As I was driving to work today, I heard the radio announcer tell everyone to turn their car lights on in remembrance of the attack on our country on 9/11. I immediately did and then during the moment of silence I got goosebumps thinking of all of those that died that day, and everyone who lost someone that day. We all were forever changed. A sense of innocence died within us and our children will always know what terrorism means.
I remember exactly where I was when the second plane hit the south tower at 9:02 a.m. I was with my son, who was a baby at the time at a coffee shop with a friend and her baby. I remember seeing a t.v. on and wondering why the first plane hit the building. Then I WATCHED in terror as the second one hit, like millions of others. It was completely devastating to realize what was happening. I immediately left and went to my daughter's school. She had just started kindergarten and I felt a surge of panic thinking something might happen to her there. Many other parents felt the same as they showed up to take their children home to safety.
After getting home, I sat and watched what was happening on t.v. and I felt numb. I had family in New York, living in the city, working near the twin towers, and I knew that they must be terrified. I couldn't think and I sat there in complete astonishment as I saw people leaping out of buildings, running down the streets screaming and the firefighters and police that were there trying to save whoever they could.
I want to remember everyone and keep their memory alive. God bless them all and their families who lost them. I am praying today for all of them and remembering how grateful I am for my family.
Please share your thoughts, your experiences and what you remember about that day.
How have we learned from this tragedy? How do we prevent it from ever happening on our soil again?
God Bless America (and the rest of the world)

A month away from leaving Alaska... My third son was 13 days old... I remember sleeping and Dustin is calling my name, he wants to come and get me but he can't take his eyes off the T.V... I wake up, he tells me as much as he could with out starting to cry... My tears are already flowing. Oh the people... the broken hearts... my Kids, my life... family friends... grandpa... broken hearts.
I still tear up at the thought I wish I could gather all the broken hearts and mend them with my own hands.

Start, through remembering, that is what you are doing. We cannot heal completely, but one piece at a time, we put our hearts back together. The love and compassion you feel, is the way we move forward. We don't let this tragedy stop our country from being the strong and wonderful place that it is. Yes, we have faults, and there are always things we can do better. YET through it all, WE do have a renewed sense of pride in being American and that is something to be proud of and that lives on in our children.

I remember. It still crushes me when I think of how we were taken advantage of. So many innocent lives lost that day...

Yes Captain, so many. I never thought something like that could happen here. It is almost impossible to comprehend the magnitude of loss, it is almost too much to bear. Thank you both for responding..

I bought a tribute DVD when the purchase price went to help those affected. I play that every time I think I'm beginning to forget.

We just don't know how, as Americans, to think the kind of evil that was brought upon us that day...

I was at work. My boss came in and said "a plane just crashed into the twin towers" I looked at him and said "thats not funny" but the look on his face was too serious for him to be joking. I immediately started panicking I lived right outside of Manhattan and had a huge amount of friends who lived in the city and worked close to the towers. Cell phones were jammed and we just spent the whole day wondering who was okay. My boss had a Nextel (the only phones that worked) and her friend was narrating to us everything that was going on down by the towers. She had been walking to work when the plane hit. It was like someone describing an apocalypse or something. It just didn't seem real. I then remember spending the next two days crying and watching CNN non stop. I was in absolute disbelief that my city had been attacked and my friends were missing.

Glinda, I could only imagine being closer to the danger.

Glinda, I'm sorry to hear you lost ones close to you. We all watched in shock. I, too, was at work and we all gathered around the TV after the first plane hit. When the second one hit, we hadn't heard of any others yet. I was shaken and had to go home. Our country had suffered a devastating attack. So ruthless! That's the way of their evil. Murdering innocent unsuspecting souls.

Glinda, you were so close to what was going on, it must have felt surreal. I cannot fathom being in the city that day. To listen what was happening must have been almost too unbearable to hear. Thank you for sharing your experience. We are all connected through tragedy and loss.

Its touching to know how deeply everyone in this country was affected by the events on that day. It always felt so deeply personal to NY that I was never sure if it really hurt the rest of the country. I hope that this is something that we will always be able to remember. As you said shatteredsoul this is an event that unites all of us. To this day it amazes me that anyone would think the deaths of innocent people would solve any problems. It sickens me to my core to think that there are people out there who feel that what was done was not only okay but a good thing.

When the first plane hit I was sitting at my desk on the 50th floor of the South Tower, facing the North Tower. Had I looked up from my PC a minute earlier I would have seen that plane head right into the tower.

