What Was Your Experience of 9/11/2001?

[Moonface]

Personally I can't recall a great deal of the day despite being 10 years old at the time, but maybe the rest of you have better memories than I do.

All I do know is that I would have been in school at the time, since it was Tuesday and for the UK the time would have been around 1:46pm when the first plane hit. I don't think it really made the rounds in my school as back then the only way you really got news was through TV, and the school didn't have any of those so unless it came in through a phone call, then my guess is no one in the school became aware of the event until at least 3:25pm when school finished for the day. I expect my parents had it on the news (I doubt any channel wasn't reporting on it) but I can't recall paying attention to it since to a 10 year old that sort of stuff isn't really understandable nor necessarily of interest. I think at most I ended up keeping a newspaper from the following day that obviously featured 9/11 on the front page since although it's morbid, at the time I found the picture to be cool because I didn't understand the gravity of it, I just saw a big explosion on a building that looked like some action movie stuff. I think that newspaper is still around somewhere in my parents house, but no idea where exactly. XD

[Maniakkid25]

I remember watching the towers fall on TV. It was a week from my 9th birthday. I remember they let out school early, and I went home and the news was on in my Dad's office in the house I lived in when I first came to Florida. I don't remember how it felt to watch it on that day, but I know that I didn't understand what was going on until much later in life, so I think I didnt feel anything. I would later learn I had a relative near the towers when they fell. They made it out alive.

[queenzelda]

I was living with my in-laws during the first year of my marriage with my husband Jing, many (many) month's before we found the house we're living in now. I was sick as a dog that day, I had a high fever, throwing up & just could hardly move I was so sick. So I called out sick from work that day & watched everything unfold on tv while huddling under the blankets in my bed. I'll never forget it.. I also will never forget afterwards, cause all of the planes were all forced to land & couldn't fly for a while. So for a long time it was weird not seeing planes fly over head. More so since the grocery store we go to isn't far from the local airport & not seeing any planes overhead for a week (or more) was just.. WEIRD & very unnerving.

[ShiraNoMai]

I remember watching the towers fall on TV. It was a week from my 9th birthday. I remember they let out school early, and I went home and the news was on in my Dad's office in the house I lived in when I first came to Florida. I don't remember how it felt to watch it on that day, but I know that I didn't understand what was going on until much later in life, so I think I didnt feel anything. I would later learn I had a relative near the towers when they fell. They made it out alive.

We have very similar stories, though that may be due to our proximity in age.
The news broke while in class, and they put the news on on one of those rolling TV stands (it had basic cable I guess?). I believe it was turned on after the second tower was hit, so we didn't see anything live happen on camera. Otherwise, yeah, we were sort of stunned in this "I don't know how to react to this" sort of way, and then it was announced over the PA we were being let go early. I was in... 3rd grade? I actually thought it was 4th grade until I just did the math. I can barely remember my teacher's reaction, but now that I'm recalling the memory, I do remember him turning on the TV. Anyway yeah, it was surreal in a way. Just laying on the couch at home after all that and watching the news coverage pretty much all day, until Spongebob came on, I think.

I also had a relative that worked in the buildings near the World Trade Center, and they managed to be okay. I can't remember if they were late that day or weren't coming in from being ill. Man, imagine, queen, if you'd have been leaving in NYC at that time and were supposed to go into the city that day while you were ill like you were.

My mom got laid off shortly after the attack, somehow related to the incident. She'd been working for AT&T for 18 years at that point, so that was a huge loss for her.

[Mr EliteL]

Mine would be similar to Moony's. I don't remember anything of the day though, just something on the news I probably didn't watch, and if I did, not pay much attention to t 10 years old. Knew it was a bad thing at least. Might've been possible there was mention of it the following day at school in the morning's assembly, perhaps a minute silence? (don't expect you to know/remember, Moony)

My mom got laid off shortly after the attack, somehow related to the incident. She'd been working for AT&T for 18 years at that point, so that was a huge loss for her.

That really sucks. Makes me wonder if she was the only one or not that day. I mean, if it was related in some way, a similar result might've happened to some other colleague with the amount of work, calls and such happening almost simultaneously. Dang.
Not a good thing to talk about, so I don't expect a confirmation for that either.

[queenzelda]

@ShiraNoMai Actually my great aunt & uncle were going to go to NYC to see the sites that day, but my aunt had a feeling that they shouldn't go & didn't. Which I found out later on, about a week later from what I can recall.

Also.. Idk, if I did live in NYC & was sick that day with having to work? I would have called out still, cause it was really bad for me that day. I was throwing up, I could hardly move or keep anything down. It was BAD.

[Kyng]

My story is pretty similar to Moonface's, really. Like him, I was a 10-year-old going to school in the UK - and, there was nothing on the day itself, because it all happened too late in the day for anybody to be aware of it (before the age of mobile internet, none of the students or teaching staff would have had any reason to go online to find out about it).

I only found out when I got home, and put the TV on to watch CITV, as was my usual after-school routine. Sadly, there were no cartoons on this day: only shots of planes crashing into towers in fireballs, and then those towers collapsing into rubble. I thought it was pretty shocking, of course - but, since I was just a 10-year-old who wasn't directly affected by the events, I quickly moved on to other things.

The seriousness of this atrocity didn't truly hit me until the following day. There morning newspaper was, of course, completely dominated by this one story: most or all of it was dedicated to the events of the previous day, people's personal accounts, and so on. The next few school assemblies were also dedicated to 9/11 in some way - and we did a couple of writing exercises based on what had happened, what we thought should be done, and so on. Of course, I can no longer remember what I wrote (and I probably don't still have it anywhere) - but, I know we still have the newspaper. It's being kept safe - and if I ever have kids (which I doubt will happen), I know I'm going to show it to them one day.

[Monocle]

Was avoiding this topic but it's been a long time now.

I was in 7th grade. 12 years old. I lived in the bronx. had family who worked there. family friends no longer here.

i remember my soon to be 8th grade teacher coming into our class to tell my teacher that a plane hit the tower. she was on the phone with her son who was watching the news from home. all the teachers eventually left the classrooms and we were just fucking around. no one was telling us what was going on and no one was teaching. Eventually there was a message on the PA system that everyone was to remain in their classrooms until they were picked up. I was one of the first picked up. my aunt got us because my mom was sick. my aunt who worked down there and took off to take care of my mom. my favorite aunt who should've been lost.

We walked home because they had stopped all public transportation in case of another attack. We got home and my mom announces that a tower fell. Since we weren't told anything, we didn't understand what was going on. I told my sisters to go play something and told them to tell me. yeah I was only 12 but I was the oldest sibling and basically told them that I demanded to know. they explained and I sat with my aunt the whole day. my mom didn't know anyone there but my aunt was so afraid of losing her coworkers and friends. She was crying so hard. I'm tearing up just remembering. when the news showed the second tower collapsing, she got an all time low. my mom and I couldn't calm her and with my mom being sick, there wasn't much she could do anyway.

entire time, my mom couldn't get in contact with my dad. he worked in Jersey and cell phone traffic was just ridiculous. I remember her getting through real quick for a bit and he said he was fine and not to worry. he didn't get home until the next day. They shut down the George Washington Bridge so he couldn't drive home. he stood with a coworker who took in the guys who couldn't get home because they lived over the bridge. That first night, without my dad, my aunt the way she was, and my mom now feeling sicker thanks to this, was really rough. I was 12 and taking care of everyone. Made a simple dinner. Just rice and some chicken. I remember getting praise from everyone for what I did but I didn't really have a choice. it was just... a really devastating day for everyone.

[Moonface]

Mine would be similar to Moony's. I don't remember anything of the day though, just something on the news I probably didn't watch, and if I did, not pay much attention to t 10 years old. Knew it was a bad thing at least. Might've been possible there was mention of it the following day at school in the morning's assembly, perhaps a minute silence? (don't expect you to know/remember, Moony)

I expect we had a moment in the morning assembly during the part where we always had to do a prayer. Likely said a prayer and then spent a moment in silence after it if I had to guess.

@Monocle: Jeez, that sounds really rough. I don't want to imagine how you would have managed to try and keep the boat afloat if your dad couldn't be reached or worse had happened.

[ShiraNoMai]

Thank you for sharing, Monocle. I'm sure it's been tough dealing with that memory for quite some time now, especially judging from how you told it.

How does your family cope on this day each year, out of curiosity?

[Monocle]

Yeah I never really thought about how bad it would be if he didn't come home. I know I was one of the lucky ones.

My aunt's memory is failing honestly. There are times that she goes to the supermarket alone and forgets why she was there and ends up calling her husband or son to pick her up. If they can't be reached, she'll panic and breakdown. Dunno if this is a result of the 9/11 trauma honestly. She doesn't react any particular way anymore. First few years were fucking rough. She wasn't able to work. My mom is fine. She has always been able to adapt quickly enough and she doesn't let it affect her, or at least doesn't show it. Aside from not being able to come home, my dad wasn't really affected at all. my sisters couldn't give a shit. they were younger and kept away from it on that day and honestly they can be heartless af regardless. I try not to think about it. I avoid the news regularly but definitely actively avoid it on that day. Wouldn't say I was traumatized but I'm perfectly without stirring up those memories every year.

[QueenBee]

Horrendous. I remember seeing it on the tv...couldn't believe it. Still brings me to tears today. All those poor people...just terrible..

[WR91]

I remember it like it was yesterday.

I was in 5th grade doing a project of some sort (my topic was on the original Xbox console release in a few months time).

and my teacher got a phone call about it as her son was actually supposed to be in that very building that day for work. She started crying and turned on the TV.

Once she saw it on the television, she turned it off (she didn't want to have us to see it) and then told us to wait in the classroom as she walked to the principal's office to see what to do next.

Class was let out and we were sent home.

[Moonface]

and my teacher got a phone call about it as her son was actually supposed to be in that very building that day for work. She started crying and turned on the TV.

Was her son actually there that day or did he turn out to be one of the lucky few who wasn't there that day?

[WR91]

and my teacher got a phone call about it as her son was actually supposed to be in that very building that day for work. She started crying and turned on the TV.

Was her son actually there that day or did he turn out to be one of the lucky few who wasn't there that day?

He wasn't there. He slept in and was on his way there when it happened.