Where were you on September 11th?

[DJ V Lawrence]

This will explain my ignorance...

On September 10th, in our bunkbeds, we were talking about how we thought something bad would happen tomorrow...

I was in basis training at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina. September 11th, 2001 was the day that my Company was on the range for grenade qualification. We were there REALLY early for a qualification (about 7am est.). When the first plane hit, they said it was me that was throwing the live grenade at that time. There was an Sergeant that heard the news first, but didn't believe what he heard. Still, he gathered all of us, including the Drill Sergeants, and said as he was nibbling on a chicken leg "y'all better take this training seriously. (2 second pause). A plane hit the World Trade Center." That was it. Of course, we thought it was a joke. There were no t.v.s around us. Just training. We were all talking among ourselves that maybe a private jet crashed into a building by accident, but that was the worst we thought of it. We later heard rumors that a second plane hit. We brushed it off. Didn't think it happened. Hell, some of us, including myself, have family in the working in the WTC or Wall Street. We still thought it was a practical joke for training. The training finished about 10:30am est.

As we boarded the buses to go back to our barracks, the bus radio was on, and you heard the rock dj ranting that Pentagon just hit, and he thought he was dreaming. We thought it was the biggest practical joke ever in basic training history. Again, we didn't think it was rational to think it really happened. We first knew something was wrong when as the bus was driving to the barracks, the Drill Sergeant asked to turn off the radio for a second, because something was odd. He was right. Ft. Jackson isn't too far from the Columbia airport. Dead, deafening silence in the air. Almost like you were locked in a library closet with earplugs kind of silence.

I will never forget the time of 5:36pm est. At that time, I asked an Officer how bad the damage was at the WTC. How many floors were effected. At that time, he told me "I'm sorry. The World Trade Center no longer exists. It's all gone." On October 5th, my mom visited me for my graduation, and brought the Houston Chronicle from September 11th so I could read it. She told me my family in New York were safe, but Houston changed completely. She told me that nobody was playing basketball outside since then. That every channel, including the Food Channel, QVC, and ESPN were showing it 24/7, and you couldn't escape it. She also said it's the first time she's ever seen Americans by swarms buying American flags.

I saw the Pentagon first hand on the way to Ft. Meade, Maryland (by bus). I finally saw fotage of the 2nd plane hitting the towers on the 1 month anniversary via cnn.com.

I'm curious where you were, because I'm curious what Houston was like that day, and I'd like to get an idea of what my family, neighbors, and friends saw and experienced that day. I've felt like I was outside-looking-in on the subject, and I'd like a chance to change that. The America I saw before and after basic training are VERY different, and I feel like ten years of life in America passed within 9 weeks. Like a time warp. Maybe hearing you describe where you were could help me understand more as to what happened, because I still, after 5 years, haven't grasped it yet. (I'm still yet to see the footage that everyone else saw that day).

[nmainguy]

I was brushing my teeth when my partner called out: "Katie Couric said a plane hit the WTC...said it might be a small plane like a Cessna" I finished brushing and went into the bedroom and sat on the corner of the bed, saw the picture and knew that was no Cessna. They had a live camera fixed on the towers and we just sat there and watched, waiting for more info. After a while I saw a spec in the distance and my partner said it must be a news chopper or something like that. As it got closer you could tell it was a big jet. It was like slow-motion. It got closer and closer and it was going so fast. I told my partner it was going to hit and he said no-way. I said yeah it is and this is no coincidence. At that, it dissapeared behind the S. tower.

Here's what we saw happen next live on TV:

The rest of the day was a blur. I remember being unusually calm watching the towers collapse-like a surreal dream. The same watching the Pentagon burn. Absolutly unreal. It changed our lives forever.

Here's a great source for images: http://www.september11news.com/AttackImages.htm

and another one for video: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/trade.cen...imedia.day.html

[Gary]

I just got out of bed when my wife said "there's a fire in one of the world trade centers". I turned on the tv and started watching CNN explain that they thought a bomb had gone off. After a little while they had figured out that it was a plane. As I continued watching, the second plane hit tower #2. It scared the hell out of me.

[BWSchultz]

I was tying my shoes getting ready to go to my first college class (UW-Madison) of the day. The phone rang and it was one of my friends telling me to turn on the TV. I asked, "What channel?"

He said, "It doesn't matter."

I woke up my two roommates simply by saying, "You guys might want to get out of bed; we're under attack."

