I was on a United Airlines flight that had just taken off from Seattle, enroute to Los Angeles. The pilot came on the intercom and indicated that for some unknown reason, he had been ordered by United flight control to divert to and land in Eugene, Oregon - which we subsequently did.
Only when we had landed and people started calling home using their cell phones did we know why we had been diverted. We went into the terminal and watched the towers collapse on TV.
I quickly rented a car and drove the rest of the way home - 14 hours.
I always checked Free Republic in the AM, even before turning on the TV...
..it was shortly after 7AM I think...and I told him FR said all the airplanes were grounded.
He thought I was kidding...
..we turned on the TV......when the first tower fell, we turned off the TV and sat there praying & crying.
A few days later we left for home....drove...from California to Florida.
ALL ALONG THE ROUTE HOME we saw American flags everywhere...
..people were very somber.