# Sept. 11, 2001: Where Were You?



## exangel (Sep 10, 2011)

Earlier today I posted this as a blog but Vulpes thought that since many others may have a story to tell, it's better suited as a real discussion thread.

September 11, 2001; a huge turning point in the lives of my generation and an unquestionably tragic day for the United States.  Do you remember what you were doing that day?  Do you remember anything about the times during or just after the events that may have just been brushed aside because of the international focus on the US Government and its' next move?





Here's my story.

Earlier that summer when I was still 17, I had gone on a bit of a cross-country trip: First, to Upper Peninsula Michigan (Iron Mountain); then, to New York City and a couple days in upstate (Brewster area) New York.  

I had gone to NYC kind of by accident, I had lost my wallet while in Michigan (which contained my money and my long distance phone card).  My friend Rudy who was finishing up law school was the only person I could reach in my address book by collect call.  So he helped me out and I eventually paid him back but I had to go to his place before I could contact my mother and go home.  This all happened in June and July.  I remember celebrating the fourth of July in Brewster with a friend whom I'd originally met over the internet.  I remember us staying indoors because it rained pretty hard up there.

I remember seeing the WTC on my economy flight home to San Fransisco.  I took off from the LaGuardia Airport and by the time we passed near lower Manhattan we were at a high enough altitude that the effect of looking at the twin towers was like looking at a Lego set.

*September 11, 2001...*
I had just turned 18 years old on the third of September, and I was home in California at my mother's house.  
Being young and having no responsibility, I had been up all night before doing who-knows-what on the internet and probably playing Phantasy Star Online v.2 on my Dreamcast until every last one of my e-friends logged off.  I had DSL there, so I had a dedicated connection, something very much taken for granted nowadays.

The sun had come up, but it was still fairly early in California.   I was getting ready to eat dinner and go to bed.  I went to my room and threw on the TV, planning to play Final Fantasy 7 until I fell asleep.  I went to the kitchen and made myself a salad.  When I got back to my room the local news was replaced by Good Morning America, a special live report*.  The first plane had struck one of the WTC towers (no direct footage of the first impact was being aired as it hadn't been provided to news agencies yet).

I was shocked.  I was pretty scared.  No one was even certain it was a plane at that time.  I didn't happen to have any friends who were likely to be in lower Manhattan, but I woke up my mom.  She told me to wait on calling Rudy until later because he might need to contact his own friends or family.

I realized that my father, a microelectronics engineer that is also such a luddite he doesn't own a television (still doesn't!) -- probably had no idea what was going on.  My mother had to either get ready for work or was gone by this time, so I called my father up on the phone and told him about the plane or missile hitting the tower.  While I was on the phone with my father, the second tower was impacted, and any and all doubt that this was a terrorist attack became certainty.

My father told me not to panic, as, I knew Rudy lived in central Manhattan and rarely, (if ever,) had to go to the financial district.  His ties were to the Bronx which were even further away.  I think my father was panicking about what the Dubya was going to do after the day was over.  I'd never heard of Al Qaeda before this, my father had just enough knowledge from his habit of listening to NPR and actually reading newspapers that someone was going to get blamed and all bets were on Osama bin Laden.
Eventually I got off the phone with him and I can't remember if this was before, or during reports that the Pentagon and anything else were hit (flight 93 in Shanksville, PA).

I went back to my computer, hoping to see Rudy and anyone else of my friends in the New York area if they were available.  One of my friends was there.  He was a guy about my age that I met over the internet originally as well, but he lived in Brooklyn so he had met me in NYC and we went to Central Park together and got ice creams and stuff.  I can't remember his name for sure but I think it started with a "B" so I'll call him Brad.  Brad was on AIM because he was trying not to panic and talk to anyone he could, either to distract him from the news reports or at least give him some comfort.  
I asked him if he was okay and he told me that his little brother went to school in lower Manhattan and was unreachable because all of the cell towers were jammed.  The towers had not yet collapsed when I was talking to him so Brad was just worried about how much chaos his brother was being exposed to or if there was any danger on the transportation routes.  He was also unable to reach his father who worked outside of lower Manhattan but had to pass through there on his commute.   I encouraged him to stay strong, and not to think the worst until all is said and done, but I really didn't know what to say.  It was hard to comprehend discussing the things we had in common that helped build our friendship (we liked the same music and we liked each other but never went further than the date I had with him when I went there).

