State house in Boston doing some work for a client.
On FreeRepublic
Driving towards the Holland Tunnel. I worked in the 63rd floor of the Chrysler Building, but parked downtowm, as it was much cheaper than midtown. I saw the smoke when driving in 78, and was listening to the same radio interview as earlier. I might have seen the first plane, as i noticed a plane earlier over midtown during a break in the scenery, but cannot verify. As i came down the hill towards the airport, i saw the smoke directly from the building. I kept driving, onto the turnpike extension, and was amazed at the scale. Recalling 93, i knew the tunnels would eventually be closed, so i was looking to figure out how to get to the lincoln tunnel instead. As i approached the end of the skyway, i saw the second plane come and hit. All of the cars started swerving. I hit the streets of Jersey City near the tunnel, a homeless man was yelling “we at war!” I sent an email, evacuating our office, and drove home. Dave Brady was my neightbor who was at the conference, and Jay (James) Carson had just left my company to work at Cantor. Both were the best people you could hope to know.
Mark Knopfler - If This Is Goodbye (9/11 Tribute).
As for where I was that morning, I was walking through the Hyatt convention center in New Orleans - it was near my office and I'd signed up for a continuing professional education type event there. The wall-mounted televisions that usually showed a list of scheduled events all flicked to CNN as I walked down that long corridor - the video was a replay of the first plane strike.
As other people began to come out of the conference rooms and gather near the TVs, we saw the second plane hit.
I had just arrived at Penn Station in NYC and was walking to work when the first plane hit. From midtown you could see the smoke billowing as you looked downtown. Saw the second plane hit from the conference room in my office.
i live 40 minutes north of mid-town manhattan...i was where i always was in the morning- in the gym, specifically in the pool doing laps...
the previous Sunday was the first two installments of “Band of Brothers” on HBO which i meticulously watched...during my swim that Tuesday morning i wondered if i would ever have the courage that those men on D-Day showed...
i returned home to my office, turned on the TV then said “WTF??!!!”
i promptly started calling everyone as i was the eyes and ears for my mom and wife who were at work with no TV....
I will never forget this part- i remember being very proud the towers will still standing...all of a sudden the camera angle showed a huge cloud of dust rising from the ground...i immediately thought of that dopey Bruce Willis movie “Armageddon” when the meteors hit the earth and caused a cloud of dust...i was on the phone with my mom and said “ma- i think something awful happened”....the first tower had just collapsed...
i had to get off the phone...the next thing to do after i composed myself was to frantically start calling family and friends who worked in the area to account for everyone....sadly, one of my friends, a lifting buddy, never made it home...
http://www.9-11memorialanthonyks.org/josephspor.htm
http://www.legacy.com/Sept11/Story.aspx?PersonID=147539
http://www.fdnyrescue3.com/911/spor.html
On the LIE heading westbound near exit 33 heading to Jersey and listening to WABC about first impact. When second plane hit all traffic came to a stop. I will never forget the look on the faces in the cars next to me or short term compassion towards each other that quickly faded in this armpit I call home.
Working on King Street in Alexandria, Virginia. Rushed to break room to watch events in New York, later stepped outside to see smoke from the Pentagon, a few miles away.
Just took the red eye in to Atlanta from Las Vegas where my father lives where I spent the weekend with him for his birthday and stayed to watch Monday night football.
Went home and slept for 2 hours then jumped in the shower with Fox & Friends running in the living room. Got out of the shower and there was the coverage of the first crash. Got dressed and saw the 2nd plane live on tv. I was thinking to myself I hope I don’t know anyone who might have been on board of those 2 flights.
Learned a little later that a friend and industry colleague of mine was on AA 11.
9/11 Living Memorial
http://www.voicesofseptember11.org/dev/memorial_biography.php?idbio=68
Just coming out of a food stop for breakfast on way home from Vegas, where hubby was inventorying his company’s equipment as they were closing the doors. We get a phone call from his supervisor...and all he could do is stand still and say a nasty word over and over again starts with S ends in T.
A trip that took 3 days to get there from Memphis, was a 2 day trip home, pedal to the metal and not a cop in sight. Did see 2 towel heads at 1 gas fill up stop, they were acting strange, but not enough most would notice, just those who know their stereo type. Young in their 20’s. Store clerk did not act scared of them. I was as I know what they all think. Good CHRISTIANS & JEWS are DEAD ONES to them all. No matter how much we help them.
Having worked in the reinsurance business, we both knew folks who worked for Aon and died that day. Our son's classmate lost his mom. Our next door neighbor operated a day-care two blocks from the WTC and while none of the kids in his charge lost a parent, a disembodied arm bounced off the window of his place. Two other people we knew at church were able to get out by walking down 40+ stories. Another church member went down there the following day to assist in the rescue/recovery effort and died of a heart attack. Bad day...
Hubs was in Pentagon. Plane went under his office.
I was 10 miles away, in classroom with my third graders, windows opened, and heard the boom....rest of the day was a blur.
Saw the ‘Gon a few days later....stunning sight.
Bastards.......
I was in the Global Operations Center of USSTRATCOM on Offutt AFB. I work in secure comm, so that day was spent monitoring conference calls while keeping an eye on Fox news. I was in the same room as President Bush for a brief period. I remember feeling that our nation was in good hands, as I watched him calmly participate in a secure confrenece call. I spent over 13 hours in the GOC that day.
On an airliner.. forced to land in nowhere. Stranded then gouged on a rental car. Ready to kick islamic ass right then.
At work in Norcross GA at the time...walking back from an early-morning meeting...saw the look on a coworker’s face and asked what was wrong. She said she had been listening to the radio and a terrible accident had just happened...a plane had crashed into one of the Twin Towers. I rushed into my office, turned on the radio, and called .45MAN, my late husband, who was also at work. As we were talking and trying to figure out what was going on, the second plane hit...we knew then it was no “accident”....
My (at the time) 13 year old son and I were wide awake in Northern California watching Fox and Friends. (some sixth sense told us to be awake, we were never awake that early)
We saw the first plane hit. I then went to brush my teeth. My son started banging on the door to tell me another plane had just hit. I told him it was just the same footage from before. Of course I was wrong and he was right.
I was angry and terrified. My husband was traveling to Phoenix on some Coast Guard business. I couldn’t get hold of him.
It was an horrendous day.....I will never forget.
I had just returned home after getting my kids off to school. Sat down to enjoy a cup of morning coffee before starting my day. A local morning news show was on tv. Minutes later the first plane hit the towers.
Here on Freerepublic.
Attending a seminar at a riverview venue less than a mile from home. A number of attendees cellphones went off practically at once; most of those who left the room to answer them did not return. One who did come back pulled the speaker aside, and she wrapped it up very quickly, not telling those of us still there what had happened.
Some of the staff were gathered at the entry to a coat room, in which was a small TV set. They told us about the attacks.
In SW DC, across the river from the Pentagon. I was in an interior office, no windows, followed the main WTC thread on FR after hearing from son that a plane had hit one of the towers. Will never forget the 16th or 17th post(prior to the 2nd tower being hit) in that thread stating that it was a terrorist attack.