[TheVillageChicken]

In Germany. We were scheduled to fly home on 9/12, but didn't get out until just under two weeks later.

[looneycat]

Originally Posted by deestatham

I was home waiting for a phone call. Finally received the call that my 32 yr. Old cousin was indeed killed in tower 2. It was an awful day and our family has never totally recovered. His son was 1 yr old. All grown up now but never will know his father.

that is awful, another consultant I know was in the second tower. they were being told to stay calm....he chose to run down the stairs as fast as possible and didn't stop until he was far from the tower.He came from eastern Europe and said whenever someone said stay calm you had better run.

[redwitch]

I was getting ready to go to work in San Francisco, listening to GMA. The first plane had just struck and the announcers were doing their best to be calm while laying out different theories as to what caused the plane to hit. When we saw the second plane hit, we all knew it was not a freak accident but an act of terrorism. Words cannot describe the pain I felt at seeing this incredible act of cruelty.

My ex-husband was working in the east wing of the Pentagon. He was MIA for the entire week, with both his mother and I calling anyone we knew to find out if he was okay. Turns out he had gone to NYC to help with Clean-up logistics, his specialty. He was fine but ultimately died from mesothelioma, which was more than likely caused by asbestos exposure from the Towers.

I had one client and one friend on the SF flight that went down in Pennsylvania.

It is truly a day I will never forget. May all those who died in the attacks or because of the attacks know they will always be in our hearts.

[John_W]

I was in Baltimore watching the morning sports updates on ESPN since MNF was played the night before. I remember the Denver receiver Ed McCafferty had what looked like a bad leg injury or break. One of the announcers on ESPN said something I've never heard on TV before or since. He said, there is something big going on, so you all might want to switch to one of the news channels or networks.

I switched on the Today Show and saw Katie and Matt talking about one of the towers getting hit, then I saw the second tower get hit. I don't know why, but I left and went to the local grocery store to pick up supplies. I went to the next door liquor store and noticed they had something else on TV and had no clue of what was going on. I told them to keep plenty of help on hand, it will probably be busy night and you might want to switch your TV to another channel.

The other thing I remember was, it was probably one of the most beautiful fall days I've ever seen. There was the bluest sky without a single cloud and the weather had just a slight nip in the air. Thinking about it now, the terrorist had the perfect weather to carry out their mission. Too bad it wasn't a cloudy or overcast day.

[dbussone]

Originally Posted by looneycat

that is awful, another consultant I know was in the second tower. they were being told to stay calm....he chose to run down the stairs as fast as possible and didn't stop until he was far from the tower.He came from eastern Europe and said whenever someone said stay calm you had better run.

I'm glad he paid attention to his own suspicions.

[MikeV]

I was where I am now. Cancun Mexico. We were not allowed to leave the country for four days. When we flew home to Albany NY we flew directly over the site. All we could see was smoke rising up from the site. The passengers were totally silent.

[Brencpa]

I was on a flight from Detroit to Kansas City, MO. We weren't told anything until we landed other than we were being rerouted and all planes were being grounded. Very eerie feeling. Will never forget that day.

Originally Posted by looneycat

that is awful, another consultant I know was in the second tower. they were being told to stay calm....he chose to run down the stairs as fast as possible and didn't stop until he was far from the tower.He came from eastern Europe and said whenever someone said stay calm you had better run.

You're right! We talked with him a few minutes before the tower fell and he said he was told to stay calm and not try to move out of the building. He did as he was told and the rest is history. Your person did the smart thing.

[TrudyM]

Being in Seattle I was at the bus stop a 6 am when I first heard about it. Didn't get the details until I got to work. I had a nephew who worked in the area of the towers didn't know if he or his wife were safe until that night.
All the buyers in my division at Macys Northwest were on a buying trip in New York. They were stuck as all flights were canceled. Some rock star I can't remember who leased them his plane so they and the buyers from California could get back.

[Carla B]

We were on our sailboat (our home) in Annapolis, having just sailed from New York City down the C&D Canal. My son in New Orleans called and woke us up. "Mom, where are you?" "One of the twin towers has just been hit by an airplane, and they think it's the work of terrorists" We immediately turned on the TV and saw the second tower fall. So awful.

