Where Were You 8 Years Ago?
PuroFreak
Posts: 4,131 ✭✭
Where were you 8 years ago today?
I will never forget it. 8 Years ago today I was working on a small factory in Mt Vernon Texas building couches with my head phones on listening to the one crappy little radio station I could get inside that metal building when ABC News broke in saying a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center.
I listened to the events of that day unfold in horror. I don't remember a single thing I did that day at work but I remember every mental image I had of what was taking place. I didn't see any footage of the attacks or aftermath until around 6:00pm central time that evening after I got home from work. No matter how grim the descriptions were over the radio, I don't think anything could have prepared me to see what had happened.
Now looking back I have a whole different perspective on that day. I still have that pain in the pit of my stomach for every civilian victim that died that day, but because of my job, I have unmeasurable amounts of respect for the men and women of the NYFD and NYPD that responded that day. I can't imagine what they went through, and I hope and pray noone ever has to endure anything like that ever again.
I know we debate politics on here a lot, but all of that really doesn't matter in the end. No matter what your beliefs or how much we have argued in the past, I hope and pray for nothing but the best for all of you and all of your families. God Bless.
I will never forget it. 8 Years ago today I was working on a small factory in Mt Vernon Texas building couches with my head phones on listening to the one crappy little radio station I could get inside that metal building when ABC News broke in saying a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center.
I listened to the events of that day unfold in horror. I don't remember a single thing I did that day at work but I remember every mental image I had of what was taking place. I didn't see any footage of the attacks or aftermath until around 6:00pm central time that evening after I got home from work. No matter how grim the descriptions were over the radio, I don't think anything could have prepared me to see what had happened.
Now looking back I have a whole different perspective on that day. I still have that pain in the pit of my stomach for every civilian victim that died that day, but because of my job, I have unmeasurable amounts of respect for the men and women of the NYFD and NYPD that responded that day. I can't imagine what they went through, and I hope and pray noone ever has to endure anything like that ever again.
I know we debate politics on here a lot, but all of that really doesn't matter in the end. No matter what your beliefs or how much we have argued in the past, I hope and pray for nothing but the best for all of you and all of your families. God Bless.
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I got up and went to work later in the morning and was immediately sent home. I worked at a golf course and the tournament for the day had been cancelled because the Seattle ferry service had been suspended and nobody could get to the golf course. I drove to Seattle later that afternoon and there was an eery calm about the city. I don't know if people were not out and about because they were afraid to be in the city or what but I've never seen downtown Seattle that quiet before or since.
Then I turned on the morning news to a whole new world.
I was heart broken.
Then the phone rang.
My good friend Todd called and said that our close friend Mark Bingham had perished on flight 93.
We miss him everyday and I am grateful everyday that I knew him, and that he got a chance to meet fiance .
I will never forget all the souls who perished on that fateful day, especially Mark who's favorite phrase was "with you" and favorite cocktail was a cosmo. I will honor his life as well as all the others this evening with a stiff cosmo and the "A" mystery stick Joz3er sent to me.
God bless america, my friends, my family and all of my BOTL.
"With You"
Since my class had progressed past a week, they sent me back to the barracks to wait a week or two to be reclassed. I was a member of the performing units there and I was the most senior member in charge of over 100 other students, so my drill masters at the barracks didn't give me any tasks to attend to. I was sitting in our lounge watching television when the news hit every channel. I couldn't believe my eyes. I ran into my drillmasters office (which was way beyond the protocall of standing at the door, knocking, and asking "permission to enter"). I told him to come look at this immediately. After seeing the news, he picked up his jacket and ran out of the building.
Over the course of the next 16 hours, I watched the entire base go into lock down. Armed guards were posted every 100 yards checking ID's. No one but the Commanding Officer was allowed on or off the base. I tried to console some of the students under my supervision who were from all over the country. Some had family members who were in the building, some had family members on the planes. When I found time, I tried my best to call my family and let them know I was alright and try to find out if they were alright as I have family in DC and friends in the Pentagon, but all the phone lines were locked up.
