How did 9/11/2001 change your life?

[Schaumburger]

I'm interested in how 9/1/2001 changed the lives (in both small and large ways) of those who post on TOTV.

The morning of 9/11 I was just getting ready to leave for work when the first plane hit the North Tower. I watched on television for a few minutes, then I had to leave for work. I have a short drive to work. Just before getting to my office I heard on the radio that a second plane had hit the South Tower. When I got to my office, very few people were actually working. They were gathered around the television set in our conference room or listening to the radio at their desks. The rest of the day passed in kind of a fog. By 10:00 a.m. most offices downtown Chicago had let their employees go home for the day. Being out in the suburbs we weren't so worried about being attacked.

After several months of reflecting on the events of 9/11/2001 and how short life is and how things can change in the matter of minutes, I quit my second job, and I got involved in tutoring one night a week during the school year in an English as a Second Language program for adults in the northwest suburbs. I start my 9th year of tutoring next week, and tutoring these students has given me a greater appreciation of how lucky I am to have been born and raised in the United States.

[2newyorkers]

Our son was already in the army when 9/11 occured. He was sent to Afghanistan, a country with no infrastructure, electricity, etc. Communication was by mail only. Every day, all day, you pray that your child is safe. We were blessed that our son came home.

[graciegirl]

It changed my life in that I no longer feel as safe as I did, and no longer trust as much as I did.

I was watching Television in Cincinnati when news of the first plane striking the World Trade Center came on. Our then eleven year old granddaughter instant messaged me as we both watched in horror in our respective homes as this beyond belief tragedy happened right before our eyes. As we messaged back and forth I was trying to protect her and explain to her and yet there weren't any words to do either.

I printed that conversation and have it preserved forever. She is 21 and in New York City right now interning on the Today show and my grandmother's prayer is that her curious soul won't go out on the streets, just for today.

[ladydoc]

Hubby and I were watching the morning news and saw it all...as it happened. I remember the first pictures I saw of the first plane made it look like a small plane had crashed. We thought it was an accident. When the second one came we knew life as we knew it was over. We watched in horror as the events unfolded. I cried all day...I cried for weeks for all the lives lost....for the destruction and for the survivor's loved ones. I cried this morning for the same reasons (I cry when I see ASPCA commercials). I remember calling our daughter in Hawaii and waking them up so early in the morning so she could watch. In the aftermath, I was disgusted at the conspiracy theories and the hatred it all gave birth to. This is a day for reflection, for giving thanks for our blessings and to pay respect to those who perished....needlessly.

[RichieLion]

That morning I took the day off to pick up my wife from the hospital. She called me that morning to tell me to turn on the TV because a plane had crashed into the WTC. I was making breakfast and ultimately burned it, as I stood transfixed. They were both on fire now. The company I worked for in NJ is right across the river from Manhattan and had a clear view of the WTC and many on my job saw the second plane's trajectory and it's ultimate impact. My oldest sister and a cousin worked in lower Manhattan and seeing debris falling from the Towers were horrified when they realized that all the debris were people falling. My cousin is still plagued by nightmares of that.

I received a call from the hospital in Englewood NJ, where my wife was, to come pick her up because they were expected to receive casualties from NY. My trip was hampered by all routes to NYC being closed for security reasons, and so I had to take a zig-zag route on secondary roads, but I got there and picked up my wife amid all the preparations being made to accommodate the expected arrival of casualties.

That never happened as most people got out of the buildings and the most of the rest were past medical help.

Every day for the remainder of my career, I could look across the river and see the gaping hole in the skyline. Eventually I was able to mostly look without choking up. But even today, I can only view so much of the ceremonies.

[2BNTV]

It changed my life in that I no longer feel as safe as I did before 9/11. I just back from a trip to Florida and being at the airport is a grim reminder as security procedures are to be adhered to. Before 9/11, I used to worry about the plane crashing as I am still not thrilled with flying. After 9/11, a small part of me becomes more concerned about whether someone is going to blow-up the plane.