Eventually he decided to get off the computer and drown himself in some music with his headphones and keep his cell at his side in case his family were to contact him, so I went back to my futon and watched the coverage, willing myself not to be so selfish as to call Rudy when he may need to contact other members of his family and keep his phone clear (he didn't have a cellphone at the time, and I don't know if he had call waiting).

After the towers collapsed that afternoon, I couldn't stand it anymore.  I called him.  He was okay.  He was new to whatever job he'd gotten after finishing law school and passing the bar, and he told me that they just sent him home when he arrived, because no one would be working that day.  He didn't really have much else to say so I let him go, at least satisfied that no harm had come to him or anyone in his immediate family.

I didn't turn off the TV for a couple days but I turned off the one in my bedroom to get some rest.  

I did speak to Brad the next day and his family was all okay.  But his father had lost some of his colleagues and his brother had classmates who lost their parents as far as it was known at the time, so the mood was very downtrodden.


I wound up moving to Manhattan early the next year.  That is a whole different story.

* Good Morning America is ordinarily broadcast on a delayed feed to Mountain and Pacific time zones and live to East and Central only.


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## Guild McCommunist (Sep 10, 2011)

I was in second grade at the time and I really only remember getting called out of school in the middle of the day. They decided to not tell any of the students but my mom knew and picked me up early. She explained everything in the car and I got home and sorta watched the news (this is second grade so "watching the news" is more like "staring at moving images"). EDIT: I do remember, at the time, this was the uncensored 9/11 footage, nowadays there's certain footage that can't be shown (namely people jumping out of the building and other terrible stuff).

My dad made sure to call our Manhattan-dwelling (well, working) friends and family and they were alright. No one I knew was actually hurt or died from 9/11, which I guess is fortunate, but it's kinda odd to feel like I was unaffected (New Jersey is in decent proximity to the city) while other people nearby weren't.

I think 2 years later to the day my parents divorced too. Bad timing, I guess.

But I'm sorry for the loses of your family, it's just hard knowing that maybe people they didn't intimately know are just gone forever. It's just one of those moments I'm sure that takes you back for a second.


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## exangel (Sep 10, 2011)

Guild McCommunist said:
			
		

> But I'm sorry for the loses of your family, it's just hard knowing that maybe people they didn't intimately know are just gone forever. It's just one of those moments I'm sure that takes you back for a second.



Thanks for sharing your memory.  I didn't lose anyone though-- I was just recollecting what the day was like for me.  It was only friends of friends that lost anyone, though I later met individuals in New York who lost friends and family.


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## wrettcaughn (Sep 10, 2011)

It was my first semester at college and I was in my morning English class when a friend came in late and told everyone what was going on.  No one really knew how serious it was though until class ended and we turned on the news at my house.  It's weird how you can remember these things so well ten years later.  I suppose it's like how everyone remembers how/when they heard about the Kennedy assassination.


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## BlueStar (Sep 10, 2011)

These threads make me feel old. I was 20 and hungover.


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## doyama (Sep 10, 2011)

I was working at Gillette in South Boston and I remember crowding around a tiny RCA TV that still had UHF/VHF dials, in a small conference room. I remember thinking when the second plane hit "that isn't no god damn prop plane!" like had been initially reported. I tried calling my friend who worked in Goldman Sacks but I couldn't reach her. I recall this was one of the first time almost every news organization webpage when to 'pure text' just because of the load. I heard they evacuated the Prudential building, though we weren't evacuated in South Boston. I recall thinking that the fallout bunker like basements of our facility would be ideal shelter if anything happened. I think the rest of the day was furiously pressing F5 to refresh my browser and trying to call my parents to let them know I was ok.


