Where and what were you doing the day Sept. 11 happened? How old were you?

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  1. TesstheScribbler profile image61
    TesstheScribblerposted 11 years ago

    Where and what were you doing the day Sept. 11 happened? How old were you?

  2. pstraubie48 profile image81
    pstraubie48posted 11 years ago

    I was teaching school in a middle school  in Paulding county Georgia. It was an Englsih writing class. I was in my fitties then. It is a day I will never forget. Many parents came to pick up their children as soon as the tragedy happened. It was a difficult day as the children who remained knew what happened and were afraid and worried.

  3. Ben Graves profile image82
    Ben Gravesposted 11 years ago

    I was in my 6th grade gym class. We'd just gotten changed into our gym clothes when the teacher told us two planes got hijacked and crashed into the WTC. He didn't sound too emphatic about it so I didn't figure it was a big deal. I had no idea what "hijacked" meant or what the World Trade Center was, until we got sent home early and I saw everything on TV for the rest of the day.

  4. nanderson500 profile image81
    nanderson500posted 11 years ago

    I was 20. I live in the west coast so I was asleep when everything started to happen. After I woke up, I found about it and started watching the aftermath on TV.

  5. whonunuwho profile image54
    whonunuwhoposted 11 years ago

    I was the child that perished in the fire, I was the father and mother who left my beloved family behind, I was the fireman who sacrificed my life in saving others, I was the pilots and crews who perished in the acts of terror, and I was the American people who lost a part of themselves ripped from their hearts, when the first plane struck the twin towers on 9/11, eleven years ago,today. I was the young and the old, who saw horrors that could only occur in the worst of nightmares. Now I am the survivor and have only my memories left and carefully hide these memories in my mind, only to escape and flash so rudely upon my brain with the coming of each new 9/11 on the calendar. We can't forget and we know, what the world knows, that this was an act taking the lives of three thousand human beings and totally, without any conscience, to be unnecessary.

  6. Becky Katz profile image81
    Becky Katzposted 11 years ago

    This is where I was and what I was doing. http://hub.me/abkTS

  7. ChrisIndellicati profile image73
    ChrisIndellicatiposted 11 years ago

    I live in Brooklyn, NY and it was my first day of highschool and we saw everything and there was ash falling from the sky. They sent us home early and for the rest of the day the city was covered by a dark cloud sad

  8. chuckd7138 profile image72
    chuckd7138posted 11 years ago

    I was 30 years old at the time, and I was working for a defense contractor. Our usual work routine had my team doing logistics drawing of combat systems aboard aircraft carriers, but our ship was underway that day, and we were in the office. Our boss brought a TV out to the office floor, and we just watched the news coverage. It was beyond surreal.

  9. marwan asmar profile image66
    marwan asmarposted 11 years ago

    I was putting the newspaper weekly together. It was a Tuesday, and we had the final front page for Wednesday and printing on that night. I suddenly came into the TV roon soon everyone watching and the towers being hit.

  10. jantamaya profile image59
    jantamayaposted 11 years ago

    I was in Germany, in the office of my own company and had the TV running. As I've seen a plane flying close to the WTC, I was thinking, “Hmmm, Are they filming King Kong again?”

    It took me quite a while to realize that it was a serious attack… I was shocked, I couldn’t believe it… nobody wanted to believe it.

    My partner and I, we let all employees go home early, locked the offices, went home, sat in front of the TV and were listening to the news for hours. We were speechless…

    Compliment TesstheScribbler, a VERY good question.

    1. TesstheScribbler profile image61
      TesstheScribblerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks jantamaya! But there is one person who didnt answer seriously.  Makes me upset that people would joke about this stuff.

    2. jantamaya profile image59
      jantamayaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Dear TesstheScribbler, I hope that you don't speak about me as you write your comment. I was just describing my first reaction of great disbelief+shock. I couldn't imagine that this was real and was thinking that it must be news about a new movie...

    3. TesstheScribbler profile image61
      TesstheScribblerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      This person didn't describe any feelings or reactions.  All he said was, " Sept 11 happens every year so I've been many ages and done many things."  It made another hubber upset as well.  Not fair to the hubbers who were serious and wrote paragraphs.

    4. jantamaya profile image59
      jantamayaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I understand Tess, and of course, to write “September 11 happens every year” (?) is ridiculous and somewhat thick-skinned, I think.