Can we ever feel to be totally safe again?

On 9/11, I was in work before 8AM and didn't hear anything about it until my son called me at 11:00AM to informed me he was alright. I said, "why wouldn't you be alright? He then informed what happened and I was dazed the rest of the day and getting updates to see if he made it out of the city.
He was working in the basement of a building three blocks away and they heard an explosion. The building shook. All three co-workers looked at each other and said, "what was that". He left the building immediately and saw the first plane sticking out of the building. He started to walk uptown. As he was walking, the second plane hit. When he saw the amount of debris in the air, he started running.

It makes me angry and sad to have to look at the New York skyline and not see the Twin Towers.

My nephew is dating a woman who lost her husband on 9/11. My thoughts and prayers are with her and her two young daughters today.

[CaliforniaGirl]

I was working in Los Angeles for a large major mover, handling Fortune 500 accounts only. Because of the time difference, I knew nothing about it until I got into my car to go to work and turned on the radio. I drove to work in tears, and when I got there no one was working...everyone in my dept. was huddled around 1 small TV.

In the afternoon, I called a customer who was scheduled to move the next day from the Bay area to AZ. When she answered, she was obviously upset - she told me they would have to put their move on hold because their next-door neighbor had died that day, and their whole neighborhood was in shock and her neighbor needed her. The neighbor who died was Tom Burnett, one of the heroes of Flight 93.

One of our major accounts was Intel. They donated dozens of computers, and my company sent two vans to NYC and set them up as mobile internet centers so rescue workers / volunteers could stay in touch with their loved ones.

[Pturner]

I was working at home that morning and my secretary called to tell me just after the first tower fire. I turned on the TV. As the announcer was talking, you could see a plane in the background and I kept thinking, OMG, it looks like that plane is going to fly right into the WTC. Surely not. OMG, it sure looks like... no, surely not. No! No! No! To say I gasped with disbelieve and cried my eyes out is an understatement.

My Book Club was scheduled for a trip to NY on Oct. 5, 2001. After 911, we debated whether to go, and initially cancelled. However, NY's economy was hurting and they had a campaign pleading for people to not be afraid to come. So we went. When we re-booked our airfare and hotel, the cost was a fraction of what it had been initially. Not wanting to take advantage of the tragedy, we vowed to spend the different in NY.

The trip was unforgettable. The smoke was still well smoldering and visible. We visited with firemen at a precinct that had lost more than a dozen fire fighters. We cried. They cried. American flags were in every window. The Empire State Building was lit up in red, white and blue. Everyone from cab drivers to Chinese restauranteurs expressed their shock and sadness. I bought an inexpensive pen at one shop and the saleslady sent me a handwritten thank you note, expressing how grateful she was to us for coming to NY. I cried my eyes out.

Today my book club met. It was my turn to lead and I started us by observing a moment of silence. There were tears.

For the horror of 911. For the bravery on flight 93, and the bravery of our firefighters, police, emergency medical, k-9 rescue teams, and our soldiers. We stand in honor and awe.

We are all Americans. We are all New Yorkers. We will never forget.

[Schaumburger]

Our son was already in the army when 9/11 occured. He was sent to Afghanistan, a country with no infrastructure, electricity, etc. Communication was by mail only. Every day, all day, you pray that your child is safe. We were blessed that our son came home.

Thank you for your son's service. And thank you to all serving in the U.S. military keeping us safe here in the U.S. And to the firefighters, police officers and all first responders who run into and respond to dangerous situations -- thank you for serving your communities.

