I was in video communication class 11 years ago this morning when American Airlines Flight 11 hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center. It was first or second period. By the time we got the television on—I’m not as clear on all of this as I wish I was, but I remember a teacher from a neighboring class hurrying into the room and telling Mr. Thompson, with a seriousness that caught my attention, that something important was happening—a second plane had flown into the South Tower and it was clear that whatever was going on, it wasn’t an accident.
Later that afternoon, my mom, in a panic, pulled my sisters and brother and me out of school and took us home. Her brother, we learned, had been in DC, but he was fine. Another uncle, he later told me, watched the towers fall from the window of his Manhattan apartment. He was okay too.
Things went back to normal fast. In the years that followed, most of my friends went to college. A few started work right away. Some joined the military and spent months in Iraq and Afghanistan, but they were few. They all made it home safely.
What do you remember from that day? Tell us in the comments.
Betty
7:37 am on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
I was out at breakfast with my dear friends Ginger and Mel. The waiter approached our table, and it was clear that he had a tear in his eye. I'll never forget the look on that dear young man's face as he told us what had happened.
Karisa
1:25 pm on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Thanks to the High School construction delays, I was still at home in bed. My brother called to tell me about the first plane then I spent the remainder of the morning taking in the rest of the events.Later I would be thankful for not starting school till Oct that year.
Lionel Hutz
2:19 pm on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
I was in a hotel room in Rochester NY for work. I had just driven up the day before with my co-worker. He was at a meeting in the middle of upstate NY with no cell coverage with two of my other co-workers, one from Iowa one from AZ. I couldn't get in touch with them for a few hours. I remember hearing about the first plane hitting the towers on CNN. I was watching CNN as they were interviewing someone nearby and heard the person sceam "Oh my God were under attack" on live TV that the second plane has crashed into the second tower. The rest of our weeks meetings were cancelled and we drove home and listened to all the chaos on the radio for the next 5 hours. My other co-workers had to rent a car to drive back to Iowa and AZ respectively. I think I can remember almost every conversation I had that day.
BubbleGirl
5:01 pm on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
I was very pregnant with my youngest daughter, sitting in the waiting room for my OB/GYN watching the news, thinking what kind of world am i about to bring this baby into....