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## Presto99 (Sep 10, 2011)

I don't know why I wasn't at school or anything, unless I was just too young to even start school...I remember watching the TV in the morning, and I guess the news was on and it showed the planes crash...After watching it for a bit I went and woke up my parents and showed them. 

I don't remember though, they showed people jumping off the building cause they'd rather die that way instead of being burned to death? And now it's illegal to see that footage or what?


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## 1234turtles (Sep 10, 2011)

the only thing i can recall was that i was in first grade.


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## exangel (Sep 10, 2011)

doyama said:
			
		

> I recall this was one of the first time almost every news organization webpage when to 'pure text' just because of the load.
> ....
> I think the rest of the day was furiously pressing F5 to refresh my browser and trying to call my parents to let them know I was ok.



I totally forgot how much traffic it caused on the internet because I was only using AIM & watching the TV in some level of shock.  Was basically a massive DDOS (Direct Denial of Service) attack except the congestion was genuine due to people all over the world doing the exact same thing you were.


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## AlanJohn (Sep 10, 2011)

I was 4 and sleeping.
And my dad was helping the people out there...
I was so young I didn't even know what was going on...


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## Depravo (Sep 10, 2011)

I was getting drunk on Scrumpy Jack and playing video games (either PS1 or Dreamcast). In Scotland of all places.


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## machomuu (Sep 10, 2011)

I was in first grade in my classroom.  I didn't know the magnitude of the situation until a year later, though.


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## Necron (Sep 10, 2011)

I was 9. I woke up and saw all that stuff on TV. I was kinda shocked.


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## AlanJohn (Sep 10, 2011)

machomuu said:
			
		

> I was in first grade in my classroom.  I didn't know the magnitude of the situation until a year later, though.


Same thing here...
I only found out about it and understood when I went to school in 2002.


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## Jasper07 (Sep 10, 2011)

I was in a centreparks (a kind of vacation appartment thing) because we couldn't enter our new home yet. I think I was 6, I was playing with lego in the 'living room', my mother got a call from my uncle who said there were terrorists attacking the USA. So I watched for a minute and then got back to lego (gimme a break, I was 6).
My mother said we were safe because we were in a forrest, but we don't even live near America.


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## Blaze163 (Sep 10, 2011)

I was at school. When the news came in, we were all sent home. School closed for the rest of the day. We weren't told why, but frankly we didn't care. Afternoon off. When I got home I saw my dad's girlfriend watching the footage of the towers falling on the news. I thought she was watching Die Hard or something. Took me a few minutes to figure out it was real. Everyone was silent in school the next day. Nobody knew how to deal with it.


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## Nathan Drake (Sep 10, 2011)

I was personally in first grade, I believe. I remember seeing the news and such, but I wasn't personally affected to any degree, so not much of what I saw stuck. 

Off topic shiz:



Spoiler



I honestly wouldn't know jack about the incident if America wasn't the king of dwelling. I mean, 10 years later, and we're still using 9/11 as an excuse for just about every action we take in the middle east, no matter how much further of a hole we dig ourselves into.

We shouldn't have to use such terrible memories in an attempt to move the country forward. It's like people that can't accept that something bad happened, you can't change it, and dwelling on it is ultimately the most harmful course of action you could take. I easily acknowledge that many lost their lives, but we can kill and kill and kill, and those people will never return.

An eye for an eye, etc., etc., etc.


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## prowler (Sep 10, 2011)

Was in primary school at the time, I honestly can't remember.





			
				Blaze163 said:
			
		

> When the news came in, we were all sent home. School closed for the rest of the day. We weren't told why, but frankly we didn't care.


You got sent home because of 9/11? 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



We wasn't even allowed to go home when 7/7 happened even though school was a mess and everybody (read: year 7/8s) was freaking out saying it's going to happen here (ah, high school memories).


