Posted on 09/10/2007 6:41:30 PM PDT by Milwaukee_Guy
Thank you for being our face in a foreign land. Thank you for your abilities and capabilities. The mission is noble. The cause is just.
I was writing for the paper down in Naples,FL at the time and had just put in my final story for the night. I was working graveyard at the time and got to bed around 6 AM. I turned my cell on vibrate and had the house phone turned on for emergencies...I had the next 2 days off.
I woke up about 5 mins after the first plane hit in a fog of only being asleep for a couple of hours. It was my mother telling me to turn on the Today show or Fox News that a plane hit the world trade center.
I remember thinking that it looked like a total mess...that I am sure tons of people were going to be dead and it was some freak accident with a commercial airlines. I couldn’t believe people were saying it was a small plane at the time..I knew right away by the size of the hole it was commercial.
When the 2nd one hit in front of my eyes I had chills down my spine and said to my mother on the phone “this is it...world war 3 is here”.
Work called immediately to put me on stand-by. I remember being upset that I had posted a scenario about planes crashing into stadiums during a thread around Labor Day because there was a report on lax security in America’s airports. I had said something to the effect of people coming in via Canada and taking airplanes to attack stadiums filled with tens of thousands of people and that is what it would take for this country to change its airline security.
I wasn’t far off with that post...just a few days later 9-11 happened.
We were having a tropical storm hit us all that week..it was lingering and usually that would have been the huge news locally..but it was barely a blip on the radar.
The attack on the Pentagon...reports of car bomb’s at the state department, plane down in Pennsylvania...yeah...I was pretty damn sure we were in a long national nightmare.
We still are. Too bad the Dem’s don’t remember ANY of it.
“Oh Hell No I think it might be time to: GET SOME!!! 13 posted on 09/11/2001 8:10:57 AM CDT by Trueblackman
Back in my BR days (before Rush), I used to listen to sportscaster Jim Rome’s radio show. One day, not too long after 9/11, he had Bo Jackson on his show...Bo was supposed to have been on the program a little earlier, but was delayed because of some extra security, and he told Romey, “Just give me five minutes with that damn Bin Laden” or something like that. He also said that, though he had a bad knee (the reason he retired from the Raiders), if the President had asked him to do anything, even to fly a jet plane, he would have done it.
This was before my political days, so I thought it was pretty cool for someone to say that. Plus, even with bad wheels, you still didn’t want to mess with Bo!
Your post says it all...
For opening my mind and eyes, I’ll be forever grateful to FR and Jim Robinson.
For bringing the fight to the terrorists and bringing those who did this to us and would gladly do it to millions of others around the world to justice, I’ll be forever grateful to the President and our military.
Thank you and God bless you Jim Robinson and Pres. George W. Bush.
similar feeling here, as I too slept while it all happened...
My FRiend, I can't take too much credit for doing my job. I just happen to be a guy who LOVES his job. I look back over my life, and I see that there is no way I could have manipulated circumstances to be in the "right place at the right time".... I can give you example after example how I "just happen to be there".... I can't take any credit for that.. I am a servant of the Lord, and my clear purpose in life is to serve the People of Leon County, when I put on my Sheriff's Office uniform, and serve the people of the United States when I put on my military uniform.
Thank you for you prayers and support, as I could not do without them my FRiend.
David
Great report. Thanks. Continued good luck and success to you for this effort. You certainly exhibit an excellent set of priorities. I am proud of you.
Thank you for your service to your country, and God Bless you and keep you safe from harm.
sorry, my paragraphs didn’t come out...
Mr G and I were sitting at the kitchen table having just kissed the daughter and g-kids off to daycare/work.
We were having an important conversation. I don’t remember what it was about, but I remember I had muted the tv so I could concentrate on what he was saying. Out of the corner of my eye I saw E.D. on Fox and Friends with a headline below her saying a plane had hit the WTC. I said “excuse me a moment” to Mr G (also an indication we were having a serious discussion.... I don’t normally act or talk like that to him, normally I just interrupt) and unmuted the TV to hear her say “a small plane has hit the WTC. We don’t have video yet”. We watched as the video feed came on and that massive plume of smoke appeared.
We knew it was terrorism, and we knew it was Bin Laden. The second plane just confirmed it to us. We couldn’t believe what we were seeing. Mr G spoke to his client for the day and we agreed to call off the day’s work.
Later, Mr G was talking to an architect about some other work. The architect said the buildings would fall. Within minutes the first one did.
My niece’s husband was supposed to be on the flight from Boston to LA. He has a quarterly meeting in Hawaii and that is the flight he takes... on Tuesday so he can be there Weds. The meeting was called off at the last minute.
A country singer acquaintance was supposed to be on top of the WTC shooting a video that day. He could not get all the ducks to line up no matter how hard he tried, so he finally gave up and cancelled it (not his nature). He spoke of this at church the following Sunday.
A friend’s mother was in first class on a plane in Atlanta, heading to LA. It was an hour late leaving the gate. There was a very nervous middle eastern type fidgiting in the seat across from her. When the planes hit and all flights were cancelled, they took her plane back to the gate. The nervous man was escorted from the plane before anyone else was.
I will never forget the silence on that beautiful fall day, as all the planes were grounded.
Skimming posts and read your post about the Wildwood NJ Firemen’s Convention. I spent so many years down there for that Convention. I can’t imagine what it was like that year.
I was driving my car and stopped at the intersection of Bloor and Yonge Street, the major intersection of Toronto. There’s a advertising Jumbotron on the corner and hundreds of pedestians were transfixed on the street looking up at it. On the screen was a montage of smoke and fire and an inset of Tony Blair speaking as the subtitles scrolled by... “barbaric acts...terrorism...solidarity with America...free world....” I knew that instant that something terrible had happened.
I got to work and called my sister in Washington DC which was pandemonium at that moment. She was crying and just repeating “what do they want?” what do they want?... A lifelong super liberal, she had, on 9/11, a “moment of clarity” as she realized that evil really does exist and no, not all people and cultures are interesting and cool.
It was somber to say the least. I remember all the places on the boardwalk that sell t-shirts were loaded with anti-terrorist t-shirts. Later on I wondered how they had them stocked so quickly, it was just 2 days after the 11th. We got shirts that have a picture of a stealth bomber and words saying “Hijack this *ssholes”..one of my favorites.
By the time I arrived at work just a few minutes later, I saw a small group of my co-workers had gathered around the TV in the break room. They had been playing video of the first plane, and I was being waved over to the TV...."We are at war!" on of the older men exclaimed.
My eyes moved away from his face just in time to see a speck come into view on the TV screen. As it grew larger and began to bank toward the building, there was no doubt my co-workers words were correct. We stayed glued to the TV for what seemed like forever, unable to move away from the screen. I don't know how long we stood there, but when I finally broke away, I knew I had to check FR to see what else was going on.
The one thing I remember most about the week that followed is the erie silence that seemed to dominate everywhere I went. There were always planes over head...but now just an eerie silence.
Later I found out that some of the terrorists had taken flight lessons less within walking distance from where I worked. Then a while (few months maybe) later the anthrax letters...so there's no doubt left in my mind after that year, that those vermin who'd do such deeds should be hunted down and exterminated...whatever it takes, how ever long it takes.
Thank you. Warts and all, it is my pleasure and privilege to be here. :)
PS: Warts and all, it is my pleasure and privilege to vote and stand for the President.
It is also my pleasure and privilege to pay my homage and respect, and evne to meet, with the fine men and women in our Armed Forces.
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.