Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning?
YouTube Smackdown Crew

Posted on 09/10/2008 5:49:12 AM PDT by StarCMC

 
Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning?
 

9-11 Links

Shattered (Time Magazine Photo Essay)

September 11 Archived News Sites

September 11 Timeline of Events

America Attacked - A Tribute

Firehouse.com Tribute

President Bush's address to the nation on September 11, 2001

NYC Tribute

CNN Archives 9/11/01

Mike's 9/11 Memorial Page

(Links below are from Mike's 9/11 Memorial Page)

MOVIES

5000 Heroes (1.7 Mb)

 
9/11/01 Tribute Flash (3.3 Mb)

 
A Special Tribute Flash Card (1.5 Mb)

 
America (2.6 Mb)

 
American Attacked 9 1 1 (7 Mb)

 
American Strikes Back (606 Kb)

 
American Triumphant (1.3 Mb)

 
American Will Remember (2.2 /mb)

 
Can't Cry Hard Enough (1.2 Mb)

 
Club Santuary Tribute (471 Kb)

 
FDNY Tribute (1.9 Mb)

 
God Bless America (553 Kb)

 
God Bless the USA (1.2 Mb)

 
In Memoriam (512 Kb)

 
God Will Prevail (1.5 Mb)

 
Link to more Flash Movies

 
Mike Holt Tribute (1.4 Mb)

 
Never Forget (224 Kb)

 
Prayer for the Children (4.1 Mb)

 
Remember 9/11 (1.5 Mb)

 
Remember Those Lost 9/11 (273 Kb)

 
The Last Walk Home (191 Kb)

 
The World Mourns 9/11 (1.5 Mb)

 
Tribute (2.9 Mb)

 
Tribute To The Fallen (3.5 Mb)

 
Tribute to the Victims (2.3 Mb)

 
Wall of Americans (2.3 Mb)

 
World Trade Center Tribute (1.2 Mb)

 
World Trade Center Tribute 9.11.01 (656 Kb)

Pictures

Images from Ground Zero

More pictures at New York Lab

Terror Strikes At American Hearts

The World Coming Together

The World Mourns the Tragedy of 9-11

The World Reacts

The World Reacts 2

United We Stand

U.S.A. Always United - Forever Free!

Slide Shows
 
The 9/11 Tragedy Slide Show

The World Stops to Remember 9-11

Then and Now Slide Show

 

Interview of my friend, a 9/11 Survivor

   1.  Where were you on 9-11?

Outside, a few blocks east of the WTC. Being on the east side actually prevented me from seeing the very worst of that day, although what I did see what hideous enough.
 

   
2.  What is your most vivid memory of that day?

There are so many, it's hard to say. The disbelief and uncertainty right after the North Tower was hit, before we even knew that it was a plane. It just seemed too "furious" and hot to be a regular fire, so I felt that it was something extraordinary, but I didn't know what.

           I remember calling my father to let him know that there was a big explosion at the WTC, but that I was OK -- and then him hearing on the radio that it was an airplane. While we were talking, there were secondary explosions inside the North Tower and then little bits and slivers of glass fell on us. I also vividly remember watching people falling/jumping and just refusing to believe that it was happening.

Another strong memory is of running for my life when I was told that the South Tower was coming down (not realizing that it had collapsed into itself, I assumed that it either toppled or exploded and took out everything for blocks in every direction). The awful noise, the abject horror on so many faces and then trying to outrun that debris cloud. I remember wondering if I was about to die.

And when I heard that awful, familiar rumbling again, I stopped to watch the North Tower just pancake downward, realizing that thousands of people were inside -- including people I knew.

Sometime shortly after that, as I was walking uptown along South Street/East River Drive, I somehow got to talking with a shell-shocked guy who worked on the 9th floor of the North Tower and he wound up telling me every gory detail of what he saw on the way out. He also kept trying to walk back there, because he wanted to take the ferry back to New Jersey, so I had to keep pulling him back by his arm.
 

 
   3.  How did your life change as a result of what you saw or experienced?

PTSD. I didn't sleep for more than a year afterward (never more than a few hours a night). I feel as if I've lost a certain innocence and now realize that my neighborhood could really be blown up again, and maybe me with it next time. When I see footage on TV of terrorist attacks, I feel as if I know what it's like there -- the confusion, the horror, the mental disconnect as you don't want to believe that it's really happening, the fear, the smells, etc.

