FEATURED 20th Anniversary of 9/11 -- "Never Forget"

Plankton

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I lived in the NYC area, work in television, and I was working the morning shift that day. It was a beautiful weather day - 75 and sunny, not a cloud in the sky. Just before 9am, I heard a director for one of our programs say over the PL that a plane hit the World Trade Center. I looked on one of our router feeds that looks at lower Manhattan, and saw the burning crater in the side of the North tower. My first thought was that it was some idiot in a Cessna that hit it, as small planes flew up/down the Hudson pretty regularly. I had no sense of scale in terms of the size of the plane that hit it. A short time later, while watching this play out live on our air, I saw the second plane hit the South tower, and I was sick to my stomach. I called my brother immediately - he worked one block from the WTC. He said to me on the phone that they were evacuating his building, and didn't know why. I told him that we were under attack, and he needed to get out of there as fast as he could. He went uptown to go meet up with his then fiancee, but I didn't hear back from him for nearly four hours due to the cell towers being taken by law enforcement and the FBI. It was a very scary moment.

Watching those towers fall was the hardest gut punch I ever took. When driving to work each day, I could see the towers in my sight as I approached the office. It was a sense of comfort and strength seeing them each day. When I left work that afternoon to take a nap, I half expected to see the towers there, thinking that the images that I saw on our air was a figment of my imagination. Seeing the large plumes of smoke was yet another gut punch. It was as sad a moment as I have experienced. After taking a nap, and getting ready to go back to work, I saw the helicopters above providing light to the rescue/salvage efforts. Driving back to work, in the lights, you could see the horrible sight of the plumes of smoke, and no towers standing.

For around a month or so, people in the NYC area were kind to each other, respectful, united. It was unlike anything I have seen. I wish that we could remember those feelings at the present time, where we seem to look for reasons to be disrespectful and divided.

I lost a couple of friends in the attacks, and saw the father of one of my childhood friends, who worked in the South tower and managed to get out while over half of his firm did not, literally drink himself to death over survivors remorse. He left behind 6 children and multiple grandchildren.

Take the time today to remember those no longer with us, and find the time to seek common ground with others. Make that the lasting legacy of this horrible day.
 
Ranching

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Plankton said:
I lived in the NYC area, work in television, and I was working the morning shift that day. It was a beautiful weather day - 75 and sunny, not a cloud in the sky. Just before 9am, I heard a director for one of our programs say over the PL that a plane hit the World Trade Center. I looked on one of our router feeds that looks at lower Manhattan, and saw the burning crater in the side of the North tower. My first thought was that it was some idiot in a Cessna that hit it, as small planes flew up/down the Hudson pretty regularly. I had no sense of scale in terms of the size of the plane that hit it. A short time later, while watching this play out live on our air, I saw the second plane hit the South tower, and I was sick to my stomach. I called my brother immediately - he worked one block from the WTC. He said to me on the phone that they were evacuating his building, and didn't know why. I told him that we were under attack, and he needed to get out of there as fast as he could. He went uptown to go meet up with his then fiancee, but I didn't hear back from him for nearly four hours due to the cell towers being taken by law enforcement and the FBI. It was a very scary moment.

Watching those towers fall was the hardest gut punch I ever took. When driving to work each day, I could see the towers in my sight as I approached the office. It was a sense of comfort and strength seeing them each day. When I left work that afternoon to take a nap, I half expected to see the towers there, thinking that the images that I saw on our air was a figment of my imagination. Seeing the large plumes of smoke was yet another gut punch. It was as sad a moment as I have experienced. After taking a nap, and getting ready to go back to work, I saw the helicopters above providing light to the rescue/salvage efforts. Driving back to work, in the lights, you could see the horrible sight of the plumes of smoke, and no towers standing.

For around a month or so, people in the NYC area were kind to each other, respectful, united. It was unlike anything I have seen. I wish that we could remember those feelings at the present time, where we seem to look for reasons to be disrespectful and divided.

I lost a couple of friends in the attacks, and saw the father of one of my childhood friends, who worked in the South tower and managed to get out while over half of his firm did not, literally drink himself to death over survivors remorse. He left behind 6 children and multiple grandchildren.

Take the time today to remember those no longer with us, and find the time to seek common ground with others. Make that the lasting legacy of this horrible day.
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I just listened to the song Alan Jackson wrote about that day and I started crying......feels silly to complain about wins and losses when the real world is around us.
 
Floatyworm

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SlammedZero said:
I was working in Seattle and we were doing night shifts. I finally went to bed that morning and my buddy was blowing up my Nextel phone (remember those?). I finally answered, very annoyed, and he simply said, "turn your TV on." I did and I sat there in shock for hours.

