Well, I just thought as a little SBB memorial we could share our stories of where we were when it happened or when we heard about it. I don't want to get too maudlin...but personally, I can't help but think back today.

I was at work (it was 6:20am or so PST) with just a couple other people that early in the morning. One of the guys comes out of his office and says, "have you heard?" I was clueless. He told me that a plane flew into the WTC. We immediately started discussing whether it was an accident or a terrorist attack. Meanwhile the other guy in the office was trying to pull up news on the internet...but the web was just hashed with people trying to pull up news. He got one page up with a grainy photo and then he couldn't get anything else...so that dang page stayed there.

Then I called my husband and woke him up. I told him to turn on the news. People were slowly filing into work...and everyone was talking about it. My DH turned on the news and for the next hour he became our news conduit. People crowded around my cubicle and I got to break the news to everyone about the second plane....the pentagon....the PA plane.

Someone finally got our conference room TV working to get local news and EVERYONE crowded into that little room. We all wondered if the attacks were going to go national and suddenly being high up in a sky scraper didn't feel so good. My boss...recently married back in NY, started to cry. She went to NYU and all of her friends were there. Management FINALLY made the decision to send us all home. The emotional altidude through out the building was so...heavy it was amazing. Even in Seattle.

Just like my mom remembers exactly where she was when Kennedy was shot...and I remember the Challenger explosion... I can remember every detail of that day. I just want to send a {hug} out to everyone. Especially those directly effected by 9-11.

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Suzanne

I work for a daily newspaper in the northern suburbs of NYC. I live a mile from the NYC line, a half hour's subway ride to lower Manhattan. I work nights, so I *should* have been asleep when the towers were hit, but I couldn't sleep that morning. I was trying to sleep on the couch, and I had the TV news on. My DH (FH then) woke up at his regular time and came out to the living room. He saw the TV, the North Tower with smoke pouring out of it and asked "What's going on?" That woke me up, and we sat there in horror watching as the second plane hit. Then they started telling us the first plane wasn't a small little commuter plane as first reported. They helicopters and ground crews got out there, and they switched from the still camera on the Empire State Building to show all the damage. It was horrible.

At this point no one really knew the extent of what was happening. I asked DH what they would do to repair the buildings - shear the top off? How expensive and messy would that be? How many people work there? We had no idea of what would happen an hour later to those buildings. My car was in the shop, and since I was probably going to have to go into work that night even on my night off, I needed to go get it. So DH dropped me off at the auto shop, and I was standing in the repair place's office with a couple mechanics, office staff and customers when we heard on 1010 WINS (AM 24-hours news radio station) that the tower had collapsed. "What do they *mean* collapsed? How could it collapse? What does that mean?" we all whispered.

I got my car and raced home. I called into work, my boss told me she would need me that night, definitely, and that they were in the middle of putting out a special noon Extra Edition. I asked if I could come in and help. She said they were all set. I sat glued to the television and cried all day. I went to work and we all cried all night, even the older, "stronger" men in the office.

The most eerie thing was that about half the newsroom was up early that morning - we just couldn't sleep. That was strange. That night, we watched TV. We read the wire stories and our local reporters had all been dispatched to catch various stories, all related to the towers. For days, we were haunted by the photos we saw but could never, ever put into print - the man falling (which the NYTimes printed but we decided against), a hand, a shoe, the crowds of stunned people screaming and running and covered in dust and tears, the layers and layers of dust.

The next few days we were all expected in. I worked 14 days in a row before anyone noticed and ordered me to stay home the next night. Our communities were heavily, heavily traumatized. Our coverage area is heavily commuters, so we lost hundreds of people. After the days of uncertainty and missing people stories, we started printing obituaries. We started to hear the stories about babies who would never know their fathers, a small boy left orphaned because his widowed mother worked at Windows on the World and didn't make it out, people who were supposed to be in the towers that morning but were late because it was their child's first day of school.

I remember driving into work exactly two years ago today, and seeing the cloud of smoke and dust from Ground Zero. I remember people standing at one high spot looking south, a curve on a busy road, in strangers' driveways, crying, staring at the NYC skyline, the dust, and what was there just hours before.

One of our photographers was up for a Pulitzer for his photographic work that day. He almost didn't want it. He wasn't sure if he'd accept it if he won, it was just too hard for him to accept that something good could happen for him out of something so horrible. We had councelors come in to help the reporters and photographers deal with the things they saw.

I think we were all changed that day, and it is a day I know we will never forget, never truly get past, never want to "get over."

What amazes me is how upset it still makes me. I read both posts, and just get goose bumps. I never thought I would get that emotional, but it hit a little close to home for me too.

I am currently in CA, but was living in Northern VA when it happened. I am from VA, and my family still lives in South Eastern VA.

