OT Where Were You 13 Years Ago Today?

[stuntjumptumble]

I was in kindergarten and I remember everyone's parents coming to pick them up and I didn't know why. I was one of the last ones to get picked up and my parents explained to me that they were checking up on my grandparents who lived in nyc. Living in jersey was scary because we were so close to what was happening. I'll never forget after I was picked up from kindergarten my parents turned on the tv and it showed the video of the plane hitting the tower. It was weird because I knew what was going on but couldn't fully grasp it as a 5 year old

 

[MaineStar234]

I was in first grade. I remember the confusion and teachers whispering and crying and the moment of silence we had.

 

[haylsv3]

I was in grade 9 and my geometry teacher said "your generation is so lucky, you and your friends will never know war". That was at the end of the period, when I got to my second period my teacher let us know what happened. I didn't completely grasp the loss until I got home and my parents explained it all to me again. It's still eerie that my teacher said that as the attacks were happening and he had no idea what was going on

 

[flcheermom]

I was at work, and had walked into the office to drop something off (Elementary School) and they had the tv on - and I stood there for a little while watching - not really grasping what was going on. I know a few teachers had family in that area, and some had family flying - and when we understood a little later what was going on, it was very somber and hard to stay at work. We had parents picking up their kids early through out the day. My own kids were at their own school not far away as they were 5, 6 and 9 - but I had to finish the day at work which wasn't easy. At the time, my husband was an Elem school principal at another school, so he also had parents picking up kids. That night I know we watched the news non stop and cried, it was so devastating. We tried to explain the best we could to our kids what had happened.

 

[njallday]

i was in 6th grade, which at the time was in the elementary schools, so the school opted to not tell any students what was going on. i just remember one by one my entire class getting picked up early. by recess there were "rumors" that we were being bombed, but i still had no idea. by the end of the day i was one of 3 left in my class. turns out my mom didn't get me because she was frantically trying to find my family members. my godmother worked in the pentagon at the time and my godfather was secret service for the president (who obviously immediately went into hiding with GW Bush to keep him safe)(he's retired now, so i'm allowed to say that) my stepmom works in northern NJ and she was on the parkway driving to work when the second plane flew over her head. she said it was so low she thought it was going to hit the cars or land on the parkway. and for some miraculous, odd reason, both of my cousins who worked on Wall Street at the time just didn't go that day.

i remember sitting at the kitchen table with my mom and sister glued to the TV while continuously hearing "all circuits are busy" trying to find everyone. i still tear up thinking about it. terrifying day, to say the least.

so weird that no one forgets what they were doing that day.

 

[caitlyn_the_camille]

The firefighters...pretty much every fire station throughout the city and Long Island has a permanent 9/11 memorial displayed at the entrance to remember those in their unit they lost.

One of my dad's closest friends when he was in Iraq was a firefighter in NYC that day. (I think he was originally from Jersey though; I got to meet him when they came home and it was a real honor.) He's in one of the famous pictures of the group of firefighters raising the American flag amongst all the rubble. A few years later (after joining the army) he was killed in combat overseas.

 

[BuegeSmalls]

my godmother worked in the pentagon at the time and my godfather was secret service for the president (who obviously immediately went into hiding with GW Bush to keep him safe)(he's retired now, so i'm allowed to say that)

i

Kinda of off topic, but that's so cool that he was secret service for Bush! I'm glad both of your family members were alright.

 

[njallday]

Kinda of off topic, but that's so cool that he was secret service for Bush! I'm glad both of your family members were alright.

thanks, me too

he was there for both George and George W. ..and Clinton of course. he retired before Obama. it was cool i got to go to White House Christmas parties and on secret tours of the WH they don't let public in. and i have a pretty extensive collection of the annual WH christmas ornaments he started when i was born LOL

but during the attacks they went basically underground to one of the "secret" presidential bunkers so no one could kill the president. we assumed that's where he went, but couldn't get in contact with him for a LONG time. every hour felt like an eternity.

