Where were you on 9/11/01

[Admin Steve]

Yup, just like me to bring the place down.

It's 9/11. :patriot:

I'm not sophisticated enough to write anything too thought provoking or philosophical. I thought it might be worthwhile as Ravens fans, thinking back to what we were each doing that day.

Five years ago, I was sitting in my car outside my dentist's office. I had my Micky D's coffee, waiting for my 9AM appointment, listening to 98 Rock. Lopez (RIP) gave the report of the first plane hitting the WTC. I thought it was a Cessna or some other small plane. I walked up to the office and the Doc had pulled out a small color TV and perched it on the receptionist's desk. I watched in the waiting room with three or four other people as the day's events unfolded.

We know the rest. While I got my teeth cleaned, both towers collapsed. I went back to work where we had a TV and sat and watched with my wife.

Today she made me take down the Ravens flag and put up the Stars and Stripes.

If you have a flag, please consider flying it for 24hrs in remembrance especially if it normally sits in your closet. Spare a few thoughts for the thousands of families whose lives were forever changed that day. :patriot:

http://www.profootball24x7.com/forum/images/misc/flag.jpg

http://www.valdezlink.com/media-hi/sunrise.jpg

If you feel moved to post anything political, we would appreciate it if you could post it in the proper forum.

Thanks.

[PurplePill]

I was in Buffalo, NY in a meeting in an office building directly across the street from the Buffalo Airport. The thing I remember most about that morning was seeing plane after plane landing at the airport out the office window, but NO planes taking off. It was eerie.

[ladyraven127]

I was at work when someone came out of their office and said a plane had hit the first tower. We all kinda went "What?" and thought the same as you Steve. Must have been some nutcase who got turned around. I got a small TV that we have at the school and we watched in horror as the second one hit and the aftermath. A co-worker of mine husband worked at the Pentagon and she was frantic and when she finally heard from him was when we found out about the third plane . . . . I won't say what he does, but he knew what he was talking about.

I left work about an hour after that when we heard that it was a terriost attack. At that time my daughter was in a Jewish preschool and all I could think of was to get her the hell out of there and home with me and safe. My oldest was in Garrett County at the time and called home and asked what to do. I told her to stay where she was because she was far enough away from DC that if they kept it up she would at least be safe.

It was a horrible time . . . my sister was in DC for a meeting and I couldn't get in touch with her and didn't hear about her being safe until the next day.

I remember being terrified about some of the people that we knew that worked in Washington and lived in New York who posted on the old board. It was quite a relief when they all finally checked in.

I still cry every time I see any kind of footage or hear any commentary about that day. I will never forget the images or how I felt or why we do what we do as a country to protect ourselves.

[braven98]

It was 1 week before my daughter was born and I just got back froma Doctors appointment,and there police were all over.

[Irishraven]

I remember I was actually on the beach in Ocean City, MD when a friend came to me and told me what had happened!

We all went back to the apt and just sat in silence by what was unfolding. I can't believe that was 5 years ago! When you think about what happened on that day it really makes you appreciate everything and everyone around you.

My thoughts are always with those who lost their lives on that day and with their families and friends who are left behind

:usa:

[Brandon]

Five years ago today, I was where I am at now which is work. I was flipping through sations on my portable CD/AM/FM/TV player (which I am actually using right now also), and came across the JoJo & Kenny show on Mix 106.5 for a couple minutes, when one of them said that a plane had just flown through the WTC. My first thought was that it was an accident with a pilot not knowing what he was doing. I made the announcement in the room what had happened. Then immediatley after that, a co-worker who was home that day called in and said another plane had hit the other tower, and that's when I along with others knew something was wrong.

I went upstairs to the cafeteria, where there was a big TV, and saw what was happening. It was almost unreal. I remember seeing the first tower fall and just being in disbelief. I don't think I worked anymore that day, and since I work for the Police Dept at Headquarters in Towson we were considered a target so the entrance was blocked off and security guards were everywhere.

I pretty much stayed glued to the television all day when I got home, besides reading the old RN2 Ravens board. I just remember being in disbelief, and for me, it didn't really sink in until the next day.

