Lest we forget. 9-11

[dishstaller]

As you watch this, you might find yourself surprised at how much you have forgotten about that day


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wriCnFqvqE

 

[comfortably_numb]

I was 22, working for Mediacom Cable in Missouri at a customer's house fixing a converter box. They had their TV on and I stood there and watched while the second tower fell. I remember I had a Sprint PCS phone and tried to call my parents in Ohio but "all circuits are busy." I remember gas going to $5/gallon at some stations until W threatened them. Most bizarre day of my life.

 

[WhiteBeard]

I'll never forget it and who I worked for and where I was at. I was staying at a hotel having breakfast in Salt Lake City for attending a company sponsored school. There was a TV on and I couldn't believe my eyes when the second plane hit.

 

[TRG]

I never forgot for a second. But I fear that many have. Or many were too young to know and never taught about what happened that day. I have deep roots in New York since I was born and raised there. I have lost family members to this tragedy. Both during that horrific day and in the days to follow. First responders who ran towards the towers to help while others were running away. Heroes, each and every one of them. Sadly so many New Yorker's have forgotten. Or just don't care.

 

[cp2k]

I was a sophomore in college that year. I commuted back and forth and was on my way to school when the morning show I usually listened to reported the first plane hitting the towers. At that point the rumors were still that it was a small aircraft and was likely an accident. Just as I pulled into the parking lot and parked the reports of the second plane hitting came across. This was before smartphones, etc. and the school didn't even have WiFi in all the buildings at that point in time, so once I got to class I was in an information blackout. When that class ended I went to my next class and found it was cancelled, so I made my way to the student center where there was a huge TV. I can still remember the scene of all the students and professors huddled together watching everything unfold.

As a history teacher I always made it a point to teach kids about 9/11 on the anniversary, but I'll admit it got harder as the years went by because ultimately I found myself teaching kids who weren't even born then and just saw it as another item in their history books. It's almost impossible to grasp the magnitude of something like that if you didn't live it. Kind of like how past generations talked about the Great Depression, WWI, WWII, etc.

 

[dfergie]

I was on days off, had the Today show on probably fixing breakfast when the first plane hit, ended up at my Mom's watching the aftermath.
Remember going to an almost deserted Walmart mid day, pulled the camper to the nearby hills and camped out on a ranch where I had friends living for a couple days...

 

[klang]

Have not forgotten a thing.

 

[Jimbo]

I was working at ATT , I was between jobs, driving to the next, pulled up and heard about the 1st plane and thought, WTH, stupid stuff happens , how bad was it I didn't know, I continued to the job and heard about the 2nd plane and then knew it wasn't an accident.

At that point, you knew your world had changed forever.

Like mentioned above, it's different if your reading it out of a book, vs it happening in your life ...


Thank You to ALL our Military Men and Women and First Respondors who have Served and Currently Served ....
Bless you all

 

[Bruce]

I was getting the house ready for my son's 11th Birthday Party, no one came of course.

He is 36 today.

 

[dishstaller]

Like mentioned above, it's different if your reading it out of a book, vs it happening in your life ...

Very true. Anytime I talk about 9-11 to someone who is younger, I always try to get across to them that we, on that day, had NO way of knowing when the attacks were going to end. We were glued to the TV watching and wondering "what gets hit next".

Speaking of having to live through something to fully understand it, my Grandma was born in 1910 so she was 19 when the Great Depression began so it hit her right as she got married and started raising a family. It scarred her to her core. She washed and reused things that today we toss in the garbage can without a second thought.

 

[WhiteBeard]

I was working at ATT , I was between jobs, driving to the next, pulled up and heard about the 1st plane and thought, WTH, stupid stuff happens , how bad was it I didn't know, I continued to the job and heard about the 2nd plane and then knew it wasn't an accident.

At that point, you knew your world had changed forever.

Like mentioned above, it's different if your reading it out of a book, vs it happening in your life ...