  11. aliciaharrell profile image63
    aliciaharrellposted 11 years ago

    September 11, 2001: I was working for a heating and air conditioning company in their office as a general office worker. I was busy typing a letter for my boss when over the radio the music was interrupted with the news broadcast about what happened. I will never forget all of our faces in the office, horror struck by what we heard. My boss quickly fetched a portable black and white TV, and then we all saw the footage being broadcast about 9/11. That was when the horrifying reality of 9/11 hit all of us in the office.

  12. jennzie profile image72
    jennzieposted 11 years ago

    I was in sixth grade. I remember that I was in my Social Studies class when my teacher  told me that my mom was there to pick me up, but I didn't know why at the time.

  13. peoplepower73 profile image89
    peoplepower73posted 11 years ago

    I was in Dallas Texas teaching a class on how to program Toshiba Business Phone systems to Lowes's hardware field engineers.  Three days before that, I was on the observation deck, of the 111th floor of the World Trade Center, taking pictures of Manhattan and the surronding areas. I was 59 years old.

    I created a hub about it.  Here is the link: http://peoplepower73.hubpages.com/hub/W … s-I-on-911

  14. profile image0
    ITALIANATHEARTposted 11 years ago

    I was in the m the military in Naples, Italy.  I was 40 years old at the time.  I had just given a briefing on a military ball we were planning.  I came back to my office and thought I was seeing one of those action flicks!  It sure changed my life forever.

  15. sweethearts2 profile image76
    sweethearts2posted 11 years ago

    I was working as a volunteer for Habitat in Gary, IN on a building blitz as it was their 25th anniversay year.  What was to be a very glorious day for new homeowners turned into a very sad day for our country.  I was in my fifties at that time.  All worked stopped early (almost before it even began, we were just being assigned work groups) as cell phones started ringing.  Work continued with news updates throughout the day.  That evening our church was packed with congregats and community members for open prayers.

  16. Salvienation profile image68
    Salvienationposted 11 years ago

    I was heading to my Con. Law and Criminal Procedure law classes, in Orlando, FL. I was 31 going on 32 yrs old.

  17. NateB11 profile image88
    NateB11posted 11 years ago

    I was at work and I got a call from my girlfriend, she was worried, she had gotten the news and told me about it. Then I discussed it with people at work. I remember I was at the college here in town, that's where I'd meet my clients to pick them up for a community integration program for persons with disabilities. I remember sitting in the hall on campus and hearing people talking about what happened. We had a staff meeting at work at which we addressed the events of 9-11. I just remember everyone tuned into it, on radio, TV, etc., everywhere I went; on the bus, at the mall, everywhere. Very memorable, won't forget where I was and the circumstances. I was 31 years old.

  18. slywas007 profile image55
    slywas007posted 11 years ago

    I was sitting at home on the internet. I called a friend of mine who was in a state of shock. He said man aren't you watching the news? and I said no why.  He said we are under attack in New York with two planes hitting the the two twin towers in the World Trade Center.  I put on the news and could not believe my eyes!!! It almost felt like i was watching a movie and it was not real.  Once i saw the first tower go down I knew that this was for real. I had all types of emotions run through my body from sadness to anger.  Anger that who would have the nerve to do this to our country!!! I said a prayer for the victims and our fallen heroes. It was a very sad time for our nation.  However our nation is strong and we bounced back right away!!!

  19. BobMonger profile image60
    BobMongerposted 11 years ago

    I was taking a day off from work and was watching the "Today" show on NBC. I knew something was wrong by the way everyone was acting and then the full horror became clear.  Oh, I was 47 then.

  20. Traci21 profile image58
    Traci21posted 11 years ago

    I was in Mr. North's Social Studies in 5th grade and the second person to get called out of class. I remember when I got in the office it was packed with parents and a line to the parking lot. My mom never said a word until we got home. I had no idea what was happening.

    It was also my twin sister's 17th Birthday. I was scared and my sisters kept asking if they were going to try and hit the tourist attractions since we lived in the Orlando area with Disney and the theme parks. We did not go to the theme parks for a while afterwards. I honestly would have went. We never know when anything is going to happen we can only hope, nothing will happen.

    My thoughts and prayers go to the family's and friends that lost someone close to them.

  21. Valerie F profile image61
    Valerie Fposted 11 years ago

    I was a 27 year old new mother at the time.

    http://valerie-f.hubpages.com/hub/The-S … f-My-Porch

  22. profile image0
    buckjosephposted 11 years ago

    I was sitting in my 8th grade English class at Glasgow Middle School, in Kentucky. We were in the middle of a lesson-plan, but someone rushed into the room and told us to turn the T.V. on, and so we watched the footage of the plane hitting the Twin Towers in New York. I say that I was only 13 at the time.

    Nobody knew what was going on, we didn't even know who Osama Bin Laden was, even though older generations might have already known. People were saying that we were attacked, we didn't even know who attacked us! Somebody said we were attacked by "Afpakistan", as I had no clue what Afghanistan or Pakistan were.

    It was a dark day in history indeed...

  23. AlexK2009 profile image84
    AlexK2009posted 11 years ago

    I was in between contracts in Antwerp Belgium. After that the market  for contractors pretty much crashed for a long time.  I got a call from a headhunter told me the Twin Towers were burning. I thought he was joking at first. I watched the drama unfold in an Internet cafe.

  24. Bretsuki profile image67
    Bretsukiposted 11 years ago

    I was at home in Runcorn, England. I had akidney infection and woke up at about 1:45pm with the BBC News reporting a light aircraft had crashed into the WTC. They then showed a live picture of smoke pouring out of the first tower. It was while showing this view that the second plane hit the other tower.

    After that I just sat watching the news which was very confused at the time as pictures flashed back and forth between New York City and  Arlington Va.

  25. JKenny profile image88
    JKennyposted 11 years ago

    I was in my last year of secondary school in England. I remember getting out of school at about 3:15pm, getting into my granddad's car and hearing the whole story. I remember thinking: 'How on earth is that possible?' When I got home, I was glued to BBC News 24 virtually all night. I was just so shocked; my brother and I kept speculating about who was responsible for it, and what would happen next? The next day I spoke to my dad, who had just recently retired from the fire service and he told me that some of his old colleagues were on their way to New York to help the American firemen. Such brave and courageous men, and the police. Can't believe more than a decade has passed since it happened, still seems like yesterday to me.

  26. profile image0
    Tina Trueloveposted 11 years ago

    I was 31.  I had just dropped my son (age 8) and daughter (age 6) off at school.  I was teaching part time that year and that Tuesday was my day off.  I wasn't feeling well so as I walked in the door, I sat my youngest child down on the floor beside the couch to play while I rested.  She was only 3.  My husband was home that day too.  He sat in a chair nearby to keep an eye on our daughter and turned on the Today Show which has always been our morning show routine.  I was laying there in that "half asleep, half awake" state of mind.  After a few minutes, I heard my husband's voice clearly, "Tina, you might want to wake up and watch this.  A plane has hit the World Trade Center.  Something doesn't seem right."  I sat up and focused on the television and watched as the second plane hit.  I said to my husband, "That looked like it was on purpose."  We watched intently as the events unfolded and our world changed forever.  After hearing about the Pentagon attack, I knew someone was doing this on purpose and began to suspect terrorist activities.  Then, after hearing about Flight 93 in Pennsylvania, I told my husband, "This could go on across the country all day long."  My husband's Marine Corps background welled up within him as he told me, "We are under attack.  Go get Drew and Brianne and bring them home.  I want my family together today.  We don't know what is going to happen."  So, I did . . . and we watched . . . and prayed . . . and cried . . . and hugged our children tightly . . . so grateful to have them with us as we grieved for those who would not be holding their families that night. 

    I will never, ever forget that day.

  27. TesstheScribbler profile image61
    TesstheScribblerposted 11 years ago

    I was 11 years old, in 6th grade math class about to go over homework...kids started getting called home early.  We were all excited and hoping we could go home to.  My mom said terrorists are in NY.  And all I wanted to do was be a hero and kick their butt!  I didnt even know what terrorists were until mom turned on the news showing the towers burning down. That was the last day I was allowed to watch the news.  From then on, my grandmother would only put on Disney preschool for me before and after school.  She didn't want me watching the news.  Thank you everyone for answering.  Everyone had an amazing story.  (Except for that one person who was a Smart Alic and didn't take the question seriously-that is not being fair to others who lost love ones during this time.)  My friend served a year in Afghanistan because of 9/11. He lost his first year with his son.  9/11 is hard for everyone but should not be forgotten and deserve respect every year.  Try to have a moment of silence if you can...

    1. DS Duby profile image82
      DS Dubyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Great answer

  28. lrc7815 profile image81
    lrc7815posted 11 years ago

    I will never forget.  I was at work and I was 46 years old.  I heard a co-worker down the hall from me say a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center.  We all rushed to the TV in our patient waiting area and stood speechless as we watched the second attach.  The rest of that day is a blur.  None of us could speak the horror we felt but we knew our world was forever changed.  As I watched the continued coverage, all I could think about was the sheer number of lives that were turned upside down, memories lost, and futures erased.  I remember thinking that this was something that happened other places, not here.  How naive we were.

    Even now, when I think of us on foreign soil, defending our liberty, I cannot help but think about the innocent lives that are lost, the families who will grieve, and I wonder if they feel as I did on that horrible day in our history.

  29. Sustainable Sue profile image95
    Sustainable Sueposted 11 years ago

    I was in my apartment in Lancaster CA doing I don't know what. My youngest brother called in a panic from San Francisco to tell me they'd bombed the twin towers. I didn't believe him. I started to joke about it, then realized he was serious. Spent the rest of the day over at a friend's house watching the replays over and over on her big screen TV. Kept thinking how weird it was that the towers crumbled like sand, when they were built to resist earthquakes. Later I believed it (and still do) that it was part demolition.

  30. SportsBetter profile image63
    SportsBetterposted 11 years ago

    I was 15 years old, in the suburbs of New York.  I was in Rockland County about a half hour outside New York City. 

    It was a school day and I was in my sign language class.  The teacher put the news on the television and I didn't understand what happened.

    I remember a girl crying because her father worked in the World Trade Center. 

    Then I remember for the next two years, all they would play on TV was about 9/11. After a while you didn't even want to hear it anymore.

    If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.

  31. Sharkye11 profile image90
    Sharkye11posted 11 years ago

    I was 20. I still lived at home, and we lived way out in the middle of Nowhere. We didn't have television, so we didn't find out until late in the evening after all the planes had crashed. My Dad was working the night shift, and they let all the guys take a break to call their families.

    I remember we were painting the living room, and listening to c.d's and dancing. It was just an ordinary day, and it seemed so wrong that something like that could happen on such a normal day. No warning. No gut feeling that anything was wrong.

    We turned off the music and found a news radio station. We were really isolated, and it seemed so surreal, like a big hoax  at first. We spent all night sitting around the stereo in shock, listening to what had happened.

    1. TesstheScribbler profile image61
      TesstheScribblerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      amazing answer!  So true!

  32. profile image0
    msorenssonposted 11 years ago

    I was with a student who wanted a recommendation to get into Medical School. He showed it to me..in my computer.  I thought it was a very bad joke...I did not believe it until I got home...

  33. DS Duby profile image82
    DS Dubyposted 11 years ago

    I wa 27 years old and I was at work at the time. We always had radios playing on the job usually set to some comedy talk shows. So when the initial reports started airing most of us assumed it was a really bad joke. After a few minutes we obviously realized the truth and we were devastated by the news. Aside from the radio playing it was eerily quiet the rest of the day.

  34. Matthew Weese profile image62
    Matthew Weeseposted 11 years ago

    I was 21 years old, I was turning in scrap metal at the local scrap yard with my uncle. I heard the news broad caster say, "Holy fucxing shxt!!!, Did you see that? I remember  Howard Stern was the first person to say,  "I think we all know who is responsible for this". Little did we all know our own defense and national security aided by President Bush orchestrated a brutal tactic to bring our Country to war with Afghanistan.

  35. Sherry Hewins profile image93
    Sherry Hewinsposted 11 years ago

    I was sleeping, my husband came in and turned on the TV. He said "we're being attacked." I watched the towers fall, then I went to work. It was a tense and quiet day, we listened to the radio all day. I was 44.

  36. Brett Winn profile image80
    Brett Winnposted 11 years ago

    What a GREAT question!! I was telling a friend tonight that "What were you doing when you heard 'about' 911" is our generation's "Where were you when Kennedy was assassinated?"

    My best friend (who knows I watch little if any television) called me and said, "You'd better turn on your TV ... some fool is flying planes into the World Trade Center."

    It took three remotes and five minutes for me to figure out how to get a picture on the television. My four homeschooled children and I spent the rest of the day sitting on the bed, glued to the news as it occurred.

    I was 42.

    "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." Psalm 33:12

    1. TesstheScribbler profile image61
      TesstheScribblerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You are completely right about the questions!  Now your generation has two big questions to ask!  Amazing!

  37. sgbrown profile image94
    sgbrownposted 11 years ago

    I had just walked into a coffee shop and everyone was talking about a plane hitting the one tower. We thought it was a probably a small plane and had been an accident.  Then we heard that it was two commercial planes, we knew then something was really wrong!  I went home and called my husband who was in a class.  They watched on their tv in the class room, (all adults) and I picked up our daughter from school.  I was 45 years old.

 
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