9/11 Five Years Later.......

[BelizeIt]

It's hard to believe that it was five years ago, when all of our lives were forever changed. The infamous events of September 11th, unfolded before most of us on television. I myself, like many others, watched dumfounded as images previously unimaginable rocked the foundation of our lives.

 

Where were you when you first found out about the attacks on the World Trade Center?

How have the events of that day affected you, or your life?

 

On Sept 11th, I was house-sitting for my father in Huntington Beach. He had an 8:00am flight that morning to San Francisco, for a multi-day business trip. I turned on the television around 7:00am, and watched in disbelief at the airplanes impact, and then the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings.

 

Sept 11th affected my life, by making me feel less secure. Perhaps cataclysmic events, like chemical weapons/dirty bombs are an actual possibility. I also feel we have given up many freedoms through laws like the Patriot Act.

 

But, I also believe that progress is being made against these Terrorists. There hasn't been another major attack on U.S. soil since 9/11, though the attacks in Spain, Bali, and the U.K. show us that we cannot let our guard down. The threat of Terrorism will exist for years to come, but as long as we stay United in a common goal to defeat these fanatics, we will prevail.

[GURZU]

I remember it as if I was yesterday. Was the first day of college and I a tape-worm 11 years. I managed to house to eat, and then they jumped the news. "Confused reports come to us from that one of World Trade's Center is burning. Automatic they connected with New York and it can see like burn this tower, the presenters were speechless, all saying that was an accident, but minutes later ... plaf! Another plane in another tower, in my house are that we did not believe ourselves ... it was impressive, to see as such a small plane compared with the tower ... it was exploding, and you think about that of people that habia there....

 

Then it began the authentic terror, in the news they were starting saying that tape-worm that to be a terrorist act, even here in Spain, where we have had decades of terrorism, this us was exceeding, not could to people capable of doing it. Later was coming more news ... another plane in the The Pentagon (though I doubt that it was a plane) and another in Pensylvania, I believe. Already not have doubts ... the one who had done it was not a human being. Later, I saw to the people to jump ... I cannot remember it, then the towers, they are ruined, as if it was controlled ..... and Manhattan plunged in the darkness...

 

Later when Al-Quaeda recognized the acts, I remained annihilated, SINCE IT IS POSSIBLE THAT SOMEONE DOES SUCH A ATROCITY BECAUSE TO HIS TO SEEM IT PERFORMS DIFFERENT FROM THE "NORMAL THING", it is the major act of RACISM that I have seen in my life, besides the attempts of Madrid and London.

 

Alone I say a thing, the politics is not going to do anything, is more fodder than the Administration Bush it knew that it was going to happen and even they collaborated to increase his safety...

I am of that he thinks that this type (Bush) is a complete stupid, and that thanks to and his little friends (see Blair or Aznar), the world is such and since it is, with stupid wars, which do not take to never site and types that they believe better than anybody for being from another country.

 

The terrorism one does not attack him with weapon, as says Bush, but with the word. If they say that the military troops should leave Afghanistan or Iraq ... why do not they go away?

Bush said once a thing, together with Aznar and Blair, who made to me grace great:

 

To finish with the terror and the wars we will order there to we troops ¬¬

 

But idiots' piece! If vais there make the war!

 

Let's hope that this finishes soon, and through that the whole world could live united and in peace.

 

 

" The man, is the animal only one that he does not learn of his mistakes "

[AndrewCT]

I was working on lower West Broadway at the time. I ran down to see what was going on. Saw things nobody else should ever see, than ran away like everyone else.

 

I quit that week, and went to work locally in Connecticut.

 

Did it effect my life? Sorta yah. It did the first year or so, but I learned to just let it be. I can't let my life, and every September 11th rule my life with grief.

[kingdanny]

I was in 3 grade watching the weather with my class. We turned on the T.V to see the first tower in flames. Then.....KABOOM!! another plane. Everyone was like, "What?".

[crispy]

I was getting ready for work, and saw the T.V., I stood slack jawed for probably an hour staring at the T.V., not believing what I was seeing, untill my boss called and told me I needed to come into work, I was late, but I wasn't in trouble

 

The rest of the day was a blur

[Guest]

I was at home, with my 4 month old son. I sat in disbelief as this was all unfolding all on national TV. It was something no one should ever see or deal with.

 

But, we all have. After 5 years. I have seen movies and documentaries made about this tragedy. Some of which I don't understand why they were made.

 

As I sit here now, 5 years later, watching the gutwrenching ceremonies I relive all that has happened again. Watching these people who lost their loved ones, is just as sad as it was watching it unfold on TV.