I guess I knew right away that this wasn't an accident. I still ended up going to class but no one was interested in finite element modeling that day (well, any day for that matter.) I heard word from my parents later that evening that my uncle, who worked in the Pentagon at the time, was fine. He was fairly close to the strike there but was able to exit without difficulty.

School went on as scheduled Wednesday and Thursday (pointlessly in my opinion) but they cancelled class on Friday for a day of remembrance. I reached my media saturation point by the weekend and then just turned the tv off.

[Jeebus]

After a while I saw a spec in the distance and my partner said it must be a news chopper or something like that. As it got closer you could tell it was a big jet. It was like slow-motion. It got closer and closer and it was going so fast. I told my partner it was going to hit and he said no-way. I said yeah it is and this is no coincidence. At that, it dissapeared behind the S. tower.

I too watched the second place hit the South Tower live on CNN as well. It is something to watch it happen, live, with no idiot news media (e.g. Katie Couric or Matt Lauer) telling you what they want you to think you're seeing.

To watch it live was far more powerful than anything I was prepared for. I could accept that this was happening to the WTC. I had read articles post 1993 about how it would happen again. It was when reports starting coming in about the Pentagon, and Pennsylvania that I felt betrayed, angry, and most of all powerless.

[Montrose1100]

Wow I can't believe its been over 4 years already. Well, I was in School, walking up to the staging area in the cafeteria, where my "click" was. I remember this blonde girl I knew tapped me on the arm and said "A plane hit the World Trade Center in New York".

I didn't really think too much of it, I said in my head "Probibly just a leisure jet or cessna or whatever those planes are." So 15 min.s later, when 1st period began, and they said the pledge and the school's annoucements, the woman said "New York City is under attack, and we should all pray for them". Our teacher turned on the radio, and the exact moment she did you could hear the news reporter say "The South Tower of the World Trade Center has just collapsed over the city of New York!!!" and everyone was so shocked. Alot of other students were scared, a handful even went home.

When I got home, the day had come to an end, But all the news channels were on repeat, so I could see the entire day unfold on their clips. I couldn't believe my eyes, I just sat down, and had my jaw open. I watched the whole world change in about 7 minutes. I think I cried because I couldn't understand why something like this would happen. And hearing all the figures and loss of life just overwhelmed me. I don't remember how long I cried for, but I was just devistated.

But I will always remember my life changing after that day. I was young, and very confused. (Sorry to pinch in a party party, and my life story). But I always Knew when the therapist/pychiatrist asked "When did your depression start?" , I would always reply "September 11th."

That day was on a Tuesday, and on Thursday, the school's lights went out in 2nd period, and didn't come on until 5 minutes before we were released. I still can remember the panic in the main hallway, and I don't know how many people I ran into, fell over, or tripped. It was pitch black too.

[Trae]

I remember I was in fifth grade and going to school out in West Houston. We late to school because I remember traffic on the Katy was horrible and we had woke up late. My dad would always listen to NPR and news radio like that and I remember a guy on there screaming that a plane, jet, or something had hit the WTC North Tower. I told all of my friends at school and they didn't belive me.

As the day went on people kept on leaving school. THe first left around 9:15. Everyone thought it was normal (like a doctor's appointment). But as the day kept trugging on more and more people left. At the end of the day there were 15 out of 25 people in my homeroom class. Half my grade was gone and the school felt like it was deserted.

When I came home my mom said I didn't have to do my homework and I could go watch what happened. I turned on MTV and instead of getting TRL or whatever I wanted to watch, I got a CBS newscast about what had happened and saw the whole thing in my room. I knew it was serious, but I didn't really know how serious. All I remember thinking after watching the newscast was that it was my friend's birthday and it was a horrible day to have one.

The next day at school we had a moment of silence, and I learned that some people in my grade at family in the Pentagon. This girl in my class had her uncle die in the Pentagon. My best friend, who's birthday was on that day, aunt got killed in the WTC South Tower. At that time he said his family didn't know, and couldn't find her. But as the weeks went on, they knew and find out.

In total, that day didn't affect me when it happened, but weeks later when I realized what did happen, it just kills me and still does. After watching Inside 9/11 on the National Geopraphic Channel a few months ago, just makes the whole even even worse.