 

[jacqui_perez]

I remember walking into my parents' room early in the morning to ask them a question. The news was on, but they always had the news on, so I didn't think much of it. My mom turned me around and walked me out of the room before I could really take in what was on the TV.
She dropped me off at pre-school and I noticed a lot of kids were absent. Kids kept leaving throughout the day until there were only a few of us left. I asked my teacher what was happening and she said some very bad people flew planes into skyscrapers in New York. I thought it was an accident and she didn't know how to explain to a 4 yr old that it wasn't.
My dad was home when my mom brought me home after school. He was on the phone frantically making calls, because one of his friends is a flight attendant and was scheduled to be on one of the flights that hit the towers (I learned this later). He was calling friends and her family trying to see if anyone had any news. After a few more calls, he broke down crying in relief because she called in sick that day.
Even though I was really young, I will never forget what happened that day.

 

[cheergoogle]

I was working home care nursing for a family of a young boy with special needs. The mother called me into the TV room as she had been watching Good Morning America. I watched in shock live as the 2nd tower was hit. My younger brother at the time was going to college in NYC. He took the subway under the Twin Towers as part of his daily commute. We didn't hear from him until late that evening. Luckily he had taken an early train to school that day and his college had kept the students on lockdown when the attacks occurred.

 

[CheerBank]

One of my dad's closest friends when he was in Iraq was a firefighter in NYC that day. (I think he was originally from Jersey though; I got to meet him when they came home and it was a real honor.) He's in one of the famous pictures of the group of firefighters raising the American flag amongst all the rubble. A few years later (after joining the army) he was killed in combat overseas.

I started to shimmy and then finished reading....that is so sad.

 

[fiercerando88]

I was in 8th grade. Our school was under construction and not ready yet, so we weren't starting until the 12th, so I was home. I was talking on AIM (remember that?) to a few friends and we we're all watching good morning America (what 13 year olds watched gma on their last day of summer, I'm not sure, but I'm glad we did) and we watched it all happen. We were glued to the tv/computer the rest of the day. I remember one of my friends saying she thought it was saddam Hussein. My dad came home from work and just sat crying while watching. It was a surreal feeling.

We found out a little later that the pilot of the first plane, John Ogonowski, lived a couple streets away from me. His kids were in a private school with a couple of my other fiends and they got pulled out of class and sent home but no one knew why at that point. We have a memorial in town setup now for him which still makes me emotional when I drive by.

Hard to believe it's been 13 years. I feel like I can still picture every hour of that day like it was yesterday.

 

[FierceIsTheName]

I was only 2 years old at the time. My family was living in Italy at the time because my dad was in the Navy. I don't remember a thing about the day but my mom told me my older sister (5 years old) kept asking "why do they keep flying into the tower" (because they kept replaying it) We only had 3-5 channels, and that's all that was on so me and my sister weren't allowed to turn on the TV. We lived on a Navy base, and my dad was off base that day. That base had SO much security measures that day. My dad typically took a bus from the work to the base entry, then the bus drove him to the apartment areas. They wouldn't let the buses onto the base... So my dad had to walk like a long way to get to the apartments and got home super late. I think we were on lockdown for a few days. It's weird for me to think I wasn't even in the US at the time...

 

[Mamarazzi]

My sister came to VA for a rare trip, so I took the day off work and we decided to drive to Virginia Beach. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, but too windy to stay on the beach.
We decided to visit one of the few shops that was open that early, off-season, and the cashier had a TV on. We asked what was happening with this building burning and he said "The US is under attack!" I've always thought elephants were a good-luck symbol, so I bought a little granite elephant from that store that day. He sits on my mantel today.
My mom was (still is) a federal employee, so we called her first. After Oklahoma City, all federal employees had a heads-up about national security issues, but not that day. We quickly decided that if the country was under attack, we better get the heck outta the largest naval base in the country.
As we drove home, we listened to more reports - the towers fell, Shanksville, the Pentagon. Paparazzi was driving on the beltway that morning and traffic didn't move for hours.
My most vivid memory is how beautiful and clear the weather was, and how kind strangers were to one another for days after. We were so shocked and heartbroken. We all wanted to help and all we could really do was donate blood.
Our country did change that day. For good and bad. I still pray for comfort and hope for everyone affected.

 

[cheerisloving]

I'm in sociology and a teacher just said we were too young to remember.

One of the few ways to make me angry. People shouldn't decide what people remember, more importantly you don't know what connection people have to events. Even as a kindergartner, 9/11 changed me. I can't think of anytime I've been able to see a plane or get on one without freaking out, or pass places in my own neighborhood without being reminded.