 

God bless all the people that lost their lives in the tragedy. The firefighters, police men, and all the brave people that ran into those towers to help and didn't come back out.

[Masked_Maverick]

I was living in Sandusky at the time and had just gotten up since I had no classes that day. I turn on the T.V. and the first thing I saw was a plane crash into One of the towers. I couldn't believe me eyes and thought for a min. this was some bad dream. For about 45 min. I stared at the T.V. wondering in my mind what happened and I prayed for those in the Towers as I saw them on the t.v. collapse. It was a very sad day indeed One thing I also remember is since I was working at CP at the time the first day back the Internationals that were still there were scared that we would be mad at them just because they were from a differant country. Thankfully it didn't take long to reassure them we were glad to have them there. However I do get sad when I do think of what happened my life hasn't changed that much I just now have a stronger faith in God.

[the_rock401]

On that particular Tuesday morning, I was a senior at St. Michael-Albertville (MN) High School, and I was working in the library computer lab a little before 8. I wasn't sure why everyone was congregating around the TVs, and I didn't think anything of it. I had physics A block (8:30-9:50 AM Central), and my lack of knowledge of what was going on was quickly shattered by an announcement by our principal to keep the proceedings in New York in mind today.

 

Things were already weird, and it only got weirder five minutes later when the classroom phone rang. It was my teacher's wife, and she said that another plane had flown into the Pentagon. At that point, we went over to another classroom (we didn't have a TV) and kept watching the proceedings. Normally, when you get 55-60 high school juniors and seniors in the same room, you can't shut them up. For almost an hour, no one said a word as the towers burned and fell. It wasn't until the A block bell rang at 9:50 did anyone move or start talking, and it was the buzz of the school the remainder of the day.

 

Regardless of what you think of the various conspiracy theories floating around, or whether you think it was indeed Al-Qaeda, there were tremendous acts of heroism in New York and Washington that day that should never, ever be forgotten.

 

Paul "My two bits" Miller

[Adriel]

I was in Grade 4 that time. That day, even in Indonesia, many people were shocked by the tragedy. We knew the news in the morning of September 12th. I was totally shocked! One of the tallest building in the world was destroyed! I just can't believe what I had just seen that time. I'm very sorry to hear that guys.

[Ed]

I only heard about it when I come home from school (5 hours on from USA see) and I was like.... Ok...

 

I didn't actually know what the World Trade Centres were when I was 13 so it all seemed a bit surreal to me.

 

I woke up today and didn't realise it was the 11th. I'm not being disrespectful to anyone but I just don't see the point in constantly looking back. There's a very fine line between rememberance and staying in the past.

 

And with all the documentaries, films and the constant stream of reminders i've found that i'm now immune to any kind of ceremony or rememberance. I've done the shocked and sad phase and i'm now in the... Was it 5 years ago? Wow... And then I move on and do something else.

[ParkTrips]

It would have been hard not to realize it since people have been commemmorating things pretty hardcore - its been all over the news, bunches of documentaries. Plus I think it is different for us - we don't get this kind of stuff often, wheras London spent most of WWII under air attack, and bombings had become common in Ireland.

 

Anyways, I was in high school when it happened doing a chem lab [sic] and I won't lie... my first thought was "holy !$#%@ great idea guys". It was sad and all but quite frankly something bound to happen.

 

The attack didn't really affect my life other than at the airport - and it started the pricing war for airfare, and I can't deny that I like it.

 

- Joe

 

// trying to think positive

[Scaparri]

I remember it pretty well. I was taking the GQE exam my sophomore year in high school and they pulled us out and brought us into another room because they said there was something on the news that we had to see. We all just kind of stood there stunned. As we watched the coverage, we then saw the two towers collapse. It was pretty crazy. Then they took us back to testing. I thought that was kind of funny. "There's this national disaster occuring right now where our country has been attacked and thousands of people are dying.... OK back to the test that determines if you graduate." Not that it really effected me or that there was much they could really do.

[Wishmaster]

I just got home from school and my mom was zapping. Suddenly I saw an ad for a cool new movie about an attack on the WTC. It really was a shock when I realised it wasn't a movie.

[thomas2]

I was preparing to go to my music class when I heard it. First I was like meh, but when I saw it on television I was really shocked. The WTC has always fascinated me before 9/11 and I always said I wanted to go there. Guess that won't happen...

[mcjaco]

I had just gotten to work around 8AM, and was trying to read the Chicago Tribune's report on Michael Jordan returning to the Wizards. The site was taken horrendously long to load. I could barely get the home page open, which naturally had just a blurb on a plane hitting one of the towers. I figured it was some moronic private pilot that crashed his Cessna.

