade Center.

I walked out of the lab and looked up at the TV in the lunchroom, thinking, "Wow, that's a fucked up accident." Everyone around me had the same opinion.

Then, the second plane hit.

At that moment there was just silence. Between everyone around me, we knew that the world would never be the same again after this. Then we looked out the window at the Sears tower, only a few blocks away. We thought this was it, you know? Sure, another plane just hit the Pentagon, but only a few hundred people died (looking back I still feel bad about rationalizing it that way). It could've been worse... Then I watched the second tower collapse. At that point cameras had zoomed in on the buildings and you could see all those people jumping. That probably hit me the hardest.

Watching the first tower collapse, as everything just seemed to peel away, there was just this surreal act about it. No way this could be happening, I mean, what the fuck, I'm in America. Everyone fucks up when they try to attack us. Then we heard about the plane crashing in Pennsylvania, and thinking, "Damn, they could hit us soon." But no one left. We all just stood around watching everything happen.

My dad picked me up from school that day on time, as if nothing had happened. We drove through downtown Chicago and it was just empty. I haven't seen anything so eerie in my life. Just newspapers flying every where.

We had dinner at the Woodlawn Tap Bar, and just talked about the implications of all of this. And this is what pisses me off about the current administration to this day: For the first time, I felt like I was apart of a much greater whole. Walking down the street, people looked into eachother's eyes and there was an instant connection of, "We are American." And this was squandered.

Everything after that just went by in a blur and got so caught up in same-old politics once again that it all seems so distant now.

It's a shame.

It was a beautiful clear sunny morning . . .

I was running late, in fact keeping Bry late as well when his boss called to tell us to turn on the TV. If we had left on time we most likely would have been stuck in a subway tunnel. At that point only one plane had hit and they weren't sure what was going on exactly. We got to see the second tower get hit live. We were just glued to the set, and I kept thinking '100,000 people go through there a day'. I was shaking and in shock and I didn't even know anyone in there. At one point after the second tower fell Bry and I ventured outside and there was dust in the air 8 MILES from the WTC in out neighborhood in brooklyn.

At the time I worked on canal street and we were only closed for ONE DAY, assfaces. I remember for WEEKS, the site was smoking and the smell in the air was horrid. Imagining what that smell and smoke was made it even worse. I wore a mask whenever I had to go outside and I remember seeing all the missing person flyers EVERYWHERE.

I don't think I'LL ever be the same . . . and like I said I didn't know anyone in there. It was a part of my city and I lost it. There were thousands of people's mother's, father's, brother's sisters daughters, grandparents lost - innocent, lost.

i got up after it had happened. got ready for class. and drove there. i listen to cds so i was still unaware. then i got to class and i over heard some girl say a plane hit the world trade center. the guy she told said yeah one of the towers. i thought it was the radio tower on the top and it was a small plane at that. then more people filtered in and the news got worse and worse.

I was in the 10th grade when it happened. The bell rang for 1st period to start. My friends and I walked upstairs to the computer lab, laughing and cutting up like always. When we got in there, we saw that the other class had not left and that they were all silently looking at the tv. We fell quiet as well when noticed some of them were crying. Then I saw what was on TV and my stomach dropped. I saw the trade centers burning. Then they showed footage of the second building being hit and I knew the first plane was no accident. I was so confused. Nobody spoke for what seemed like hours. When the first tower collapsed everyone gasped in horror.

While standing there, I remembered my friend's dad was in NY on a business trip and was supposed to be flying home that morning. He was also the husband of the teacher who's room I was standing in. Luckily we found out shortly after that he was okay.

Nobody talked, or said anything for a very long time. My principle gave a teary announcement over the intercom that we were being sent home early to be with our families.

I was in the car with my mom on the way home when we heard on the radio that the Pentagon had been hit.

The next few days/weeks were spent glued to the tv.

i heard it on the radio in my jeep on the way to work. it was Cape Cod NPR, so at first i couldn't understand what they were talking about it almost sounded like "war of the worlds" because I couldn't imagine that what they were talking about was a reality. it was about 9am and they were already talking about thousands dead.

when I got to work (a hotel) i grabbed an extra TV from the housekeeping closet, and as soon as I turned it on, there was an image of the first tower burning, eeirily in B&W because it was a broken set.

I was walking outside of my old high school, when I went into 1st period shop class the teacher rolled up a tv and we all watched the 2nd plane crash into the towers.
Surreal to say the least, but im sure that was the case for everyone.

"*shrug* but it did and im sorry you guys had to go through that and still continue going through so much bullshit because of the people who run your country.."

hehe, you said it sista.

youre really just a jerkoff for spelling phase, "faze" , Really.

