Seven years ago today, I had just returned home to my babies a few hours before from New York City, where I was based as a flight attendant.
My phone rang and my MIL was on the line, relief palpable in her voice when I answered. "You're Home!" she said. "Have you heard the news?"
I hadn't, but turned on the TV just in time to witness an aircraft plow into the second tower of the World Trade Center. Like the rest of the country, I stared in horror, riveted in front of the set.
Then the towers started to implode. Who could have foreseen that? Commentators started throwing out numbers of victims--seems like they were predicting upwards of 35,000-50,000 deaths.
Thankfully they were way off in their estimates. Almost 3,000 people died that day, and in the aftermath who can calculate how many people's lives have been decimated because of the events put in motion by the attacks. It's changed much in our world, especially for those in the military, and the airline industry.
So where were you when you found out about the attacks? Have those events changed your life in any way?
♥
5 comments:
I actually was sick from school that day. Really weird because we always watch the morning news programs and they automatically cut to that so my mom and I watched the whole thing from start to finish. It's weird because I know I watched all the footage as it came in and I know my mom was home with me that day. However, I don't really remember her reaction that day. My reaction was one of numbness mainly because as a teenager in high school you don't think those kinds of things can really happen here.
Now, when I look back I feel much more sorrow, anger, and disbelief then I believe I actually experienced that day.
i was in college at that time. my second year. i had a morning class (9-10:15) and met my boyfriend in our typical spot before heading back to my dorm room. we ran into one of his friends who said that someone had hit the trade towers and that was all we knew.
we went back to my room, turned the tv on, and at that time, both had already fallen.
i had become an RA just that year...was two weeks into my position, and was stunned. i was supposed to comfort my residents, but couldn't think much myself and had no idea how to comfort these people i barely knew.
i went to school right outside DC, and a lot of families at my school were affected. i spent the day in shock with the tv on.
it was my boyfriend's birthday. we did still get him a small cake with candles (we broke the rules), and people came to sing to him.
my dad was getting surgery that day and i couldn't reach my parents. all i wanted to do was hear their voices. in a way, i couldn't believe he still had surgery when something of that magnitude was happening.
i didn't feel safe at my school for quite some time after that point because of our proximity to DC and we then had the sniper shortly thereafter. i was actually mad at the school at the time because classes continued to go on until 4:30 when they decided to cancel them, and my professors the next day, still expected us to turn our work in...but who could do their homework when so engrossed in what was happening in our country and so close to home?
being from the east coast, i had been to nyc many times. i loved it there. i had pictures from up top of the world trade towers. i had just passed them a month before while on vacation. new york is still weird to me without them.
I live in Fairbanks, Alaska and worked for a fuel company at the airport at the time. As I drove around the east end of the runway I saw all the grounded planes. "What in the world?" I remember thinking. For a few minutes it was a novelty because it was neat to see the international air traffic that usually made pit stops in the dead of night all lined up for viewing pleasure. Once I got to work reality set in. We listened in tears as we heard what was happening on the opposite end of our country. It created chaos for several days, as most air traffic was grounded, including private crafts. Hunting season was in full swing, and there were many people who had been flown in to their hunting sight and were supposed to be picked up on predetermined dates. Many hunters had no idea what had happened for up to a week after the attacks because their pickups had been so delayed (cell phones don't work that far out!)
My husband usually gets up before I do and turns on the news. When I got up, he was shaving, and he told me that someone had just flown a plane into one of the twin towers at the World Trade Center. I went in to see what they were saying about it on the news and saw the smoke pouring out of the building. And then I saw another plane fly into the other tower, and I knew it wasn't some drunk, but a planned attack. I saw the plane, and it certainly looked like an airliner to me, even though the news people were saying it was a small plane.
I try to go for a 2+ mile walk each morning, and I took a transistor radio with me so I could listen to the news. I heard about the plane flying into the Pentagon and I heard about the collapse of the towers. I remember coming around a corner and passing a bunch of cars waiting for the light to change at the intersection. Every eye I met was filled with the same kind of horror I felt.
When I heard about the plane that went down in Pennsylvania, I was absolutely certain that the people had managed to rise up against the hijackers and kept the plane from flying into its target.
Later that morning, I had relief society, and as I walked through the parking lot into the meeting house, I head a plane fly overhead. I couldn't see it, even though the sky appeared to be clear, and the sound gave me the chills.
It was a terrible day, and just writing about my memories brings tears to my eyes.
i was at home getting ready for school. good morning america was playing in the background (as it was every morning) as i did my hair. i was a freshman. i remember my first period was choir. we sat on the floor and watched the news that morning. i'm pretty sure it's what we did in almost every class. i don't remember much from the rest of the day, but i remember watching the planes hit. and i remember watching the tours implode.
i remember i started bawling. i was so horrified that this was happening. it didn't seem real. some of the girls in my class turned and hugged me. they asked me if i knew someone there and i lied. i said i did. but i didn't. i just didn't understand what was happening. i was an emotional 14-yr-old wreck. it hit me hard and i still don't know why. things like that just do.
it's weird to have experienced one of those events where people do ask if you remember where you were and you DO. i guess its something like the JFK assassination. right?
*shrug*
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