I stood there in the middle of the base and watched it errupt into frenzy and the only thing that kept ringing through my mind, the mind of a 21 year old rookie sailor, was "We're going to war. We're going to war"
I remember the feeling of the school day. It was so unlike any other day. There wasn't the usual high school bs going on, it was a lot more quiet. Even outside of school, everyone was so different. Everyone was so stunned, that nobody really knew exactly what to say or do.
It's harder for me to see those images today, and to hear the stories. Being more mature and more aware of the world, it gets to me more now than ever. I've never been short of amazed at how everyone pulled together, if even for a couple of weeks.
I have an uncle who has been a firefighter for as long as I can remember. There is nothing but respect for him and his fellow brethren. For someone to want to put their lives on the line everyday, I don't understand how you couldn't respect them.
That is the single biggest moment from my life that I have engrained in my memory.
I then started 5 days of all my people working 12 hours shifts with all days off cancelled. We met with all local law enforcement to try to figure out what we had to protect. No chief or sheriff in this country had ever faced anything like this and we were kind of flying by the seat of our pants.
It was probably my most difficult day in law enforcement and my proudest. My people all had concerns about their own families, some had child care issues, etc., but I never received one complaint about the hours they had to work and be away from their families and eveyone just rallied together.
8 years ago today, I was living in sacramento CA, working for the state department of health services. I woke up to my dad waking up my mother telling her she would not believe what was happening. I turned on my radio, listend to some people talking about a terrorist attack for a few min. so I got up and to my horror I saw the twin towers, one missing, the other burning. none of the news stations knew what was happening. I watched for a moment then went to work. by the time I got there, they had shut down all state departments and sent every one home for fear of an attack. I dont remember what I thought about on my way home. when I got home I turned on the tv to find that the second tower had also fallen. I saw recap videos showing people at ground zero running away from the falling towers, I still get a chill in my spine when I remember the look of terror on those peoples faces, and the frantic screaming from the whole street. I also learned of what happened to the pentagon, and in pensylvania. I watched the news looking for answers for probly a good 13 hours that day, hoping for some explaination. that evening (was it that evening or the next day?) president bush gave a statement about what had happend. I could see the concern and the stress in his face as he began to make clear to this country that this attack would not go unpunished.
today I read some articles about remembrance ceremony, then I saw a picture on the top of the drudge report of the two buildings burning and I got a couple tears in my eyes about that terrible day.
to all the conspiracy theorists that say it was planned by this country, that osama had nothing to do with it, that the taliban is a tool of the governement, you can all eat **** and go fvck yourselves
8 years ago I was sitting in German One class freshman year of high school. We didn't get the full details of it and me being stupid high school little s*it I was making fun of it. Thinking that it was a prop plane, not a giant airliner. They cancelled all sport practices that night except for football. I ended up skipping anyway. Though as big of an event as that day was it gets over shadowed because of my best friends older brother commited suicide two days later. I had known him since I was four and he was basicaly my older brother.
Back then, I didn't fully realize what was going on, but now just thinking of the innocent victims brings a tear to my eye.
I was up early to get ready for a day out in the park. It was looking to be a great day for a hike and a picnic by the lake. After a shower, I flipped from the weather channel to CNN for some reason. I was not big into the news or politics at that time in my life. I guess i needed some background noise i suppose. this was about 8:50ish... maybe a moment after.
they were showing the first views of a fire in the WTC. i distinctly remember that there was some speculation that a jet had crashed into the building. id stopped getting ready to go out to watch, because, its not every day you see a giant fire in one of the worlds tallest buildings.
i saw the second hit live on TV. i remember seeing a black speck behind the towers. my TV sucked so i couldnt make out that it was a jet. i thought it was a news-copter or some rescue team. but then the massive explosion happened.