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## Fudge (Sep 10, 2011)

AFAIK I was at the grocery store with my mom (was only 4 at the time). She heard the news there and from what she tells me was shocked. I can't remember any of it though.


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## exangel (Sep 10, 2011)

Nathan Drake said:
			
		

> I honestly wouldn't know jack about the incident if America wasn't the king of dwelling. I mean, 10 years later, and we're still using 9/11 as an excuse for just about every action we take in the middle east, no matter how much further of a hole we dig ourselves into.
> 
> We shouldn't have to use such terrible memories in an attempt to move the country forward. It's like people that can't accept that something bad happened, you can't change it, and dwelling on it is ultimately the most harmful course of action you could take. I easily acknowledge that many lost their lives, but we can kill and kill and kill, and those people will never return.
> 
> An eye for an eye, etc., etc., etc.


It wasn't my intention to open a discussion where criticism of US political sentiments would be brought to this thread.  
I really think you should start a different one for this type of commentary or a blog rather than hiding it in a spoiler in my thread.  I don't want others to be tempted to respond to this kind of thing like I already am.


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## Deleted_171835 (Sep 10, 2011)

I was in kindergarten so I remember absolutely nothing.


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## Vulpes Abnocto (Sep 10, 2011)

We were just North of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
I didn't hear anything about the situation until around 10AM.
I was 21 that year. We were finishing up a townhouse we'd been building.
We don't have a radio on our jobsite because it's hard enough to hear one another over the compressors and saws already.
Our backhoe operator asked if we'd heard about a plane flying into the world trade center. He had heard it was a small plane. We actually joked around for a while about how drunk the pilot had to be to not notice such a big fucking building.
Then about an hour later the same operator comes back and says that both the towers had been hit by planes....
It was then that the situation began to sink in.

My boss told us all to take our lunch break early, and we huddled around his truck, listening to the reports on the radio. 
Around this time we began seeing pairs of fighter jets breaking the sound barrier overhead, streaking toward nuclear power plants and dams. Covering them, just in case there were more attacks to come. 

We finished work that day in eerie silence, without the joking that usually accompanied our work.
Each of us keeping one eye on the skies.


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## Deleted User (Sep 10, 2011)

{{}}


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## SamAsh07 (Sep 10, 2011)

Living in the past and thinking of those memories only damages you more from the inside. Well I never visited US, and most probably never will.

On that day long back in 2001, I was a 11 year old. I was playing around with my toy cars and action figures (ah those were the days) while Dad was listening to the news regarding the World Trade Centers, and my reaction then was "big whoop, just a building, I'll continue playing". As a kid, the world doesn't matter to you, and you can't really blame me for that sentence, I was "11".

But ofcourse now that I think of it, it may be saddening but I'll be honest, I really don't care. Time and time again, lives are lost. Be it loved ones, friends or just some random person. We can't do shit about it. However, we can take some time from our life and pray for the goodness & well being for our families & friends, ones that are alive and living with us today because you know, time will change again one day. We should relish the moments we currently can experience, not dive into some 10 year old tragedy.


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## signz (Sep 10, 2011)

Oh, what a fucking bad day...

Well, I was at home, watching Dragon Ball Z on TV, then suddenly the TV station switched to news about what just happened - 2 planes flying into WTC.
I went to my parents, only to see they were seeing the same, thinking it was some movie or something (I actually thought that as well, movie trailer or something like that). Well, then we sat there, watching the news and we were quite shocked... But, oh well, I was kinda sad that I couldn't finish watching the DBZ episode (come to think of it, I think I never did see the rest of that episode).

I mean, yeah. It was and is a really sad event, but what I kinda hate is, that every year, around that date, German TV stations are showing the exact same documentaries, movies, news, conspiracies.. blah blah blah... Don't get me wrong, I feel really sorry for those who lost their friends and family, but isn't enough enough?


