Flowerz said:

wow...

It was the beginning of my last year in high school. As I've always wanted to study in the States, I went to a special information center here in Warsaw, organized by the Fulbright Commission and the American Embassy.

I was really excited to hear about all the possibilities of studying abroad.
With all the free booklets and brochures under my arm, I was heading slowly home and fantasizing about how I was going to be next Felicity Porter: ugly ducky, ready to become a beautiful swan at the University of New York. I was sooooo excited.

I finally got home, opened the door with a key (as I always do) and saw my mum sitting on the floor, motionless, staring into our TV set. I slowly took off my jacket, started talking about the meeting concerning my education in the US, come closer, looked into the screen and for a second I though that, what she was looking at, was some sort of a movie. Only that was the news channel.

I froze in place. Within seconds the second tower got hit. Even now when I think about that moment chills run down my spine. I was extremely scared and so were many of my friends, with whom I was on the phone for the next couple of hours.
I didn't sleep that night. I couldn't stop watching the news. Occasionally I would look out the window to see how in all the windows, one by one, candles were being lit up to commemorate the victims of 9/11. My candle was too short to be visible outside the window, so I placed it on the pile of booklets about studying in the US.

Well, me and my wife were living in Alaska on Sept 11th 2001. We had been married in

February of the same year. So life was good. life was normal. The day before on the 10th

we had a normal day. We were up late on the 10th and we had made love. Well i was laying

in bed about 3 am I used to leave on the radio to soft rock at night. Just for a cool vibe.

My wife did not care. She was sleeping. nice and satisfied. And I was was hearing the music

and enjoying the night. I fell asleep and woke up at around 5 am. The station listened too

played mostly music. At 5 am they had a news and music type show. Well as i was laying

there in bed. quite satisfied. The female radio announcer said. the had had a accident at the

the world trade center. They read that a plane had somehow lost course and accidentally

crashed at the world trade center. I was like oh too bad. Then they went back into music. soft

rock. So I went back to being comfortable and very satisfied. So one song goes bye and a

second song. Then towards the middle of the second song. All sudden she come back on

and says Another plane has crashed into the other tower of the world trade center. the male

co host then says. Oh, another That does not sound like much of an accident. She then

says we will keep check on the story and will update at the next news break. So they start

another song. Not even half way in to the song. She comes back on and says A plane has

crashed into the Pentagon/. He says this most likely is an attack of some kind. She says

Yes. Must be. He then gets all We are staying on. No more music. We are staying on news.

So no more music. We are going to stay on news to bring you all the news as e get it.


So I gently nudge my wife. /and tell her some planes have hit both world trade centers. and

also the Pentagon in Washington On purpose. she mumbles and does not wake up.


so late around 9 or 10. she wakes up and is real shocked. She grew up in Brooklyn and had

even worked in tower 1 for a time she is frantic. She is crying. The phone is ringing a lot.

Some of my family calls and says's the airports are being closed. I told them yeah. They had

said on the radio The all air traffic in and out of Alaska had been stopped. So we watch

the news for 3 days. I went to the local market about then. And the mood was so heavy. I

being multiracial. I felt the stare. That had not been before. A look of sadness and miss

trust. a look of pain. Us as Americans had just had our open freedom used against us.

Our innocence was gone. Bold murder had happen before our eyes. Trust was gone. A

nation betrayed. A nation hurt to it's core.

my canadian relations really didn't seem to care...

Well, me and my wife were living in Alaska on Sept 11th 2001. We had been married in

February of the same year. So life was good. life was normal. The day before on the 10th

we had a normal day. We were up late on the 10th and we had made love. Well i was laying

in bed about 3 am I used to leave on the radio to soft rock at night. Just for a cool vibe.

My wife did not care. She was sleeping. nice and satisfied. And I was was hearing the music

and enjoying the night. I fell asleep and woke up at around 5 am. The station listened too

played mostly music. At 5 am they had a news and music type show. Well as i was laying

there in bed. quite satisfied. The female radio announcer said. the had had a accident at the

the world trade center. They read that a plane had somehow lost course and accidentally

crashed at the world trade center. I was like oh too bad. Then they went back into music. soft

rock. So I went back to being comfortable and very satisfied. So one song goes bye and a

second song. Then towards the middle of the second song. All sudden she come back on

and says Another plane has crashed into the other tower of the world trade center. the male

co host then says. Oh, another That does not sound like much of an accident. She then

says we will keep check on the story and will update at the next news break. So they start

another song. Not even half way in to the song. She comes back on and says A plane has

crashed into the Pentagon/. He says this most likely is an attack of some kind. She says

Yes. Must be. He then gets all We are staying on. No more music. We are staying on news.

