……………………..Can anyone forget that faithful morning? I remember it as clear as a bell…..as clear and as beautiful as that Sept. morning was……..It was an exception start to the day. The sky was clear, the air was cool and crisp, and a beautiful fall day was about to begin……and then the world stopped…….I was in the kitchen squeezing fresh orange. I put the girls outside and turned on the morning news. Jac was upstairs helping her mother to get dressed and ready for the day…….Then it came across the screen…..a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center…..At first it was thought it was a private small jet and a terrible accident had occurred, but quickly it was realized that this was a commercial jet from Boston on its’ way to LA…….What was it doing in NYC!!!??? I ran upstairs and had Jac put on her mother’s TV, and I said you’re not going to believe what’s happening…..Then the second plane hit the tower, and it became very clear this was no accident. We went down to the kitchen and watched the horrors of the day unfold….Then two other planes crashed, one into the Pentagon and the other in a field…….Nothing from that day to this will ever be the same……A generation has grown, and I find it astounding that many don’t know what happened that day……..It is all of our responsibilities to make sure this is taught in the schools, because the threat is alive and just as strong as that day…..when the world stopped……I remember the story of Isaias Rivera and his co-worker, who worked for CBS, and were on the top of the tower working on cables. They both died that day with all of their brothers and sisters……………they will never be forgotten……….God bless to all those who perished, and to all of the families.
Could ANYONE EVER forget that day? I was at home with the phone ringing off the hook as Ray was frequently at the Pentagon to brief the Joint Chiefs. I couldn’t get through to him as the phone lines were jammed there. Our distraught son was off at college and called very frequently to see if I had been able to contact his dad, as he had not been able to, either. After what had seemed like an eternity Ray came striding in the back door. He had been sent home early as the State Dept, where his office was, was also on the hit list and was evacuated. My sister in law was in NYC from Dallas on a buying trip and had a meeting that morning in the WTC. No one could get through to her, either. When we finally heard from her we learned that she had fallen ill the night before and had rescheduled her meeting until later in the day. Thank God she wasn’t there when the planes hit! We went to our church that evening, which was full of stunned parishioners. When our rector asked if anyone had a loved one not accounted for, many raised their hands. When he asked if we knew someone who had an unaccounted for loved one, almost everyone raised his hand. We later learned that friends in NYC had raised their hands in response to their rector’s question there. They raised their hands as they had not been able to reach us.They were also asked if they knew anyone who had perished. Many hands went up. They were finally able to get through to us much later in the evening. AS we lived so close to DC, the skies were full 24/7 of reconnaissance planes and helicopters around the clock. Very, very eerie. Ray didn’t return to work for some time as they didn’t know if more attacks were coming. When he did return, I felt considerable trepidation. But they needed him there.
I’ll never forget the beautiful sky that day—a blue sky that I call “Utrillo Blue”–I was in Princeton, NJ on business–drove from my hotel to the customer location with the sun roof open so I could look at the sky, listening to music rather than the news, I was briefly oblivious–then 10 minutes later a distraught lawyer, who had been on the 75th floor of of the towers at the World Trade Center just the day before, ran into the conference room and told us and our world changed forever. We had no TV where we were and our cell phones were not working, so I called my son in Massachusetts who I knew was home that day. He turned on the TV and I put him on the speaker phone as ten of us huddled around the phone–he was relaying to us what he was seeing and then the second plane hit! I turned to my colleagues and said “It’s Osama Bin Laden.” I had been reading about Bin Laden since the Clinton days and the bombings in Africa in 1998 and the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000–I just knew in my gut it was him. All the bridges across the Hudson were closed so I couldn’t drive home to Massachusetts until Friday. As I drove across the Tappan Zee Bridge, I could look right down the Hudson and see the smoke still rising from the Trade Center collapse…. Sheila
None of us will ever forget. I was just leaving an interview booth with my client. I was a caseworker with the welfare department at the time. My immediate thought maybe intuition was an attack. At the time my sister and partner lived in DC on Capitol Hill. When they said the Pentagon was hit I knew I had to get to my mother so she wouldn’t be watching alone. Dad had died a few months previous. It was hours before we heard they were ok. My daughter was in Navy nuclear training and supposed to fly out that day from Chicago to SC. Of course the flights were shut down. She couldn’t get back on her training base for hours because they had listed her as having left. It was weeks before the trainees were sent to SC (by bus).