[bachanon]

at that time, i would turn on my tv in the mornings after my alarm went off. half asleep, i heard katie couric say that a plane had hit the world trade center. i imagined that it was a small, private plane. i sat up to watch the video and as i did, the second plane hit, live on television, behind the newscaster. i knew what had happened before the unsuspecting journalist could hear what was going on in his/her earpiece. i knew immediately that this was not an accident.

i called my dad who was on his way to work. he would be passing downtown houston soon. he didn't realize the severity of the situation and wanted to know when i would be leaving for work. as soon as i hung up, the pentagon was hit. i called dad again and explained to him that it appears we are under attack. the local news said that people were evacuating high rises in houston as well as other cities. i opted to stay home.

i remember standing in front of the television, rapt, horrified. i kept thinking that they can't collapse....they won't collapse. as i watched the first tower fall, i sat down on the bed; chills. tears welled up in my eyes as i thought of the thousands instantly gone; forcibly and violently freed from the bonds of their mortal coils. it was as if i heard millions of voices cry out in horror at the sight. i knew that i had not experienced this alone. i'll never forget that sound.

i do not pray much these days. yet on this day, i prayed without realizing i was praying. i prayed for the families who had lost loved ones. i prayed for the injured and those who were helping the injured. i prayed for our country. i prayed for my friends in new york.

wow........guess i'm still not over it.

[brijonmang]

i remember i had just sat down in my second period class and my teacher had the radio on. im not sure what station it was tuned to but they were talking about the WTC being hit by a plane and there was smoke coming out of the building. the people on the radio said they believed the plane that hit was a small plane, a cessna or something. then the bell rang and the teacher turned off the radio and taught the class. i couldnt really focus the whole class period because something just seemed off to me.

when i got to my third period class i asked one of my friends if they heard that one of the WTC buildings was hit by a plane and they said "yeah, both of the buildings collapsed." i couldnt believe it. just an hour or so ago i had heard that one tower was hit, how could they both have collapsed? it wasnt until my fourth period class when i could see pictures of everything that had happened. then i learned that the pentagon was hit. i remember sitting in the cafeteria at lunch and looking out at a beautiful clear day and realizing that no planes were flying by. i thought to myself "how could so much ____ happen on such a beautiful day?".

in my fifth period drafting class we had a tv on and they were replaying events of the day. i was fixed to it. i saw the buildings hit from all of the angles and also all the people who jumped to their deaths. it made me sick to my stomach to see everything transpire.

for sixth period i had off campus golf at blackhorse golf club. there were hardly the number of cars in the parking lot that there should be. all of the other kids in my golf class were talking about it as we watched everything on tv. we all played our usual 9 holes but i couldnt focus on it at all because of everything that happened. when i got home our block held a "rememberance ceremony" with everyone on our block and candles. we all said prayers and the national anthem. i never felt more proud to be an american.

just thinking of the day brings chills to my whole body. the national anthem meant a lot more to me after that day. i had always loved it and sang it...but now it means soo much more to me. i get the chills whenever i hear it.

[Sunstar]

Strangely enough, I was on a plane headed to BWI airport at the time. The plane had been turning around for some time when the pilot announced that we would be landing in Raleigh, NC. He said a very serious incident had occured in the nation and we would know more when we landed. That has to go down as the quietest flight I've ever been on. If it wasn't for the sound of the engines you could have heard a pin drop. All sorts of scenarios went through my head. If it was bad enough to make our plane change direction, it had to be something big. I thought perhaps a nuclear device had been set off somewhere.

When we landed and came out to the gate there was a swarm of tv reporters from the local stations grabbing passengers to get their immediate reactions. I was able to piece together information about the planes that hit the WTC and the Pentagon and that several planes were still unnaccounted for, but I didn't realize the extent of the damage until later in the day. I was traveling with someone from work and we immediately headed to the rental car vans and managed to snag one of the last remaining cars, but it was a local rental, which meant we weren't supposed to leave the city with it. We ended up driving back to Houston anyway, which took about a day and a half, stopping in Mobile for the night. When we returned the vehicle to the rental car company (I think it was Hertz) we thought they were going to hit us with some hefty fee for dropping it off in another state. But amazingly they waved it off and said not to worry about it.

Naturally, we listened to the radio almost the entire trip. When we got to Louisiana, the big topic was whether the LSU football game should go on as scheduled. "The terrorists want us to cancel this game!" one caller proclaimed. And so the world changed forever....