I guess it feels like my life is divided into pre-9/11 and post-9/11, in terms of experiences, perspectives, etc.
 

 
   4.  When someone tells you that you need to "move on" how does that make  you feel?

Angry! Very few have said that to me, but the few who have been stupid and insensitive enough have felt my wrath.
 

 
5.  Do you believe that most of America remembers?  Why or why not?

Hard to say. I think it goes along political lines -- those who remember are those who tend to support the war against islamofascism and understand why we're doing it, and there are those who are stuck in the Clintonian mindset of "tit for tat," in that we wait until the terrorists hit us, and *then* we strike back...proportionately, of course (like bombing empty buildings in the middle of the night, to "make a statement")...and then call it even.
 

 
6.  Is there anything that you, as someone who experienced the horrors of that day first hand, would like to say to the rest of us?

Thank you to everyone who remembers and has prayed for us.
 

Please keep the survivors of the 9/11 attacks in your prayers. 
It is not easy for them.


Thank you to the troops who have put themselves in harms way to ensure that this does not happen again on American soil.  The men and women of the US Armed Forces are the best in the world, bar none.  God bless you all!

 


The YouTube Smackdown Crew wanted to post a thread asking you to tell us where
you were, and we'd also like to invite you to work with us in our efforts to take the
hirabist scum videos down off YouTube.  If you're interested, click here and go to the
current YouTube Smackdown thread.  We appreciate any help you can give ~ it's our
way of fighting back after 9-11.  


Please add your thoughts, videos,
music or anything else you'd like
to add about that day.  
And I'd really like to know...  
Where were YOU? 
What do you remember?


    


TOPICS: History
KEYWORDS: 911; september11; wherewereyou
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-58 last
To: StarCMC

I waiting while my SVT Lightning was being serviced and watched it on TV.


41 posted on 09/10/2008 10:46:26 AM PDT by blackie (Be Well~Be Armed~Be Safe~Molon Labe!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: StarCMC

That was the day my 12 yr. old daughter came down with strep throat, and by Friday, she was in isolation at Mott Children’s Hospital at U of M with meningitis. That was a week to remember. (she did recover and is fine now)


42 posted on 09/10/2008 11:29:29 AM PDT by FrdmLvr ("I don't know of a single thing Obama has done except talk and write". -- Newt Gingrich)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: StarCMC

That was the day my 12 yr. old daughter came down with strep throat, and by Friday, she was in isolation at Mott Children’s Hospital at U of M with meningitis. That was a week to remember. (she did recover and is fine now)


43 posted on 09/10/2008 11:29:43 AM PDT by FrdmLvr ("I don't know of a single thing Obama has done except talk and write". -- Newt Gingrich)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: StarCMC

I was teaching my kids at the dining room table when my mother-in-law who lived with us, came out and said a plane had hit the World Trade Center. I came in her room just in time to watch the second plane hit. I instantly thought, “We’re under attack.” I immediately called my Marine daughter and son-in-law.

They were in CA and hadn’t heard, but after watching the news for a few minutes, my SIL assumed he’d be called to deploy. I also called my AF daughter who didn’t answer. She later told me that as soon as the government realized what was going on, the bases were closed and she had been assigned to care for some school children at the base school until their parents could be found.

I became more angry as the reports of the Pentagon attack happened and then Flight 93. I guess I thought ‘attack’ because I had read Tom Clancy’s book and that was the method a lone man had used to attack America.

My AF daughter is still working to keep the country safe from the islamofascists. She tells me that she can share the details in 72 years...


44 posted on 09/10/2008 11:33:42 AM PDT by Vor Lady (Proud to support Sarah Palin for Vice President!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: StarCMC
I was at home in bed still recovering from an illness that had hospitalized me a month prior. My Mother called me to tell me to turn on the television, and to say that we were at war.

Will. Never. Forget.

45 posted on 09/10/2008 11:36:22 AM PDT by DE50AE
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: StarCMC
Hi Star. I was co-chair for my son's Boy Scout Bar-B-Que which was to be held the following Saturday. That Tuesday morning, Kelly and I planned to go shopping for food and supplies.

