I was thinking about posting this qustion today in class. So I did so where were you when the planes hit the twin towers? I was in class at Junior high (way before I got my 99 Wrangler) if I remember right it was math. But that day no one was doing math. We were all watching the T.V. when the Second plane the towers hit thinking oh my god oh my god this is not happing. (I was sleeping when the first one hit west coast time) I said what I was doing when the the planes hit now it is your turn.
As I was on my way to drop off our two youngest at day care (6mo and 2 yrs at the time) I heard the first report on the radio that one of the towers had been hit. At that time there was no confirmation what kind of plane it was and they were reporting it was a small single-engine. By the time I got out of the day care and was on my way to work, reports of the second plane were broadcast. I thought to myself there's no way that's a coincidence and I called my wife and told her to turn on CNN.
We met at work and the staff already had a TV going. I called my uncle, because two of my cousins live in the DC area and one of them worked for the State Department at the time. There was no answer there so I called my dad, my uncle had called him to let him know that fortunately they were all right. We had a meeting planned with our financial advisor and figured we might as well go, when we got to his office of course they had TV's going. He said he had just gotten off the phone with some financial people in one of the towers on the 15th floor, he asked them "Why are you still there?" They said they were told to stay put. He told them they should leave, their building was burning, they didn't even know how bad the damage was. After our meeting, we came out to the waiting area where everyone was glued to the TV, the first tower had just come down. By the time we got back to work, the second tower had come down.
I was driving to work, heard it on the radio and thought it was a joke, especially when they mentioned a second plane. Got to work and saw in on cnn.com. Got an email from the managment saying that we could go home if we wanted to, so I did and spent the day watching tv.
I was getting ready to go to school, just happened to flip on the TV before I left - then it was me sitting on the couch, speaking out loud saying "oh my god" - then thinking: "What if they fly into Abbot labs in Waukegan (about an hour south of me) - they have level 4 bio-hazards there!"
I was at work on IBM's main campus in RTP NC. We like Matt we first heard that it was a small plane, and knowing that one time a plane hit the Empire State Building I assumed it was an accident.
Our internet connection was almost immediately overwhelmed (big surprise) so I went out to the car to get a radio. In the corridors they had these big monitors hanging from the ceiling that usually had IBM TV but someone had switched them to a news feed and I got out there just in time to see the first tower fall.
They locked that site down, all the entrances except the main one were closed and a lot of people were told they could go home (not my department however).
A lot of people forget what it was like right after the attacks. No one really knew what was happening, who was behind it, or if another attack was imminent. IBM's main site was seen by a lot of people as a target, and their security people took it seriously.
I drove through Cary on the way home and it was creepy, police cars ALL over the place.
The next few days stayed strange, my commute took me down I-40 past RDU Airport and it was so weird not seeing any planes.
Living in West Virginia at the time. I was home, recovering from surgery of some sort. Wife called from work, said look at the news, something's happening. Still married to the crazy witch then. She was crazy, but she was right that day. Saw the first tower on fire on local news, switched to CNN, watched the second plane hit the second tower. Called my dad. Talked about the possibility that it was a terrorist attack. He was still alive then but battling cancer. He was a very smart and intuitive man. I remember I had a lump in my throat all that day that I couldn't swallow. Kind of like today.
I was asleep when the first plane hit. I'm in California so it was early. I was awakened by my roommate who was already up and had the TV on with, "Dude, a jet just flew into the World Trade Center in New York."
Watched the 2nd plane hit and the towers fall on live television. Went to work late. My office is in a 20 story building. At the time, remember we didn't know what, who, how, why, etc. Everyone at work was very uneasy and about noon, the boss told everyone to go home.
Driving thru the gates at work, in the Jeep no less. At first I thought it was some stupid morning show, and then I checked my radio station and went "whoa" - they dont have a morning "show". They were talking about the second plane hitting the towers while I was sitting at the second inner gate waiting for it to open. I got into work and hit the net first thing and oh my gawd! Not long after that our link choked (no suprise there everyone with a pc must have been online) and we went into a physical lockdown. Realized I have a cousin with a cafe/bar/resturant in the base of one of the towers. E-mailed home to ask, and found out he had sold the place a year or so prior. Whew! We ended up staying in lockdown mode for many weeks. Lots of new gates, lots of new security fencing and better security systems (badging) since.