[Raven31]

I was at work and had no clue what was going on until I saw all my co-workers crowded around the radio listening. Then I heard. I was in total shock & disbelief. They let us go home the rest of the day.

[Mobtown]

I was at a convention at the Inner Harbor Marriott when I caught a glimpse on the lobby TV of the first plane hitting the tower.

A huge crowd gathered quickly and everyone was absolutely silent for about 20 minutes until the first building went down, then all hell broke loose and people started crying and screaming and shouting.

My brother-in-law (Chris) is a LT in the FDNY and when I saw that building go down I immediatly made a bee-line for the front door and headed for my wife's office. I knew she would be a mess and I had this over-whelming feeling that I simply had to get to her immediately.

As soon as I stepped outside the building a BCP Bomb Squad truck came screaming by with sirens full blast. I considered for a momment that NY may not be the only target and I instantly went into a near-panic mode.

I found my wife safe but in hysterics on the 8th floor of her office building. She had been trying to get her sister and brother-in-law (and the rest of her family who work in NYC) on the phone since it all started and had yet to reach a single member of her immediate family.

It was almost 3 more hours until she got a call from her sister who, as it turns out, had stayed home with morning sickness that day. Chris had finally checked in and told her that he was OK, but that he couldn't talk.

The rest of the family called in through out the day and thankfully all were safe.

Chris lost 6 members of his house during the first building collapse and another 6 during the second collapse. He has been battling with grief, survivors guilt and a host of health issues ever since.

My family and I take a momment each 9/11 to stop and reflect on the bravery of the NYPD and FDNY. Those men are the purest definition of heros and they should be celebrated at every opportunity.

/salute to the men and women who dedicate their lives to protecting ours.

/salute to the soldiers who protect our borders and fight our wars.

[Raineman]

I actually had taken the day off to go fishing. I went over to pick my buddy up and he told me that a plane had just flown in to the WTC. I sat down and we watched in disbelief as the second plane hit. To this day I can't put in to words the feeling I had watching that, and hope I never have them again. We continued to watch as the towers fell. In half stun half panic I went and got my son and brought him home, called to make sure my daughters were OK, and spent the rest of the day in a haze watching the news.

[Admin Steve]

www.cnn.com has a stream from 9/11/01 in real time if you are so inclined to want to see it unfold.

[Boss Raven]

I was work out at Bayview Hospital. I remember setting in the lounge area when the first plane hit..

Political comment removed

[Mobtown]

Response to political comment removed.

If you see something on a forum that doesn't belong please just alert a moderator, responding and especially quoting the offending remarks just means we have more to clean up.

Thanks.

[camdenyard]

I was at work when a couple people came upstairs from the cafeteria where 3 TVs played, telling us that the WTC was on fire. A group of people went downstairs just in time to see the second plane hit.

Several people fell to their knees in shock when the first tower came down. Then came news of the Pentagon. Needless to say, work was over for the day at that point.

Execs in nortern NJ were screaming at our security people to get helicopters to get them the hell out of there. What a day.

[edreedisgod20]

I have some interesting stories.

My own (thankfully, uneventful): I was in tenth grade at the time. Second period, the principal called an emergency assembly. We all sat in a classroom with its walls collapsed because a synagogue was renting out our space and they needed an expanded sanctuary for for High Holiday services. Our principal also happened to be our teacher for second and third period, so for the hour-and-a-half following the announcement we all just sat in his office and watched it unfold on TV. After third period ended, we had one more period of class before they called school and sent us home. After making sure all New York family was safe, I sat in front of the TV for the rest of the day.

My brother: Rides the New York subway twice daily immediately beneath the WTC. Stood on the Brooklyn Bridge and watched the skyline crumble with his own eyes.

My stepbrother: Was in New York on business. Stood inside the WTC towers the day prior. After his flight back to Los Angeles was cancelled, he was offered a ticket on United flight 93. He declined the offer.


God bless America.

[UKRavenStockers]

I was at school just starting the 2nd week of my GCSE year, first we knew of it was someone got a text during afternoon registration from his older brother saying a plane had crashed into the World Trade Centre in New York, because it was so random and out of the blue most of us laughed it off and didn't believe it. It wasn't until we walked past an electrical store on the way to the train station on the way home that we all realised it had happened and just how serious it was.

