Where were You on 9-11?

ICU 812's Avatar
I remem ber where I was when JFK was shot.

I remember where I was when the Detroit Tigers won the World Series.

I remember where I was when we were attacked on September 11th, 2001.

Where were YOU? Share what you remember.
I was in a high school classroom when JFK was assassinated. My SO was only 2 yo. lol.

I was at home getting my daughter ready for pre-K on 9/11.

I was in college when Kent State occurred.

I was in DC when Nixon resigned...and was angry at Ford for pardoning him. In hind sight, Ford was right.

These are my ports in history. What are yours?
In bed with a lady.
atlcomedy's Avatar
I certainly remember.

I'd share more details but if I shared the entire narrative it would be personally identifiable. I did nothing heroic & I wasn't close to any of the sites hit but I faced the same dilemna that probably tens of thousands of managers in a position of site (office complex, manufacturing facility, etc.) responsibility faced:

What the hell just happened?
What is going to happen next?
(On a personal level) Are Jim, Jill & John (my friends Manhattan) ok?
Then, what the hell do I do with all of these(hundreds of) people for the rest of the day?
I remem ber where I was when JFK was shot.

I remember where I was when the Detroit Tigers won the World Series.

I remember where I was when we were attacked on September 11th, 2001.

Where were YOU? Share what you remember. Originally Posted by ICU 812
1) Appropriately enough, I was in a high school American History class when they broke the news that JFK was shot!

2) Never was a Tigers fan. (But I do recall them winning the World Series!)

3) I was in a hotel room in Pittsburgh when I received a phone call telling me to turn on the TV. A co-worker and I rented a car and drove 20+ hours to get back to Houston!
ICU 812's Avatar
atlcomedy: I get what you said. My 9-11 experience came from a different (lower) level of responsability.

On this day nine years ago I was working in a Veteran’s Administration hospital doing cardiac tread-mill tests on formembers of our armed forces. Most had served in WW-II or the Korean War. My co-workers and I were in-and-out of the waiting room with the TV always on. I ducked in to bring the next patient back and he said, “Wait a bit Doc, “ (I am not an M.D.), “. . .theres been a bad accident. A plane just crashed into a sky scraper in New York.” We all watched a few minutes and the news was confused. First reports are usually incomplete and/or inaccurate and I brought the patient into the back to get prepped for his test.
When I got back to the waiting room, the second plane hit. Someone said, “That’s no accident, We’e at war with someone!” All day long we worked and watched. Peter Jennings was supercilious and demeaning towards those who had evacuated the White House. One of my co-workers at that time was a Shiite Moslem (dare I say that here?) . She didn’t come in to work till 11-ish when it was all over.

The patients were all men who had been trained to action at a formative time in their lives. They (we) were frustrated by our inability to immediately identify an enemy and strike back. One man had been a Ranger at Omaha Beach on D-Day. They were the unit of commandos that had climbed the cliffs at Pont du Hauk at dawn— under fire. I recall seeing him remembering the vigor of his youth and wishing, in tears, that he could rise out of his wheel-chair and once again defend his country.

A “Ground-Zero” Mosque? Sheria compliant USA? Let us not be so quick to forget September 11th, 2001.

Famous Last words: “Lets Roll!”

Oops. didn't mean to rant like that. YBut I cried when that part about the wheel-chair Ranger came to me . . .I'll let it stand.
TexTushHog's Avatar
I was sound asleep. My SO called and told me to turn on the TV.
Mokoa's Avatar
  • Mokoa
  • 09-11-2010, 06:15 PM
I was on my way to work that morning and was stopped at a traffic light. I had the windows of my car down and I could hear commotion from the radios of adjacent vehicles, so I turned on my radio and found out what was happening. When I got to the office I started looking for information on the Internet. Needless to say, it was a bit slower that day because of all the increased activity.
DFW5Traveler's Avatar
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania after the towers collapsed I couldn't get back to sleep (worked nights) so I drove to the job site and there were no cars, not even police, in the streets of Philly. It was the most eerie feeling being in a city that big with not a soul in site.
9/11 - will never forget it. I was in class down on 26th and 7th. A little too close for comfort.
mj2749's Avatar
I was at home, off from work, watching GMA on TV when they broke in that the first plane had hit one of the Twin Towers. I sat glued to my TV for about the next two days straight, sleeping maybe 4-5 hours and then getting up to watch more. On the third day I submitted my resume to apply for a job related to what had happened. Pretty much been in the fight on terror since then.
Never forget 9/11!!!
atlcomedy's Avatar

3) I was in a hotel room in Pittsburgh when I received a phone call telling me to turn on the TV. A co-worker and I rented a car and drove 20+ hours to get back to Houston! Originally Posted by bigtex
That was the circumstance that had slipped my mind but you reminded me of: crazy long drives from wherever just to get home.

If you were even able to secure a rental you were one of the lucky ones.

I remember stories of friends agreeing to share (or offering to take passengers) rentals with complete strangers. It kind of flies in the face of what anyone under say fifty's parents taught them: never trust strangers...don't take candy from strangers...never get in a car with a stranger...obviously this was an extraordinary circumstance
That was the circumstance that had slipped my mind but you reminded me of: crazy long drives from wherever just to get home.

If you were even able to secure a rental you were one of the lucky ones.

I remember stories of friends agreeing to share (or offering to take passengers) rentals with complete strangers. It kind of flies in the face of what anyone under say fifty's parents taught them: never trust strangers...don't take candy from strangers...never get in a car with a stranger...obviously this was an extraordinary circumstance Originally Posted by atlcomedy
Actually it was an act of deception on my part! When it became apparent all flights were cancelled, I called and told Budget that I needed to extend my rental beyond that Friday. She told me everything was booked up and I could not extend and I would need to turn the car in at the agreed upon time.

I called them back on Friday and told them I was in Little Rock, Arkansas and would turn the car in when I reached Houston the following day.

There wasn't much they could say, other than ok!
mj2749's Avatar
[quote=ICU 812;579958]atlcomedy: I get what you said. My 9-11 experience came from a different (lower) level of responsability.


The patients were all men who had been trained to action at a formative time in their lives. They (we) were frustrated by our inability to immediately identify an enemy and strike back. One man had been a Ranger at Omaha Beach on D-Day. They were the unit of commandos that had climbed the cliffs at Pont du Hauk at dawn— under fire. I recall seeing him remembering the vigor of his youth and wishing, in tears, that he could rise out of his wheel-chair and once again defend his country.

That's an incredible image you described!
Texmedic's Avatar
I remember being in 3rd grade history when JFK was shot, and I was in Boot Camp when Nixon resigned. I was transporting a critically injured Patient to a Trauma Center when The Towers were hit .... found out after getting the patient to th ER.