[citykid09]

I had woke up that morning got dressed and headed to the bus stop to go to school. I still remember hearing a loud noise in the sky it was a plane, and it was the loudest one I had ever heard. (I don't know if it had anything to do with that days events.) By the time I got to school the bell was just about to ring so I went to my 1st class to put my stuff down and the I was going to go get something out of the cafeteria. When I got in my classroom my teacher said take a look at this a plane just crashed into one of the world trade centers, I really didn't think nothing of it because I thought it was a small plane that made a mistake. That whole morning we watched the TV in class flipping the channels through FoxNews, CNN, ABC, NBC, and CBS. Another teacher that did not have a class that period came in and watched it with us she told us to turn it to Fox News and then a few minites later another plane hit the other building, thats when we all got scared and knew something was going on then we got news of other planes crashing and we were all like we are under attack. It was really scary because I had never experienced anything like that in my life time. Later that day My father and I went to fill up the vehicles with gas because he had heard that there would be no gas for a while. When we got their, there was a line so long that we had to go to another one, we found out that all of the gas stations were like that because people were panicing, that really scared me because I thought what will the future be like.

[Trae]

^I remember that happening. I thought that the world was about to end. I also thought that terrorists were going to drop a bomb on the plants around the ship channel. I remember being scared to brush my teeth because I thought that the water was contaminated.

[sevfiv]

i worked (and went to school) at UH at the time, and the first plane hit as i was walking to my office - i saw the second plane live on tv...everyone on the floor was glued to the tv in the conference room...

that and we were told we should not leave campus...

[torvald]

i was stuck in outbound traffic on the I-10. when i got to work they wouldn't let us leave work -- as in we still were expected to work. many corporate folks did sneak off to the conference room to monitor the news stations. there were some women calling relatives to make sure they were ok and as things were gridlocked there, they recieved no response. once enough people became upset and once the other building fell we were released from work. i was then stuck in the returning traffic back into town and it was a pretty rough personification -- feeling trapped, frustrated and removed from whatever was going on there.

[nmainguy]

i was stuck in outbound traffic on the I-10. when i got to work they wouldn't let us leave work -- as in we still were expected to work. many corporate folks did sneak off to the conference room to monitor the news stations. there were some women calling relatives to make sure they were ok and as things were gridlocked there, they recieved no response. once enough people became upset and once the other building fell we were released from work. i was then stuck in the returning traffic back into town and it was a pretty rough personification -- feeling trapped, frustrated and removed from whatever was going on there.

I was already semi-retired at that point but was still invested and involved with my company and in contact with most of my employees. They had a similar experience with their new bosses: rather clueless and cold-hearted in regards to their employee's concerns for their kids and spouses-nevermind their own families. As the day wore on and the obvious became un-ignorable, some of them were released from their positions-but not all. I went down there and asked why everyone was still there. After about 10 seconds of babbling, I cut them off, dissmissed the rest of the staff and guys in the shop and told the managers that as long as I still had a say, they were never to treat our employees that way again. I understand your sentiments, torvald...it was a frustrating day for all of us.

[WesternGulf]

I was in high school at the time. Everyone's parents found a reason to get their kids out of school.

[VicMan]

I entered the English classroom at T.H. Rogers Middle School and saw a TV with the September 11 images on them.

[heights_yankee]

My husband and I were sharing one car at the time. In the morning, we would get up and get ready, eat and talk... This night I was closing manager at my store, so I drove him to work and dropped him off. We usually rode with the radio off. It was just our time to talk and be together before the day when he went in at 8 am and I didn't get home until after 10.

Well, I dropped him off and as I waived good bye, I turned on the radio. All I caught was the end of a sentence that said "the plane that hit the Pentagon." The 1st thing I thought was "Wow, what a freak accident. I need to ask Eddie (my younger brother who was in college in DC at the time) about it." Well, I had barely even processed the thought when they started talking about the Trade Center. I called my husband's office from my cell and he didn't answer. I thought this was so weird b/c he had plenty of time to get to his desk from when I dropped him off. (I found out later he stopped in another person't office where several people were watching it on TV).

I got home and immediately went to the TV. I spend the next few hours stunned. I finally spoke to my hubby and we were in a state of disbelief. I answered several frantic calls from my mother and grandmother in Massachusetts, who were freaked b/c they couldn't get my brother on the phone. I told them curcuits were blocked and to just hold tight. I would email him and make sure he was ok. Sure enough, he was in class about a mile from the Pentagon. he said they were all sitting in their 1st class of the day, when the whole building just shook...

When I got to work that day around 1, I found out that all the people who got there in the morning had no idea what was going on. This was a retail specialty store- there was no TV or radio. Finally, when the afternoon shift came on we started telling them about it. We ended up changing the store music to radio and listening to the news all night.