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## nasune (Sep 10, 2011)

I was at home, mourning the loss of my grandmother who had passed away a couple of days before that. And honestly, shocked and appalled as I was, it was all a blur to me (though I know that I've seen it all live on TV). I just couldn't bring myself to care for that, not in comparison to losing my grandmother.
It might seem a bit callous, but the truth is that a personal loss will always hit you harder than a tragedy which involves strangers.


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## DarkLG (Sep 10, 2011)

I was 10 or 11 and I thought to myself why is it fallen straight down instead of two it's side.


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## Jakob95 (Sep 10, 2011)

I was in second grade when this happened.  I remember my Dad came into school early to pick me up and brought me home.  I remember how I looked at the sky and literally saw both of the towers and smoke around them, you were able to see them  from Queens Blw.  I came home with my dad and we turned on the TV and all the channels were showing what was happening.  My mom worked in Manhattan that day and she was around 8 blocks away from the World Trade Center.  I remember the whole time my Dad was trying to call my mom but all the cell phone networks didn't work.  I was really scared for that whole day and really didn't understand why this was happening.  My mom called us back in like 2 hours because she was waiting in line to use one of those telephone booths, and she told us she was alright and everything.  All the trains/buses were closed so she had no way of going to Queens.  She found some group of woman that were able to take her on there car to Brooklyn, so she went to my uncles house who lives in Brooklyn that day.  She told me that when she went in the car she glanced one more look on the Twin Towers and saw how one of the towers fell/collapsed on it self at that instance and everyone started to scream.  She told me she saw lots of people running away from the towers and they had blood, glass all over themselves.


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## Deleted User (Sep 10, 2011)

I wasn't even old enough to remember,but Im SUPER glad my parents we went to Connecticut to visit my mom's side of the family a day before the incident.


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## exangel (Sep 10, 2011)

SamAsh07 said:
			
		

> We should relish the moments we currently can experience, not dive into some 10 year old tragedy.



Though I understand and to some extent agree with you, the negativity you spewed in your post is really disturbing.  Of course it's not good to wallow or force oneself to relive tragedies -- but that's *not* the purpose of having memorials or giving reverence to those who _did_ lose their family members or colleagues, as well as reflecting on what we, as a country, lost.

It makes my stomach physically ill to see how younger people perceive the study of history, or of war as unnecessary (I know you didn't specifically say that but I've heard this from plenty of individuals who are younger than me and zero who are older than me). And the idea that people shouldn't memorialize their loss, or reflect on what life was like at the time of September 11, that pisses me off.  

Having genuine gratitude for what we do have, and for what's possible in the future, requires an appreciation and understanding of the of the past. And I would say especially of the wars and tragedies.


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## m3rox (Sep 10, 2011)

Nathan Drake said:
			
		

> I was personally in first grade



First grade?  Wow, you're young.  I was in 11th grade, I woke up and got out of bed, my mom was all like "come look at this".  So I look at the tv and see the footage of the first plane crashing into the building, then the second one live (it was like 6 AM or something like that).  Crazy stuff.

Bin Laden won, IMO.  Look at what all happened since then.  The world is paranoid, the US invaded Iraq and Afghanistan, there is so much prejudice against anyone who practices Islam, etc..

The world needs to try and revert back to a pre-9/11 state.


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## iggloovortex (Sep 10, 2011)

i was in third grade and my mom came to pick me up, i was in the bronx so i didnt see anything on the way home except for jets flying around. when i got home i was looking at the tv, and i still remember even more jets flying around outside my window. the next day at school the principal announced it and even though we were young and it shouldnt have affected us i remember a strange somber silence from everyone


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## emigre (Sep 10, 2011)

I was eleven and had started secondary school. I remember the next day and everyone was going how we should blow Afghanistan up. I remember saying we should all calm down. Yes, I was always a liberal lefty sort who based his logic on reasoning.

I'll remember it not for the event itself but the dire consequences it led to. The gung-ho President with our delusional Prime Minister which has ultimately led to millions of innocent people dead, the alienation of a religion and how we made the world a more dangerous and intolerant place.