The memory that sticks out for me that day other than the news coverage is the number of people in my town who went to church to pray, nothing organised just the churches were there and people just went to pray and contemplate, it was such on odd eerie day, don't think I or anyone will ever forget it.

[Losac]

I was in college and was on my way to class (went to Towson), and had just got on the Beltway when I heard Lopez on KML giving the report of the first plane hitting. Thought at first they were talking about the WTC in Baltimore and that it was just an accident. Traffic was horrendous and it took forever to get to Towson, so I heard it all unfolding on the radio when the second plane hit. Got to school and went to my first class. People didn't know much, but when I got to my second class, people were saying the towers collapsed and the Pentagon was hit. They closed school right after that.

Listening to the replay right now of the Howard Stern show from 9/11/01.

[GreenWave52]

I was a junior at Tulane. I was on my way to class when I saw the TV, one of my roomates left it on. I saw the towers fall and then went to class (in disbelief) which was then cancelled halfway through. Spent the rest of the day in front of the TV.

[RavenScallywag]

I woke up around 9am, just after the second plane hit. When it was reported, I misunderstood and thought two planes had collided INTO the WTC, but then I heard about the Pentagon. I think I just walked around kind've numb, I wasn't sure what was going on. I know I had the TV on when we saw the towers fall, and everyone in my dorm were going around, consoling each other.

I'm a staunch Democrat and I'm quite ready to move on to a new president, but for that day, I didn't care who was in office or what was the politics behind us. We banded together as a country, and that was amazing. I still mourn on every Sep 11, because I'm terrified that we're going to destroy each other over religion, which should be left to each person's own beliefs, and that we have to live in a world where monsters will do this to innocent people.

[Purpleguy]

I was in Atlantic City for a convention. I woke up and put on the Today show shortly after the first plane hit. At that time they still felt it was a small plane. The guy that owned the company I was working for had a Cessna, and he was supposed to be flying down that morning from Connecticut. My first thought was that it was him, then I watched in shock as the second plane hit. My boss was late getting to his plane that day and ended up grounded. I continued to watch the news until noon when I had to work the convention. It was impossible to do business that week.

One of the things that stunned me was the fact that the casinos didn't miss a beat. Nothing stops gaming. I was in the restroom, and some blowhard New Yorker was loudmouthing about how he lost a sister and a cousin in the towers. I was like, "right, and it didn't pull you from the tables". That's such a terrible thing to BS about.

On my way home I always take Route 40 instead of the AC expressway. It brought a tear to my eye to see all of those little towns with an American flag on every telephone poll. The whole thing was surreal, and the tragedy didn't really hit me until that ride home. I was so cutoff from the outside world in a casino all week.

[italianjoker]

i was driving to work listening to WNST. when they said the first plane hit, i immediately thought we were under attack. anyone that has been there knows there is no way a plane just hits the tower. i arrived to work and ran to the break room and saw the 2nd plane hit. just stood in shock until the buildings collapsed. can't really explain the feeling, it was crazy seeing it unfold. more so because i had been there and lived in New York for a couple of months. if i had not seen those buildings so many times, it would still hit hard, but i do not think i would have had the same feeling.

[Ravens'N'Hoos]

I was working on a Congressional committee staff at the time. When I arrived at my office in the Rayburn House Office Building, directly across Independence Ave. from the Capitol, the first plane had just hit moments earlier, and the second had not yet hit. When the second one hit, and it was clear this was no accident, and especially after the Pentagon was hit, my colleagues and I felt an enveloping sense of dread. We could see the Pentagon smoke from our window. We kept hearing on the news about explosions, fires, bombs, etc., on the Mall, at the State Department and elsewhere nearby that turned out not to be true but gave us a feeling of a wave of attacks coming our way. We wondered if there was still another plane in the sky, headed toward another target near us. It was a very tense, confusing atmosphere. We evacuated our building soon after the 1st tower collapsed. What is normally a 10-minute drive home took nearly an hour. When I heard later about the plane crash in Pennsylvania, it was very chilling to think that plane might have been headed toward the Capitol, less than a block from where I was sitting.

It was surreal to go back to work the next day on the Hill but I felt a sense of duty to not be intimidated. I remember the sense of dread continuing as we all waited and expected additional attacks with each passing day. If you'd told me then that there would be no additional attacks in the next five years, I would've been incredulous. I'm extremely grateful that that's been the case.

[DrUnk]

Approaching 395 on my way to work, when the planes hit the towers. Then got to work, and heard about the Pentagon, and went into a frenzy, becuase my baby sister had just moved to DC, and I couldn't get in touch with her.

[BaltimoreRon]

I was in a meeting at a Government building. Someone interrupted the meeting, whispered the news to one person in the room and that person realyed the story to the rest of the room. People looked around at each other in horror, and then the moderator of the meeting...continued where she had left off. I thought I was going to go nuts. I was worried for family, friends, fellow Americans, etc. They did, BTW, let us out early.

The first thing I did when I got home was to rummage through the shed and put up an American flag. :patriot:

[Ravenfanmike]

I was off work that day and slept in. I woke up around 0900 and was watching the replay of Sportscenter. Then went to sign on the computer when I saw a picture of the WTC on fire. I went downstairs and immediately watched for the rest of the day. When the first tower went down, I ran to the basement and pulled out an old US Flag. I rigged it to a metal pole and with all the rage I had in me, I slammed the pole into the ground and yelled out "Knock this Flag down you Fu@% assholes". I have since put up a permanent Flag pole in my front yard.

[BaltimoreRon]

When I got back to my cube, I watched events unfold on the internet and I also joined in on the ongoing discussion on the RN2 board that existed at the time. I wonder if that thread is still around somewhere in cyberspace?

[BirdFan]

If you have a flag, please consider flying it for 24hrs in remembrance

I was at work that day, but left early. I went home, took my flag out of the closet, put it up in the front yard, and have flown one every day since then. I've replaced it a couple of times, but there has been an American flag flying at my house since 9/11/2001.

[Drkraven]

I was working as a homecare nurse arranging my day. They kids were all in school and I was doing my paper work. I was watching the Today show and saw the first tower on fire and actually saw the second plane hit. My husband was getting his oil changed I remember saying the first one could be an accident the second one was not.
I left to see my patients and all the radios were just news, cell phones did not work. I heard on the radio that there was unconfirmed report that a plane went down around Camp David, as the crow flies I'm 25 miles from there, as it turns out it was wrong. I could not work after that and turned around and went home. I was driving past my kids school and they were armed SWAT guys on the roof and went home and lost it. My husband could ont get to his office in Balto so he came home. We picked up 2 of the kids and watched the rest on tv. I remember how strange it was not to have planes in the air and how strange it was when planes started flying again
I could not turn it off, could not sleep and was a mess for a while afterwards. One of the nurses in my company lost a brother in the towers.

[Bez513]

I was at work in Annapolis Junction which is right across from NSA on I-295. We watched the news in our command center. We got notice that our business park needed to evacuate since NSA would be a prime target for terrorism. It was gridlock getting out and back home. I was glued to the TV the rest of the day and night as events unfolded. However to this day I can't bring myself to watch these 9/11 movies or watch the planes hitting the towers again. I'm just not ready for it.

Today I listened to Howard Sterns replay from his 9/11/01 show. It gave me goosebumps as he covered what was going on that day and hearing him and others on the show be shcoked and dismayed by what they were seeing on tv. I know alot of people dislike Stern and all but for that day his covering of 9/11 was serious and heart-felt.

[Dabruise]

I was sitting as a poll-watcher at the Annapolis Library all day. We couldn't have a TV there so I had to run out and get snippets on the radio.

My Mom was running for City Council for the second time. She won but we were too devastated to do much celebrating.

[highwater]

I was at home, on the PC listening to music, not the news, so I had no idea what was happening. After the second plane hit, my wife called me from work to tell me about it. Like everyone else, I was stunned -- my first comment was, "TWO planes hit the World Trade Center? So, that can't be an accident, right?" As ignorant as that sounds now, that was my first reaction, because I wanted to think it was an accident, but knowing it happened twice made that an impossibililty.

