September 11

[StrangeSox]

It definitely still has meaning. I can't watch the videos of the planes without an emotional reaction and a chill down my spine.

 

For whatever reason, the New York Times and the Washington Post did not run a front-page story on it today.

 

The other forum I frequent (automotive) has a decent amount of people from NY. Someone started a "Where were you?" thread, and some of those stories were pretty powerful. People there lost a lot of friends and family, and many witnessed it first hand. Some were even just across the street.

 

My nephew's birthday is on September 11. In 2001 he was pretty young, but old enough to know that his birthday was f***ed up that day.

 

This happened when I was in high school, and one of the girls in my class had her birthday on that day.

Edited September 12, 2008 by StrangeSox

[HuskyCaucasian]

It definitely still has meaning. I can't watch the videos of the planes without an emotional reaction and a chill down my spine.

I remember sitting in my bed with my bathrobe on after having just gotten out of the shower and watching the second plane fly in. It's engraved in my brain. That, and sitting in my car in the parking lot of Harper Community College (I had a 9 or 9:30 AM class that day) with my portable TV watching the first tower collapse. I could hear the anchor talking and all I could think was "hey, look at your monitor. That building just colapsed". It took him about 10 seconds and he finally noticed it.

 

On a positive side note: My parents were scheduled to fly to Las Vegas that morning to celebrate their anniversary. Needless to say, their plane never boarded and never got off the ground. While waiting, they met a nice couple flying home to Buffalo who had no where to go or stay. They tried to rent a car but they were all taken. My parents offered to let them stay at our place for a few days. Eventually they rented a car and went home. My parents still keep in contact with them to this day. So, 9/11 showed us on a base level, we are all in this together.

Edited September 12, 2008 by Athomeboy_2000

[DABearSoX]

Is it still meaningful to you? Yes and No is too black and white. I'm in the middle. I wish we'd go back to the days right after 9/11 where everyone was nice to each other there was a mutual respect I've never seen in my young life and it was nice.

 

This is why I think the day has really lost its meaning. They say never forget, but the never forget part is the plathera of shows on TV hollywoodizing the day.

 

My wife is due to give birth any day now and let me say... I feared our child being born on September 11th. He / She would never fully understand, but when he / she tells an adult his or her birthday, I know the FIRST thing that will enter their mind is the twin towers.

 

 

I sat here at work yesterday and I didn't want to put the date on any of the things I was entering on the computer...its just weird....and speaking about birthdays, chicagobears.com had a story on the front page about how Caleb Hanie's Bday is septmeber 11th...I mean really COME ON

[DBAHO]

It is for me especially considering it's also my b-day, so even though I'm not American, it probably affects me more than most.

 

I was able to go down to Ground Zero for about 5-10 mins yesterday at 6:30PM, and basically just reflect, and that was something I really wanted to do when I came here, so I was glad to do it.

[Rex Kickass]

It is for me especially considering it's also my b-day, so even though I'm not American, it probably affects me more than most.

 

I was able to go down to Ground Zero for about 5-10 mins yesterday at 6:30PM, and basically just reflect, and that was something I really wanted to do when I came here, so I was glad to do it.

 

You're in NYC now?

[Jenksismyhero]

I was going to reply to this thread yesterday and say that the day had lost a little bit of feeling and meaning these last few years. But last night I watched a terrific documentary on the History Channel that had footage from 8 or 9 seperate people in various parts of the city - some as close as one block that morning. Needless to say, I sat for an hour and half with my mouth open in awe, pretty much like I was that morning.

 

I'll never forget exactly where I was and what I was doing. I was at work at my universities library when the first plane hit. I remember thinking "oh that sucks, there's been an accident." Then the news came that the plane had been hijacked. The library put up a tv and we watched the 2nd plane hit and then of course both towers falling. I'll also remember that day because my parents were on a flight from San Fran back to Chicago that morning. They were forced to land in Colorado. I'll never forget my dad calling me as soon as the plane landed being pissed that they couldn't go any farther. No one had told them what happened. He thought I was kidding when I told him.

 

We ended up going to NYC in March or April of '02. Visiting that small church with the fence covered in pictures and memorials and letters, and then going up that ramp to the site was easily one of the coolest and most memorable things I've ever done. I walked up with my family and a couple of strangers. When we got to the edge where you could see over the site this guy next to me says, "I used to work in the north tower. After the bombing in '93 I quit. Smartest decision I ever made."

[DBAHO]

You're in NYC now?

Have been for 4 months, and am for another 8.

[lostfan]

Last night I watched MSNBC's re-airing footage from that morning. Watching the whole day unfold reminded me eerily of exactly everything I was thinking back then, it was almost like a total recall of everything (except I was watching CNN that morning and not MSNBC). At the time I was in my last week of training in the Army and I was about to ship off to my first duty station in 2 days, and the first plane hit as we were outside finishing cool-down stretches from PT. My drill sergeant came out and said "a plane just crashed into the World Trade Center." There was a collective WTF from everybody while we were going back inside but I don't think anybody really thought anything of it (my exact words were what kind of f***ing dumbass manages to crash into the WTC?), then when I got in I heard that another plane hit. So now I knew something was wrong and I sat down in front of TV - at this point whatever plans my unit had for the rest of the day would be scrapped.

 

I sit in the day room and watch the towers smoking and then I hear about the Pentagon getting hit, and now I'm thinking wow, this isn't just a terrorist attack, it's a full-blown act of war. I was wondering who did it, I wanted somebody to be pissed at but I was confused. I was sitting thinking about getting all those people out of a burning skyscraper (and has a skyscraper ever burned like this before?) for a while, and I thought optimistically, that's a lot of damage, but I guess it can be fixed right? But as I said that the first tower started to collapse and now I thought ok, nevermind that, because I just saw several thousand people die, live on TV. Then I started talking to my friend, and I wondered how much time the people in the other tower had left, because its collapse was inevitable. Then it started coming down and I just sat there staring at the screen, frozen in disbelief. I was literally having a hard time believing what I was seeing, I was just dumbfounded thinking "holy f***ing s***." They said that another hijacked plane was headed towards DC and that there were fighter jets in the air, and I thought great, shoot that down, the collateral damage here isn't an issue, and if I was on that plane I'd find that completely acceptable since the alternative is dying in a successful terrorist attack.

 

After about noon, most of what I was thinking about was wanting to go overseas right then and there so I could start killing people (that never happened).

[lostfan]

Also I was supposed to fly on September 13 that day but the FAA still didn't allow any flights until the 14, and I ended up flying out of Phoenix. But I had a b**** of a time getting from Phoenix to Atlanta to Chicago because all the flights would get delayed/canceled because the flight attendants and pilots were quitting.

[southsider2k5]

All I have to do is watch the moment of silence at the NYSE and I am instantly taken back. It means more to me today than it did then.

[Rex Kickass]

Have been for 4 months, and am for another 8.

Well crap, welcome to the neighborhood.

[DABearSoX]

But last night I watched a terrific documentary on the History Channel that had footage from 8 or 9 seperate people in various parts of the city - some as close as one block that morning. Needless to say, I sat for an hour and half with my mouth open in awe, pretty much like I was that morning.

 

 

I watch that too...it was pretty amazing

[southsider2k5]

I watch that too...it was pretty amazing

 

I couldn't turn it off. I was locked in for the whole two hours.

[CanOfCorn]

That documentary was done by a Chicago production company, Siskel/Jacobs, by the way.

[Steve9347]

I don't think 9/11 will ever NOT be meaningful for me.

[YASNY]

September 11th will always be meaningful to me, but for different reasons. My late son was born on September 11, 1981.