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Englishmum Sep 11th 2010 12:31 pm

Memories of Sept 11th, 2001
 
Today - 9/11/2010 I woke up a bit earlier than I normally would on a Saturday morning, but I flew in from Singapore a few days ago and I'm still jetlagged.

I turned on the clock radio next to my bed - and there is a morning radio show taking place. It has the same talk-show host (now on a Saturday schedule) who was on live radio when the WTC towers were attacked on that fateful day. Indeed I was listening to his show on 9/11 just as the events were unfolding and getting ready to go out for a meeting.

Simultaneously I received a phone call from my spouse; he was at a meeting with some guys from Lehman Brothers at the WTC....but a few minutes before they had all left to get in a Lincoln town car to go to my husband's company's development centre in Long Island. They had just left Manhatten and he called me to ask what was going on at the WTC as the car radio wasn't working. I had just got out of the shower and in the background the radio reporter was saying that they were just getting reports that a plane had flown into the WTC....reports were sketchy, but they thought it was a small plane...I said to my spouse that it was probably one of the tourist sightseeing Cessna's and he said "no, it must be bigger than that, there is a lot of smoke" then the reporter said that he thought it was a Boeing 737.

My spouse said "put the telly on, quick" as by now the TV news helicopters were heading that way and he wanted to see if I could get more news via the TV to pass on to him and the Lehman Bros guys.

As we all know, the unforgettable tragedy was unfolding before the eyes of the world, all of us in shock, horror and the feelings of sheer hopelessness and being unable to do anything to help.

My spouse and the other guys abandoned their car service and walked across the Williamsburg Bridge to head back into Manhatten - to his office in Times Square and the Lehman guys to their disaster recovery centre in Midtown, as others were fleeing the city and heading in the other direction. He saw one of the towers come down. I was so, so relieved that he had managed to call me before all the phones went out.

Right now I have the radio on and they are putting out clips of the live reports of the events of nine years ago - radio reporters and members of the public who managed to get calls through; you can hear the police/fire engine sirens in the background. I'm feeling quite emotional.

Quite a lot of people in our area were killed at the WTC (we live in a NJ town on a main commuter route into NYC) and all the local train stations have memorials outside. I know there will be flowers, candles and American flags placed at my local station today - 5 people died from our town. My next door neighbour lost his half-brother and a guy living across the street had a miracle escape; yet lost more than 60 colleagues. There were funerals for weeks afterwards at the Catholic church near to my house...in many cases there were no bodies. Everyone in our town seems to have a connection to someone affected on that day.

It seems quite poignant today compared to other years since 2001; I guess because of the controversy over the proposed mosque and the Pastor who is considering burning the Koran and now the rallies/protests ensuing.

I feel sad...and over here in NJ there is a beautiful clear blue sky - just like it was 9 years ago.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worl...-atrocity.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worl...-protests.html

Derrygal Sep 11th 2010 1:36 pm

Re: Memories of Sept 11th, 2001
 
Wow - English Mum, Your husband was one of the lucky ones. I was here (in Ohio) at work, but my youngest daughter was working in Arlington, VA very close to the Pentagon. Her boss saw the plane hit the Pentagon and my daughter saw the aftermath. I remember the sheer panic of not being able to get hold of her until much later in the day as the phone lines were jammed. I don't believe anyone worked that day - I worked in a call center, but all the calls stopped and our managers switched the tv screens (which usually showed the number of calls holding, abandon rate, etc) over to CNN and we all crowded around the television screens. In the end, I left work at lunch time and went home and there was a message on my answering machine from my daughter telling me she was okay - in her panic she had forgotten my work tel # and had called the house #.
My heart goes out to all the families who lost loved ones on that terrible day. I don't believe any of us will ever forget and will always remember where we were when it happened.

Englishmum Sep 11th 2010 2:35 pm

Re: Memories of Sept 11th, 2001
 

Originally Posted by Derrygal (Post 8841133)
Wow - English Mum, Your husband was one of the lucky ones. I was here (in Ohio) at work, but my youngest daughter was working in Arlington, VA very close to the Pentagon. Her boss saw the plane hit the Pentagon and my daughter saw the aftermath. I remember the sheer panic of not being able to get hold of her until much later in the day as the phone lines were jammed. I don't believe anyone worked that day - I worked in a call center, but all the calls stopped and our managers switched the tv screens (which usually showed the number of calls holding, abandon rate, etc) over to CNN and we all crowded around the television screens. In the end, I left work at lunch time and went home and there was a message on my answering machine from my daughter telling me she was okay - in her panic she had forgotten my work tel # and had called the house #.
My heart goes out to all the families who lost loved ones on that terrible day. I don't believe any of us will ever forget and will always remember where we were when it happened.

