wow Abbey, those faces, I had forgotten about the blank stare, everyone had for so many days after, glad your friend missed the flight, the quietness was a bit unnerving, all us at the post office kept talking about how quiet it was walking our routes, no airplanes, definitely eerie, your right about it being so etched in my mind, everything about that day, not even MS will be able to erase

I had heard my parents and grandparents speak of times they recalled so
detailed, and always wondered how they could recall all these years later-
exactly where they were and what they were doing. Now I understand.

I live in New Hampshire, but was in Rhode Island for a brain surgery.
I had the metal head frame in place, they had just taken a picture of me
for their scrap books.........when a nurse came in crying telling us
about the attack. We all left and went out to watch the news.
The head frame hurt like hell, but I remember not even caring about it.
My surgery was forgotten as we all stood in silence, tears streaming down
everyone face as we watched the second tower hit.

I remember the gasps, the loud sobs, strangers holding each other crying.
When we heard of the attack on the Pentagon, I fell to my knees.. my
husband cried out. His daughter worked there..... Much later…
We found out she was one of the lucky who was injured, but made it out.........

I will never forget that day. I did eventually have my surgery that day....
I was relieved for the time I would be under and didn't have to think about
all the people lost, if our girl was ok, if the firemen we knew who were on their
way to help would be alright. The towers falling…. the looks on peoples faces
on the news.. in that room are forever etched in my mind

The next day, from my room, I remember asking if I could give blood.
They said yes!! But it would be a 3 hour wait, as so many people were
doing the same thing. The sadness was overwhelming... but I remember the
people standing in line to give blood. I remember strangers hugging.

When I got home, my WHOLE family was there. I hadn't been able to get
through to them.. we all cried when his daughter was finally able to get
through and let us know she was hurt but ok. She lost so many loved ones that day.

One of my close friends is a firefighter, he gave me a flag that was given
to his whole unit after they went to help.... I fly it proudly every 9-11

Allen Jackson- Where were you (when the world stopped turning)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq8PBdR3pg4

.
.

I was at work when I found out what had happened. I cried along with my co-workers.

My sister lives in VA and you could see the Pentagon from her apartment. I wasn't able to get in touch with her for three days....the phones were jammed or not working or whatever. Her daughter was in high school and the school was on lockdown. No one in and no one out. I finally got in touch with her and she was okay but very shaken up.

All this took place 2 months and 2 days after my DH suddenly passed away. I was still pretty much a walking zombie but knew enough to be scared.

I became very clingy with both of my sons...didn't want them going out at night, etc. They really didn't go out much during that time anyway...it was so close to Tim's passing.

The attack just made Tim's absence more apparent to me. I was alone and scared and didn't know what to expect next.

We spent alot of time with my Dad in the coming months. He was scared, too.

I can remember feeling so much pain for the people who had lost loved ones that day. So suddenly. They were saying goodbye to each other for the last time that morning....and nobody knew it.

I can't believe it's been 7 years. In some ways it seems like yesterday and in some ways it seems years and years ago.

wow NIk i got chills reading yours, and Kelly , you got a couple good men for sons, I was always the type to make sure I said bye and love and all but after that day I have always made sure even more so, I think we all felt the pain that day Kelly, too hard not too, again as I said before bless all those souls and their loved ones left with the pain of their lost of loved ones

We always say "love you" whenever we say goodbye, too, Frank. My boys even say it in front of their friends!! I was shocked the first time I witnessed that but they, too, found out that you never know when it's going to be the last thing you say to someone.

I have been coming back to this thread so much today and it was as if you all were putting pieces of puzzles together for me...

on that fateful day, I had my tumor removed from my mouth that morning. Then I was taken home and I was pretty much out the whole time

I was woken up later by a call from my mom and told me to turn on the TV and I caught the images of the replays of both planes.
(this is where I am still confused. LOL I think my mom either called me or came to wake me up...but really, that's minor details...)

I was still pretty out of it so I fell back asleep...woke up later and thought I had a bad dream...turned on the tube and once again, it was there...

It wasn't until the next night that I had any cognoscence of what had happened...

my emotion was like all of yours...mixed with everything known with a lot of unknown thrown into it...

what I really remembered were the aftermaths.

maybe it was just me, but people seemed nicer for a few days...streets were quieter...

people were more courteous...there were a lot of nods everywhere I went...

I worked at a hotel back then and my boss was of Middle Eastern Descend. He also owned a couple of gas stations.

One of them did get vandalized. He was scared yet said he understood...

he donated some money right away to some organization immediately...that was nice...

the following week, I volunteered at the blood drive cause I couldn't give blood yet.

the line was long yet everybody seemed courteous. There weren't a lot of chattering going on even amongst families that came together.

there was this...solemness in the air that everybody seemed to acknowledge acquiescely...

at one point, my boss and his family walked in...