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## exangel (Sep 10, 2011)

emigre said:
			
		

> I'll remember it not for the event itself but the dire consequences it led to. The gung-ho President with our delusional Prime Minister which has ultimately led to millions of innocent people dead, the alienation of a religion and how we made the world a more dangerous and intolerant place.


Very well said.


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## yusuo (Sep 10, 2011)

I remember being in sixth form and getting home from school to have this playing on the TV, it was shocking and I knew it was a "where were you when....." moment. I was glued to the tv for hours listening to all the information and speculation flying around about who it was, Islamic extremist?

I also remember thinking (and still do) that what they did was a pretty amazing thing, that it must of taken great planning and good foresight to make something like this happen, don't get me wrong I don't condone it one bit, but you have to think of all the preparation that went into what must of been an hour of flawless execution, on their part.


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## dickfour (Sep 10, 2011)

I woke up, took a shit, and went down stairs to make some coffee. I noticed the towers were on fire, though to myself  "the world will never be the same". Made my coffee, sat on the sofa and sipped it while watching the towers fall.


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## frazzledazzle (Sep 10, 2011)

Bowling on my 7th birthday.


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## _Chaz_ (Sep 10, 2011)

John Hancock Elementary School.
Mrs.Shaeffer's 5th grade class.
Library.

I was reading a magazine about science (can't remember what it was about specifically), when the librarian started to cry after a phone call.
I overheard her talking about her daughter being on a plane in New York and teachers and staff gathering around and comforting her.
After that, the school was let out early, but we had to wait on the black top for our parents to pick us up (in retrospect, it was an awful idea to make the kids stand outside in a large group when there were terrorist attacks going on).
Went with my sister and my mother, who looked really upset, to pick up my older sister at the middle school. Everyone sat in the car, us children asking questions, and my mother trying her best to answer them.
We got home and every channel was a news story, I remember being angry at this.

I learned about what happened that day several days later in full. I didn't quite understand, but I knew it was a bad thing, and began to choke up a little.


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## I am r4ymond (Sep 10, 2011)

I was only 4 years old when it happened. I didn't know WHAT was going on....all I did was play around the play structure and took silent nappies in preschool.


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## Blood Fetish (Sep 10, 2011)

I was 22 years old and driving into work (I am on the west coast). I got to work and they said some terrorists did stuff and I could go home and still get paid, so I went home.


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## Deleted member 473940 (Sep 10, 2011)

If I remember correctly, I was in Austria/Vienna. Fifth grader back then 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





.


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## Paarish (Sep 10, 2011)

IIRC I was at home. I didn't really understand back then, but I knew it was bad


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## MEGAMANTROTSKY (Sep 10, 2011)

I was in eighth grade English class when it occurred. I was bewildered. I tried to convince myself that it was a preview for a terrible action movie. When the camera wouldn't waver for ten minutes, I realized it was actually happening. I was glum for the rest of the week.


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## Sora de Eclaune (Sep 10, 2011)

I can't remember. It was such a shock to me at the time (I had an imaginary friend who I pretended worked in the twin towers... I don't know why. Could've been because I thought that was the Daily Planet.) that I blocked the entire time out of my mind. I know I was snapped into reality then, however.


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## Deleted_171835 (Sep 11, 2011)

emigre said:
			
		

> I'll remember it not for the event itself but the dire consequences it led to. The gung-ho President with our delusional Prime Minister which has ultimately led to millions of innocent people dead, the alienation of a religion and how we made the world a more dangerous and intolerant place.


I cannot agree with you more. To be honest, I'm not sure what's worse, 9/11 itself or what happened after.


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## Linkiboy (Sep 11, 2011)

I was 8, it was gym class, we were all suddenly called out of the gym and into a classroom with a TV, where we all saw what was going on. I remember being pretty scared, because I lived on the New York/New Jersey border ATM, and it probably was an hour by car.


