Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I visited NYC again with my wife in 2003. I decided to go down to Ground Zero, I did'nt
the year before.. We got there, walked up to the fence all around the site. I looked
through some meshing at this large space with some people working inside. The horror of
it was hard to grasp. I looked at the photos pinned to parts of the fence, and read some of
the tributes left by family members. It makes me feel upset just thinking about it as I write
this. There were a lot of people around, some visibly upset, it was just awful, did'nt stay long, just said a little prayer, then left.
At 8:46am on 9/11 I will stand outside my home and have a moment of silence to remember the friends I lost on that day. I flew into JFK on the first day planes were allowed back into the air to attend shivas, wakes and funerals. I have no wish to re-live that day nor watch any of the tons of TV specials being advertised.
I was in my clarinet lesson and my tutor had been informed apparently. He told me to play some piece of music or other with sadness and mentioned briefly that "planes had flown into the empire state building" or something. This was before it was thought to be a terrorist attack, before the second plane hit. I just thought he was utter bonkers or making a stupid joke. Of course, I saw it all on the TV when I got in. I couldn't really comprehend what was happening TBH.
Location: Vermont, grew up in Colorado and California
5,296 posts, read 7,243,085 times
Reputation: 9253
I was home, fixing breakfast, T.V. on in the other room, just had this eerie feeling, had a dream about lots of smoke the night before. Sure enough went out to see what was the matter and saw the smoke!
My bestest friend was a United Stewardess back then, drove me crazy till I found out she wasn't flying that week and she was fine.
And as an ex-EMT could just try to imagine what everyone was going through.
Whever I reflect on this day, my thoughts turn to the 'unknowns,' the aware and the 'immediates.'
What do these descriptions mean? The "unknowns' are the people who were visiting those buildings or restaurants in them as tourists or for meetings and or one knew they were there and some where someone 10 years on is still wondering where they are and anticipate everytime the phone rings it will be their loved one on the other end of the phone. How many times have any of us done something spontaneous without telling someone -no one expects they will not return. No one can confirm they were there - they are being waited for. My heart grieves for those who are still waiting for them to return, tortured with the 'unknown' for the rest of their lives. Their names do not appear on a memorial anywhere.
I feel such a cringe and shed tears about the 'aware.' The people on the second and third planes who were on telephone planes and cell phones to loved ones at home and were informed they were going to die due to what happened to the first plane. To me that has to be absolute torture. I had often said, 'I understand we all die, I just don't want to know when.' This is what I am talking about. Those that said goodbye to their loved ones on those phones just moments before they died. Those on the other end who actually heard it happen. A scar rises on a heart that lasts forever from a trauma such as this. The horror these people live with hearing it happen as their loved ones slipped away basically right in front of them.
I think of the 'immediates.' Two different sets of people. The first are those that happened to look up from their desk to see an airliner headed toward them before it hit the building. I could never imagine the horrendous anxiety filled moment these people died in. Not the peaceful way we would all want to go. The people who decided to jump an plummet to thier death than take the risk of a burning building - what decision they had to make to choose how to die.
I do not overlook the people in government as well, who had the access to intelligence and pre- knowledge of this going to happen and were dismissed. They live with that every day. They live alone in their shame and hurt believing they could have changed the course of things. The weight of that day and all those people and scenerios on their shoulders day in and day out -living a nightmare.
While a wall with names placed in an obscure out of the way place is an apt memorial, I never thought it was enough to pay homage to the people or remind us daily we should embrace those we love and our unknown brothern every day. I had often thought small head stones should have been embedded in the sidewalks of New York with each dedicated to each person and the 'unknowns.' Laid end to end like the walk of fame it is our walk of shame, to truly show the impact of what we lost. A design for each corner of indicating they were mothers or fathers, children, wives and husbands and several other things -more than just a name or body.
I think of the fallen who died and those who are still alive.
Whever I reflect on this day, my thoughts turn to the 'unknowns,' the aware and the 'immediates.'
What do these descriptions mean? The "unknowns' are the people who were visiting those buildings or restaurants in them as tourists or for meetings and or one knew they were there and some where someone 10 years on is still wondering where they are and anticipate everytime the phone rings it will be their loved one on the other end of the phone. How many times have any of us done something spontaneous without telling someone -no one expects they will not return. No one can confirm they were there - they are being waited for. My heart grieves for those who are still waiting for them to return, tortured with the 'unknown' for the rest of their lives. Their names do not appear on a memorial anywhere.
I feel such a cringe and shed tears about the 'aware.' The people on the second and third planes who were on telephone planes and cell phones to loved ones at home and were informed they were going to die due to what happened to the first plane. To me that has to be absolute torture. I had often said, 'I understand we all die, I just don't want to know when.' This is what I am talking about. Those that said goodbye to their loved ones on those phones just moments before they died. Those on the other end who actually heard it happen. A scar rises on a heart that lasts forever from a trauma such as this. The horror these people live with hearing it happen as their loved ones slipped away basically right in front of them.
I think of the 'immediates.' Two different sets of people. The first are those that happened to look up from their desk to see an airliner headed toward them before it hit the building. I could never imagine the horrendous anxiety filled moment these people died in. Not the peaceful way we would all want to go. The people who decided to jump an plummet to thier death than take the risk of a burning building - what decision they had to make to choose how to die.
I do not overlook the people in government as well, who had the access to intelligence and pre- knowledge of this going to happen and were dismissed. They live with that every day. They live alone in their shame and hurt believing they could have changed the course of things. The weight of that day and all those people and scenerios on their shoulders day in and day out -living a nightmare.
While a wall with names placed in an obscure out of the way place is an apt memorial, I never thought it was enough to pay homage to the people or remind us daily we should embrace those we love and our unknown brothern every day. I had often thought small head stones should have been embedded in the sidewalks of New York with each dedicated to each person and the 'unknowns.' Laid end to end like the walk of fame it is our walk of shame, to truly show the impact of what we lost. A design for each corner of indicating they were mothers or fathers, children, wives and husbands and several other things -more than just a name or body.
I think of the fallen who died and those who are still alive.
Very good post. I haven't thought about the "unknowns", people who just happened to be there, tourist perhaps....... or people who might have had a last minute change of plans and had to go meet at someone at one of the towers.
These are my thoughts on that horrible, horrible day....
That day I felt more united with the rest of the Americans in this country than I ever had before or ever have since. Unfortunately, it was united in grief. But we were all suffering together and I took some comfort in that.
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
39,031 posts, read 23,037,511 times
Reputation: 36027
I remembered arriving to work in Downtown LA around 6:30-ish and proceeded to the break room to have breakfast as I did not start until 7am. A few colleagues were watching live newscast of the second plane hitting the tower ... I did not quite understand what was happening or where until someone explained it to me. So I went to work but within the hour, the city sent us home. That day, I was just frozen in front of my TV watching all the coverage and feeling shaken ....
During the past Fourth of July weekend, I did my first NYC trip ... Although I was prepared for this, my hotel was right next to where the Twin Towers once stood. I have photos posted in my album that were taken right outside my hotel window on the 45th floor of the Millennium Hilton ... I was struck with the thought that the people who worked at this hotel that day were literally RIGHT THERE ... I visited the 911 giftshop but was not able to do the tour of the site.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