Yes. My poor daughter - then aged 16 - was at boarding school in Oxford to do her 'A' level course, and on that day she was in the sick bay. The matron went running into the sick room to put the TV on as she'd just heard the news.....and then my daughter got into a major panic attack as she knew her dad was at the WTC that day and was watching it all happen on live TV. The school tried to phone me but I had briefly gone out and got a recorded message on the answerphone, but then I couldn't call back as the phones had gone down. I think I sent a brief e-mail, not sure if it got through or not.

My daughter refused to believe her dad was alive until he had spoken to her more than 24 hours later.

Our local schools were all closed (my son was at Middle school and said all the teachers wanted to do was to watch the TV news) and we had to collect our kids. Of course many of the parents were stuck in Manhatten as the trains (and some ferries) stopped running.

I took the dog for a walk that evening, and at the train station the police were putting chalk marks on the tyres of some cars.....a couple of them weren't collected...:(

Derrygal Sep 11th 2010 2:49 pm

Re: Memories of Sept 11th, 2001
 

Originally Posted by Englishmum (Post 8841184)
Yes. My poor daughter - then aged 16 - was at boarding school in Oxford to do her 'A' level course, and on that day she was in the sick bay. The matron went running into the sick room to put the TV on as she'd just heard the news.....and then my daughter got into a major panic attack as she knew her dad was at the WTC that day and was watching it all happen on live TV. The school tried to phone me but I had briefly gone out and got a recorded message on the answerphone, but then I couldn't call back as the phones had gone down. I think I sent a brief e-mail, not sure if it got through or not.

My daughter refused to believe her dad was alive until he had spoken to her more than 24 hours later.

Our local schools were all closed (my son was at Middle school and said all the teachers wanted to do was to watch the TV news) and we had to collect our kids. Of course many of the parents were stuck in Manhatten as the trains (and some ferries) stopped running.

I took the dog for a walk that evening, and at the train station the police were putting chalk marks on the tyres of some cars.....a couple of them weren't collected...:(

How horrible for your daughter. Your husband was one of the lucky ones though. Makes you think about life. I have a friend whose uncle was only at the WTC twice in his life (he lived in Texas and was in the WTC for business meetings). The first time was in 1993 when it was bombed - he got out alive -the second time on 9/11 - he was at a meeting on one of the lower floors and again got out alive. Makes you really think about life and appreciate your life.

Jerseygirl Sep 11th 2010 2:53 pm

Re: Memories of Sept 11th, 2001
 
My daughter was in class when her teacher took a call on her cell phone. It was her husband...he was trapped in the first tower...above where the plane had hit. He told her he loved her and probably wouldn't be home. :( One of her best friends was distraught because her father worked in one of the towers...turns out he went to a breakfast meeting that morning so he wasn't there.

There was someone from my husband's company on 3 of the planes. A young graduate...it was the first time she was visiting a client. A guy with his partner and young adopted son. One of my husband's partners...his wife was pregnant...they already had a little girl.

Poppy girl Sep 11th 2010 3:09 pm

Re: Memories of Sept 11th, 2001
 

Originally Posted by Derrygal (Post 8841133)
Wow - English Mum, Your husband was one of the lucky ones. I was here (in Ohio) at work, but my youngest daughter was working in Arlington, VA very close to the Pentagon. Her boss saw the plane hit the Pentagon and my daughter saw the aftermath. I remember the sheer panic of not being able to get hold of her until much later in the day as the phone lines were jammed. I don't believe anyone worked that day - I worked in a call center, but all the calls stopped and our managers switched the tv screens (which usually showed the number of calls holding, abandon rate, etc) over to CNN and we all crowded around the television screens. In the end, I left work at lunch time and went home and there was a message on my answering machine from my daughter telling me she was okay - in her panic she had forgotten my work tel # and had called the house #.
My heart goes out to all the families who lost loved ones on that terrible day. I don't believe any of us will ever forget and will always remember where we were when it happened.