A co-workers sister in law was at a credit union meeting in the Midwest. She and others in the group rented one of the last rental cars available and drove home dropping people off along the way.
That morning,I was cleaning up the kitchen about 8 am Wisconsin time, when the phone rang. It was my friend, who in a panic voice, unfolded the events. From that moment I was glued to the tv, unable to grasp the reality of it all. My husband was in Houston on business and we connected right away. No one knew if there would be more to follow- or where. At the time, we lived in the countryside on a path where planes to the Milwaukee airport flew over. Later that day, and for days to come, the air above was silent. The world stopped. My husband and associates took their rental cars and each drove home to their respect states. The rental agencies charged a hefty penalty for out of state drop off and extending a rental period without authorization. Really? Then, a few years later, for my birthday gift, my husband planned my first trip to New York City. Louis, you made a few restaurant recommendations to me. We visited the 9/11 Memorial for 4 hours, reading every board, watching every video. Whoever made the memorial go from a dream to a reality – thank you.
I will never forget. I was on a media tour with a client that started with industry analyst meetings in Boston and then on to NYC on 9/10. I was traveling with the CEO & General Counsel of a CO-based high tech company. Weird thing…our flight from Boston to NY was cancelled due to a fire in the control tower at Newark Airport, so we rented a car & drove down to the city that night. When the first plane hit, we were in an interview with a Wall Street Journal reporter in midtown at the Helmsley Hotel. The reporter came into the city from NJ and asked to meet us at the hotel, instead of WSJ offices near the Twin Towers. Had she not switched locations, we would’ve been near ground zero when the planes hit. After we realized this was no accident, we kept trying to call home on our cell phones as we headed to St. Vincent’s to give blood. We assumed there would be many casualties, but after waiting on line for 30 minutes, we were told they had enough donors. The heartbreaking reality, as we know so well now, was there were few survivors. The sights, sounds and smell of that time in lower Manhattan are burned into my memory for as long as I live. We spent the next 2 days locked down with no way out of the city, fearing another “hit” as F-16’s flew low overhead, and hoping for the bridges & tunnels to reopen. I headed for the most comforting place I knew–St. Patrick’s Cathedral–and although there were about 100 people there, there was total silence as we lit candles & prayed for the souls lost. Once the bridges opened, we were able to get a Hertz rental car for $500 cash and headed west. Seems like yesterday, not 19 years ago, but I will never forget the losses and even the blessings. I still keep in touch with the WSJ reporter, and on each anniversary, we talk about that fateful meeting and our good fortune in crossing paths that day.
Thank you Louis and all sharing memories of that day. So many memories that still bring tears. God bless all who died and all those affected t
hrough the years.
I remember that day as well. A beautiful blue sky & sunshine. I had gotten up with our then 3rd grader who is now 26 to see that he went to the bus stop across the street. I had on News 12 (a local LI cable news channel) that showed a plane had crashed into the WTC. I immediately knew from the size of the hole on live TV that it wasn’t a private jet. At that point at 10 to 9AM I turned on NBC TV. I also got on the phone to NYC to see if my DH had gotten into work at the World Financial Center which was across the street from the WTC. A secretary told me that he wasn’t in yet & that they were doing a head count of who was there. Turns out that DH got off the E subway line just in time to see the 2nd plane crash into the 2nd tower. He was in the lobby of the 1st tower when he saw a crowd of people running towards him & he wondered if it was a gunman or something else. He got his answer within minutes. He ducked back down into the subway again. He ran into a colleague and they went up together to the main street. That colleague ducked into a small store to grab a disposable camera to take photos. He also found out that the WTC was evacuating & he wasn’t allowed up into that building. Around 9:30 he called me on his cell & said to call his mom to let her know he was okay. He didn’t know when he would be back home. I then went about some errands– picking up an RX at the local Genovese Pharmacy & then to another errand. At around 10:30 in the car with CBS Newsradio 88 on, I heard that the first tower had collapsed. I was in a traffic lane and had to pull over to cry. I met up with my father & we went to my church to say a prayer for all of us. I was now faced with the decision as to what to tell our 3 sons — one in HS, one in middle school & our youngest in elementary school.