I was finishing up the breakfast dishes and about to turn off the radio when I heard the news about a plane hitting the WTC (first plane). Other than thinking about it as a terrible accident, I confess I was shocked but nothing more. By the time I arrived at Kelly's house to pick her up, the second plane had struck and we both watched the TV in shock. We couldn't move or speak for some time.

The first plane "may have been" an accident, but I KNEW the second one was not. I was angry and aware that America was suddenly at war. We had been attacked, just like Pearl Harbor had been attacked in 1941.

Kelly and I stood watching, dumbfounded, for a while. We did finally go shopping and the troop had its BBQ the following Saturday. I will never forget that day, the people whose lives were taken, the people who fought back (United 93), and the heroism of many who put others ahead of themselves.

I wonder what has happened to America since then. Would we react the same way? Will we give up without a fight next time? I wonder....

46 posted on 09/10/2008 3:14:16 PM PDT by Prov3456
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: StarCMC

I was home recovering from surgery and I turned on the Today Show (didn’t have cable!) and it was just after the first plane hit. I seriously thought it was a movie clip or something,not real.

I had a week until I had to go back to work, so that week was filled being on the computer in chat rooms on AOL. I didn’t know about FR at that time, lol.

It’s been a long 7 seven years.

Will anyone remember 9/11 on the 10th Anniversary?


47 posted on 09/10/2008 3:18:43 PM PDT by GulfWar1Vet (Sarah Palin:The toughness of Margaret Thatcher with the charm of Laura Bush. TY SGAC!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: StarCMC

(((Star)))
Thank you for the ping. :(


48 posted on 09/10/2008 3:46:45 PM PDT by MeekMom (Come on Cubbies!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies]

To: StarCMC

I worked night shift. Had to take my dog to the vet as soon as I got off work.

We got home. I was frying eggs for breakfast and turned the radio on. Heard about the first plane and turned Fox on the TV.

I watched the 2nd plane hit. Never made it to bed that day.

I watched it all.


49 posted on 09/10/2008 5:47:42 PM PDT by TASMANIANRED (TAZ:Untamed, Unpredictable, Uninhibited.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: StarCMC

I was at work in my office with our sales rep, when the office manager came in and said a plane hit the trade center. Several thoughts came to mind- all the people, that it was such an unlikely accident, it seemed impossible, then I was trying to get online but the internet was so slow. I finally did get CNN I think to come up. Then the owner and the sales rep are making some stupid joke because they had a meeting and they made a stupid joke about the guy getting out of the meeting because of the plane hitting the tower. I think at this point the second plane may have hit and while the word terrorism did not come to mind I knew no way it was an accident. Anyway I said to these women my God there’s 50,000 people in those buildings!
The rest of the day was just a blur really. The next thing I remember really well was me and my husband and kids sitting on the couch listening to Tony Snow at the end of his broadcast give this incredibly moving talk and he was crying, and so was I.


50 posted on 09/10/2008 6:01:26 PM PDT by visualops (portraits.artlife.us or visit my freeper page)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: StarCMC

I was working on the 25th floor of one of the most prominent (from a skyline perspective) buildings in downtown Houston, so I have to confess the pucker factor was pretty high once I learned of the attacks.

I was messing around, wearing my baseball glove, surfing FreeRepublic, when the news broke. I had brought my glove to work because the Astros were playing that evening, and I was going to get to the game early to try to catch a ball during batting practice. To this day, when I put on that glove to play catch with my kids, the memories come flooding back.

I immediately called everyone in my family just to hear their voices. My co-workers gathered around my PC and watched the streaming video with me.

I left work when the first tower fell, and I was on the freeway when the second tower fell. Pounding my fist into the steering wheel, my rage rose so high that I didn’t realize how fast I was speeding. A cop pulled alongside me and gave me a knowing look, then extended his hand with the “cool down” gesture.

I spent the rest of the day at home in a daze, glued to the TV and Freeper comments.


51 posted on 09/10/2008 6:04:52 PM PDT by Carlucci (Online petitions aren't worth the paper they aren't printed on.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: StarCMC
I had just pulled into work and was shutting off the key when a report came across about a small commuter plane hitting the World Trade Center. I barely gave it a second thought at that point. The rest of the day was spent in numb disbelief and indescribable anger and horror.