This was so surreal for me b/c I was in college for the OK City bombing and I remember staying up for almost 2 days and watching the news coverage. It was such a big deal and 9/11 was mind blowing in comparison....

[travelguy_73]

I was sitting in a conference room with my boss getting ready to have a call with our NJ office, about to rake them over the coals for a project we were working on. We had just entered the call when you could hear lots of chatter going on in the background there. We were like "come on guys, focus here, we're short on time!" They came back to the call, a bit emotional as they described what they were seeing just across the Hudson.

I admit we were a bit 'whatever' about it for a minute, then turned on the conference room television and watched it for ourselves. Stunned, we both said at the same time something like, "God, I hope that wasn't one of our planes."

The rest of the day was a blur of phone calls with our operations people as they scrambled to get aircraft to the ground, take care of passengers, and get home to be with their own families. We spent a lot of time afterward running financial scenarios about the impact to our bottom line, all the while trading emails with colleagues around the world who expressed an incredible amount of sympathy and compassion for what had happened. Most of them lived in countries that had experienced violence like we saw that day, and I guess they knew that this would change our country forever.

[DJ V Lawrence]

What was the world like that night? (Sept. 11th, 2001)

[nmainguy]

What was the world like that night? (Sept. 11th, 2001)

...sleepless, sad, angry, scared and hurting in some parts of the world...happy in others...

[dbigtex56]

What was the world like that night? (Sept. 11th, 2001)

For those who saw 9/11 play out live on TV, there was a period of wondering "Is it really over?". At one point, we were told that five planes had been highjacked, and that Air Force One also was under attack. I was scheduled for jury duty that day, and intended to report for it regardless, but was told that downtown was being evacuated and I wouldn't be allowed in.

The most notable response was the sense of unity that those tragic events brought. People no longer viewed one another as black or white, rich or poor, liberal or conservative; we were all Americans. We were kind to one another.

A couple of days later I learned that my cousin had been killed in the collapse of the South Tower. His brother (who lives in Houston) had to rent a car so he could drive home to be with his family because all domestic commercial flights had been grounded. He said that the hardest part was that there was no escape from the grief; reminders were everywhere.

How eerie it was to never hear passing airliners; they're so much a part of life that their absence was noticible. So strange that the only planes were jet fighters.

The first television I recall seeing which didn't relate to 9/11 was when the David Letterman show resumed. There was not a bit of smart-alec about him, and his words were heartfelt and courageous. He displayed great dignity. Has anyone else noticed that the opening to Letterman changed forever after that broadcast? The opening used to vary every night:"From New York...Hookers now half-price!" (or whatever); now it's always "From New York...The Greatest City In The World."

[KimberlySayWhat]

I was on my computer and I turned the radio on (104). Sam Malone was talking about a plane hitting the WTC so I turned on the TV to see taped footage of the first plane hitting. Like many people, at the moment I didn't realize the severity of it. I thought it was an unfortunate accident with someone's private plane. I went back to my computer; I had a small TV above it and turned it on as well. Then I looked up to see the second plane, thinking surely it's not going to hit, heard the newscasters gasp, it did indeed hit. I picked up the phone and started calling people. Shortly later came the news of the pentegon and the crash in the field and then the towers collapse on live TV. That was the most surreal thing I've ever seen. It was panic and chaos the rest of the day. I, too, thought about the ship channel and the plants. It was early in the day and anything could happen.

[Trae]

What would happen if one of those planes crashed into a plant on the ship channel?

[Guest Plastic]

I was asleep.

[ssullivan]

I was driving to work, running a few minutes late (as usual in those days), and stuck in traffic at the corner of Richmond and Rodgerdale in Westchase. 104 KRBE was on the radio, and I remember them coming on saying that a plane had just hit one of the World Trade Center Towers in New York. They said the first reports were saying it was a small plane. Then right after I passed the beltway, the second plane hit. I drove on to the office, where nobody knew that anything had happened. We had no radio or TV in the office, so everyone started looking up the story online.

That day I had a pretty full schedule of client appointments, most of which still showed up. Between appointments I got what information I could from the Internet, but all of the news websites were painfully slow that morning. I remember coming out of an appointment and hearing that the World Trade Center was no more; both towers had collapsed. I was absolutely shocked. And then there were the stories of the Pentagon and the flight that went down in Pennsylvania.