So no more music. We are going to stay on news to bring you all the news as e get it.


So I gently nudge my wife. /and tell her some planes have hit both world trade centers. and

also the Pentagon in Washington On purpose. she mumbles and does not wake up.


so late around 9 or 10. she wakes up and is real shocked. She grew up in Brooklyn and had

even worked in tower 1 for a time she is frantic. She is crying. The phone is ringing a lot.

Some of my family calls and says's the airports are being closed. I told them yeah. They had

said on the radio The all air traffic in and out of Alaska had been stopped. So we watch

the news for 3 days. I went to the local market about then. And the mood was so heavy. I

being multiracial. I felt the stare. That had not been before. A look of sadness and miss

trust. a look of pain. Us as Americans had just had our open freedom used against us.

Our innocence was gone. Bold murder had happen before our eyes. Trust was gone. A

nation betrayed. A nation hurt to it's core.

xperience319 said:

very unfortunate that you had that experience but hopefully
you know that it was not indicitive of canadian response.


as for my account.
the towers were already on the ground when i found out.

my friend called me. i was on my knees in front of the tv shaking my head in disbelief.
of course the tv was playing all the images one after the other. it was a lot to take in at once.
i just said incredulously... "what have they done, what have they done!"
i was sure this was the beginning of something nuclear.

i only knew one person in new york but was not in close contact. he had been in the towers
during the garage bombing but i had no clue if he still worked there. i didn't have internet and eventually
made my way to the library to email anyone to see if they had news. i think it took a couple of days but heard he was fine.

i remember now comprehending my father's fear during the first gulf war.
when the iraqi's had managed to bomb israel he got out an army surplus
gas mask from god knows where and made mom and i put it on and check
that we could fit it right. i was in highschool and thought it was overkill
but in those days of uncertainty who knew what would happen next?
we live south of a canadian air base and north of an american one.
coincidentally they have been in the news recently for sending
nuclear warheads across the country and not missing them for a few hours.

I remembered the graciousness of the Canadian response. What about the town in Nova Scotia, I think, where the planes were diverted from the New York airport and how the town opened up their homes to all the travelers. So gracious

oops i didnt mean to diss the overall canadian reaction, that was just my immediate relations, im sure canada was just as shocked as the rest of us were.

Hurt hurt hurt, all around. That's what I remember.

The important question is, when you're getting your picture taken in front of ground zero, do you smile?

9/11/2001....it started off as just another day. I was attending the Basic Non Commissioned Officer course @ Fort Gordon, GA..we were just entering our second week of a 14 week course and class was pretty boring....just a bunch of non-coms sitting around clowning in class....it was a great day...comfortably warm, sunny as all get out....almost perfect....the first reports came in pretty much like Dan pointed out, that a private-type plane had struck one of the towers....other than the raised eyebrow, none of us thought of it for more than the time it took to announce it...then we got the dreaded order to leave class and head back to the main academy building...and by the time we got there, the second tower had been hit and the news had been confirmed that they were hit by fully fueled jet liners.....

A couple of us who were in divisional units (warfighter units versus straight support units) dropped our heads because we were overcome with the sick feeling that we were mere moments from getting recalled to our units to head over to whatever point on the map to fight whoever it was that did this...arguments ensued because of all the "towel head, camel jockey" comments....but when the news of the Pentagon being hit as well started filtering, the quiet that filled the room was deafening...because THAT is what sealed the military's fate...it wasn't a question of if we were going to war, it was when and how many of us would go.....the world of September 10th is as distant to me as the day I was born....because all I've known since then is war....getting ready to go, going, being there, coming home, repeat....3 times to date, and already planning for next year....

So on what is now officially Patriot Day (as of Sept. 4, 2007 by Presidential Order), I just offer a silent prayer to those who died as a direct result of the attacks, the policemen, firemen, Port Authority officers and anyone who died trying to aid and save others, and to all of the Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, and Sailors who have lost their lives as a result of a war that one can only hope will be seen by future generations as a necessary thing....