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## Gahars (Sep 11, 2011)

I was in second grade at the time. I actually remember the moment it happened; we were in class, doing typical second grade activities. The teacher got a phone call (that part is a bit hazy), and kept on going like nothing had happened. None of us even noticed until students seemed to be randomly called down to the office (I later found out that these kids all had family who worked in New York).

I didn't know what actually happened until I got home and saw the news, and I didn't really get the full impact of the story until a little bit later.

Looking back on it now... it seems kind of surreal, to say the least.


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## doyama (Sep 11, 2011)

Am I the only person here who is over 35 or something? You're all making me feel old being in primary school when it happened.


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## WolfSpider (Sep 11, 2011)

I was six years old and all I remember is thinking that something might happen in Chicago.


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## Shadowlurker (Sep 11, 2011)

I was on the toilet with a radio on :X Yep i heard about it while having a poop


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## Magsor (Sep 11, 2011)

I was home playing pokemon yellow on N64...
then i watched the second plane crash live on CNN.
I immediately tough about fight club.


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## Harsky (Sep 11, 2011)

I can remember in that the days before 9/11 I was SUPER hyped for Super Mario Kart Super Circuit for GBA and also wanting to follow the news about the Japanese Gamecube launch. I think it was my mum who broke the news that something terrible happened in America when I got home from school that day. After that, all I could focus on was the rolling news and that sense of feeling that maybe there's more to life than video games.


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## DeMoN (Sep 11, 2011)

At school.  Some teachers discussed it, others didn't mention it at all.


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## Dialexio (Sep 11, 2011)

I was in third grade. It felt like a typical, beautiful day. Soon, the students were being signed out one by one, and a PA announcement said that there was an "accident at the World Trade Center." I didn't learn of the incident's severity until I was signed out of school and turned on the TV at home. Every single one of them was knocked out except for WCBS-TV. (We didn't have cable at the time, so we had the local antenna channels.) There was footage of the airplanes crashing into the World Trade Center, and the Twin Towers collapsing. I was in shock from the events. In all honesty, I can't recall whether they covered the other two planes that crashed in Pennsylvania and the Pentagon at the time. I remember that CBS 2 kept talking about it 24-7 for the next two weeks, and many businesses in NYC stayed closed for a few days.

I'm grateful that this event hasn't affected me directly, but it could have. My dad worked very close to the Twin Towers at the time, and was offered a job in one of them.


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## Yeloazndevil (Sep 11, 2011)

I was in 10th grade history class.


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## omegasoul6 (Sep 11, 2011)

In kindergarten...I didn't really see anything out of the ordinary.


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## DarkShinigami (Sep 11, 2011)

me if my memory is right it was a normal day at my elementry school.  bear with me i prefer not to keep the mundane memories too long and keep with me the memories i cherish.


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## jamesaa (Sep 11, 2011)

No idea can't remember. I was 13 at the time, so I would say I was probably at school.


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## Hakoda (Sep 11, 2011)

I was in elementary school, mom pulled me out. She was panicking but her clueless son apparently made her feel better and she sent me back.


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## tlyee61 (Sep 11, 2011)

idk too young to remember but probably in school.


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## PurpleEyesOfDeat (Sep 11, 2011)

I was 10 when this happened, hmm I think I was in England hanging out with my mates.

[SnobbyEnglanderStereotype] So we probally didnt care [/SnobbyEnglanderStereotype]


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## Densetsu (Sep 11, 2011)

I was a college student in California at the time of the attack.  I remember going to my university that Thursday morning at 6:30am, and as I entered the Student Commons building to grab some breakfast before heading to my first class, there was a guy lying down on one of the benches in front of the Student Commons entrance, crying.  I hadn't watched the news that morning, so I didn't know what was going on.  I thought, "whatever he's crying for, it can't be _that_ bad" and I walked past him into the building.  

I went to my first class at 7:30am (Advanced Japanese), and about an hour into the class, there was a university-wide announcement about the attack on the WTC.  We were instructed to turn on the TV and tune in to CNN, so class ended early that day.  Two hours later, another university-wide announcement came on the PA system that the entire school would be closed down for the rest of the week.  The announcement said that "all non-essential personnel were to be evacuated immediately."  