 

All of sudden my boss goes running past pushing a TV cart down the hall. I figure we'd forgotten to set up one of the meeting rooms for someone, and we were going to hear about later, so I ran after her to help. By the time I got to the meeting room, she had the TV on. I just stood there in disbelief, especially when the second tower was hit. We stood and watched until the first tower collapsed. Corporate almost instantly issued the evacuation of the office and I headed off to the train station. Everyone's eyes seemed to be transfixed on the Sears Tower as they walked to where they had to go. The train station was mobbed and it took 2 hours to get home (and this was in Chicago).

[okinawaboy11]

I was living over seas in Okinawa Japan. I was 11 soon to turn 12. In 6th grade (Wow I thought I felt old then!). Anywho we were in the middle of Super Typhoon Nari. I was already out of school and the time difference made it like 11 o clock there. I couldnt sleep from all the wind so I went into the living room and, Yes in Japan we (the americans) got LIVE local news broadcasted to us, Like ABC, CNN, FOX, etc. And yeah I went into the room and my family was all sitting on the couch in awe and I turned to look at the TV and BAM plane number 2.

[Hercules]

I was a senior in high school. Our class had to go to the library for a project. One of my teachers from another grade, Mrs. Hennigan, came running into the library in a frantic state and turned on one of the TV's to show the 50 or so people in the library the scene. We were literally the first people in the school to know what was going on. It was probably a couple minutes after the second plane had hit (I'm glad I didn't see it live). The general concensus was "Oh come on guys, you tried this once before." We thought it would be stopped, the thing would be repaired and all would be normal in the world. Stupid high school kids. Then, just before the period was over, and all of the joking was really kicking into high gear, they announced that the Pentagon had just been hit. I have never seen expressions change like I did that day. It was from laughing and giggling to "Holy sh*t".

 

We all went out into the hall saying that we were under attack and that the trade center had been bombed. Nobody believed us... I guess they figured it out in the three minutes that it took to get to class.

 

We weren't even allowed to watch it on the TV in class. We were supposed to go on like it was a normal day. After school activities were cancelled, that was it. We weren't able to go home early. We had to stay in school and learn. I didn't have one class where we did anything but talk. The principals went around and made sure that classes were meeting and not watching the television. Really nice huh?

 

The kids that had family members in the city got plucked from classes one by one. It was really a sad sight.

 

Even though after school activities were cancelled, the football team still had practice late into the night. Of course, they were able to get away with it. Stupid school politics. And what did a friend and I do? It was the only thing that I knew when I was feeling down... we went and played golf. I kind of regret it to this day. I should have gone home. I just wasn't sure what else to do at the time.

 

I have kind of let it all pass. It is wrong to say. I still think about it once in a while, but nothing like I did before. I don't let it bother me. It doesn't mean that I don't have respect for those who died, but life has gone on for me. I still respect all of the efforts and all of those who died though. There was a time that I couldn't watch replays, but now I can. They don't bother me anymore. I don't even feel anger towards it. I don't even feel sadness. It is in the past.

[DarkStitch626]

I was in math class , my teachers screaming down the hall way running of the bulls style tripping over thier own feet. It was like 10:30 when we all found out. They ended up breaking a TV over running down the hall too fast. We were about an hour late about seeing it but due to how small our building was and all the anger its a wonder nobody broke out in a fight. We were told after it was over to write our feelings in a journal..

 

Alot of speculating has gone on in some of the TV shows I've watched such as the reason the buildings collapsed the way they did, without being tamptered with before it happened they would have crashed way different *cries about how many people lost thier lives*

 

 

Another thing the plane that hit the pentagon wasn't even a jet, it was a drone of some kind the worlds most experienced stunt and military pilots were interviewd as saying "We can't even fly that low for 10 seconds and keep mass control we'd hit the ground" Some eye witness people say it was an extremely small craft.

 

 

The image that most shocks me is the second plane smashing into the building at like 300-500mph..and the glass around it not even moving until the explosion.

 

On a side note I had family in that general area at the time. I was like so worried for them.. Our school declared a shut down sending everyone home..

 

 

I am also shocked because of Bush's reaction to it, I know he was in a shcool reading to little kids but dang it, when your told of such a tragety you don't just sit there and think...I know he was trying to keep the little kids calm etc but jeez he needed to wake up...now I am not against Bush or for him but he needed to do something. I know how hard it was for him though , hearing the event unfold alot of people were in shock so I guess even he was.

 

Does anyone also find the name for the Iraq war ironic?

