Where were you on 9/11?

[houjix]

Was waiting for a call on an internship interview, so I was up earlier than normal as I didn't have class until the afternoon. Saw the second plane hit on TV while talking to my fiance on the phone. They called me and said they were all watching the TV and that I should come in tomorrow. Went to class later that day and the teacher gave us a 3 question quiz and told everyone they could just go home when we were done. Spent the evening at my restaurant job where the shift supervisor was freaking out the whole night that he was going to get activated from the reserves. Other workers came in a told us that gas spiked to over $5 at the station just down the road. Absolute weirdness all around that day.

 

[BCClone]

At work and told by the UPS that a plane hit the White House so I snuck out for lunch and watched a chunk of it. (He doesn’t hear well I realized)

A few weeks before my company was going to fly me out to collect some sports memorabilia for an auction they were having. I would have been in the general area of the towers if the stuff they needed came through. Since it didn’t, they didn’t have me fly out.

 

[laminak]

Was in my work office. Those of us in already working didn't know what was happening yet until another coworker, who started later than us, told us that a plane hit the WTC. Spent some time on the internet and radio while trying to work. Later went to the break room, which was crowded, to see the first tower fall on tv. Morale and productivity was low that day by many.

Later played sand volleyball, where the mood was the same vs the regular energetic, party atmosphere. No one really wanted to be there.

Gas stations had line up of cars down the street, trying to get gas. I recall some jacked up their prices by a few dollars per gallon.

 

[CascadeClone]

I was working then. Heard about the first plane on the radio omw to work, just as part of the 7:58am news blurb. Just figured someone in a Cessna had committed suicide or something, they never said what kind of plane, probably didn't know yet.

Got to work, we had a quick 8am stand up for about 30 people first thing every day. There was a little small talk about the plane, but nothing much. Then a guy walked in a few minutes late and said a 2nd plane had hit. Air went out of the room as everyone realized in a moment it was no accident.

Spent the rest of the day watching CNN on the TV in the bosses' office.

Kids at the time probably don't remember how much uncertainty (and fear) there was that day. Would there be more attacks? Where was the president? What should we be doing? Where is my family right now?

 

[Rural]

Freshman in HS in suburban Dayton, OH. My best friend found me in the hallway between classes and said a plane had hit the WTC. My first thought was some inexperienced pilot in a Cessna or something.

I remember being back at home that evening and hearing a sonic boom - I believe an F-16 out of Wright-Patt scrambling to escort AF1. The rest of the day is a blur to me.

That's was most everyones first speculation until you saw the hole in the building.

 

[Dandy]

7th grade study hall in the school library.

Watched the second tower fall live on tv in the ICN room during social studies.

 

[Dandy]

7th grade study hall in the school library.

Watched the second tower fall live on tv in the ICN room during social studies.

We had just flown out to Vegas and back a few weeks prior. My mom had an uncle out there we visited.

Called him that night and asked him what's happening in Vegas. He said, "You could take a cannon to the top of the Strip and shoot it but it wouldn't hit a single car."

 

[CyVeteran]

Hickam AFB?

Yes, but it transitioned to Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam when I was there.

 

[SCNCY]

6th grade in Illinois. I don’t think I knew what was going on until they announced it in school. I think when I had woke up, the first tower was hit, and then in first period, the second plane hit. Our school decided to make it a normal schedule. Only exception was in social studies, the teacher talked about why it was happening.

 

[Jonyrose]

We were sitting, waiting for the bell in algebra when our English teacher came over and said a plane hit the twin towers, went to biology next wheee the tv was on and watched the second plane hit and both towers fall in real time. Spent the rest of our day moving from class to class watching the coverage

 

[clonehoodie]

On business trip in Ankara, Turkey.

It was comforting to see armed Turkish soldiers at every facility we visited.
We were on one of the first flights allowed back over the pond that weekend.

 

[HFCS]

Here's an interesting podcast about the well researched phenomenon that somewhere around half of us are remembering this "memorable" day in our lives inaccurately.

Free Brian Williams | Revisionist History

"Sorry dude, I don’t remember you being on my aircraft."

www.pushkin.fm

Uses the famed Brian Williams "lie" about his experience and exposes that a huge % of people misremember their own 911 experience.

 

[mywayorcyway]

The second plane was just crazy. Lots of thoughts going through my head that the first one might have been an accident, then boom, the second plane comes on the screen.

My duplex was right next to our office so we had 15 or so people watching there after the first tower was hit. One of my co-workers had a daughter working in the south tower and he was trying to get ahold of her. When the south tower was hit, my co-worker just walked out of the room and left. I know the TV was on but it seemed like the quietest room I had ever been in.

He didn't get to talk to her for a long time, I believe it was over 12 hours. She was on the main floor of the south tower when the north tower was hit and she just turned around and left.

 

[davegilbertson]

Fellow member of the 4 years of MWF 8-11 am studio while all of my non-college of design friends somehow never had a class before noon their entire academic career.

911 was probably one of the first september days I hadn't been in a studio like that in four years since I had just graduated.

and they had like 3 tests a semester, and had majors that got them jobs that paid about x4 more than entry level design.

 

[davegilbertson]

Here's an interesting podcast about the well researched phenomenon that somewhere around half of us are remembering this "memorable" day in our lives inaccurately.

Free Brian Williams | Revisionist History

"Sorry dude, I don’t remember you being on my aircraft."

www.pushkin.fm

Uses the famed Brian Williams "lie" about his experience and exposes that a huge % of people misremember their own 911 experience.

Don't have time to listen now, but I wonder if this is a personality type. I know people very well who vividly remember specific details about things, but I've also been around them where the details change in the retelling of it "storytelling" essentially.

I have a few polaroid bursts that I recall, but man, if you need me to get more specific, I'm not your guy. Wonder if some people feel the need to reconstruct entirely and unknowingly fabricate or misremember details?

 

[Bipolarcy]

Sleeping. I worked second shift. Never turned on a radio or a television until it was time to go to work at 1 p.m. The first I ever knew something was up was when I drove past a gas station and saw a huge line of cars at the pumps, all the way down streets in three different directions. There must have been 100 cars lined up. Even then, I thought maybe it was one of those gas price wars that were frequent in the 70s when competing gas stations would try to out-cheap each other. It wasn't until I got to work and saw everyone standing around a TV that I was finally able to figure out what was going on. I was probably the last person in America to know what had happened.

 

[enisthemenace]

POM 320. College of Design room 0114.

Professor was usually a couple minutes late, but was moreso on this day. A couple students were quietly talking about something, then it became an overall buzz. The professor finally came out and told us all to go home. I don’t remember her telling is why exactly, but if I remember right, we either already knew why or it was becoming apparent.

 

[houjix]

Here's an interesting podcast about the well researched phenomenon that somewhere around half of us are remembering this "memorable" day in our lives inaccurately.

Free Brian Williams | Revisionist History

"Sorry dude, I don’t remember you being on my aircraft."

www.pushkin.fm

Uses the famed Brian Williams "lie" about his experience and exposes that a huge % of people misremember their own 911 experience.

Remembering details incorrectly is one thing, but at least it's not Steve Rannazzi bad of flat out lying about his experiences that day.

 

[do4CY]

Was a senior in high school. Was getting ready to go to a calc class I was taking at ISU, I was watching the news after the first one had hit and right before I turned the tv off to leave the second plane hit. I was late to class but it didn't matter, the few that showed up just talked about what happened until the TA came in and said that it was cancelled. Had some friends that lined up to wait for gas for 2 hours after school.

 

[Antihawk240]

At home with oldest daughter(1 at the time)watching "bear and the big blue house". Wife comes in and asks if I saw what happened in New York. Turn the channel and see one building burning and both thought terrible accident. Minutes later the next building gets hit. We look at each other......."no accident".

Same. I had an hour long commute in the Twin Cities. I was sitting at a stop light when they interrupted the radio morning show. At that time no one knew anything. I was thinking it was a smaller regional airport plane and that it was a horrible mistake or pilot lost conscious or something. Walked into work, entire building was around the TV, saw the second plane hit and said....that's no accident. My wife was working at the Mall of America. I remember later that morning the reporters were naming off suspect attractions. As soon as I heard them say Mall of America I instantly turned numb. I was in the process of calling her when she called me telling me she was getting sent home and the Mall of America was a panic mess and she didnt know what to do. People running, parking ramp had cars going way too fast. Horns honking people yelling. Unreal.