[Nucky]

I worked at a concrete plant in Elizabeth N.J. we were pouring a landing pad at Newark International Airport. When word of the attack came on the radio we dug out a small black & white tv and watched the reports. The customer at the airport told me to stop shipping the mixers because he was calling off the rest of the pour. We had everyone back to the plant and on the way home in about an hour and a half. The drivers returning from the airport reported that they had a clean view of the twin towers. Two of the toughest men in our company were really hurting when they got back because they couldn't contact their wives who worked in the Twin Tower area. Worst situation I ever was presented with in my life.
That evening because all the bridges to Manhattan & Staten Island were closed thousand of people were stranded in the streets of Elizabeth N.J. we went to BJ's and bought cases of water, diapers & snack style food and just drove around our neighborhood trying to comfort anyone we could. The whole area was a mess. The next morning the smoke from the buildings was in our yard at our home. We loaded up the family and drove an hour and a half away to a trailer that we owned in Pennsylvania. The camping season was over but they allowed about 12 families to return from the possible harm we faced by staying home.
It was a terrible time, being out of touch with our jobs, the rest of our family and not being in our routine was terrible after 3 or 4 days we returned home. The most eerie thing was there was no plane traffic at all..it was so quiet. Occasionally a Fighter Plane would pass by quickly. The guys at work who were worried about their wives found them after a day. Work returned to "normal" in about a week but our life was never the same. I personally put 1010 wins traffic & news radio on before my feet hit the ground each morning and listened to that radio all day while I was awake until my oldest son said that they had won because I was on that damn radio all the time. It was 10 years before I listened to any other station. I had to seek a professional mental health provider to talk to. She straightened me out in a few visits. On the anniversary of 9/11 last year I found out a grammar school pal was killed in the Pentagon that day. I had lost contact with him years before but have many fond memories. He was a high ranking Naval Officer. After about a year someone announced that they were going to cut the lock & chains of several bicycles at Metropark Train Station In Iselin N.J. because they confirmed that the bikes belonged to people in our area who died in the attack that day. I forever will be proud of our country and the way the people in our area pulled together for a long time afterwards. The night that George Bush threw out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium was a bright spot for all of us when we needed it the most. God Bless America.

[rjn5656]

I was supposed to be coming out of the subway at 9 am at the Twin Towers. But my meeting was moved up to the prior day.

[applesoffh]

I was sitting in my apartment in Maspeth, Queens, NY. From the back of the apartment we had a clear view of the East River, from the Empire State Building to the Twin Towers. On that fateful day, as the Today show was interrupted by a news bulletin, I heard that a plane had crashed into the WTC. My immediate thoughts were "how could they not see that building?" Of course, we found out within a couple of hours that it had been a terror attack. I watched the collapse of the buildings from my window. I could smell the smoke for days, an otherwise sunny sky overtaken by never-ending grey. The banks were immediately closed. The courts were shut down (my husband was working in the courts at the time). There was no cell phone service. The schools were on lockdown until parents could pick the kids up. Friends and neighbors had to walk home from Manhattan, either over the 59th Street bridge, or one of the bridges linking Manhattan to Brooklyn. Buses were running, but subway service was halted. A friend was killed. That night, the bright lights of the search and recovery effort could be seen for miles. The eeriest thing that night, though, was the sound of fighter jets in the sky, instead of planes getting ready to land at LaGuardia.

[applesoffh]

Originally Posted by rjn5656

I was supposed to be coming out of the subway at 9 am at the Twin Towers. But my meeting was moved up to the prior day.

I can't imagine how you must have felt that day. There were many stories of people such as yourself, that, for some reason (twist of fate? hand of God?) were not there, when they would have been.

[dbussone]

One of my buddies was scheduled to fly out of Boston on the flight that went into a tower. On Sunday he developed a toothache and cancelled the flight so he could go to the dentist.

Muhlbach1, deestatham, looneycat, and everyone who suffered a loss directly, I pray that we shall never forget what happened on 9/11. The only thing that I can recall that comes close was my dad telling me about the reaction of everyone after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

I absolutely agree with golfing eagles though about our current leadership. Both sides seem to have lost their moral compass.