The firm's owners were scheduled to fly home from Newark to Houston late that morning. Obviously, they did not. They were stuck in New Jersey. I was scheduled to fly the next morning to northern Mississippi, to do a program for a client that afternoon. Once it was clear that I wouldn't be able to fly, the company's owners got through by e-mail saying I needed to drive. These people were pretty obsessed about not losing a single penny of revenue. So I went home from work early on September 11 and packed. The rest of our employees worked out the entire day, something I now think was totally ridiculous because nobody accomplished anything at all. That evening I drove to Lafayette, LA. The highways were totally empty, and I went from one radio station to the next following the news. That night it was hard to force myself to turn off the TV and try to get some sleep, but I eventually did.

The next morning I got up early, and remember watching Mark Bingham's mother on the news talking about her son losing his life on the United flight that crashed in Pennsylvania. I then got back in the car and drove eight hours to the client site to do a two hour workshop late that afternoon. That evening I collapsed in the hotel.

The next day I made the 13 hour drive back to Houston. I still remember so many minor details of the drive to Mississippi and back. Little things like stopping for gas in Baton Rouge, and for lunch in Natchez on the way home. All along the way it seemed as if everyone was in a total daze. By the evening of September 13, the radio was starting to slow down some on the nonstop news coverage, and occasionally playing some music; mostly patriotic songs and music that conveyed the somber mood of the nation.

One of the things I'll remember most about getting back to Houston. As I was approaching the city on US 59, a single Continental jet flew over the freeway on final approach to IAH. This was one of the first flights to land back in Houston. Normally you would see lots of planes lined up for landing in the evening sky at that time of night, but on this night, there was only that one. But it was a great sign that things were very slowly starting to return to normal, and that life would go on.

[DJ V Lawrence]

My sisters (my little girls) were at Holub Middle School in 7th grade when it happened. They told me there were about 5 tvs on in the classroom, three in English, and two in spanish. They said the spanish stations pictures told a different story, but they've never said what they saw. I'm imagining it wasn't tame.

It's a miracle to me that the number of people who lost their lives in the WTC was not as high as we thought it would be when we were at Ft. Jackson. I remember hearing on a New York tour in 1999 that, like, 50,000 people when through the two towers each workday.

Thanks to everybody so far. I know it's not an easy subject, but I feel like I have to know what America saw. Maybe current events will make more sense now that I'm getting an idea as to what the shock was like on the outside world.

[BayouCityGirl]

in Dallas ready to fly home in 2-3 days! (oh man I was so scared to go home to Houston!!!)

[Ashikaga]

I just got out of bed when my wife said "there's a fire in one of the world trade centers". I turned on the tv and started watching CNN explain that they thought a bomb had gone off. After a little while they had figured out that it was a plane. As I continued watching, the second plane hit tower #2. It scared the hell out of me.

I was in the exact same place that I am right now: Sitting down at a computer in the Bridge City Public Library.

[Vertigo58]

I was in a most vulnerable spot in a business district skyscraper in beautiful downtown Houston.

We were all just sitting at our work stations when my coworker said "hey my mom just told me a plane hit a building in NY". We assumed it was just a bad air accident so we just went about drinking coffee & chit chat as normal. My coworker got another call from his mom and said it happened again, we all freaked. He turned on his computer to live coverage. We couldn't believe it everyone else in the office started gathering around. I then got a call from home and my mom said "what are you still doing in that building you need to get out!" We all started getting nervous. My sister called as they were told to leave Chase Tower and said "What are you still doing in there?" At this point, everyone was making calls and lines were backing up, cell phones too. I took a look out of our window to the street and saw many, many people rushing to catch the metro buses that Metro had sent in a rush to get people. Upon finally rushing to ground floor I hurried to my stop where the buses seemed like an eternity to get to us. Some of the ladies behind me were crying in angst. Once the bus stopped I allowed several of the women to go ahead of me. I was the last person to tighly squeeze in. The scene downtown was unreal. I can safely say that the media really down-played that event that day in downtown. It was so nerve wracking I was willing to run home as I am the near East End, anything to get away from the tall buildings was my mindset.

Once I got home everyone seemed to be rushing everywhere. The lines for gas were really backing up. We all gathered at my moms as she is near then all my neices/nephews arrived from school. We just wanted to be together for whatever else might happen. We wanted to turn off the TV as the children were becoming more frightened but we just couldn't. My mom whom is now 84 said she couldn't beleive she was reliving the bombing of Pearl Harbor all over gain 60+ years later. She said that was horrifyng then, but it was so far away they thought at the time. New York is right here just north! Way too close to home! I am just glad we were all together for moral support and prayer.