Remembering 9/11 ----- 24 Years Later

[Bend_The_Knee]

Time goes by quick.

I remember that whole day exactly. I live in queens and i remember smelling the smoke, seeing jets flying by.

Share what you remember and your thoughts on that day and week/months after.

 

[6 Rings G.O.A.T.]

Rest in peace to the deceased.

 

[sooperhooper]

Freshman in college. For some reason there were rumors that gas was going up to like 6 dollars per gallon and the lines were Hella long.

 

[HNL HI]

I remember waking up to my brother calling me on the phone, he said a plane crashed into a building in new york.

I turned on the TV and was confused to how the hell that could happen, then in a few minutes the 2nd plane hit.

Seeing people jump out of the building on live TV was such a intense feeling.

 

[cosmiccoffee9]

9th grade science they turned the TV on, which was usually reserved for Channel 1 news.

the first tower had been hit and they were already speculating that it was more than an accident.

I'll always remember seeing the second live...the sudden streak onto the screen, the explosion, the look of shock on everyone's faces and the overall feeling like this was not something that could actually be happening.

they sent us all home from school and I couldn't shake the thought that where I lived was next. of course, the damage to our way of life had only just begun...

anyway, in the 15 years since, I find the event, its implications and its ripple effects to be one of the most fascinating topics ever...I read about it on a regular to this day. 2 hour conversation minimum IRL.

 

[shorty doo wop]

Was in 4th grade we were in class and some girl looking out the window saw that the towers were on fire. We all ran to the window and looked. We went back to the rug and then later on same girl called out that the tower collapsed. My school was in brooklyn and had a decent view of the city. Couldnt grasp the magnitude of the moment being so young

 

[703 hwy]

Was in 9th grade ROTC. I had never even heard of the Twin Towers so I didn't realize the extent of the situation.

My mom and sister worked at the Pentagon but I didn't know they had hit that too. They kinda kept us in the dark but let us dismiss early.

 

[$tacy]

7th grade. Teacher was reading out the boring book and another teacher came in rushing whispering something. I saw her face immediately change up and she looked confused and turned the TV on. At 12 I didn't fully understand what was going on but was happy we got out early Cuz i wanted to bang the blueprint. Pops picked me up from school, took me to a diner and explained to me what was going on. First time I ever seen him cry so it was real weird. Neighborhood was dead that day too. Riding my bike around, nobody was outside, **** just seemed off.

 

[DB Cooper]

Was on my way to work when the devastation happened. Needless to say, the restaurant where I worked at was a grave yard all day and for days to come.

 

[Ox.]

6th grade, my class went on a field trip that day and I didn't want to go so I stayed home. one of my brother's woke me and two brother's up saying they're bombing us. we get up and turn on the news and watch it all day. remember when the second plane hit and when they went down. definitely surreal. I live between bases and my city was like a zombie apocalypse was going down.

 

[slighted]

Still remember it like it was yesterday.

It was 5th grade. I look out the window and see some photographer standing on the next building's roof. Another teacher runs into our class and tells everyone that there was a big accident nearby. Shortly after, our whole building shook and the same teacher comes in and says the WTC is gone. A few kids in my class start crying because their parents work in the main WTC building.

They bring us all down to the cafeteria and call all parents to pick up their kids. My uncle picks me up and as soon as I walk out of school, I literally see and feel the smoke in front of me. We get home and a few of my uncles/aunts are huddled around our TV, watching the CNN footage of the plane crash, smoke, everyone running, etc.

My parents worked in Chinatown NYC then and usually use the WTC train. No one in the family heard from them. They finally come home at 11PM after using the ferry (no trains were running).

They canceled school for 2 weeks after that. The widespread feeling was WTF + mass paranoia and a common unity among everyone. Our whole family watches the news 24/7 after that.

I feel like 9/11 really destroyed a part of the fabric of America.

 

[you go boy]

probably the only day in my life that i remember exactly... i woke up getting ready to go to college... i went to a community college at the time and was ready to go to school... my sister was going to college to and she went to a 4 year college... i looked in her room and she was asleep and im like you lazy mofro im not even going to wake you up thats your fault... so i go to school and im in my history class and the professor is talking for like 20-30 minutes of class and then steps out of class to talk to another professor for 10-15 and im like damb whats the hold up... he comes back and tells us you have been dismissed...i go the the main lobby and everybody is over there including my friends watching the tv screen and all of us see the world trade center go down live... there people over there crying... the whole school is dismissed and there was crazy traffic getting out... my friends all want to hang out and get food at dennys so we go there then hangout at another friends house... we watch next friday there and then play basketball.... i try to call my parents and my gf at the time now ex and the phone was off the hook and i couldnt call anyone...

the good news in all of this is i didnt wake my sister up to go to school... she went to pace university which would be my future alma mater... and she was a commuter and would have to take the train everyday which would go through world trade center... and good thing she wasnt on that train because you never know what could of happen

 

[wavy daddy]

6th or 7th grade, me and a homie were smokin a blunt before school, they had it on the spanish news, spanish news show EVERYTHING.

Its dam near uncut.

We thot we were watchin a movie, then **** got real.

We went to school, 1st, 2nd, 3rd period was coo, come 4th, they rolled out the tv(you stupid young ****** dont know) and we knew- we aint doin **** all week.