I had just left the house to take my vehicle not 3 miles down the road to a repair shop. I had the radio on, and normally the DJ is a real sarcastic, jokester. They started discussing the events that were unfolding in NYC, but of course, I really didn't believe him, he is a 'Shock Jock' after all. By the time I got the repair shop, the Pentagon had been hit...while I was driving. No one had heard about it at the repair shop, or didn't believe it.

On the way home, I remembered, my mother was at work, on a military base in southern VA---Fort Eustis. She has worked Civil Service all her life, and so was my step-father. All I could think about at that point was, "Is she safe". I got home and couldn't get thru on the phone lines....oh that was so agonizing. The phone lines on the base were so slammed with calls it took me 30min just to reach her.

I also remember my kids being at school and thinking are they safe, but I tried not to worry about that too much cause I knew they may be safer there than out in public at this point. I was glued to the TV, and I hate watching continuous coverage of ANYTHING.

I also remember the Challenger explosion, I was in high school, and a picture of it is in my year book.

I feel so bad for all those families of 9-11, and I feel for them. It took me months before I could venture towards DC. I was afraid of how I would react seeing the Pentagon in pieces. I only lived 45min (in traffic) from DC, and we knew people who were directly affected.

I thank God every chance I get that my family and my friends were spared that day.

Laura

I remember that morning as if it happened today. I was at home (off-base military houseing) and one of my neighbors showed up at the door for morning coffee. We had just gotten the kids off to school on the bus and we were sitting around "gossiping" while the news was on. We saw the newscasts from the moment they started reporting it and we went into a state of complete and utter shock. I remember both of us looking at each other with complete stupification on our faces. We both started talking about picking up our kids from school in case they closed the base gates down but that we would wait to hear from our husbands as to whether or not to do that. We knew they would have more information than we would and we didn't want to send our kids into a panic.

It seems now as if all this took so much time to unveil...but it was just in between the first and second planes hitting. Time seemed to slowly tick by with each second being more gut wrenching than the next.

One by one all the SAHM military wives started coming over (my house seemed to be the common meeting place...it helped that my house was closest to the exit gate for us all to get our kids.) I remember the phone ringing and seeing US Government on the caller ID and feeling this rush of panic. I answered the phone and it was my husband. He couldn't talk long because he was on his way out of the office for a "meeting." But, when I answered the first thing he said was "Go get the kids from school." My jaw must have dropped and panic must have set in because one of my neighbors immediately started organizing who had a car that day and who didn't. When I got off the phone we all divided up who was going to what school and we would pick up all of our kids from school.

I went to the elementary school and we jammed 8 kids and 2 adults in my minivan. What astonished me most was when we got to the school the principal asked me why we were pulling the children out of school. I said you need to turn on the news and watch it, but this is what is going on and proceeded to tell her what I had heard and seen. She then replied...and that's the reason you're taking the kids out of school???? We haven't even told the teachers yet and you're going to pull them out of school for this??? Oh my gosh did my red hair go flying. I was sooo upset. Over 70% of this school is comprised of military children whose mothers and fathers are scattered all over the world and whose parents may be leaving to go overseas in the REAL near future. I looked at her and said...yes, when my husband tells me to pick my children up from school and he knows more about what's going on in the world than you or I do...I'm going to do what he asks. I turned around and walked away and went from cl***room to cl***room to pick up the children. While I was picking them up I would pull the teacher out of the cl***room and told them what was going on and what had happened. Come to find out they closed the school down and had all the children return home about an hour or so after we left. This was after a few of the teachers had called up to the office and advised the principal that the children needed to be with their parents if their parents were going to be deployed or had a parent overseas (and after many phone calls from parents saying they were coming to get their children.)

We all met back at the "rally point" (my house) and tried to explain to our children what had happened and then started making plans for each mom to take a turn at making meals for all of the families and taking turns feeding "the men at the office." We went about doing this and bringing food to the gate guards for about a week or so...whoever needed help got it...we felt like it was the only real immediate thing we could do to help out...take care of each other and take care of our men and women in uniform. We have such a close bond as "a military family" and that week really proved it.

That day I realized, more than any other, just how proud of my husband I was for wearing his uniform and for protecting our country. As each day goes by I thank God that he never had to be deployed and how honored I am to be a military wife.

I had just gotten home from taking one of my kids to school early. I went straight to my bedroom and turned on the television to watch Good Morning America while I made the bed. I can remember the twin towers being shown and newspeople breaking in about an incident that was occurring at the towers. It showed the first plane flying towards the the first tower and I remember hearing someone saying that was unusual for a plane to be flying so close to them. There was speculation that it was a small commuter plane and then BAM! It flew straight into the building. I couldn't believe my eyes. I sat down on the foot of the bed and didn't move until my kids got sent home early from school on the school bus. I never finished making the bed that day.
My first thoughts were what a terrible tradgic accident. Then to see the second plane come into view on the television screen and hit the second tower was just unbelievable. I new then that it was no commuter plane and it was no accident. Tears poured down my cheeks. The thought of those poor unsuspecting people that perished and their families was heartbreaking.
I remember thanking God that my children where in jr and sr high school so it wouldn't be so hard to explain and talk to them about what and why it happened.

