[shatteredsoul]

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)

[startover22]

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.

[shatteredsoul]

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.

[CaptainRich]

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

[shatteredsoul]

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..

[CaptainRich]

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...

[GlindaofOz]

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.

[startover22]

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

[CaptainRich]

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.

[shatteredsoul]

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.

[GlindaofOz]

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.

[ScottGem]

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<>

[shatteredsoul]

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.

[GlindaofOz]

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.

[startover22]

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

[alkalineangel]

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.

[shatteredsoul]

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.

[CaptainRich]

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

[ScottGem]

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.

[Greg Quinn]

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.