 

Bush was in the OIL business for a long time,he's after cheaper oil yet the war name was (O)peration(I)raqy (L)iberation... aka OIL..

[ParkTrips]

Let's not turn this into political banter, thanks. Especially since the whole "9/11 conspiracy" thing has to be the most over-done crap on the internet these days.

[mr_teisco_delrey]

 

Bush was in the OIL business for a long time,he's after cheaper oil yet the war name was (O)peration(I)raqy (L)iberation... aka OIL..

 

It's called Operation Iraqi Freedom.

 

As for myself, I was working in a lab when one of my coworkers turned up the radio, and told us that a plane had hit the WTC. Like mcjaco said, everybody was thinking it might have been a Cessna of something. All I remember was total confusion, especially when Flight 93 crashed. We were released from work that day. I remember the National Guard at the Clays Ferry Bridge on I-75. They were afraid it might be targeted since 75 is a major corridor in the US and taking this bridge out would really hurt us. I'll never forget it.

[Mr.Six]

Wow, it really has been 5 years? Well, like most I remember when first heard the news of it. School began at around 9. And I would watch Good Day LA until it was time for me to begin walking there. I remember seeing the awful images but didn't really quite have a good idea on what exactly was going on until I got to school that day. Although the school technically operated like any other day. We didn't pick up a single pencil, we just watched the news in all the classrooms. After school was out that day, I walked home and turned on the TV. Just glued to it, and it wasn't till a few hours after school; that it all really sank in.

_six

[Homer]

Weirdest coincidence happened to me on 9/11.

 

The planes struck at 8:58 ish or so, at that time, I was fighting this kid that couldn't shut his freakin' mouth so I smacked him a few times and then I got in trouble. For an hour or so, I was sitting in the principals office and we waited for about 20 minutes for the principal. She was a bit sad, didn't know why, told us to go off to class and that she'd call our parents about the fight.

 

By the time (around 9:45 ish or so) I got to my 1st period English class, I saw everyone looking at the TV shocked and I was going "Whats going on?"

 

Suddenly, I saw 2 giant smokestacks that looked like the WTC and a few seconds later, they collapsed (not sure if it was prerecorded or live at the time). I was kind of shocked too, I always wanted to visit the towers and do some kind of insane bungy stunt between them (like a giant slingshot).

[coasterdude5]

I was getting ready for school and my brother was watching it, and he thought it was Memphis (where we live) and since my dad works downtown, it kinda freaked him out.

 

My prayers are with all the famillies that lost loved ones that have to go throught this time each year.

[FlippyTrick09]

I remeber it quite well.. I was in school when it happend, but I didn't hear about it until around 2. I was sitting in my Advanced Sociel Studies class by one of my friends. We were to young to really know what was going on (it was 3rd grade), so when the first tower fell we both went "OOO! COOL!"... It never really occoured to me what was happening. Everytime I hear something about 9-11 now I always remeber where I was. It really has changed me. I have a strong HATE for the people who did it, and I hope they all get what the diserve, a slow HORRIBLE death. I don't care what you say about that last sentence but it is right and you know it. It is actually making me think of joining the Marines, but I'm still not sure. I got to visit ground zero this summer, and as soon as I saw it I was speechless. To see wear two of the mittiest buildings ever built once stood was just too much. I tried to imagine what it was like that day, but I could barely get a taste. My prayers go out to all the peopple effected by it and all of our troops over in Iraq. I will always remeber 9-11 - Mitchell

[Sir Clinksalot]

Okay, I'm probably going to get grilled for this, but it has to be said ...

 

Honestly, I'm all in support of remembering 9/11 ... but most of this stuff is just overkill. Yes it was a terrible, terrible, TERRIBLE thing ... and it's something that we could/should never forget.

 

My Brother In-Law was in tower 9 (the 3rd building to fall), he made it out but as far as his life is concerned, we lost him that day. So I'm not speaking as somebody who has no personal link to 9/11.

 

But for these day long things to be going on ... it's ridiculous.

Also ... is it just me or do most of the news reports on 9/11 only focus on the WTC ... as do most of the documentaries, etc. Uhm ... HELLO, there were 2 other incidents on 9/11 where people lost their lives.

 

EVERY news report I saw today was from ground zero, when they showed the events in Shanksville and the Pentagon there were no reporters on the ground, no live reports, no rememberences with those people that were there ... only in NYC.

 

WTF??? Has everybody else bought into this "We suffered more than everybody else because we are New York" mentality???

 

Again ... I'm fully in support of memorials, a moment of silence, etc, etc, etc. But for the past 2 or 3 days it's been non-stop 9/11 coverage. Enough already. Please!!!!