When the second plane hit I was in a stairwell on the 16th floor. I know because I felt the building shake and the lights dimmed.

We had a memorial service this morning for our colleagues from our company and our parent company who lost their lives that day. Our parent company occupied about half of the top 20 floors in the North Tower. I don't think any of those who got to their desks that day survived.

Today was the first time I have felt up to attending one of these memorials. While it is right that we should memorialize those who lost their lives because of the attack, either as a direct result or through attempts at rescue, I am somewhat bothered by the treatment (or lack thereof) of those who lived through and survived the attacks. We seem to be somewhat of a forgotten group.

Scott<>

Amen to that! Yes even though I don't live in New York I felt immensely connected to those that did and almost 90 percent of my family does live there, they too are changed forever.

Scott I cannot even imagine what you must have felt. I cannot imagine bearing witness to it in such a proximity. I am so sorry for the losses you suffered.

Scott... you just got a hug from me to you... sitting here crying... I remember you and I remember all the broken hearts, not only the dead... I remember you... So sorry

I was at work, and e got a phone call that said the first tower had been hit. Everyone stoppde working and one person who lived close to the office went and got a TV and brought it in, where we watched everything unfold. I remember feeling absolute fear, and I wasn't even that close. I remembering worrying about our future as a country. Then we heard about the other planes, and many of our co-workers were on flights in PA and we were worried for them.

Scott - I cannot even imagine. I am amazed that you are able to talk about it now.

Scott, I apologize for all the insensitivity and suffering you have endured. Today is especially difficult for those that were there. I don't know how you ever move on after that, you just have to. I think it is more difficult for those that survived because they are left with all the loss, sadness, and feelings of hopelessness. I think you are a truly special soul to share your experience with us. I am humbled by it and I am praying for you and all of your colleagues today. Our thoughts are with those that died and the survivors, like you, as well.

My God,Scott. You are so strong. I could not imagine...

A recent incident kind of put this uppermost in my family's minds. My wife and daughter have been taking frequent cultural trips into the city (we live on LI)for the last year or so. A couple of months ago they included a WTC museum on one of their trips. I forget how they found out about this place, but it was apparently something put together by a person who was the official photographer during the cleanup.

Anyway, after purchasing tickets online, my daughter had e-mailed this guy and in the course of her note had mentioned that I was a survivor of that day to explain their interest. The guy apparently misunderstood and thought they had lost me. He e-mailed my dtr that they would not have to pay and would be refunded the money. My dtr immediately replied clearing up the misunderstanding. He replied saying that was great news, but saying nothing about the refund. In later correspondence he reiterated he would refund the admission.

When no refund was forthcoming I decided to protest the charge through my credit card. Last week we received angry calls from this guy. He said the policy was not to charge people who lost someone during that day, but not to extend that to people who lived through the day.

And if you want insensitivity, I can relate another story. I was extraordinarily lucky that day, even more so than others. I actually got on a one of the last subway trains going north under the WTC. I got to Penn Station just in time to catch a 9:20 train to LI, again one of the last allowed to run. I was back at my home station around 11:00. Since my daughter's HS was on my way home, I thought it best to stop in and let her know I was all right (neither of us had cell phones at the time).

I went to the office and had them call her down. By that point she had heard what had happened and was almost convinced I was gone. So you can imagine the reaction when she saw me. The asst principal saw us hugging each other and suggested we go into an empty office, which I thought was nice of her. A few minutes later she knocked on the door and asked if she could ask me a few questions. Assuming she wanted a first hand account I said sure. She asked "You were in the WTC this morning when it was hit?", to which I replied; "Yes". Then she asked; "and you managed to get back here so quickly?", I answered; "yes, I was lucky". Her response was: "It strains my credility to believe you made it back her so quickly!" I was floored by this and didn't even know how to react.

I've never sought out opportunities to tell my story, but I've always felt it was necessary when and if it came up. I've gone to the Storyboard booth at ground zero with my family to make a recording of our experiences and feelings about that day. I would suggest anyone directly involved do the same.

In Canada I was just waking up and saw the first tower was hit. It was already such a shot to the stomach. Then the second one hit, and I wasn't surprised at all then. I thought about what the terror level must have been like for all of poor people who were burning and jumping. I remember not eating the whole day through because it made me so sick that so many people like me could lose family loved ones and their lives. There was a special edition late afternoon issue of the Edmonton sun newspaper and I received it at work and the photos were unedited, it made me so sick that I wanted to throw up. That night on the news I remember a woman missing her husband crying because she knew he was dead and she was beautiful and pregnant and I pictured that being someone I could have been with and it made me cry for them. It was very hard to watch even from here.