I went downstairs to watch CNN and MSNBC, and heard a breaking report that "something" happened at the Pentagon. It was a surprisingly long time before that "something" was explained. Then I saw, live, the first tower come down. I had to turn the TV off after that.

I retreated back to the Internet and logged on to a usenet newsgroup about Bob Dylan, and was greeted with a series of e-mail messages from shocked Dylan fans from other countries, expressing their sympathy and offering their condolences and support. It was touching but reminded me that this was an event from which you really couldn't escape.

[Ravenator]

I was in the 10th grade at the time and actually didnt hear about it untill after my first period had ended because my homeroom teacher (where we got attendance taken) was a History teacher. He was the first one to have the TV on in the school. When i went to my second period class, our teacher had turned the TV's off in order to try and get us to concentrate on something other then what was going on in NY. Shortly after a student was called up to the office and informed that the first tower had fallen. This prompted our teacher to turn on the TV as we watched in disbelief as the second tower came down. A member of the freshmen class that year lost her sister on flight 93. Something that nobody will ever forget, that is for sure.

[skimmy]

At the time I worked for a large NY based bank (Chase Manhattan) out of one of their Wilmington, DE datacenters. I was in a early morning meeting (I remember being very tired from staying up to watch MNF the night before) that started at 8:30am and was originally scheduled to run until 9:15~9:20 to get us out of there before the markets opened. We were on a conference call in the meeting with a few of our NY counterparts, a few of which were at a Chase office at 380 madison ave and the others were at a different office at 60 wall st. No one I knew that worked at Chase was really in danger since they were all at least a few blocks away, but it was just very memorable to me how we all reacted and how that meeting which was originally very heated in discussion had totally changed to everyone being generally worried for each other and each others families well being.

[Kaven]

I remember initially on television people saying it was probably a small plane hitting the tower by accident. When the second plane hit, the tone and demeanor of the coverage changed quickly. Things haven't been the same since.

[StingerNLG]

I was on my way to a work client that morning. I'll never forget it. The company I was seeing was Logotel, a T-Shirt making company off I-70. On my way over there I had heard that a plane had hit the first tower, and at the time everyone thought it was some sort of accident. When I got to the client, they had a big TV in their conference room and people were glued to it. By the time I got inside the second plane had hit. We just watched the TV for the next few hours in utter disbelief. The feeling in my gut when I watched the towers go down was something I'll never forget.

As soon as people started to figure out this was al-Qu’eda, all I could think was "It's on."

I'll never forget that day.

[DrUnk]

I'll never forget that day also, although I'd like to. I'm man enough to admit being glued to the tv, and crying, 'til I just couldn't watch anymore.

[AA-Raven]

on my Honeymoon down at Disney....remember well, we were going to go to 1 of the parks on the shuttle bus when the driver told us that all the parks were closed and that we needed to go back to our rooms, we asked why, and she simply stated turn on the TV and your see....been married now 5yrs....but the 11th is something your never forget, even more so cause I'll always be celebrating my marriage just a few days before it happened

[SykesvilleRavensFan]

I was at work (no radio, no TV). A friend of mine worked in New York and started emailing me about what was going on and sending pictures. I was stunned. I told some of my co-workers what was going on and we got a radio and turned it on and started listening. At that time I worked next to BWI airport, so when the plane hit the Pentagon the owner of the company got everyone together in the conference room and sent everyone home for the day.

The thing I remember thinking was so eerie for days afterwards was driving to work and not seeing any planes in the sky.

[BaltimoreRon]

I also remember how eerie it was without planes in the sky. And when you did hear one, every head around would turn up to look at it, as if it was the first one they had ever seen.

[flraven]

I was at work as well, at the Alex. Brown Building in downtown B-more. The guy in the cube next to me told me that the first tower was struck, then my boss and I went into one of the conference rooms to watch the coverage on CNN on one of the huge TV screens. That's where we saw the plane hit the second tower. Many people filtered in and out of the room, taking in the awful scenes. At about 11am, they let everyone go home, partly because the Alex. Brown Building was one of the tallest in downtown B-more and being on the east edge of town, might be a target. No one knew what to think.