I got that shot of adrenaline that is usually reserved for "fight or flight" responses.
i called my girlfriend and started to fill her in
when she got to my dorm (at maybe 9:30) we decided that we should go out but take a radio with. the drive to the park we wanted to go to was 20 minutes. we get to the park and just sit in the car listening to the radio.
we decided we needed to each get back to campus/home when it was confirmed that the pentagon had been hit and that another plane was still missing (flight 93 as it turned out)
on the way back we listened to the radio more, but decided that since Howard Stern (of all people), because he was IN New York, may have more info. the towers fell before we made it home.
campus called all classes by Noon.
i also remember the next day, going to classes and looking up.
not a single airplane in the sky.
never before, or since, have i seen that. it was creepy.
Looking back that was in such distaste that I still cringe at his actions, but figuring on how early it was, he was probably still drunk.
I turned on my 19" Emerson Tube Tv and saw the aftermath, I was watching just after the second plane hit... and sat on my crappy dorm bed and watched as the towers fell.
Being a dumb, party school kid I didn't realize the impact or did not even THINK about other areas of concern for attacks or such.... I just sat there and watched in shock...
It was surreal...
A few minutes later....
"They're saying how it was a commercial plane....like a 757."
"Oh, damn."
"Tower is on flames!"
Several of us gathered into the conference room where there was a big-screen TV. We sat in amazement at what we thought was an accident. Several minutes later, while watching live, the second plane hits tower two. I, like a few others there knew this was no accident. After watching tower 2 fell it came across the news that a plan crashed into the Pentagon. Shortly after, tower 1 fell. With the exception of some sniffling and sighs, there was total silence in the conference room which was now packed. News of the crash at Shanksville, PA, came next.
A few in the conference room became frenzied and left work to pick up their children. A few others just left due to tension and disbelief. The rest of us commanded our frayed consciences back to our desks to resume work, which at that point was around lunch. No work was accomplished that day.
I remember making the attempt to call a couple folks that morning, but all cellphone towers were swamped. "All circuits busy," the automated message would say.
It's unfortunate because something like this was expected. I think I received 5 or 6 calls from old Marine Corps buddy's, most of them at that point were in law enforcement, asking me if I was "prepared." Of course.
Eight years later, I still have friends over there fighting.....one employed by Xe Services, two employed by Triple Canopy. There are guys over there who were under my leadership, only now they are Gunnies, First Sergeants, Warrant Officers, and Zeros. Gunny Sigman lost his leg.....Captain Terhune was shotdown (53 pilot) in Afganistan and killed.....Major Zembiec (an O-2 over me when I served) was killed by small arms fire. I'm sure there are others with whom I served that are still in the ****. My time in Croatia and Mogadishu really doesn't hold a candle to some of the things our men and women face over there. For that I feel guilt, worry, sadness, and regret................yet thankful.
Eight years later and we're still there for reasons that will be filtered to 99% of American tax payers. Looking back, some actions were valid, some were not, imo. Looking forward, it looks to be a long and painful journey to securing our ideologies from terrorism.
Only eight years has passed and the American people elected a man named Barack Hussein Obama to its highest office. This shows the American public possesses tolerance, forgiveness, grace, and humility. Or it shows that they possess great near-sightedness, ignorance, and naivety. I'm not sure which.
Ok. And? Hit by a commercial airliner. Holy crap! How? What's going on?
The reply, they think it's an attack.
On the way in, we hear in the radio the second tower gets hit.
National Guard is calling, State patrol is calling. We're closing bridges or anything that can be a target.
It became chaos. A long, tense day.
A friend who flies Lear jets was told to land immediately. One of the guys who works with me was in Newfound land and stuck there for a couple days. He was headed home and flights were grounded.
Radios and TVs were only tuned to news. It was very surreal.
Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy cigars and that's close enough.
Tried call my brother who lived in Manhattan at the time with no luck. Latter that day I called my parents, they spoke with him earlier and he was fine.
When I got home I watched it on the tv.......To this day, that was the one and only time I watched the planes hit....I can't bring myself to watch it again.
As Rodger said perfectly....We lost our innocents that day.
First tower was on fire when I tuned in and then I saw the next tower get hit, and the horror that followed..
I grew up downtown, only a few miles from the airport and directly under the flight path for SJC. The week that followed was the eeriest quiet I had ever heard.