Remarkable, Scott. Thank you for sharing that with us. All the best to you and your family.

I remember I was in a maths class at school, listening to the radio and practically every station switched to news bulletins.
Then when I got home my mum was watching something and I honestly thought it was a film. Then I realised it wasn't.

Yes, scott there are many things I will never know that came out of September 11th, glad to hear your side... before and after. Hugs to you sweet.

Wow Scott... I just read that story and I'm really glad you went to see your daughter. What did you say to the principle after that silliness?

I was student teaching in a small community near the PA NY border. I remember that one of my students came in and told me to turn on the TV. The rest of the day we were glued to it. I remember too when I found out that a boy that I had ridden horses with for years had died. Being at ground zero in the years since is almost surreal.

There is a family in my home town whose oldest son died in 9/11. 3 or 4 weeks ago they lost their youngest son in a tragic car accident... I can't imagine burying two children each before 25 years old. Today is so tough on so many...

Oh Scott, I am sitting here crying for you. I can't imagine living through that day, and then reliving it every day since then. Such an experience is heartbreaking. Thank God you made it, but the insensitivity is uncalled for!

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Originally Posted by Greg Quinn

Wow Scott... I just read that story and I'm really glad you went to see your daughter. What did you say to the principle after that silliness?

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I was so floored that she would think anyone would fabricate something like that, that I just said something like, "well I was there".

My dtr decided to stay in school so later that day when we both came to pick her up, I sought out the AP and showed her one of my business cards with the WTC address to prove to her I worked there. Her reaction was that we weren't supposed to be in the school building after classes ended. What has always bugged me about this was the total insensitivity of someone who is supposed to be an educator.

Absolutely! This person did this in front of your daughter. You have a few strengths I may not possess Scott... I would have right snapped. LOL

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Originally Posted by Greg Quinn

Absolutely! This person did this in front of your daughter. You have a few strengths I may not possess Scott.... I would have right snapped. LOL

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Me too. Me too. You are a treasure Scott...

Scott, some people have an awareness of others and a sense of compassion and some don't. Apparently this woman is more than insensitive, she is mean spirited and cruel. I don't know how anyone could have this kind of response when this magnititude of a tragedy had occurred. Thank God that you are the better person and you didn't stoop to her level. She has to look in the mirror everyday and face who she is. What happened to you was a mixture of fate and luck, and you are forever entertwined with everything that occurred and continues to take place because of that day. I am thankful that people like you are willing to open our eyes to how we should not only remember, but how treat those that are still here with the kindness and respect that they deserve. THis means you too! We do appreciate your willingness to open up about something so painful.

Thanks Soul,
I've been somewhat hesitant about raising this issue because I understand and appreciate the greater loss of others. It just gets a little thick this time of year. I was watching Oliver Stone's WTC film (with Nicholas Cage) Saturday night. I was impressed how accurate and even understated the film was. It was kind of creepy watching people walk through the concourse in bewilderment because it was EXACTLY like that.

But then, during the credits, there was a dedication to the people who fought and died that day, with nothing about those who lived through it. Kind of put a damper on what was otherwise a very good film for me.

This post has made me realize how much we don't know or understand, with so many silent victims like yourself. Your insight has shown me that I too, did not consider ( to the extent that I should have), all of those that lived through that nightmare and live with it daily. Like you. YOu are meant to be a teacher and a guide for us, that is maybe part of why you lived through it. The wool is no longer over my eyes, and I promise not to be so ignorant. I want you to know that I dedicate this post to all of those who died, lost, and SURVIVED this day and it has made it that much more important to me to be more understanding and aware of your perspective. Maybe you should write a book one day about all of this, I know in this post you have already changed me. Your words are a gift and I thank you for that. God Bless you and your family.

While it is certainly sad that people lost their lives on that day and that people lost so many loved ones it is often forgotten that people did survive. I cannot imagine what it is like for you Scott and others who were able to get out of the towers. I imagine there is a huge amount of guilt, relief, despair, pain, every emotion that fills you and haunts you. Also the thoughts of why did I get to survive. I always imagined that it was difficult for those who survived. Thank you for sharing your story. You should talk about it it's a very important part of our history as well as your own

I was in school and everyone and thing seemed to slow down. Teachers stopped teaching and were in the office watching the TV. I snuck into the office and saw it for a minute or 2 before I was kicked out. Then the school was shut down and everyone went home. My step mom came to pick me up and I tried asking her what's going on but she wouldn't tell me, we just listened to it on the radio. She was crying and then we met my dad and we just sat there (Me still being clueless.) That all I can remember aside from daily silences for the dead and the news.