 

[pip777]

I was a freshman at Oakland Univ (Mi.) and just got out of my morning math class. I went to library to do some research for my next class. I decided to get on one of the computers to check up on current events. I tried to go on CNN, NBC News, and other news websites and none of them would load up. While doing that my childhood friend IM'd me asking if I knew what was going on. I told him I didn't know and he told me that a plane crashed in the WTC. I thought it was some small plane or something. After a little while I gave up and went back to my dorm room. While walking towards the dorm entrance, I noticed a large group gathering in the lobby of the dorm building next door. I peek in and saw the looped videos of the planes crashing. I thought it was a movie until I saw the hysteria that was happening in the streets of NYC. All classes were cancelled for the rest of the day.

From that point on, I was glued to a TV or to my clock radio waiting for new details on what happened. There were lots of news crews that zeroed in to Dearborn Mi, which has one of the largest concentration of Arabs Americans in the US. I took a break from watching the coverage and got something to eat. Traffic around gas stations were horrendous. Every gas station was packed and eventually were pumped dry. Some even rose prices upwards to $6 a gallon. Those stations eventually got fined for that.

9/11 was a moment that almost everyone came together as one. Color, income, sex, etc. didn't matter. We stood strong together as Americans and supported each other as human beings.

It's a shame that we don't have that type of support and respect for one another today.

 

[HIM]

I was in 7th grade. I live in L.A. But used to get bussed to the Valley so we had to wake up at 5:30 every morning to get ready for school. I remember them switching to a live feed of the first tower on fire and then I as I was ironing my clothes I saw the second tower hit and I called out to my bolder brothers. Got to school and all the kids were talking about it but the teachers were not saying anything about it. We watched movies in the majority of my classes. I had no idea how big of a deal it was until I got home and saw my mom crying as she watched the people jumping off the buildings. Like the Nter a couple posts above me said, Spanish news shows EVERYTHING. They showed multiple ppl jumping to their deaths. Still makes me tear up when I think about it.


I went to NYC back in April and I visited the 9/11 museum. I definitely shed some tears but the part that got me the most was the room with the phones. You pick up the phone and you can listen to a few of the victim's voicemails. I only listened to one and the guy had like 42 VM's. They start off with people (mom, dad, friends, coworkers etc.) just calling him to say they heard about the news and wanna make sure he's okay. As you listen to them they gradually get sadder and sadder until you finally hear his dad clearly crying. Basically coming to terms that his son just died in that building. I was a mess. Tears flowing nonstop.

There's also a room showing the people jumping from the buildings. I would say 70% of the people that walked in there couldn't make it more than 30 seconds before they had to walk out in tears.

Another room had audio messages of the victims' relatives telling stories about them. Beatiful stuff.

I recommend anyone visiting NYC check out the museum. You'll shed some tears but the amount of stuff they have in there is amazing.

 

[1stwitit]

You guys should check out #235 ofAri Shaffir's podcast. He interviews a guy that was a volunteer EMS during 9/11, very interesting perspective.

 

[HIM]

One of the coolest things I learned at the 9/11 was the story of Welles Crowther. 24 yr old kid that was working in the building and rescued 18+ ppl that day. He led them down and went back into the building multiple times until the tower collapsed and killed him. Judging frome the positioning of the bodies, the firefighters guessed he was leading yet another group to safety when he died. The people he saved didn't know who he was but they mentioned his red bandana. Turns out he always carried a red bandana. They have his bandana on display. A true hero, man

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welles_Crowther

 

[gentrification]

Day changed everything

 

[Bend_The_Knee]

You guys should check out #235 ofAri Shaffir's podcast. He interviews a guy that was a volunteer EMS during 9/11, very interesting perspective.

Is it on YT? If so, please post it.

 

[Top Boy]

First grade.

Still remember one of the office receptionist bursting into our classroom and telling our teacher to turn the TV on.. She just stood there dumbfounded while we took the opportunity to treat it like recess.

6th or 7th grade, me and a homie were smokin a blunt before school, they had it on the spanish news, spanish news show EVERYTHING.

You were getting blunted in 6th grade?

RIP :x

 

[BigDanes89]

I remember being in my 6th grade class watching the news in shock... RIP

 

[law3001]

I was getting ready for school (junior year). I was in my room and had the radio on and they mentioned a plane hit the WTC. I legit thought they meant a small plane and was super confused on how that could happen. This was about 6:30 am and then I come downstairs to see my mom and younger brother watching tv. That's when I saw the replay

I couldn't believe it. I was stunned. I went to school, and by the end of first Period we were all sent home.

RIP to those we lost.

 

[ROYGBiV]

I live very close to the Pentagon so I felt the impact during class. My school kept all of us in the dark. Not until we saw all the parents running to pick up their kids that we started thinking wtf is happening? I thought it was some sort of severe storm or something. When I got home I saw the news.

 

[Bend_The_Knee]

They are airing 9/11 specials all day on the History Channel.

There's a new special called 15 Septembers Later that will air at 6 PM ET.

 

[ROYGBiV]

They are airing 9/11 specials all day on the History Channel.

There's a new special called 15 Septembers Later that will air at 6 PM ET.

There's a show coming on at 10:30 tonight where they try to figure out what happened to the flag they put up at ground zero. Apparently, it's gone missing.