I first went over to the HS where the main office was telling people to sign out your children if necessary. I spoke with our eldest in the hallway & told him his Dad was alright & awaiting the all clear from the Long Island Railroad to be sure the tunnels were safe to travel through. This was the era of the Sony Walkman so most of the children in the HS knew what was happening because of that radio on them. He only asked me why it took me so long to tell him how his Dad was? I said, I wanted to make sure he was far away from any danger so I could tell you good news.
The second trip was similar to the first, & the main office said to sign out your child if need be. They paged the middle son out of English class. I said to him, first your Dad is alright & not hurt but the WTC where we visited a few years ago is no more, two planes have crashed into them. The teachers and staff decided it was on a need to know basis so the children weren’t told of the attack. He paused briefly & left the office. I found out later that he cried in the hallway before heading back to English class.
Based on what they had not told the middle school, I decided to go home & wait for the elementary school to let out before I told our youngest son.
I have to say that the next few weeks, we were all in a daze; the silence in the skies with only the birds singing, no airplanes overhead, & the sadness that a group of radicalists had used our technology against us. My husband’s company only lost one person because he was at an early meeting in the tower for the NYS Tax Department. One of my HS classmates died in the collapse of building 2 trying to get out people; he was a NYC firefighter.
We will never forget that fateful day.
I know how bad it was for New Yorkers, but it was bad for us in California, too. All the planes were coming here. Many people here lost family members and loved ones. An acquaintance of mine lost her son. So many lives touched by that day. My son was just starting 3rd grade, and he has only vague memories of that day. On that day, we were all Americans first.
Thank you, Louis for this post.
So many stories that should never be forgotten.
So many wonderful people in our country who wanted to help.
God bless the heroes and the USA.
Our world shattered that day. What we saw broke our hearts, changed our lives and plunged us into grief for thre lives that were lost. Our city was covered in dust, in tears and in grief. Our grief and prayers continued as remains of loved one were recovered, our prayers for all the responders who worked tirelessly around the clock to bring loved ones home. Our prayers continue not just for those lost that day but for those who served afterwards and lost their lives and to continue to lose their lives because of their bravery that day and afterwards. This horror and loss of life continues to this day, nineteen years later as we lose the responders who answered the call, to honor. Prayers for every single fireman and police officer as well. We need to honor them as well for their bravery, respect them for their unwavering efforts and for their courage and kindness of heart. This is what makes us proud.
I was suppose to have lunch with a reporter that day (I did media relations work) and, of course, she called to cancel and asked to meet the following day instead. It was early in the day but I remember saying I didn’t think this was going be a one day story and we should play it by ear. My husband knew the security director at the towers who initially got out but felt it was his duty to go back inside and be in his office, he lost his life that day. We often think of him and all others who perished on 9/11. As Elaine wrote above, always remember.
I remember looking at the sky that morning and thinking I had never seen it so blue or beautiful, just magnificent. It has never been that way for me since, nor do I think it ever will be.
Went to a little ceremony at our local Pct. on West 10th Street, prayers and a Roll-call. Very moving.
I’ll walk downtown to the Towers next week.
Alway remember,
Elaine
Last night I was reading stories of heroes and of those that perished that dreadful day when the world stopped. So many of us glued to the tv in shock and disbelief. My husband and I got to talking about 9/11 and I said to him the same thing you did about how this needs to be taught in schools. A whole generation is rather clueless as to what happened that day. I often wonder if that is one of the reasons why the younger generation feels so entitled – they haven’t had to live through such a horrific disaster to make them grateful to be an American and for the freedom and opportunities we have here. In my opinion, history should not be forgotten and swept under the rug. We need to learn from our past. I remember how united Americans felt after this. It took a tragedy to make us come together regardless of our differences. Now, we are so divided, it’s so sad. We need to remember this day and honor those that died today, as hard as it may be to think about. Remember what it is to be an American and what our country stands for. You are right, the threat is still alive today…