We were a part of Deutsche Bank which had their main office building right next door to WTC, and that building was ruined when the towers fell. I kept remembering all the times I went to the WTC, taking the PASS train from New Jersey to the station underneath. We had a couple people in my dept (IT) up there that day, and they made it out okay, having to walk/run up to the ferries near Chelsea Piers to get across into NJ.
We also had offices in several of the WTC buildings, but no one was harmed. As for all those who perished that day, we shall never forget.
:usa: :patriot: :usa:

[Greg]

It was 1 week before my daughter was born and I just got back froma Doctors appointment,and there police were all over.
My son, Joey, was born on the 17th. Amy was past due with him and sleeping when this all happened, I was just getting to work when the second one hit. I thought "they must be confused, they probably got a report from somebody talking about the first accident." By the time I got to my cube it was clear there was no confusion.

My dad (RIP) called Amy that morning and asked how she was doing, not knowing he woke her up. She said "fine" and he asked if the news was bothering her and then kind of joked "if that doesn't get you in labor nothing will." She asked what he meant and then she finally realized something big was happening.

[ravenmaniac]

I was pulling up to work at Price Waterhouse in Linthicum at the time. I had Stern on the radio and they saw the plane fly in to the tower out their window. They thought it was a helicopter or something at first. We were supposed to have an all hands meeting that morning but when the second plane hit and the plane hit the Pentagon, we all started watching coverage on the web and in an office w/a tv. That was the end of work for that day.

[SykesvilleRavensFan]

I listen to Howard Stern on Sirius all day while I'm at work and he replayed the show he did that day. It was very interesting to listen to his broadcast because Cabbie and Ralph called in and they were in their respective apartments downtown and could see everything that was happening. Their coverage was probably better than what we got from TV that day.

[ravenmaniac]

How did Stern manage that? I thought they weren't going to allow him to take any of the tapes with him?

[Losac]

How did Stern manage that? I thought they weren't going to allow him to take any of the tapes with him?

He got them in the settlement with CBS after they sued him. That's all they have been promoting lately is "the tapes", and on Labor Day weekend they played all-request bits from over the years.

The Stern 9/11 show was very good. It is interesting to hear how much he has changed his tune over the years though. On those tapes, he was screaming for war and to blow up the Arab countries, and even to go into Iraq to get Saddam (they played the tape from 9/11/02 as well). Today, he is a staunch opponent of the war and criticizes Bush over it every chance he gets.

[SykesvilleRavensFan]

I agree, he has really come full circle on his views about the attack and what our response should have been to it, but the coverage that day was really great. I think that his views that day are what he really feels, but Howard has his own agenda and it's all about him and his career.

[ravenmaniac]

I'd really like to know what he is like today. I haven't listened since he left free radio.

[SykesvilleRavensFan]

Howard was born to be on Sirius -- the show is great. Artie is extremely funny. I don't like some of the other people on the show now -- Sal the Stockbroker and Richard Christy. They are just too gay for me. But the show is really great and Howard doesn't have to rant about being censored any more.

[F Angelos]

I was woken up by my brother who is a pilot for United who told me before the second plane that we were under attack. No planes fly anywhere near Manhattan at that altitude and if one is going down they are going to try their hardest to crash it into water not fly full speed into a building. The amazing thing is if you read the 9/11 Commision report we didn't send out fighter planes to stop Flight 77 until 20 minutes after it crashed into the Pentagon! Pilots said they were told to fly towards the Atlantic Ocean because the Russians were sending missles at us! WTF?

[Losac]

Howard was born to be on Sirius -- the show is great. Artie is extremely funny. I don't like some of the other people on the show now -- Sal the Stockbroker and Richard Christy. They are just too gay for me. But the show is really great and Howard doesn't have to rant about being censored any more.
Say what you want about Richard and Sal, but their prank phone calls are some of the funniest stuff I have ever heard.

[SykesvilleRavensFan]

Say what you want about Richard and Sal, but their prank phone calls are some of the funniest stuff I have ever heard.