Insane that it has been 20 years already.
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Kind of a long story...Had just got back from Seattle to Boise..seeing Cal Ripkin vs the Mariners...was working the night shift @ Best Western doing the audit...was listening to the radio...when the first report came through that a plane had crashed into the WTC...so I thought I had better turn the TV on. We had the Idaho legislators staying @ the hotel...and everyone was gathering around the TV still speculating if it was terrorism. I was just getting off work...walking out the door when I made a comment..."if it's terrorism...they will hit the other b....and I didn't even finish my sentence...and the 2nd tower exploded. Literally had 25 legislators stare me down...as I walked out the door with my black backpack. Years later I found out there were 2 other planes...that were going to hit Seattle...but never got off the ground...the wife and I almost stayed over in Seattle for on more night...thank God we didn't or we would have been stuck there for days...and we were completely broke. Still...it's just seems like yesterday...and so much has changed...and mostly not for the better.
 
Floatyworm

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Plankton said:
I lived in the NYC area, work in television, and I was working the morning shift that day. It was a beautiful weather day - 75 and sunny, not a cloud in the sky. Just before 9am, I heard a director for one of our programs say over the PL that a plane hit the World Trade Center. I looked on one of our router feeds that looks at lower Manhattan, and saw the burning crater in the side of the North tower. My first thought was that it was some idiot in a Cessna that hit it, as small planes flew up/down the Hudson pretty regularly. I had no sense of scale in terms of the size of the plane that hit it. A short time later, while watching this play out live on our air, I saw the second plane hit the South tower, and I was sick to my stomach. I called my brother immediately - he worked one block from the WTC. He said to me on the phone that they were evacuating his building, and didn't know why. I told him that we were under attack, and he needed to get out of there as fast as he could. He went uptown to go meet up with his then fiancee, but I didn't hear back from him for nearly four hours due to the cell towers being taken by law enforcement and the FBI. It was a very scary moment.

Watching those towers fall was the hardest gut punch I ever took. When driving to work each day, I could see the towers in my sight as I approached the office. It was a sense of comfort and strength seeing them each day. When I left work that afternoon to take a nap, I half expected to see the towers there, thinking that the images that I saw on our air was a figment of my imagination. Seeing the large plumes of smoke was yet another gut punch. It was as sad a moment as I have experienced. After taking a nap, and getting ready to go back to work, I saw the helicopters above providing light to the rescue/salvage efforts. Driving back to work, in the lights, you could see the horrible sight of the plumes of smoke, and no towers standing.

For around a month or so, people in the NYC area were kind to each other, respectful, united. It was unlike anything I have seen. I wish that we could remember those feelings at the present time, where we seem to look for reasons to be disrespectful and divided.

I lost a couple of friends in the attacks, and saw the father of one of my childhood friends, who worked in the South tower and managed to get out while over half of his firm did not, literally drink himself to death over survivors remorse. He left behind 6 children and multiple grandchildren.

Take the time today to remember those no longer with us, and find the time to seek common ground with others. Make that the lasting legacy of this horrible day.
Click to expand...
Wow....great story...getting someone's experience that was actually there is always interesting to hear. A lot of people don't understand what it was like working the night shift...then experience this...try and get sleep...to work the next night. I think I got maybe 3hrs in that 24hr period...I remember just taking a short nap...waking up to see WTC 7 crash...wondering if the whole city was gonna burn.
 
Praxit

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....I was playing a MMO game. Trying to level, while raiding another sector. ;).. Wife barges in says, "Airplanes are crashing into NY buildings".

At that moment, I was blasted by another player for 500 point smart bomb and 1000 DPE Firesky spell. ...the rest is history..;)..
 
cityochamps

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Never forget!
th
 
VaqueroTD

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My wife worked in the WTC and quit her job a week before it happened. She claims there was a sense of dread, she didn't know where it was coming from, and ever since if she ever gets that feeling again about anything, she won't go.

She still had to go through the smoke and get her daughter who went to school nearby. She cries when describing the people around the collapse and the shock on everyone's face.
 
nalam

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Agreed , never forget.

Guess everyone still remembers where they were when they 1st heard the news, I still do, was in the car traveling from location to another for work , heard in the radio. A chill went through my bones as I had several friends who were in the vicinity in Manhattan.

Didn't get to see the horrific images until a couple of hours.
 
BigBlacKahuna

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I was in the Air Force serving in Germany at the time. One of my troops came in and said “Sarge, a plane just hit the World Trade Center!!” Everyone went into the break room and watched. Like most people, we thought it might be a Cessna, until the second plane hit. At that moment I knew I’d be going back to war. About a week later, we were packing our equipment out to go put warheads on foreheads. Remember it like it was yesterday.

NEVER FORGET…
 
Jarntt

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I had worked on the 14th floor of tower 2 up until a few months before the first attack in 93. Being in that building for any amount of time let you know that if emergency struck there would be an issue because of the size and number of floors. I don't think I was ever in the stairwell once. I still remember seeing the smoke from my terrace afterwards and the eeriness of no planes flying for a few days after and then the split second of fear the first time I heard a plane flying again. The sirens all day and even days later. The fear of crossing a bridge for a few days afterwards or just being inside a building. The discussions about who that you knew was missing or had a family member that was missing. I also remember the pride afterwards of watching a full crowd at NHL games signing the National Anthem in unison and the way people just randomly thanked firefighters and police officers for doing their jobs afterwards. I couldn't forget that day or the weeks following if I tried.
 
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