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You can have my mouse when you pry it from my cold dead hand.

I had to look close when I read johnsonshari's reply and wonder if I had already replied...then I read on and the difference was I didn't have a kid in school...however...(my red hair would have flown as well if I were in that position)

I was at home in military housing (on the east coast then) my ds was 4 months old and I was keeping a 2 yo for another military wife. She happened to come back from her appointment early(because the hospital on base had been closed b/c of circumstances) and asked me if I had heard anything of course with sesame street on the tv I hadn't heard a word and within minutes the whole court seemed to be at my house we watched
the events happen in wonder of where would be next and would they try to attack closer to where we were. My husband also called and I called my mother who had not heard anything at all at that time. I watched tv for a week in a daze eventually I dropped three cl***es because I could no longer concentrate on anything other than wondering how long before my husband would be going to help and wondering if things would ever be normal again or if I ever wanted them to be.

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Mommie of Christopher, Wife of Jeremi

Wow, I thought that reading these stories would be easy -- i can't even see the screen. It still obviously effects me in so many; ways.

What happened here was that I was pulling out of the driveway to take the kids to school, and dh was taking the garbage out of the garage at the same time -- i had the radio on in the car and hearn something about 'attacks' I rolled down my window and said "hey turn on your radio on the way to work, something weird is happening" I drove off and was listening in shock -- the kids not really listening, which was probaly good at the time -- by time we got to the school I didn't know what to do -- I ended up staying AT the school with the kids, because I didn't want to dissrupt what was happening in their lives. I just sat there at the school watching TV w/connor and some other moms in one of the rooms -- I called my mom and just cried.

Another sad thing about this day for me is that I had a miscarriage the same day -- I was 18 weeks, and I think (at least this is my justification of it all for now) is that that life said "heck no -- too much going on" It is a very emotional time for me -- and remembering all those hopes and dreams of life that is no longer there -- sorry to bum people out more --

My uncle works at the pentagon and worked in the wing that got hit -- he wasn't THERE that day -- for whatever reason, he didn't go in -- So in our family we had a life spared in all this tradgedy --

My prayers are with those effected in any way to these events directly or indirectly --

I have a CD in my car with the song "Where were you when the world stopped turning" by alan jackson -- and I cry all the time, and the kids just say MOM dont' listen to that -- but i do and I remember and I give my kids bigger hugs and hold on to them for a few seconds longer, because it reminds me of what is really imortant in my life and how much the little things matter. Like today, on the way to school, I played it and my kids gave ME hugs and held on to me for an extra second before they went of on there day --

((((hugs)))))


Kristie

ps i made these t-shirts for my kids and they wore them proudly to school --

http://www.scrapbook-bytes.com/galle...cat=998&page=2

http://www.scrapbook-bytes.com/galle...cat=998&page=2

and they wore them again to day at school!!!

I was at work that day also but the catch is I worked at a gas station/convenience store. One of our regular customers ask if it was true because he had heard it on the radio but from a jokester of a news reporter. Both my boss and I replied it must be a joke because we hadn't heard anything. A second later another regular customer came in and said it was true. We turned on the radio and listened to the news. As word spread of this tragedy, the lines at the pumps got longer and longer. I couldn't move from the register so my boss made coffee, kept the cups stocked and so forth. It took both of us working at 200 percent to keep up with the customers. What was so unique was that the customers acted differently. They didn't complain about the long lines, in facted when they were done pumping gas they would pull ahead so someone else could begin pumping. Even though I was busy the only thing I really wanted to do was go home and be with my family but that wasn't possible. As the day progressed it became clear that life was now different. Gas jumped over 20 cents that day but no one complained on that day. That never happened before and has never happened since. At 5 pm when I was suppose to leave the store was a mess. No one had time to clean between customers. One of our employees came in in her jogging suit and I ask her if she wanted to work for a few hours cleaning. She said in this outfit. I said yes because I knew the work wouldn't get done unless we had extra help. Lines at the pumps were 8 to 10 cars long.
I finally got off work and got in my car to go home. I realized that there was no way for me to get out of my parking space because of all the lines. I just started to cry. I was exhausted and just wanted to go home. Finally, I managed to get out and was on my way home. I was so happy to be able to hug my two children and my grandson. I will never forgot how I felt that day as I have never forgot how I felt when Kennedy was killed or the Challenger disaster.

Vivian