BTW, read this link. It is bone chilling to say the least...
52 posted on 09/10/2008 6:20:50 PM PDT by reagan_fanatic ("And how can this be? For I am the Kwisatz Haderach! " - Barack Obama)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Comment #53 Removed by Moderator

To: StarCMC

I was getting my two younger daughters on the school bus when the report of the first plane hitting the building came on TV. I was watching the report, everyone was so sure it was an accident and then the second plane hit the second building.

I remember my mind took a moment to process what I saw- I thought it was footage from the first plane hitting until I heard the reaction of the reporters. My oldest daughter was away at college and called home a few minutes later- she said “mom are we at war?” I told her- YES and she asked “with who?” I told her I had no idea but we were at war with whoever was responsible. We cried together and prayed together and I told her it would be all right- not knowing if it would be or not.

I went to work and it was a zoo- no one knew what was going on or what to do so we watched TV a while and I went home. My hubby was working out of town and he called and decided to come home. It was just unreal scary and I hope to never see anything like it again.


54 posted on 09/10/2008 6:45:39 PM PDT by Tammy8 (Please Support and pray for our Troops, as they serve us every day.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: StarCMC

I was home that day; it was my day off that week. Saw the first plane hit, and I, too, thought it was just an accident.

When the second plane hit, I called my Husband who was out on a service call. He just said, “I know.”

Calls out East all day long to my cousin who lives in Manhattan; she was OK, Thank God, but had a hard time getting home as did so many others that day.

I’m STILL p*ssed. I STILL want revenge. How DARE they!?!?

Might not be the most mentally healthy place to be, but I don’t care. And I blame The Clintons. Both of them. And I blame Carter.

And I don’t EVER want to see another ‘Rat in the White House EVER again. I’m sick to DEATH (literally) of cleaning up their messes.


55 posted on 09/10/2008 6:48:04 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (Save The Earth. It's The Only Planet With Chocolate.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Vor Lady
An AF salute to your daughter (and your Marine daughter and son-in-law), please thank them for their service to our country. Some of us always keep them in our prayers all the time.

Regards,
AR (Former USAF)

56 posted on 09/10/2008 6:59:36 PM PDT by alarm rider (Peace! through superior fire power....)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 44 | View Replies]

To: StarCMC

Thanks for posting the thread. There can’t be too many, imho. I wish we’d had a computer when this all happened. In the years since, FR has been a comfort as we remember those whose lives were lost.
I hardly ever log in these days, so didn’t see this until now. I just posted this on another 9/11 thread, which is why I logged on tonight. :-)

*************************

I’d been up all night (as I always am) and had been asleep only a couple of hours before the attacks began. My hubby had been in the garage working on a car when he heard the news on the radio. He came inside to turn on the TV and see if there was anything about it on the news. Then he woke me up with the words, “Wake up! I think we are at war.”

I got up and stared at the TV in disbelief and horror. There was a blank tape in the VCR, so I grabbed the remote, turned it on, and hit “record”. The VCR recorded non-stop for the next month.

After about an hour or so, we decided to fill the cars up with gas and buy extra groceries, since no one knew what else to expect that day.....or the days to follow.

There have already been a few programs on this week about the attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon, and Flight 93. As I watched them, I felt the same disbelief and horror, and I cried for the families who lost loved ones that day.
And I got angry about the complacency I see in this country. Anyone who thinks attacks such as that won’t happen again is not living in reality.


57 posted on 09/10/2008 10:07:39 PM PDT by radu (May God watch over our troops and keep them safe)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: StarCMC
Sorry this is late, but I didn't know this thread existed.)
I was on my way to school, to my class of elementary age multi-handicapped children. My husband, who was working out of town in Reno, NV, phoned me to tell me that a large plane had flown into the WTC. I was stunned, but ran into the school to turn on the TV. My nurse and assistant were already there, so the three of us stood in front of our tiny, nearly antique television (a TV that usually only saw the likes of Barney, Dora Explorer, and Between the Lions) and wept. Throughout the day, other teachers drifted in to watch, and cry, with us.

That evening my husband phoned to tell me that he was coming home and would arrive very late that night. When he finally got off that plane, we just grabbed each other like it had been YEARS! I think we both realized, more clearly than ever, the things that are important and the things that are not. He doesn't work out of town anymore and I retired at the end of that school year.

58 posted on 09/15/2008 6:28:32 PM PDT by singfreedom (Obama's solution to the energy crisis: check the air in your tires! Why didn't we think of that?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-58 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson