That's something we should never forget.“Some people did something” -Ilhan Omar
“Some people did something” -Ilhan Omar
THAT would be innerving.
Happened while I was on the road to work. Didn't know until I got to the Math Bdlg. Asked what's up, was told a plane had hit World Trade. I was thinking small, Cessna or something. Made a joke about King Kong then got the full story. First thought, they're coming down (Engineer in me). Students still came to class. I proposed we all stay 15 min, to not give terrorists the benefit of changing our routine. We stayed together that long. Don't remember another thing about that day.
At home that day, but rarely watch daytime TV. Was talking to a family friend on the phone, and she told me to turn on my TV. Saw the first tower on fire, and heard that a ‘small’ airplane had hit it. My friend was asking what the heck kind of pilot would accidently fly into that tower on such a clear day, just as the second plane hit. Right then, I said to her, “This is no accident.” She immediately hung up to call her brother, who lived in SoHo. My brother, on the other hand, had been working for the government (as a Booz Allen Hamilton employee) for 3 years at WTC 7, but I wasn’t worried because he had just moved, that summer of 2001, from Manhattan back to work in the DC area.
Was standing about 3 ft. from the TV, intently watching the events unfold, but it wasn’t until a reporter announced that the Pentagon had been hit that I said aloud, “What the Hell is going on?!?!” (To no one, lol) In stunned disbelief, I grabbed the phone to call my brother because he had just moved to Arlington, only a few short miles from the Pentagon (where he had also previously worked). In addition, I wanted to call my other brother who also lived in the DC area and worked for EDS at the time (incidentally, he’s now working at FEMA’s headquarters in DC). Plus, another (now-retired) brother in the Navy, at the moment of the terrorists’ attacks, was in Jacksonville teaching a class of bored sailors about terrorism response tactics! Wanted to know if he knew anything about how the military was responding.
Of course, none of my calls would go through, as phone lines all over the world were overwhelmed. Couldn’t even get through to my parents, who were local. Somehow, my better-half’s phone call was able to get through to me, though. What to say?
Immediately following the second collapse (again, “WTF?!”), thankfully, my mom showed up at my door to tell me that she had heard from my brothers and that they were all okay. The one in Arlington decided to bike over to the Pentagon (because traffic was at a stand-still) and actually saw the immediate devastation and Romney et al. in rescue mode. By coincidence, he had worked at the Pentagon previously and had just been working at WTC 7 (which later collapsed), so it really hit home for him.
Anyways, I hurried to the school to get my first-grader, then, congregated with the rest of the family at my parents’ house. Just as I walk in their door, I hear my dad barking at the TV, “To Hell with this! Obliterate Afghanistan from the planet … and, let’s nuke the out of Pakistan, while we’re at it.” Already, seems my old man somehow knows where Osama bin Laden is, but of course, it takes our country’s leaders ten long years to find him, lol.
Felt like I was watching a movie as I saw government employees fleeing the Capitol building (which I had just visited that summer) and heard that our president was aboard Air Force One, flying to a secure, underground bunker in Nebraska. Surreal feeling when the official order came in to immediately land all planes in flight across the U.S. And then, there was the crash of Flight 93. Glued to the TV the rest of the night, I was most struck by the desperate individuals holding up photos of their missing loved ones for the camera, pleading for help in finding them. Later, I was more so relieved to learn that one of my sister’s friends had escaped WTC 2 right before it collapsed (he worked for Morgan Stanley).
And, in the days that followed, found it moving how Romanian newspaper editor, Cornel Nistorescu, said of his soon-to-be-famous editorial, “An Ode to America,” that “It is all about the American Spirit and how freedom cannot be crushed.”
An Ode to America
Romanian newspaperman Cornel Nistorescu penned a popular pro-America editorial immediately after the 9/11 attacks.www.snopes.com
THAT would be innerving.
I knew it! You were a college professor or instructor! You communicate in a way that's very similar to a college professor whom I know very well, lol.
Not much but it certainly made Americans about 50% more paranoid about being attacked. I still hear people in medium to small towns talk about being worried about a terrorist attack. Yes, I’m sure the Taliban are targeting your local Walmart, Cheryl.
Not much but it certainly made Americans about 50% more paranoid about being attacked. I still hear people in medium to small towns talk about being worried about a terrorist attack. Yes, I’m sure the Taliban are targeting your local Walmart, Cheryl.
Can't think of anything that changed in my life.
Concur.Not much but it certainly made Americans about 50% more paranoid about being attacked. I still hear people in medium to small towns talk about being worried about a terrorist attack. Yes, I’m sure the Taliban are targeting your local Walmart, Cheryl.
I was in grade school back then so it didn't directly influence my life
If you're gonna bust my balls at least get your facts straight.What about when your father died on July 4th?
I to stayed up all night..watching kids hold up pictures of their moms and dads..looking for them. Cried a lot.At home that day, but rarely watch daytime TV. Was talking to a family friend on the phone, and she told me to turn on my TV. Saw the first tower on fire, and heard that a ‘small’ airplane had hit it. My friend was asking what the heck kind of pilot would accidently fly into that tower on such a clear day, just as the second plane hit. Right then, I said to her, “This is no accident.” She immediately hung up to call her brother, who lived in SoHo. My brother, on the other hand, had been working for the government (as a Booz Allen Hamilton employee) for 3 years at WTC 7, but I wasn’t worried because he had just moved, that summer of 2001, from Manhattan back to work in the DC area.
Was standing about 3 ft. from the TV, intently watching the events unfold, but it wasn’t until a reporter announced that the Pentagon had been hit that I said aloud, “What the Hell is going on?!?!” (To no one, lol) In stunned disbelief, I grabbed the phone to call my brother because he had just moved to Arlington, only a few short miles from the Pentagon (where he had also previously worked). In addition, I wanted to call my other brother who also lived in the DC area and worked for EDS at the time (incidentally, he’s now working at FEMA’s headquarters in DC). Plus, another (now-retired) brother in the Navy, at the moment of the terrorists’ attacks, was in Jacksonville teaching a class of bored sailors about terrorism response tactics! Wanted to know if he knew anything about how the military was responding.
Of course, none of my calls would go through, as phone lines all over the world were overwhelmed. Couldn’t even get through to my parents, who were local. Somehow, my better-half’s phone call was able to get through to me, though. What to say?
Immediately following the second collapse (again, “WTF?!”), thankfully, my mom showed up at my door to tell me that she had heard from my brothers and that they were all okay. The one in Arlington decided to bike over to the Pentagon (because traffic was at a stand-still) and actually saw the immediate devastation and Romney et al. in rescue mode. By coincidence, he had worked at the Pentagon previously and had just been working at WTC 7 (which later collapsed), so it really hit home for him.
Anyways, I hurried to the school to get my first-grader, then, congregated with the rest of the family at my parents’ house. Just as I walk in their door, I hear my dad barking at the TV, “To Hell with this! Obliterate Afghanistan from the planet … and, let’s nuke the out of Pakistan, while we’re at it.” Already, seems my old man somehow knows where Osama bin Laden is, but of course, it takes our country’s leaders ten long years to find him, lol.
Felt like I was watching a movie as I saw government employees fleeing the Capitol building (which I had just visited that summer) and heard that our president was aboard Air Force One, flying to a secure, underground bunker in Nebraska. Surreal feeling when the official order came in to immediately land all planes in flight across the U.S. And then, there was the crash of Flight 93. Glued to the TV the rest of the night, I was most struck by the desperate individuals holding up photos of their missing loved ones for the camera, pleading for help in finding them. Later, I was more so relieved to learn that one of my sister’s friends had escaped WTC 2 right before it collapsed (he worked for Morgan Stanley).
And, in the days that followed, found it moving how Romanian newspaper editor, Cornel Nistorescu, said of his soon-to-be-famous editorial, “An Ode to America,” that “It is all about the American Spirit and how freedom cannot be crushed.”
An Ode to America
Romanian newspaperman Cornel Nistorescu penned a popular pro-America editorial immediately after the 9/11 attacks.www.snopes.com
I can unequivocally say I would not be doing what I do now if it wasn't for that day.
I was off work that day, and glued to the Tv like so many
Never forget.
“Some people did something” -Ilhan Omar