Though it wasn't nearly as serious as 9/11, I find myself reminded of the 14 August 2003 when the Northeast experienced the largest blackout in North American history. I was in my office in a meeting and the power went off, when back on, and then went off again. We came out of the office into the store, thinking it was just a local blackout. Phone system backup battery was working so we tried calling Detroit Edison, there was no answer. Customers came in saying the lights were out many blocks away. We were meeting with someone from the local Channel 4 station, he called his office and they were reporting the lights were out in New York. The first thing that went through my mind was "terrorist attack." We had no power for TV so I pulled my truck up to the front door and turned on the radio so we could hear it in the store. We got the last customers who were ringing up finsihed, evacuated the store and sent the staff home. Going home that day was one of the scariest things, because not one traffic light was working anywhere, and people were starting to panic. Gas pumps didn't work. I tried to buy a generator on the way home but there was not one to be found.
One of our problems was we are on a well at home, and no power means no water. Fortunately we had quite a bit of bottled water for drinking, and we carried buckets from the pool to flush with.
When it was clear it was just an accident and not an attack, everyone relaxed. We had a nice little candlelit party on the deck and invited all the neighbors, we grilled chicken and steaks before they spoiled. Afterward the whole family laid down on the driveway and looked at the stars, which seemed almost bright as day. Saw about thirty satellites orbiting overhead.
I was concerned with looting at the store and drove down in the morning to check, all was well.
In Detroit we were just on the edge of the blackout, a friend of mine who lives near Jackson and works in Ann Arbor said he had power at home but not at work.
I live in NYC and was on an elevated subway and saw the second plane hit the tower. Did not actually see the plane hit but saw the explosion.
Not knowing what was happening continued into work, about 3 mi north of the towers only to find out when I arrived what was happening. I contacted my wife and we were concerned about our kids who were at school. We contacted the school who assured us they were safe.
I tried to keep those I work with calm and encourage them to stay put to see what will happen next. Rather than rush out into the street in a panic
Stayed at work for about 3 hrs then walked the 8 miles home(No subways). Crazy walk home, some folks were in a panic whenever they heard a plane(they were fighter planes) Kept my wife calm and made it home as did my kids. I'm lucky.
Yes that blackout was a surprise. Living in NYC we at first did think terrorism too. I too was in a meeting at work. Stayed at the office until we found out it was not a terrorist attack. My office has a bar in it that opened and gave free drinks to all until they ran out.
My wife walked right past my office not thinking I would be there and walked home. Another 8 mile walk. I left my office and headed to my YJ which was parked by a subway stop. About a 6 mi.walk. At the 4 mi mark a women I walked with was home and her husband offered to drive my to my rig. I declined not wanting him to drive on NYC streets without stop lights. And walked on. Got to my rig and she would not start. Had to walk the last two miles home. Boy did I wish I had jumped on the ride when it was offered. I had on shoes as I needed to be dressed for my earlier meeting and ended up with blistered feet
BTW Rig started right up the next day(I had a loose fuel pump ground)
i was in a engineering project meeting at the Jeep/Truck Engineering Building (former American Motors) on Plymouth Road in Detroit. we were working on the HVAC system for today's current Dodge Dakota Pickup (ND Platform).
we came out of the meeting room and chrysler had a few TVs on wall mounts for spreading employee propaganda, but all were tuned to national news. the first plane had already hit the WTC.
i left the building and drove back to the office listening to news radio when the second plane flew into the other WTC Tower. pulled over to the side of the road absolutely transfixed. almost no other cars on the road in metro and suburban Detroit area. very strange.
not much go done that day at work, we found a TV and set it up in a conference room, check the internet and wondered how the world was changing.
i call the guys i was with in that meeting every year on 9/11, it was that significant of an event.
the only On-Topic aspect in this story is that i was in the Jeep/Truck Engineering Building at the time...
Thanks all of you for replying. I did not think so many people would reply to this message.
99 wrangler 31 inch good year mtr tires warn M8000 winch 2.5 lift skyjacker shocks a lot of lights (winch,hood,bumper, wind shield) Even more toys to come
Some people have an addiction to drink... Some people have an addiction to drugs.... I just have an addiction to Jeeps and their accessories....
Here are a few pictures of my rig I will update soon as I get new batteries for my cam
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