[momesu]

My experience of 9/11 was a bit different. I guess you could say I saw it through the eyes of Europe. My then husband and I were just finishing up a three week work/vacation in Amsterdam and were to fly home on 9/12. I had been out doing some final sightseeing and returned to our small hotel early afternoon. As I walked into the lobby the desk clerk answered the phone and immediately signaled for me to come over. My husband was calling from the office he was working at. All I remember him saying was "I'm not sure we'll be going home tomorrow I think American was just attacked and we might be at war." I didn't have a clue what he was talking about and simply said "Okay..." and handed the phone back to the desk clerk who must have known what was going on as he talked for a few moments to my husband, hung up, took me by the arm (I think I was standing there open-mouthed simply staring) and said they had a television on in the parlor would I like to go watch what was happening while he got me a drink. I sat in front of that TV in shock for over 4 hours.
That night we went out for a walk to get try and get our minds off the fact we could not reach our children who where back in the states because no phone lines were available. Nor could we reach a good friend whose husband was working in the wing of the Pentagon that was hit. We found ourselves walking in the direction of the US Embassy and when we reached it were stunned to see hundreds of people there placing flowers around the gates and standing with candles. Some like us were Americans wanting to feel a bit closer to home, not knowing when we would get back. Others were tourists from other parts of the world and most were residents of Amsterdam. That night though we were one people. All grieving for those who lost their lives.
The people of The Netherlands know the horrors of war and terror. What they experienced at the hands of Hitler will never be forgotten by them. I think this gave them a special compassion for us Americans who were in their midst on 9/11. Everywhere we went over the next week, as we waited for airports to reopen, the people just seemed to know we were American and they were so kind and caring. I will never forget it.
I will also never for get the flight home one week later. I have never been so terrified in my life. The tension on the plane was almost palpable as we were on one of the first flights back into Dulles Airport in Washington DC.
For a month or two after we returned, nightly we listened to the fighter jets fly over our home as they patrolled the skies of Washington DC and it's surrounding area.
Today ten years later I remember the lives lost. I give thanks that my friends husband had just walked out of the Pentagon 5 minutes before the plane hit and was in a construction trailer in the parking lot. He survived. Am I more afraid than I was pre-9/11. I don't think so. I am more vigilant, but I refuse to lie my life in fear of terrorists. To do so means they will have won.
Suzanne

[jackz]

I was assigned to the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia and was involved in the training and instruction of Foreign Police Officials sent to the USA for training. When we were meeting with the foreign police officials the afternoon of 9/11, they informed us that they wanted to volunteer along with our agents at the Pentagon site. We arranged vans to transport them to the Pentagon and had them cleared to work alongside our agents in assisting in the recovery effort and investigative efforts at the Pentagon. This is how these mid level and upper level foreign law enforcement personnel spent their weekend after 9/11. Their example proved to us that the law enforcement community is a global one and we remain concerned for each other.

The second part of how 9/11 affected me personally was that I retired from the Dept of Justice in 2002 and accepted a 5 year contract to manage the new Federal Air Marshal Program which on 9/11 consisted of only 33 Air Marshals working Foreign flights only. I derived a lot of satisfaction in watching the program grow to the thousands within a short period of time and can assure you that your safety on aircraft has increased tremendously since 9/11.

[hedoman]

Lynn and I were on our honeymoon in Jamaica. No television but the radio mentioned in a deep accented voice there was a report of an airplane crashing into TWC. Didn't think twice about it until we went by the televison room when I saw what I thought was a creepy movie ala Independence Day type. The folks told me it was CNN and these were pictures of the WTC. OMG the rest of the week everybody left but couldn't fly anywhere and the resort was getting empty (we had 8 more days left). When folks finally started to come in 6 days later we found out more. I didn't really get the full impact until we got home and put all the pieces together with pictures.

Today, 10 years later, the history channel had some facinating video on a number of documentaries and THAT really hit home, the horror, the grief the disbelief. I felt like I was living through it for the first time...

Changed our lives ? Hell yes it did. We no longer fly and are wary of any stranger of middle eastern descent. Shouldn't profile but I can't help it. Like the Japenese during WW2....

We have a much truer meaning of what being an American is now and the full understanding of the sacrifices many have made so we can live free. Isolationist me wants to put walls up around our borders......

God Bless America