Um, but in that context, it IS "faze", not "phase".

I was in a ship in the middle of the mediterranean and initially thought it was a °war of the worlds° style promo for the latest Schwarzenegger flick

september 11....

I was asleep in Vancouver and was woken at 5 am by a phone call from my roomate. Which seemed odd. He was at his girlfriend's place and just said, "Turn on CNN" So I turned on the T.V. which was on cannel 33, that exact channel. And there on the screen was the twin towers with one burning and a plane in the near distance which then slammed into the other tower. sprouting flame out the other side. All the while, my roomate Ben was on the other line screaming and shouting obsenities.

I remember watching the repeated footage on CNN til dawn and almost past my call time at The Vogue Theatre. Where we were about to finish setting up The Vagina Monologues. We'd focused the lights the night before with the NYC Stagemanager and where expecting a brand new cast that day from NYC for a three week run. I remember walking to the theatre and Granville street. Which was usually full of 9-5 workers heading to the offices around here were completly empty like it was a long weekend.

Everyone arrived late to work but nobody said anything. And then we found out that all the Commercial airline traffic in and out of VYR had been grounded. So, we the local crew, began to wonder if we were going to even have a show that day. Our new Stagemanager, Sherri arrived to tell us that both of the casts airplanes did land the morning before the air traffic shutdown. And that if our local guest star, Margot Kidder, wanted to still do the show we would open that night. But there would be no sound check because the U.S. cast members and management were too busy back at the hotel trying to get in contact with loved ones in NYC.

Margot Kidder arrived and said she wanted to do the show. And asked if the NYC cast was going to be there, and if they wanted to cancel the show. When it was determined that both groups were adamite that the show must go on. And The Front of House was going to open the theatre for whoever made it to the Vogue for opening night, ticket or not. Margot then asked if she could say something before the show started about the days tragedy. The management agreed.

So we soundchecked her microphone with Margot and line checked the rest of the casts microphones without them. And then we sort of waited and chatted with Stagemanagement out in our dark theatre lobby. While accross the street, street people stood in a large cluster watching the repetative newsfootage on a huge T.V. in the Sony Store. As I remember, we didn't even go for dinner break before the show, because nobody felt hungry and we wern't even sure that an audience would show up or if the theatre would open. Management brought in food and we ate in the dressing rooms of the theatre. And talked with our new cast and crew about the day. The women in the cast ( The cast and crew were all female.) were complete professionals while we ate, talked and found out all about them like it was any other opening night show at the end of any other day. It was amazing to me that they had yet to hear from relatives and husbands in NYC, one of whom worked at the WTC complex. And they never once broke down or cried in front of us.

The F.O.H. manager came down to tell us that the audience was in the theatre and it was standing room only. In fact, people who were stuck in town due to the airport shut down had come to the doors of the theatre and asked to watch the show even if their was no seats availible. And the F.O.H. manager just let them in and set them up at the back.

At places, we went up to the stage and peered out on a completely sold out auditorium. More than 1150 people, standing room only was facing the stage and we could hear everyone in that room was talking to each other and thinking about exactly the same thing. The energy and tension comming from the audience was brutal as we waited for the audience lights to dim and the show to start.

As the audience lights began to dim, the deapest hush reached out over the crowd and it was for a few beats as silent as a crypt. And then backstage we could hear, comming from the audience. Very quiet muffled sobbing from various places around the auditorium. The cast and us where completely weirded out by this reaction to the dimming lights. And I remember waiting for what seemed like eons till the audience composed themselves and little spots of sobbing ceased and the stage lights came up.

Margot kidder stepped off her tall podium chair centre stage and spoke a short speech about this opening night being in dedication to all our loved ones and the people of New York City At that moment everyone except, us backstage, the cast in the light, and Margot standing centre stage began to tear up.

And then the cast launched into the first Monologue which, amazingly seemed to draw everyone dry of their tears. Throughout the show, at some of the most oddest moments in each of the cast ladies monologues. People cried, and laughed nervously til the humorous monologues where the cast can adlib and one of the cast, Starla, mentioned superman's girlfriend being in the house which completely slayed the the audience. People at that point were rolling in the isles.

But, most of the show was more like gentle surmon than a theatrical experience. As the last lights dimmed on the last final monolgue of the evening the audience rose as if on cue to a standing ovation. The cast joined hands and walked downcentre and bowed and walked off stage left. And it was only then, as the audience shouted and screamed for their return to the stage that the ladies, now backstage began to cry.

And I couldn't stop crying as well.





[Edited on Sep 14, 2005 by realistic67]

[Edited on Sep 14, 2005 by realistic67]