What I hate now is how everyone has forgotten about it. My teacher once said that Bin laden under estimated the shallowness of Americans. He pointed out that Americans worry more about how Paris Hilton is in jail.

I was only in like 4th grade or something but since then I have felt a different feeling for the Country. My brother went to iraq, everyone was pratiotic and working together to help each other. Now it seems like everyone is back to normal which is fine, but I'm the only one I know who believes in the country so much. I have an american flag on my wall, the military symbols on my wall, a marine bumper sticker on my window, pictures of military people working together on my wall, and more. So many people take things for granted. Imagine living in North Korea, starving, slowly dying from pain, being controlled by one man and having no freedom.

I would give my life if I had to, my life is not any more important than a Iraqi's or anyone else's. We are all people of one race.

As americans we feel that we are better than others and we get angry when we lose a couple hundred soldiers when Iraq is losing millions of people. If everyone just worked together things would be easier.

And I know someone is going to say this war is a bad idea and that is fine, but why stop supporting the troops? Th troops didn't decide to go to war, the President did. The least you can do is help them out, don't punish them for your opinions. I don't believe in the war 100% but I would still go and fight because I want to protect what we worked for and my family.

If I can protect one persons life then it is a success to me, and maybe the U.S. is not in iraq for the best reason, (Some say oil, maybe its true?) but the troops are there for you and I. And I hate it so much when my friends say they have no sympathy for the troops because they volunteered. They say they weren't forced and want to take the easy way. Well if I join I'm not going to do it because it's the easy way, I'm going to do it to protect some of these morons who are sheltered from everything.

Anyway there is my speech, Happy Patriot Day!

First, 9/11 has hardly been forgotten.

Second, The troops are being supported. In my opinion the best way to support them is to bring them home safely.

Third, Why should anyone have to give up their life for a stranger?

I thought September 11, 2001, was going to be a great day. It was a beautiful, cloudless day and my daughter's umbilical had fallen off and I was preparing her first tub bath.

A little later on, my husband called, told me to lock the doors and turn on the TV - World War III had started. He worked at the Joint Systems Command nearby at the time.

I sat and watched in horror with my mother and held my baby close to me. We just sat and stared for most of the day in disbelief. I had the most overwhelming horrible feeling later that afternoon when CNN started showing photos of the hijackers. I recognized one of them as a customer and nearly collasped. I called my boss and got the "are you absolutely sure??!!" routine. The next morning I had two armed FBI agents at my door. There was little I could tell them that they didn't already know, but offered all I had willingly. This experience influenced me to join the TSA when they were looking for screeners.

This day always makes me emotional and I walk around with an upset stomach.

Oh my Emland! I cannot even imagine. You worked with one of them? How creepy. Someone you see everyday.

No, I didn't work with him. He was a customer.

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

First, 9/11 has hardly been forgotten.

Second, The troops are being supported. IMHO the best way to support them is to bring them home safely.

Third, Why should anyone have to give up their life for a stranger?

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9/11 is not forgotten and the troops will come home, all in due time.

And strangers risk their lives for us everyday. They patrol our streets and rush into burning building and fiery car crashes every time we call. Not stopping to see "who's here..."

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

First, 9/11 has hardly been forgotten.

Second, The troops are being supported. IMHO the best way to support them is to bring them home safely.

Third, Why should anyone have to give up their life for a stranger?

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On the radio today, the biggest news was Brittany Spears coming out of a limo with no underwear on. The 9/11 thing was about 5 seconds if that.

People use to say thank you to marines when they saw them but now it is no big deal to most.

Maybe not where you are, but no one has spoken about 9/11 since today.

And 9/11 seemed to kind of drift away. I remember watching the news every day since 9/11 and after a week, 9/11 was hardly spoken about. Only on the few occasions of when osama sent videos out.

I think that there is also a larger issue at play which is people not being connected to the world around them nor understanding the sacrifices that those in the military make everyday for us back here.

I have to say that people do still respect the military. I was at the post office about a month ago and young man at the counter was shipping a package to Iraq. The postal worker asked if someone he knew was overseas and he said no that he was shipping things to himself since he was going back in a few days. You saw everyone in the line look at that young man who pride. The man next to him shook his hand and as he walked out everyone thanked him for what he was doing. I thought it was an amazing show of support