For myself,
I was running late to my behind the wheel session getting prepared for my driving test. Next thing I know my instructor asked “Did you hear what happened?” me being clueless he informed me how New York was in chaos. As I was listening to the radio and also driving it didn’t hit me till there were so little cars on the road for about three miles I only saw three cars.
I was at work. A friend of mine called and left me a voicemail saying that one of the twin towers were bombed. At about this time, everyone was getting calls from home. One of my co-workers yelled that a passenger jet was shot down over PA. What chaos. We were getting all kinds of info. We were allowed to turn our stat monitors to televisions and as we did that, we watched the second tower fall. Still didn’t know what really happened to right after that. We just sat in silence. Our phones were quiet. A couple of hours later I got sort of in a fight with a customer on the phone because he demanded that his parts get shipped to him to arrive on the 12th. I told him there was no way I was going to get parts from Wisconsin to California by tomorrow. He started cursing at me. I asked him if he heard what had happened and how nobody was flying anywhere. He cursed at me again and hung up. I will never, ever forget that day. So many lives were lost or destroyed. Sad day for America, but really proud how we pulled through it.
Sitting at home watching the chaos on T.V. thinking how many people are losing their loved ones and lives are forever going to be changed. How fragile life is, and how precious.
I was in English class in my 2nd year of college, they closed classes 20 min later…
My September 11 story relates to diabetes. I was at home, really sick with the flu. I just couldn’t seem to shake it and felt weaker and worse every day. The fourth day of my illness was September 11 so I watched everything unfold on TV as I went in and out of sleep.
Six months later I was diagnosed with diabetes (Type 2 at first, then accurately as Type 1.5). No WONDER I couldn’t get over the flu! I wasn’t eating anything, which just made the weakness, etc. worse.
My sons were with their dad that week (we’re divorced) and my youngest (age 9 at the time) called me that evening. He knew that my office was in a tall building (12 floors – tall for my town!) and was worried about me.
I was I’m ing with my girlfirend who worked in nthe first tower that was hit–above where the plane hit–it was her last conversation with anyone outside the tower…we lost 7 close friends that day…
At work. When the first plane hit, I really thought it was an airliner that had somehow gone off course. I was really interested, in watching if the building could withstand the hit. I was really amazed when it did not. I had spent some time doing emergency preparedness plans for several organizations. The basic beleif was that almost no mater what happened the building would stand. In those planning sessions we never even planed for a building collapse. It just really does not happen. In my way of thinking the OK City bombing was the abnormal ting and I can remember many people just believing we had seen the worse and it would never happen again.
When the WTC was struck I just never ever thought it would collapse. the idea was of course that we would always have time to evacuate the majority of the people from the building. Please understand I was in the SF world Series Earthquake. I was located on the 18th floor of the Holiday Inn in the financial district. In that case the building certainly swayed and cracked, but it held. I knwo this was not the same, but it reinforced my professional belief about modern office buildings.
When the building collapsed, i oculd not beleive it. I realized that the world had just changed and changed in remarkable ways. We could no longer assume the majority of people woudl be ok in almost all situations. It changed the paradigm of my profession. It is like being told that red is really white. It shakes the foundation of what you thought you knew.
I had recently dined at the top of the world restaurant at WTC. For epple who never had that experience, it was magnificent. my thought was for the young man who waited on my table that day. I wondered if Ray made it out or if he was working. It certainly changed my paradigm. Assumptions, gone. Uncertainty, the new paradigm.
rick phillips
I am so sorry Denise.
I was at work & got a phone message from a friend, but at that point no one knew with certainty what had happened. After shock when more info came out, the next thought was if I knew anyone who worked there since I’m from NYC. An old friend had a meeting sheduled there that morning, but he quit his job the day before. Talk about timing. He still feels guilty if one of his co-workers was sent in his place that day.
I remember when the WTC went up. My grandmother complained because they ruined her TV reception. There were two ghost towers on certain channels. Very unsettling feeling to visit where the towers once stood.
Was getting ready to go to the university…I found myself glued to the t.v. and could not even believe it when the second plane hit. It was about a month earlier that I was flying through New York coming back from wonderful trip to Africa…I was on a plane going west that flew all the way to CA. I remember the flight so clearly…and could not imagine it ending in such a way. My heart goes out to all those who lost their lives on that terrible day and to all their family and friends. Live every day fully.
I watched all the horror while getting ready for bed [I work graveyard shift]. My heart broke for all the people that did not make it out…whether they even had a chance or just not enough time to escape. I hurt deeply for the family and friends as they hoped and prayed and looked for their loved ones.
I had the day off and was sleeping in. I’d turned on the radio and the first plane had just hit. I coiuldn’t believe it. Then I turned on the tv and the Pentagon had been hit. I envisioned things toppling one after the other, all across the nation. I did not want to be alone and got in my car and drove to a coffee shop. The people there were all in a daze. They turned on the tv and there was our governor, Jesse Ventura, saying that the “state of Minnesota was secure” - well, how the hell did he know? They decided not to close school early and felt it was safer for the kids to be in one place.I felt very much alone and then started thinking where I’d get my insulin if the entire country collapsed. I could not stand being at home and thought I’d go to a busy laundromat, just to be with other people. I took two old sleeping bags that needed to be washed in a heavy duty machine and spent about 4 hours there, eating snacks from the vneding machines and wringing my hands.
Still seems like just a bad movie where I didn’t stay for the ending.
My husband and I (soon to be at the time) were camping in a remote area. No TV and we couldn’t even get radio stations in, we listened to CDs. It wasn’t until the 12th that we knew. Driving into town we noticed cars lined up for blocks at gas stations. We thought maybe a power issue?
When then went to dinner in a very populated area and saw it on the TV. Its something I’ll never forget, like remembering where I was when the space shuttle exploded.
So sad.
Although I didn’t have T1 then…
So sorry to hear this Denise. I know the day this happened, my brother was in New York, and all I could think about was if he was okay. It was a horrible day not just for Americans but for everyone around the world.
I wrote a blog about it today (or should say yesterday - as I’m typing this out at 00:23) - here’s the link for anyone interested … http://www.diabetes1.org/blogs/Annas_Blog/2009/9/11