Many details escape me, but I know where I was and what I was doing when I first heard that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. I was playing volleyball in the gymnasium of a community college in Upstate New York, about a three hours drive north of New York City.
There were probably thirty or forty of us in class on that day. While we were all spread out across two courts playing volleyball, a professor walked into the gym and said something to the effect of A plane just crashed into the World Trade Center. We’re under attack.
Maybe she didn't walk into the gym. Maybe she ran into the gym. I don’t know. I didn’t notice her entrance. I was concentrating on the game I was playing, possibly looking forward at the net, or looking backward toward one of the other players on my team who was getting ready to bump the ball. At that exact moment, the way that everything unfolded is unclear to me.
I have a feeling that the professor who told us about the attack was a woman. It seems to me that she came running into the gym and called out to everyone that a plane had crashed into the twin towers before going over to our volleyball coach and quietly telling her the news. I could be wrong, though.
What I do know is that the professor’s announcement didn’t have much of an impact on my classmates and I. Her words got lost in the vastness of the gymnasium. Their magnitude and the extraordinariness of their claims didn’t penetrate the ordinariness of our daily lives.
People didn’t immediately stop what they were doing. They didn’t experience a sudden sense of shock. Rather, they continued playing volleyball until the end of class with a slight awareness that something was happening in New York City.
Personally, I wasn’t very affected by the attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001. I didn’t lose anybody in the attacks, and I wasn’t near any of the locations where the attacks happened. Because of this, I don’t have many lasting memories or impressions from that day. There are, however, two feelings that I felt very strongly on that day, and in the days that followed as well. I don’t think I will ever forget how those feelings felt.
As I learned more about the attacks, I began to feel vulnerable, as if I were completely exposed to and unprotected from hidden dangers that could strike at any time and any place. On that day, I had the feeling that what was happening was just the beginning of something that was going to get bigger and bigger, that it was something that was going to continue onward at an unimaginable scale. On that day and the days that followed, I had the feeling that everyone I knew could be taken from me, or me from them, at any moment. It was the first time in my life that I felt truly vulnerable.
I also had a very strong sense of strangeness, as if the world around me had somehow been replaced by a similar but alternate one.
In the early hours of that day, people somehow stopped looking like ordinary living people. I remember specifically listening to the radio in my car as I drove home from that volleyball class and looking at the people in the cars driving past me. Their faces were completely slack and expressionless. They didn’t look like they were alive anymore. They looked like something else, something not quite human in the sense that we know it.
As I walked through the streets near my home that night, I remember looking up at the sky and it was silent. For many days after, it remained silent. In the space that was normally bustling with the steady motion of airplanes and their lights, there was silence. That silence seemed to echo the silence in the hearts and faces of the people I had seen throughout the day.
More so than the attacks, I think, it was the emotional reaction I saw in so many people that day, the shock and fear that made the biggest impression on me.
Image Credit: Labeled for reuse on Flicker.
Where were you on September 11, 2001, when you first heard about the attacks that occurred on that day? Please share your story in the comments below.
Great article. Remember 9/11 as if it was yesterday even though I live in the UK. I will never forget or forgive as so many people including 3000 fire fighters lost their lives
Thank you for reading and commenting. It was definitely a very dramatic and unforgettable event for those of us who are old enough to remember it.
I will never forget it, I was in a record store in Saarbrücken, it was my best friend's birthday and I bought an experimental Sonic Youth album
The cashier told me the news that first one and just now a second plane had hit the WTC. We knew it meant war. Shitty day. Somehow that day was in fact a goodbye to the 20th century, the old paradigm.
Image from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SYR4:_Goodbye_20th_Century
It certainly did change a lot of things. Thanks for sharing. I used to be a huge Sonic Youth fan. It's kind of interesting to have such an event connected to an album or a band.
I was a senior in high school and had already signed up with the Marines, waiting to go to boot camp after graduation. I'm kind of a news junkie so I already knew who Osama Bin Laden was and all about Al Qaeda. I turned on tv while getting ready for school and the first tower was just hit. My first thought was "they got us." I knew exactly who did it, or at least thought I did.
My buddy Mike was coming to pick me up for school, he signed up for the Marines too. He pulled up, we looked at each other and both knew we were going to war and this shit was for real.
Wow! That must have been pretty intense, not yet being a member of the Marines, but being enlisted and knowing that you are pretty much guaranteed to be going into action. I can't imagine that. Thanks for sharing!
I was on my way to work The Latin Grammys at the Forum in Los Angeles . We had been setting up for two or three days for the big show that it is and we were going to go to air(or and tape that night). I was on my way to work and I had the Howard Stern show on and being 6:00 am in the morning on the west coast I had missed a lot of what had happened earlier. Howard did a great job of actually not being in character and giving "news" . I got to work at the Forum and we hung out for a bit till production realized the show wasn't going to happen and we struck all the trucks and went home . That started a long run of shows that didn't happen I think the I set up for the SAG awards that year but they cancelled them because we invaded Iraq on that day. I also worked the World Series that year and it was kinda crazy with all the new security.
Thanks for sharing. With the time difference between the east and west coast, that must have been a very surprising way to wake up. I do remember a lot of events being postponed in the aftermath of 9/11. I'm not very in touch with sports, but I believe the Superbowl was postponed that season too and has been held at a later date ever since.
(in asia)
I was playing Runescape on the internet when my sister and mum turned on the TV. Everyone thought it's some movie, but then there's the news broadcast banner overlay..
Thanks for sharing. I can see how that would look like some kind of action movie, maybe a new Diehard or something. How did many of the people where you lived react?
I was working at a TV station, but I was in an office with no TV. I walked past one to go to the kitchen and saw a burning building, but didn't pay too much attention at first. Later I learned what was happening. It did affect me mentally as I generally work in a tower block near an airport. Friends of friends were killed that day. I don't know who was really responsible, but it was thought up by some really sick and desperate minds.
Thank you for sharing. I can see how that would make you feel unsafe at work. One of my old friends who saw the attacks in person from across the water at a convention center in New Jersey was affected similarly. For months afterward, the sound and sight of airplanes gave her panic attacks.
I haven't let it put me off flying when I need to. We can't let them win. Thanks for the transfer
Yo estaba trabajando en Carrefour y en un pequeño descanso en los pasillos donde estaban a la venta todas las televisiones en todas aparecia la misma imagen, una imagen que pocos podremos borrar de la mente por lo irreal de la situacion, era tan ilogico e irreal que pensabamos que podria tratarse de alguna pelicula o algo asi, con el primer avion no fue un gran susto, solo un accidente mas ocurrido en el mundo, pero al segundo avion ya se vio que algo muy extraño estaba pasando.
a mi aunque yo vivo en España y no tenia ningun amigo o conocido de EEUU me afecto muchisimo, durante meses y meses incluso años e estado afectado.
nunca e llegado a olvidar eso, me afecto tanto que siempre e estado en la búsqueda de la verdad y no solo de las fuentes oficiales como la tv o los periodicos, busque y busque porque algo no me encajaba y con el tiempo despues de ver distintos tipos de informacion de muchas fuentes distintas me e echo mis propias conclusiones de lo ocurrido, aunque a muchos les resulte irreal o asombroso, yo creo que fue un derribo controlado posiblemente usando termita, pero hay aun muchas incognitas y estoy seguro que algun dia la verdad sera descubierta y cada uno de los culpables seran castigados por la ley.
Gracias por compartir tu historia.
Hay una cantidad abrumadora de evidencia que apoya la idea de que las torres fueron derribadas por una demolición controlada. Sin embargo, esa historia es tan difícil de creer como la que nos han dicho, que los edificios se derrumbaron debido al calor del fuego de los aviones.
Espero que este español sea comprensible.
Hey muchisimas gracias por el envio de esos 2.000 SBD no me lo esperaba y realmente lo aprecio mucho.
Felices fiestas!
I appreciate your contribution. Happy holidays to you as well!
Si se entiende perfectamente, yo después de mirar todo tipo de teorías y aunque es muy difícil de creer veo una posibilidad muy grande de que sea un autoatendado es decir una demolición controlada y es muy posible que usando termita mas que nada por muchas evidencias, se encontraron restos de termita, también la velocidad de caída de las torres con columnas de acero a una velocidad de caída que no entra dentro de lo normal, en lo que nunca hay que caer es en el fanatismo, algunos conspiradores caen en un fanatismo que no es bueno creyendo y haciendo creer que su versión es la razón y la verdad porque nadie sabe exactamente que paso y es muy difícil saber que paso, nunca son buenos los extremos o el fanatismo, algunos fanáticos pelean con tal de llevar su razón, ninguno que sea extremista de nada ganara en credibilidad, todo lo contrario la perderá, es mejor tener una mentalidad abierta y debatir usando la lógica la argumentación y las pruebas si las hay o teorías si tienen lógica y buenos argumentos y siempre intentar ver fuera de la caja todas y cada una de las posibilidades que no son pocas de una forma deportiva y con mentalidad abierta.
es muy difícil saber lo que paso realmente y cuales son los intereses ocultos, que casi seguro sean de terrenos, poder, petroleo o dinero, pero sea cual sea lo que causo el 11s hay criminales sean quien sean que tarde o temprano tendrán que pagar muy caro.
I worked nights, so I was asleep for most of the day. I woke up and walked into the den where my family was aghast and watching the news.
I said that we needed to immediately locate and eliminate every jihadist, communist, and Klansman in the country. My father is extremely liberal, but agreed with me.
Two days later, after the barrage of #fakemainstreamnews excuse-making and blaming America, my father was already toeing the party line.
What strikes me in regard to the attack was how soon the narrative turned against destroying the ideologies that are hostile to America and liberty.
Thank you for sharing. I tend to remember the push for war that came after that day, but upon thinking about it more, I do remember many people saying our foreign policies had led to the attacks. I'm guessing that is what you are referring to. I really don't have any clear memories of what was being said on the news at that time. I didn't have a TV in those days and got filled in mostly by catching bits of information at work.
I have a post coming up about the neocon position in the next couple of days; part of that post will deal with the push to war. I was once a neocon, but there is a central part of that ideology that is wrong, and why the war was fought with the wrong objective, and lasted too long.
To be honest, I really don't know what it means to be a neocon, nor what positions they take, but I look forward to reading your upcoming post.
Thanks for the Steem Dollars - I am close to completing my post: I wrote waaaay too much and have to edit it down
Let me know when you get it posted.
I was at home. When I saw it on TV my first thought was "So finally someone managed to bring back one of the US wars home".
That was before the second plane, when they still said accident.
Of course I also didn't know how correct that thought was, with it being a US trained and financed terrorist that was the leader.
Did you see these events from outside of the U.S.? I am pretty sure that you are not American, but I don't have your story straight yet. If you were outside of the U.S. on that day, can you tell me a little more about the reactions your friends and family had?
East Germany.
The reaction, as far as I can remember, was similar to mine: It had to happen sooner or later. But really most didn't speak that much about it.
After all people are not much interested if it is far away. Like now: Someone drove a truck into the christmas market in Berlin. TV stopped the program and wasted an hour saying they don't know what it is, repeating it again and again. In Bagdad or Kabul such a thing happens weekly but you dont even get a five line in newspaper. But does it make a difference if people die here or in Kabul? No - that is my stance but I am quite unique with it.
Back to topic: As I said we didn't had such a shock as the USA. But I think the reaction was way stronger in western Germany then in the east. Some people there were really shocked. I think thats because of the stronger connection, like of those who lived or drove daily near an US base.
Thank you for sharing this. I'm very interested to hear different perspectives on events like this, the reactions and opinions from all over the world.
You are right that there are violent events happening all over the world on a daily basis and our reactions to them on an individual level and at the level of country are very different. Often what doesn't affect us personally is hard to understand and empathize with. Distance can create a great emotional barrier.
I was born in 1996, I have no memories of that day. I must have been in the first few months of kindergarten.
I didn't learn anything about it until later in life. I think I first learned about it from a friend of mine who I started hanging out with at the age of 11 or 12. I remember one time people were discussing conspiracy theories on the event and he told them they were idiots and that he knows it was a terrorist attack because he witnessed it personally. When he said this I imagined that he must have been living in New York at the time which made sense because he had a poster of the NYC skyline before the towers fell but later he explained the true story.
He said that he witnessed it at school, here in California, because on that day there was a television in the classroom to watch some kinda educational program but when the news broke, that is what was on TV. His teacher was freaking out about it and explained to the kids that it was a big deal and it was very scary, he bought into all of the propaganda and today he has a strong distaste for Muslims but he was also raised in a deeply racist household.
I'm glad I was raised better and that that particular story wasn't pushed on me with such fear by adults I trusted. He's not the only friend of mine that tells me they watched it on TV at school. I don't know the truth of the story, nobody does really but I think it's pretty fucked up the way they pushed fear into the hearts of so many Americans to justify flexing of the imperial military power that we're all forced to pay for.
I often wonder what will become of the official narrative of these events as time unfolds.
Similar to your friends, I witnessed the Challenger Space Shuttle explosion on TV while I was in grade school. I remember thinking at the time that I had just seen something I wasn't supposed to. The teachers in the room were in shock and didn't know how to react. They just stared at the TV screen in disbelief. It was a really strange moment to be a part of.
Presidential suite in Sofia, Bulgaria.. chilling with heated bathroom tile floors
Thanks for sharing. Just out of curiosity, do you spend a lot of time in presidential suites?
no, just that time for about 10 days
Sounds like a nice place to be.
I had taken the day off to knock out some honey do list chores that I've been putting off from working too many hours. We had Fox News on and from the moment the story broke we couldn't stop watching and praying the entire day and night. I remember approx. 1/2 hour after after the first plane hit that morning one of my employees called me and asked if he could go home, for his cousin worked in the World Trade Center and he wasn't sure which tower.
His cousin was one of the fortunate to exit and survive this horrific event.
I can't imagine how his cousin must feel to this day.
One of my coworkers at that time had a sister who lived a few blocks from the Trade Center. At the same time, his parents happened to be in Washington D.C. on a short getaway. Everyone in his family turned out to be okay, but I remember meeting him at the restaurant we worked at and watching the news on TV in the bar together. He had gotten a text from his sister early in the day reassuring him that she was okay, but he couldn't get a hold of his parents for a long time and was very visibly shaken.
It was a very strange day.