Five years ago, I went into work at the library at my usual time, and because I rarely listen to the car radio, I was dumbfounded when Max, a nice co-worker who handles the newspapers and magazines, approached and mumbled,
"Did you hear? A plane hit the World Trade Center."
I replied, stupidly, "What? What?" I thought it was some kind of accident.

We went into the Reference workroom where there's a tv so staff can watch IU basketball or Colts football. A crowd was staring silently at the screen when the second plane hit.

This was no accident. A dead silence descended on the room. So it sounded very loud when I burst out, "Jesus Christ, this is an act of war."

It was surreal. This was not happening. This was a bad grade B movie. At any moment I expected to see Godzilla on the screen, swatting planes out of the sky. This could not be happening. This could not.

I raced downstairs to the Staff lunchroom. On the way I passed knots of people gestulating, shouting, or wandering silently through the halls like the zombies in "Night of the Living Dead." We kept asking, what's happening?
No one knew, but there was some comfort in the very asking.

A dozen or so were in front of the big Zenith in the lunchroom. That's when we saw the towers collapse. That's when we heard the Pentagon had been hit.
And I knew sickening fear unlike any I had ever known. The Pentagon?Once again I burst out, "Jesus H Christ, they hit the Pentagon. Oh goddam, we're in a goddam war."

I ran upstairs to call my family. During this time of national crisis , we were scattered. I called my daughters at their work and at the college. One I got out of bed. "Turn on the tv, "I said. "The United States is under attack."
My fingers slipped and fumbled as I kept dialing. My husband's phone lines were down; the other schools weren't taking any calls. When I'd get through, what was there to say?

Goodbye? Take care? Praise the lord and pass the ammunition?
This wasn't the pioneer age, we lived in a time when death could come from the sky with no warning, when wars could be fought and won or lost in the space of an hour. Oh yes, the wonders of the modern age.

My boss emerged shaken from his office. He told us that a fourth plane was unaccounted for; that they were exacuating the Sears Tower in Chicago. A man I'd never seen before said smiling, "The US had this coming. We do stuff like this all the time. We had it coming."

In times of fear or stress my language deteriorates. I shouted, "Had it coming?
You make me wanna puke! There's kids on board those planes! Get out of my sight, you goddam prick!"
My bosss stood aghast, I thought, "Fire me."
He just smiled grimly and left; the other man retreated. Good. Get out of my sight.

We spent a fearful day at work, then I left to pick up my daughter at her job . I saw that the price of gas had skyrocked to over $5 a gallon; lines snaked around the gas pumps. We're in a war, I kept thinking. This is what happens when you're in a war.

Fighter planes screamed overhead going somewhere, going anywhere.All day we'd heard ghastly rumours that the Justice Dept had been hit, that the President was missing. Get me home. Get my kids home, and my husband.I saw a sign reading "Catch Osama and then kill him." I saw a pickup festooned with huge American flags on the bed and a war eagle on the hood. I saw people hanging flags and gazing at the sky. They did not look afraid. They looked grim. I thought about the people on the planes and how scared they must have been, knowing they were going to die. I thought, disjointedly, if we're gonna die, we're gonna die with our flags flying. I thought disjointedly, God bless America. I thought, disjointedly, I don't want my kids to die.

We got home. The kids got home, and my husband. We all gathered together that night. There was not a lot to say.We mostly talked about the dead people. We hung our flag. We got jugs of water. We loaded our guns. We brought our big outside dogs inside. We holed up like we were at the Alamo. And we thought about our fighting men and women standing watch on our warships and war planes and on our borders. Not just this night but for many many nights to come.

And we finally went to bed, but we did not sleep.

Nice post ren, I can remember that day quite well myself. Although I must say you've got the mouth of a sailor.

That day changed the world.

I remember that day well, rendova. I sat in my office watching a small t.v. and saw the second plane fly into the tower.

The first thing I did was try to call my youngest son who was scheduled to have an interview in one of the towers that morning. The lines were overloaded and I couldn't get through. I dialed and dialed for hours with no results. I then drove to the school where my wife worked and saw how the teachers were trying to calm the children. We worked in a school district about thirty five miles outside the city and many children had parents who worked either in one of the WTC buildings or near them. Frantic mothers made a constant stream as they came to get their children. Mothers were crying and children were crying.

I finally contacted my son at about nine that night. He had already gotten a job offer and had canceled his interview and returned to Cornell. My wife and I then contacted her cousins, four of whom worked in the World Trade Center.

The next day the hawkers were already selling flags and tee shirts with patriotic themes. I already had a flag flying in the yard but I bought one for my car. I also bought a tee shirt that read, "Evil will never be rewarded." I still wear that tee shirt every September 11th.

It reminds me, as do the deaths of people I knew, to never forget what occured on that day. To some the memory of September 11th is already beginning to fade. I make sure it doesn't fade from my memory.

For those of us under 50, that day is our the day when Kennedy was killed. This is our Pearl Harbor, a watershed moment when everything we take for granted was drastically changed.

I was working for the local electric co. I answered the phones, I was on my way to work, when the local morning radio guys just gave a blurb that a plan had hit the WTC. THey didn't know anything and just kind of laughed it off, I myself remember thinking, probably a cessna and the pilot had a heart attack.

Got to work, the first thing I felt in the place was the silence. THe Electric co. services five states, in the building I worked at any one you had between 100 and 200 operators. As I enetered the hallway I couldn't hear anything, then as I enetered the main call floor "Where is everyone?" There were three TV's at different intervals on the walls around the room. IT had long ago made sure that the Weather Channel was the only channel in that room. Someone had changed that and CNN/Headline News/ and NBC were blaring. Everyone and I mean everyone was crowded around each tv, as I walked up in disbelief I heard crying and shouts of killing those (?#holes. I walked up to one of the tv's and loooked and saw the north tower burning.

We were informed until further notice we were'nt allowed off the grounds. Being a utility they locked us down. THe local police actually set up barricades in front of the building. I kept thinking, if they're going to hit us, wouldn't they hit the power plants, why bother with the customer service place.

Most of the women that had children were worried about their children in the schools. I and several others ended up reassuring a lot of people that day, calming them down. A lot of hysteria and wild rumors. THe pentagon, the plan in pa, we heard that Camp David had been hit, I remember somone saying that Chicago and L.A. had been hit as well.

For 48hrs after, I was numb, people would ask me how I felt, I didn't know. Then again I was on my way to work, and the same morning show played Charlie Daniels "In America." I had to pull over to the side of the rode. As the song continued, my rage burst forth. I began hitting the roof of my car screaming profanity towards the fanatics and the people that bred them. I got to work about ten minutes late. One of the managers that had been worried by my unusual silence the last two days, asked how I was feeling. "Angry" that was all I could say. I realized right then if I was 23 instead of 33, I woul'v turned my car around and found the nearest recruiting station.

Those that say we deserve it, should be sent over to middle east for a while, unarmed. I may not be the most politically read person, I may not follow world events enough, I just know I do love this country and the life I've been allowed to live here.

You know what makes me sad is that most of us may not have forgotten, but in my opinion, were not remembering hard enough. To the families that lost people that day, and to the families that continue to lose family members due to the wars. Godbless.

I remember being stuck in traffic at the port when I heard the whole thing unfold as it happened on the radio

Mine seemed like a bad sci-fi movie.

I had the day off so the previous night was spent drinking with friends will 4 in the morning. At about 11 my neighbor/friend was yelling "wake up, we're under attack?"
"what?" i mumbled confused.
"the US is under attack"
No way, I was thinking. the US spends far too much money on the military to actually be 'under attack.'
I then half-drunkenly stumbled next door to watch the TV for a bit.

Then I went online to get some information. I haphazardly went into an AOL chat room, something I hadn't ever really done before. Of course it was filled with reactionary bigots screaming "nuke the middle east" before they even knew what had happened.

I went to my friend from NY's house and spent the rest of the day there with more and more friends coming by and talking about what happened.

At about 1 o'clock we had become suspicious of why they hadn't shown the 4th plane yet. We guessed that they had shot it down and didn't want it to look that way. I'm pretty sure we were right. They didn't show the wreckage till about 3:30.

You know what makes me sad is that most of us may not have forgotten, but in my opinion, were not remembering hard enough.

I agree. As time goes by too many people have either forgotten the events of 0/11 or have made them less than they were. This was a sneak attack aimed solely at killing as many innocent civilians as possible. That should never be forgotten or forgiven. No matter how long it takes everyone involved in what transpired on 9/11 should be hunted down.

People are still dying from what happened that day. Before it ends more will probably die from the afteraffects than actually died when the buildings came down.

I don't know about others but I still remember that day vividly. It is a nightmare that will never go away.

http://www.lucianne.com/routine/images/09-11-06.jpg

Never forget. Never forgive. Never give up.

I was online, reading the news & saw a short paragraph about a plane hitting the WTC. It brought to mind the incident with the B-24 crashing into the Empire State Building & like others, I really thought it was nothing but a small plane & small incident. A bit later I saw another "top story" with the same info & decided to turn on the tube & see what the talking heads had to say. It was about 9:30AM & I was living just outside of Buffalo, NY at the time. The remainder of the day was kind of a blur. I still went to work - I had 4 group homes full of teenage boys & accompanying staff to attend to - plenty on my plate. I did get a few of the older boys to help out at a few volunteer fire depts over the following few days, assisiting with loading up equipment & such, but for the most part, life went on.
During the next 2 weeks I did spend a fair amount of time with the local Army recruiting commander exploring ways for me to be reactivated, but already having spent 20+ years in uniform, out for 10+ years and over the age of 50 prevented me from doing it again.

I will never forget that day. I was in college at the time, updating my skills. One of the things I was doing was writing a column for the college newspaper. My column was due at 9AM on Tuesday the 12th, and no one would see it for a week after that. I had already written my column on the subject of the pitcher who's parents had falsified his birth certificate so he could pitch in little league even though he was over the age limit.

Vilepagan woke me up that morning with a phone call, and I turned on the television. I watched for a while, and then went to school. I immediately went to the newspaper office, and told my editor I had to change the subject of my column because no one was going to care about a little league pitcher. He asked me what I was going to say about this, and I told him I had no idea. Classes were a blur that day, what I remember was standing around outside talking, and being very aware of the lack of airplane noise since the college was adjacent to the airport in Madison. I realized that the Packers would not be playing that weekend, since they were scheduled to play the Jets in New Jersey.
Then I went to work, cleaning the headquarters of an insurance company. There were televisions left on in every conference room. The trash was unusual, because there were no remains of lunch. Instead there were trash cans full of used Kleenex. The floors in the conference rooms were also littered with used Keenex.
When I got home, I sat down to write my column. It was one of the toughest things I have ever done. I spent a long time reflecting on what to say, and how to approach the subject. In the end, I wrote about the experience of the day, and about all the other times I had seen the nation huddled around our televisions, The assassinations of the Kennedys, the Challenger explosion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassination of Martin Luther King, The Gulf War, and the War in Kosovo. I concluded with the thought that we would get through this, and that the world would go on. I was right in that thought, the world has continued to function. It certainly affected all of us but we are resilient. We have adjusted, and continued with our lives. We may have adjusted too well, because sometimes it seems we have nearly forgotten that day.

At about 1 o'clock we had become suspicious of why they hadn't shown the 4th plane yet. We guessed that they had shot it down and didn't want it to look that way. I'm pretty sure we were right. They didn't show the wreckage till about 3:30.

Interesting that you mentioned that, as my 9/11 experience has a lot to do with Flight 93. I was in high school still at the time, and had a free period at 10am, which was when word was starting to spread around the school about the attacks. I was outside, and for some reason I noticed a plane in the sky and watched as it did a 180 and started to head east again. About 5 minutes later I was back inside and heard the distinct sound of a jet plane/planes flying overhead. Later I learned that Flight 93 turned around over Cleveland, (where I live) so since then I've wondered if I actually saw Flight 93 and if it was shot down.

I still think that what happened that day of the 11 September 2001 was an act of revenge or payback. If you call it an act of war, then it was an act of reprisal in a war started by the Corporations and the US Government against the World to dominate and continue their economic expansion. No wars, no expansion. Unfortunately it always happen that those who do not participate in these wars pay with their lives, and those who survive always say we didn't do anything to them, they are right, but in a total war there is only one enemy, and probably they think that what the Corporations and the US government did to their families, they will do to the US. Those in power know that those they continuously attack in so many different ways will react one day with all the violence and hatred accumulated through the years, but in the minds of the Corporations and the US Government, it all about mathematics and risks, that after all they do not pay for, but the normal common people. Those who died that day are just collateral damage for the MONEY POWER

i didn't know it had happened until 2 hours after the fact.

i don't watch TV. we only have one for a dvd player. and the radio isn't worth a damn because of reception and all you can pick up in this valley is kontree moosic. i was playing out in the yard with my son.( i worked afternoons and wife worked early mornings.) and a state trooper drove by REAL slow giving me the evil eye. i thought, "wtf? is my house on fire or something? " i even turned around to see what he was looking at. a friend called me and told me what was happeneing. then i realized that my suspicions of being watched for years by the authorities was not mere paranoia.

you know, those two daze, 11th and 12th were the quietest daze ever. no jets, planes, helicopters, and only a minimum of vehicle traffic. sigh, if only it stayed that way.

That day my wife and I called my brother-in-law who is a Chief in the FD. We were glad he was ok, but he told us some of the people who didn't make it.

I spent the next day at work taking the names of "missing persons" from loved ones.
That afternoon, and the two that followed, I spent afternoons at a friend's house while she waited to hear from her husband who was a Chief in the FD. He didn't make it though.

I was in Costco the day before yesterday and they had some new photography books about 9/11, I started thumbing through one and all of a sudden tears welled up into my eyes. The day is still too emotional for me and perhaps always will be.

I already had a flag flying in the yard but I bought one for my car. I also bought a tee shirt that read, "Evil will never be rewarded." I still wear that tee shirt every September 11th.

Except that you're dead WRONG.

Evil WAS rewarded that day. WELL rewarded.

It CONTINUES to be rewarded to the tune of 500 BILLION dollars per year. Every year. Like clockwork, now.

On Septemeber 11, 2001, the members of the Project for a New American Century (which includes Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, James Woolsey, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, Bill Kristol, James Bolton, William Bennett, Dan Quayle and Jeb Bush) got what that cabal of evil had been long wishing for--- a "new Pearl Harbor".

Everyone's entitled to their opinion. Mine is your wrong FT. My guts tell me your wrong. Sorry if that makes me one of the stupid ones. And before you write me off as a idiot conservative sheep, as if it matters at all, I voted for Gore, if it matters I told anyone that would listen at the time that getting involved in Iraq was a bad idea, if it matters there is very little that Bush has done lately that I approve of.

Still I think your wrong, is it possible sure. But then again it is also mathmatically possible for monkeys to fly out of your butt as well. I just can't seriously entertain most of your ideas.

Again you are entitled to yours, I'm just expressing my difference of opinion.

On 11 September 2001, the members of the Project for a New American Century (which includes Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, James Woolsey, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, Bill Kristol, James Bolton, William Bennett, Dan Quayle and Jeb Bush) got what that cabal of evil had been long wishing for--- a "new Pearl Harbor".

I also want to express my opinion just as Pendragon did before me, and you are right, they got what they wanted, that "NEW PEARL HARBOR", the perfect excuse to invade whatever place they wish to, specially if they have OIL, and of course to steal the TAX PAYER'S MONEY via assigned contracts, and the weapons industry.

On these boards sometimes also.

On 11 September 2001, the members of the Project for a New American Century (which includes Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, James Woolsey, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, Bill Kristol, James Bolton, William Bennett, Dan Quayle and Jeb Bush) got what that cabal of evil had been long wishing for--- a "new Pearl Harbor".

Everyone's entitled to their opinion. Mine is your wrong FT. My guts tell me your wrong.

I am not dealing in opinion here. I am dealing with FACT.

The documents of the Project for a New American Century demonstrate that your guts are wrong.

Read the documentation here --- http://pnac.info/index.php/2003/origins-of-regime-change-in-iraq/

And here -- http://www.oilempire.us/pnac.html

And here --- http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=VAL20060208&articleId=1923

And here --- http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20041207082415154

The fact that Bush had already stated his desire and his intention to ATTACK IRAQ long before 9/11 occured demonstrates that your guts are wrong.

Read the documentation here --- http://pnac.info/index.php/2003/bush-planned-iraq-regime-change-before-becoming-president/