Agreed its still as clear in my minds eye as the day it happened..I was living in Australia at the time and it was the middle or late evening when we heard, I thought it was a movie at the time...My Birthday is Sept 12th so as the Aussies are a day ahead for us it kinda happened on the 12th......still feel guilty to this day especially more so now that I live in America, actually celebrating my BD :(

Poppy girl Sep 11th 2010 3:13 pm

Re: Memories of Sept 11th, 2001
 
In regards to the Mosque personally I think it should be a Open Chapel so that any religion, faith, Americans and visitors can pray, show respect without religious devide it should be a place of sanctuary for all cultures in honor of those lost to 9/11

Duncan Roberts Sep 11th 2010 3:19 pm

Re: Memories of Sept 11th, 2001
 
The thing I remember most is watching the first tower fall with my grandparents and my grandpa saying it was the most unbelievable thing he had ever seen. Coming from somebody who fought in the 2nd world war pretty much from the start, that stayed with me.

Englishmum Sep 11th 2010 3:24 pm

Re: Memories of Sept 11th, 2001
 
Just remembered something else.

My husband's boss at the time was an English guy named Alexander. At the time he was quite young, still in his thirties and very much a high flyer in the company.

On Sept 11th there was a big "Risk Waters" conference being held at the top of the WTC (I think it may even have been at the Windows of the World restaurant?) or certainly the same floor in the adjacent tower.

Anyway, Alexander was too busy to go and at the last minute decided to ask another guy called Alex to go in his place. The other Alex perished as the planes crashed on the lowers floors and all the delegates and staff at the conference were trapped.

It certainly makes you think.

Oddly enough, Alexander left the company to work for a major international bank....he's just been named CEO for the Asia Pacific region and has relocated to Singapore - where my spouse is on an expat posting, so they will meet up for drinks soon.

budleigh Sep 11th 2010 3:58 pm

Re: Memories of Sept 11th, 2001
 
9 years ago we had just flown back from a holiday in Maderia the day before. I was seven months pregnant with my first baby, I had had an awful dream about being in the car with my husband driving around as planes were falling from the sky trying to avoid being hit by a falling plane, it was such a vivid dream that I told my husband when I woke up that morning.
I was posting on a pregnancy forum when a friend posted that we needed to turn the TV on and we sat and watched the events unfold I still can't get my head round it and nine years on I am glad my 8 year old is still too young to fully understand the events or horror of that day.
Remembering all those who lost their lives and those families who are still suffering today.

S Folinsky Sep 11th 2010 4:26 pm

Re: Memories of Sept 11th, 2001
 
There are moments that one will never forget. I can recall with a fair amount of clarity of where I was when I "heard the news" on November 22, 1963 and September 11, 2001. My father remembers not only those two, but also December 7, 1941. [Just yesterday Dad spoke about the scene in "Stalag 17" of the trick question used to flush out the Nazi mole inasmuch Dad lived in Cleveland on that day.]

joto Sep 11th 2010 5:01 pm

Re: Memories of Sept 11th, 2001
 
I got a phone call at work from DH to say a plane had gone into the WTC. He had a TV in his work. He didn't know at the time if it was a large or small plane. I had to relay the news to the people at work because we had a radio on that was more static than anything else. After numerous phone calls from DH we got the full story. When the first tower fell everything came to a halt at work, and a client that was in hadn't heard anything about it, so it was a shock to her too.

elfman Sep 11th 2010 6:43 pm

Re: Memories of Sept 11th, 2001
 
I was at a funeral in Devon and knew nothing about it all until hours later.

Sally Redux Sep 11th 2010 6:50 pm

Re: Memories of Sept 11th, 2001
 

Originally Posted by elfman (Post 8841471)
I was at a funeral in Devon and knew nothing about it all until hours later.

Yes similar, I was on a school trip at a Tudor House and we knew nothing about it.

Jerseygirl Sep 11th 2010 6:54 pm

Re: Memories of Sept 11th, 2001
 
I dropped my daughter off at school that morning and on the way home I remember thinking what a fabulous September morning it was. The sky was bright blue...not a cloud in sight...it was already almost 80F. When I got home I headed straight for the treadmill...I switched on the TV...Sarah Ferguson had been interviewed and she was just saying her goodbyes. All of a sudden the screen switched to 'Breaking News'...a light aircraft had hit one of the WTC towers. I remembered seeing photos of the bomber plane that hit the Empire State Building and the damage was nothing on this scale...so I knew it was something far bigger than a light aircraft.


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