I took a few hard gulps and had a mixture of feeling of being proud yet fear...I was proud that he was there yet I was fear for what he and his
family might face from this crowd.

but except for a few stares, maybe glares, most threw kind and encouraging glances their way. I was relieved...


As I watched the news throughout the week and heard about the different heroes that risked their lives to save others
I have never felt more proud to be an American...

I also kept on thinking...at times like that, when there is only darkness and death and doom is upon one...I bet there were many hands that
reached out across to hold one another...if there were bitterness, it was unimportant, if there were racial tensions, that didn't mattered..

all that mattered then and there, was that TOGETHERNESS...and I wondered if at that moment...that was ALL that mattered...that they(We) have eachother....

I was with the florist picking out wedding flowers when the towers fell.

What I remember most about that time period, people driving with their lights on. I remember that weekend, being so ill. Overcome with intense emotion and grief that I became physically ill.

My heart and prayers always go out to those that lost lives and loved ones on that fateful day.

I have this old Boston postcard...the plane is red going out of Logan. Eerie picture considering how many years prior to 01 it was made.

Today is always a somber day, but I'm glad to see it's also a day of healing...threads like these are cathartic.

It's so hard to believe it's been 7 years...I didn't think at the time that we'd ever get over it. As we've all read here, headlines change, but what happened that day is written on our hearts.
My DH worked in downtown Chicago at that time. After the 2nd plane hit, he called me and told me what'd happened.
I turned on the tube and watched the replay, then went upstairs and woke up my son, who hadn't begun his semester in college yet. We watched as the first tower fell, and I fell into his arms, weeping.
My daughter, who was a junior in high school, called, crying, worried about her dad, since she'd heard the rumors that the Sears Tower was next to be hit. I told her not to worry, that downtown Chicago had been evacuated.
It was a strange day...it felt as if the world was ending. And for some, it did.
God bless the families who lost loved ones that day...

it was a bright blue sky here in central Florida too on 9/11/01

I had taken the kids to school and was talking on the phone in the kitchen with a fellow Moms in Touch member when my husband yelled from the next door home office that a plane had crashed into one of the WTC towers causing a fire. I turned on the TV while my friend, whose husband is a pilot, turned on her set too. And while we talked the 2nd plane hit, and then the horrible realization of what was really happening...............

I know the rest of that day passed in a strange surreal daze as we watched the horror unfold..........

no need for me to even mention those scenes. they are etched on all of our memories.






Oh what relief we felt finally hearing from our friends who had an apartment just 2 blocks north of WTC. My husband is from NYC and so there were many people to check on. All thankfully safe.


I so clearly remember the stirring I felt in that amazing moment watching the united members of Congress on the steps, raising their voices in harmony.......I am not American by birth but that day I became an American in my heart.


it wasnt your imagination Moi.
People were different for quite a while afterward.

Kinder, gentler, quieter..... yet reaching out more to one another.
Resolved.

All the flags on cars and houses.

the United States of America shining brightly after one of its darkest ever days


I salute all the heroes of that day, and continue to lift prayers for all who lost family and friends.

We will remember them

I remember very clearly where I was...I was in a Federal buildinga in Florida for training. I was working with the Dept of Juvenile Justice at the time. The class took a five minute break at which time another person in the class recieved from her mother a phone call...one of the two towers had been hit by a plane. She was looking out her window...and while talking to her daughter the other plane hit.

A few minutes later we were evacuated from where we stood. We were not allowed to go back to the class for books...get your purse, keys get out!! That was the order. I fortunately had my purse with me and the keys to the car my friend was driving. We were told, to leave immediately and not to speed...as soon as we left the building road blocks were already in place.

My first statement...why? Then...when will people learn...hate only begets hate and death. One of my instructors brother was at the Pentagon...it took over 5 days before he knew his brother was doing ok...he had a broken ankle.
He had to hold on to part of a building for over two hours before he was rescued...he had a small piece of rebar to hold on to save his life...6 inches I believe.

I remember and will never forget...because less than 6 months later...I interviewed a 15yr old boy that was in NY. He and his brother were at a school a few blocks away, the windows blew out, and the building damaged, his sister could not be found, but he and his brother and ran home. His parents did not recognize them they were covered with debris from the explosions. The rest I will not post, but to be that young and see what he did had to be a life changing event. His sister did make it home three hours later, she was found wandering around because she did not know which way was home, things changed.

Still, we go on with our lives, but we have brave people in this country, it is what it is founded upon...we will never forget...we will remember those that we did not know but gave their all from that day to this and before so we have the right to voice an opinion.