The prank calls are great - no doubt about it (my turban is dirty was hysterical). But the gay stuff is nauseating. Today was so over-the-top gay that it made me sick.

[Bez513]

The prank calls are great - no doubt about it (my turban is dirty was hysterical). But the gay stuff is nauseating. Today was so over-the-top gay that it made me sick.

Agreed....very very gay stuff...but it was funny. Enjoyed the Bubba (who I really don't find funny or entertaining) vs. Dee Snyder. I will agree as much freedom Stern has now he doesn't go overboard with the f-bomb every minute.

[Merlin]

I was in DC in my office which is 2 blocks from the White House. The office manager asked everyone to "stay in the building" after all the rumours were rampant -- I decided with a friend to take off at that point by car.

Took 3 hours to get out of the city to the burbs and since I got to the city by train, had to find a rental car at Rent a Wreck to ultimately make it back to Sparks.

This should not be a political event -- rather we should remember what the event was -- an attack on civilization.

[CrowMST3k]

I was at my High School (Calvert Hall).

I was walking to the bookstore to buy some pencils for my Algebra class, and on the news they had the footage of the North Tower and the gaping smokey hole in the side of it.

The headline on the screen said "Plane crashes into World Trade Center".

And as I was watching...live...I saw the second plane hit the south tower.

It was then that I went to the Cafeteria and began telling my friends about what I had just seen. It was unreal.

Then in my Algebra class, my Math teacher puts on CNN, and footage of the Pentagon in flames took over the screen.

It was at that time that I knew our country was going to war.

[SykesvilleRavensFan]

Calvert Hall has TVs everywhere?

[camdenyard]

It was ironic that my first visit to NYC for a meeting (with a vendor on 47th St.) was on September 5, 2001. Yep, 6 days before. I came into NY Penn on Amtrak and remember seeing those towers very clearly as we approached the city from NJ. Little did I know that would be the last time I would see them.

I had to go back about 10 days to two weeks after the attack. I was carrying mag tapes and documents that were so sensitive that my company didn't trust a courier. What struck me was that the streets were so QUIET. Nobody was using their horns! It was like a funeral. Because I had some free time, I decided to check out "ground zero". Now, it was difficult getting around, but I did manage find a side street where they had erected a viewing platform out of plywood and 2x4s.

Now let me tell you, unless you were there and saw it for yourself, you could never appreciate the scope of the mountain of debris. TV and pictures I saw never did it justice. And the condition of the buildings surrounding the towers was unbelievable. Imagine thousands of tons of material hitting those building faces. That remains to this day my most vivid memory of that time.

[GirlsKickButt]

Like everyone else, I will never forget the events of 9/11/01.

I was working in Baltimore's WTC. (My company has since moved.) I had just walked into my bosses office, pad and pencil ready for a meeting. Just as I was sitting down, Sig, our president at the time, walked down the hallway and said "A plane just hit the WTC in NY.". Like a lot of you, my though was a small plane had engine trouble and hit the tower. My boss and I, along with a few other co-workers, went to the conference room and turned on the TV. We saw the tower burning. Still thinking it was an accident, after a few minutes, my boss and I returned to our meeting.

Then, another co-worker came down the hall and said "Another plane just hit the WTC!". Again, I went to the conference room and saw the second tower in flames. It was at this point I knew we were under attack.

After watching for about 15 minutes, I returned to my desk, stunned. I then started getting e-mails saying that a plane hit somewhere in DC. At this point, given the name of my office building, fear and panic started settling over me.

Next thing I know, my boss is telling everyone to get out of the building and that they are closing for the day. I grabbed my stuff and evacuated the building, along with every WTC tenant.

As I'm heading home down I-295, I listen to Lopez on 98Rock say the first tower collapsed. At this point, all the disbelief, fear and panic come to a head and I burst out sobbing uncontrollably.

Like everyone else, I spent the day glued to the TV, trying to make sense of everything. I couldn't.

I returned to work on Thursday, with Baltimore City SWAT (including my cousin Doug) guarding the building. I walked into the WTC that day willing to lose my life just to show those bastards they could not and would not stop this American from going on with life.

God Bless America! :usa: