Thursday, September 11, 2008

Remembering

  • I remember the first plane.  Then the second one.
  • I remember feeling like this could be the end.
  • I remember how beautiful that day dawned.
  • I remember the first tower going down.  And the second one.
  • I remember calling friends to check on spouses and siblings.
  • I remember that I used to work on floor 104 of Tower One.
  • I remember making sure the flag was out.
  • I remember feeling numb.
  • I remember driving to pick up my kids at school.
  • I remember telling them what happened.
  • I remember holding them a little tighter.
  • I remember standing on the beach in Westport and seeing the smoke.
  • I remember the silent, still night sky.
  • I remember feeling an overwhelming loss of innocence.
What do you remember?

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

I remember being a new mother on maternity leave and watching everything unfold on TV and wondering what kind of world I had brought my child into.....

I do not hide him from the events of this day and answer lots of questions once a year.

Most of all I remember feeling the love of my family despite what was going on elsewhere. Nurse Nancy

abb said...

I swear I remember every minute of that awful day. And the horrible feeling of uncertainty and unease that followed for too too many days.

And I remember as the plane was going into the Pentagon, my neighbors son and daughter in law saw it from their car as they were driving to the hospital to have their first baby. Their little boy was born on 9/11 and they named him Aaron, which means peace. A small measure of good.

Daryl said...

I remember being very upset that I was not at home, in NYC but in Florida w/my sister but w/o my husband. I remember wanting to go home NOW but not being able to because all planes were grounded. And after 2 days I wanted to drive home and Husband said NYC was 'closed' no traffic in or out .. I decided I didnt care and we drove home ...AND once I was home I remember how strangely quiet it was w/o air traffic EXCEPT for the Air Force jets that patrolled the skies at night .. when those stopped I missed the sound they made and how secure they made me feel ...

I remember how clear and blue the sky was that day ..

And I remember reading in the weeks that followed all the memorials printed in the NY Times for each of those who died .. I cried but kept reading because it was MY way of honoring them.

Every year on Sept 10 after sundown I light a yahrziet candle (a memorial candle we Jews light to remember those who passed)

:-Daryl

Flea said...

My husband and I talked about it last night. He watched the coverage at work all day and nothing was done. He was numb. I cried and hurt. Hurt for days. The concept of what happened and why was simply overwhelming. The thought of any one person of religious movement doing something that horrific to innocent people was too much to comprehend. Still is in a lot of ways.

Every little blip on the radar, for months after that, was watched like a hawk.

Anonymous said...

I too feel as though I remember every minute of that day. Every event, whether huge or trivial, and every accompanying emotion. All was surrealistic. And it might as well have been yesterday.

Anonymous said...

I remember thinking Now someone will get the importance of diplomacy, of taking the time to try and understand our differences.
Oops. I was wrong.

dlyn said...

I remember it changed everything, but we still forget more than we remember it.

Anonymous said...

I remember walking in the door after dropping NSLO off at school. Husband said...come in here now.. I couldn't help but wonder why he was still home. We watched the events unfold on TV.

I called the school and they had not made a decision as to what they were going to do. You see, school happens to be extremely clost to one of the largest National guard airports on the NE coast. I feared for my daughter and all at school. I went to school to get her and can still recall the horror on the girls faces as I went in search of NSLO.

Many of the girls had mothers, fathers or relatives working in the area.

The other thing I remember was flying around the site while bringing my father from SC,on Oct 1st, to live with us. The smoke was still billowing and it brought thoughts of our very own holocaust.

Caution/Lisa said...

At the end of school, we went to get our very young children. They had been told nothing, but the fear in the teachers' eyes was so potent that the kids were very quiet.

Then we heard about all the military neighbors being called to our nearby military post and the word, war, was being whispered. I think that's when I realized that those attacks were just the beginning of something much, much bigger and more frightening.

Adventure girl said...

I remember Ironing
I remember feeling vulnerable
I remember watching all day unfold
I remember wanting to go get my girls out of school
I remember feeling so much sorrow for all those poor people

tj said...

...I remember being overwhelmed with sadness and fear.
...I remember praying. Hard.
...I remember feeling uneasy and insecure.
...I remember my eyes wide open and unable to stop staring at the television.
...I remember the feeling of total loss.
...I remember feeling for the first time in my life that we as a nation are vulnerable.
...I remember this all as if it were yesterday.

...God bless...

Deb said...

I remember trying to go about the day at work as if it was normal. there was no normal.
I remember how sick my stomach felt.
I remember feeling sick.
I remember being scared like no other time before.
I remember.

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

It was my second day on the job with the federal government. I remember being called into an auditorium and being told to go home. I remember having to drive by Cheatham Annex, the Naval Weapon Station, Fort Eustis and then having to go over the Coleman Bridge wondering if I'd be blown to smithereens at any minute. I worried about the safety of my cildren and family most of all.

I remember not being able to get through to anyone because the cell towers were overwhelmed. I finally reached my friend in Northern Virginia who worked in the tallest building in Rosslyn right near National Airport (therefore a prime target). He was on top of an apartment building watching the Pentagon go up in flames.

I remember that after that day my job with the government meant so much more to me, and our mission that much more important.

I remember thinking to myself this nightmare has happened once, it is bound to happen again.

QueenofPlanetHotflash said...

I remember I was changing my brother in laws tubing for his shunt. He had the TV on and I was turned away and he said, Lord have Mercy we're being attacked! I turned and seen the plane hit the tower and just about dropped the tubing. I finished and ran upstairs to call my brother who is a federal agent to check on him and I couldn't get through. I called my parents and my mother was in a panic, you see my brother was suppose to an escort for someone to the pentagon that week but we didn't know when. It was late that evening before we found out my brother was at the pentagon but not in the area hit.
I still cry at the thought of all those lives taken away.I can't watch any of the movies made, it hurts my heart.

Anonymous said...

I remember being 11 years old and wondering what the World Trade Center was. I remember that they turned on the news during my History class soon after the first building was hit. I remember watching the plane hit the second tower and the TV being turned off soon after that. I remember sitting in a room with my grade while they called our parents to take us home, as we were so near the Westchester airport.

I remember listening to the radio in the car and crying with my mother as we wondered why someone would do this to us. I remember desperately trying to reach my aunt who lived in the city, but being unable to because all the phones were busy. I remember my cousin reaching our house at 11:30 pm after having watched the towers fall, managing to get on the last ferry to New Jersey, and then getting a ride with a Good Samaritan to our house, because she couldn't get home to Long Island.

A few weeks later, my family went to Ground Zero. And I remember that I had never been so proud in my life to be an American as I stood there with hundreds of people, of all ages, races, and religions as we honored all those who gave their lives or had their lives taken from them on that day.

Big Hair Envy said...

Your post just gave me chills...

I remember trying to contact all of my friends who were living in NYC - just to make sure. I remember being thankful that my neighbor's husband had already returned from his business trip to Tower 2. I remember praying for my other neighbor who was in the hospital giving birth to her fourth child. I remember picking my daughter up early from school because I was terrified of what might happen next.

Keetha said...

I was about six months pregnant with dear son, who'll be seven soon. I remember wondering what kind of world I was bringing him into.

Sandie said...

I remember starting the day just like any other, only to experience numbing, gut-wrenching sadness as I watched the twin towers crumble and burn.

I remember praying for the people trapped inside those buildings and for the ones who had jumped, for the terrified people still on planes, and for the people already searching for unaccounted loved ones.

I remember feeling tremendous pride and inspiration for the actions of those brave souls who on Flight 93, had to face the sudden reality of what was happening to them, and to humanity as a whole.

I remember wondering how it was possible for someone, anyone, to hate others so vehemently, despise a nation so much, that it seemed right and commendable to torture, kill and maim people whom you had never and would never know.

I remember feeling vulnerable, as a human being, a mother, and as a nation.

I remember the horror, and faces of hatred.

I remember how it felt for America to come together: to stand, to face, to fight, to honor, to rebuild, to recover, to try.

I remember feeling proud of my countrymen.

I remember the countless tears shed.

I remember what it felt like to hope, despite the circumstances.

Lisa said...

I too remember, and will never forget. My nephew is in Iraq right now, so I remember it all very well and why...WHY he is there. come home soon Will, come home safe and soon!

Bear Naked said...