Thank You to ALL our Military Men and Women and First Respondors who have Served and Currently Served ....
Bless you all

There's videos showing what happened plus some documentaries about it. Seeing is believing and would supplement reading about it.

 

[WhiteBeard]

 

[cp2k]

There's videos showing what happened plus some documentaries about it. Seeing is believing and would supplement reading about it.

You are correct, but it still doesn't compare to having lived the moment. Having taught high school kids for 14 years I can honestly tell you no 9/11 video I could show them has much effect on newer generations. They've grown up seeing buildings blown up on TV screens in fictional movies, and because of Tiktok, YouTube, and Snapchat their attention span is about 30 seconds. Some did get it, but the large majority weren't moved or interested in the video aspect any more than they were what was in their history book. It's sad, but it's true.

My favorite has always been the History Channel's 102 Minutes that Changed America documentary. If you haven't seen it I highly suggest you watch it. It's scheduled to air at 10pm Eastern tonight right after a newer 102 Minutes special interviewing some of those who were in the towers that day.

 

[osu1991]

Was in the middle of nowhere at our ranch cabin. Probably watching on Dish as we only had 2 tv stations OTA at the ranch.

Was a little different as nobody else was there at the time, unlike when the Murrah Building was bombed in OKC and I was in Tulsa at the barbershop getting a haircut. My dad was an Engineer with Corp of Engineers and they were on alert and security was closing access to their buildings and he called my mobile saying he would be home later

 

[FTA4PA]

I was home with our not yet 2 yr old daughter that day. While standing at the sink doing dishes with her in a rocker on the floor next to me my wife came in crying on her lunch break. When I asked why she told me. I had not had the tv or radio on all morning so that was the first I knew.

Did not know it at the time but my aunt and uncle were in Washington D.C. sightseeing and wound up in the middle of things.

We have made sure that both our kids know what happened that day.

 

[navychop]

My son hadn't a clue of the significance of December 7, 1941.

Something inside me resigned that day.

 

[TRG]

I was on business travel in Colorado Springs, CO. I caught some bug and was sick as a dog in my hotel room. I had one of the news stations on when I heard that "A small plane has crashed into the World Trade Center in NYC." When the video coverage started coming in I remember being suspicious. The damage to the tower looked to be more extensive than what a small aircraft would cause. I had been in the WTC several times so I had an idea of the scale. Those buildings were massive. I was on the phone talking to my wife asking her if she was watching. Then the second plane hit. I remember saying, "Oh my God, we are at war."

My sister was mid flight from New York to Seattle when the airspace was closed. She landed in Chicago not sure what to do next. She met a coworker from a previous job in the terminal who was also grounded. They rented a car together and drove 12 hours back to New York.

 

[WhiteBeard]

My sister was mid flight from New York to Seattle when the airspace was closed. She landed in Chicago not sure what to do next. She met a coworker from a previous job in the terminal who was also grounded. They rented a car together and drove 12 hours back to New York.

When I got out of my class in SLC, we weren't sure if we could get a flight back to our homes so we considered getting a rental car but then we found out that they reopened the air space and got home. There were reporters and a couple Sheriffs deputies waiting as we got into the terminal at our home airport. It is a small airport and I noticed there was no fence around the property. They had one installed within a couple of days. Not that it would be much of a deterrent.

 

[WhiteBeard]

There was a drone show that recreated the towers. Several YT videos.

 

[TRG]

I have been holding back on this comment, wondering if anyone else would bring it up.

Aside from remembering the horrific attack on 9-11. I feel it's important to remember how united the country was for a few days after. I'd give a kidney to have that feeling again. The wedge reappeared too quickly after the initial shock was over. I'm reminded yearly that we need to do better. I feel It's important to focus on common ground rather than unilaterally repeling those that think differently than you.

I'll step off my soapbox now. Hopefully I didn't venture too far into the political realm.