I remember a new employee coming into my office to tell me what was happening in the US.
And now to this day, we both remember what a terrible way to remember meeting each other for the first time.

Bear((( )))

Magpie said...

the smell. for days and days, the smell.

Anonymous said...

I remember being 6 months pregnant with my second child and thinking I did not want to bring a second baby into this world.

I was also positive we would end up in some type of nuclear war and having to deliver a baby in that situation. I can throw up when I think of it now.

Anonymous said...

I remember the sense of unrealness. And the disbelief that finally gave in to reality.

Anonymous said...

…I remember I work up to a day like any other day.
…I remember hearing just a bit of news on the TODAY SHOW. I come to work 30 minutes after everyone else.
…I remember getting to work and nobody was really aware of any trouble - no televisions, usually
…I remember that everyone started getting phone calls and the news was spreading, spreading like wildfire.
…I called my mother. She was not aware but she and Ernestine turned on the television in Mother's rooms.
…I remember asking could we have a television in the room - and they let us.
…I remember being just stumped that something like this could even be happening in the United States.
…I remember how grateful and protected I felt that I was hearing this news with all my coworker/friends - and was not alone.
…I remember how grateful I was that I work at a church! We have been thru this, sad news, threatening weather, death and loss of electricity together.
…I remember not being able to leave the television screen for weeks after that.
…I remember feeling very alone at home that night.
...I remember calling my mother everyday after September 11th.
…I remember the comfort of knowing my Saviour.


"Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day?" ~Alan Jackson

Mary said...

I remember an achingly beautiful sky -- so at odds with the death that came out of it...

I remember being glued to the TV, and crying a river of tears,,,

I remember waiting with my husband in the driveway for my kids to get off the bus, and just hugging them...

I remember my son serving at three funeral masses for neighbors who were lost...

I remember going to sleep that night, wondering what was to come...

And knowing that all our lives would never be the same again.

Ellen said...

I was a substitute teacher working at an elementary school. A message came over the PA system asking all teachers to turn off the TVs in the classroom. Shortly after that, word got to the teachers about what had happened. At my break, I went to the teacher's lounge in time to see the first building collapse, then the second building.

I called my parents shortly after ward as they were scheduled to go to Europe the following week.

We went to mass that night to pray for the victims and their families.

Nurse Nancy's friend

Country Girl said...

I remember the whole day. I worked at the school and my sons were in high school. Parents were calling all morning to come pick up their children and we just ended up closing for the day. I couldn't wait to get home with my family. It was horrible and I couldn't stop crying. The next day at school, we started saying the pledge of allegiance as a group. We never did that before. And the first time I heard it, heard the whole school in their respective classrooms, I broke down.
I remember. Thank you for posting this.

Anonymous said...

I remember feeling numb. I was watching Good Morning America when the first plane hit. I thought that it was an awful freak accident. Then the second one hit and it was unreal. It was a nightmare. I called my husband. I called my parents. The day stood still. It was incredible to think that there was so much hate for innocent people. Today is a day to remember all of the families that were destroyed that day. I know that it is an awful anniversary for the survivors.
God bless them.

RiverPoet said...

Me too, me too, me too...

I don't think I took my eyes off the television until sometime around dinnertime that day.

Peace - D

Suz Broughton said...

Like the first comment, I was a new mother, too. All I could think about was how the world will be a different place for my daughter.
This was a beautiful way to remember. thanks.

Sassy said...

Wow! I can't believe you actually worked in one of the towers...I remember waking up and flipping on the t.v. and watching the news and thinking it was about another country being war torn and then it hit me that it was our own UNITED STATES...I was sick almost nauseous inside and calling my mom to turn on the t.v. and getting my kids out of bed and hating the fact I had to go to school and teach and how hard it was for me to send my children and go comfort other peoples children...and turning the radio on every time the kids went to recess to listen to the news...it was a tough day and I remember how quiet the sky was...because normally Phoenix Shy Harbor is very busy and when they planes were downed it was QUIET...and then all the American flags being flown up and down every street and on all of the cars and motorcycles...it was a huge time of unity and coming together...

Snooty Primadona said...

I still remember being numb as I sat and stared at the TV ALL day. Then when it came time to pick up the kids, I remember hugging them harder and longer than I ever had.