I was researching the effects of vitamin D3 on cancer cells back then.  I started my research back in March 2001.  I had been using the same cell line for half a year, changing the cell culture media (nutrients) every day to keep them alive.  The announcement to evacuate meant that I couldn't go into the lab to work on my research that day.  That was fine, but the problem was that I still had to go into the lab to change the culture nutrient media so my cell line wouldn't die.  As soon as the announcement to evacuate was made, I immediately headed to the lab.  I just wanted to change the media really quick and then I'd go home.  But when I got to the science building, all the lights were off.  The elevators had been shut down, so I ran upstairs to the 5th floor where my lab was.  I swiped my card key through the card reader by the door, but the LED on the card reader said "Invalid ID."  I swiped it again and again, and kept getting the same message.  They had already begun to lock down all the buildings.  So basically I was locked out of the lab.  I went home, hoping that my professor would still have access to the lab so that she could change the nutrients for all the cell lines.  

It turned out that my entire university was shut down until the following Monday, and _no one_ was allowed into any of the buildings for 4 days.  That meant that not even my professor could get into the lab.  When I finally was able to go back to the lab, all the cancer cells I was working with had died.  So the 9/11 attack had indirectly destroyed 6 months' worth of research that I was working on.  

At the time I was really pissed off that I had wasted half a year on research that ended up getting wiped out, but that was nothing compared to the loss of so many other people.  I finally knew why that guy was crying on the bench that morning.  He probably had a relative in one of those buildings or on one of the flights.


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## Tonitonichopchop (Sep 11, 2011)

I remember when it happened very vaguely. I was 8 or 9 at the time and watching some children's television show (Don't even remember what) and my mom came into the basement and took over the tv to tune into the news. She had supposedly received a call about the first plane crashing from my grandparents, but I didn't know that at the time. So she turned on the news and saw they were reporting the first crash as an accident, so I just kinda sat there and waited. Then the SECOND plane hit and she started freaking out and that's when me and my brother who was watching tv with me were sent away. It was kind of weird experiencing something of that magnitude from such a young age, but I don't think it affected me too greatly.


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## Hells Malice (Sep 11, 2011)

I was....young. I forget how young. I remember actually seeing something on the news about it before going to school. I'm Canadian so there wasn't any fuss in our school, but of course...the news went crazy even in Canada. I remember seeing stuff on the news, and I remember some juvenile discussions we had at school between us very ignorant and impressionable kids.


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## ZAFDeltaForce (Sep 11, 2011)

I was 10 years old, about 8pm where I live. I was playing counter strike I think?


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## jpxdude (Sep 11, 2011)

'I remember waking up in the morning, it was literally about 8:50am in the UK, I jump on my computer, and fire up MSN Messenger to see whats up, and check my hotmail...and a few minutes later my cousin IM's me and says 'Have you seen the news?!? A plane has hit the twin towers!!'  I'm like what?  I think he is not being serious.  Not thinking much of it I go and browse the net...

In my sleepiness, I have no general idea of the gravity of what is happening, until I switch on the TV, and news it reporting live.  They show what I think is a replay, until the news reporter in excitement exclaims that a 2nd plane has hit 'the other tower'.  It takes me a couple of hours for this to sink in, because until that point it felt surreal to me, like a movie.


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## redact (Sep 11, 2011)

waking up to go to school and i remember being absolutely livid that dragon ball z was not on because of some stupid urgent news bulletin...
in retrospect it was so selfish of me to be worrying about missing my cartoons while so many Americans were worrying about missing their relatives... but hey, i was only 8 years old


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## ChaosZero816 (Sep 11, 2011)

I was 8 yrs old at that time.

My teacher was discussing the event. She said that it looked like a movie and she can't believe it.
I had no idea what she was talking about. My parents were also talking about it but again I had no clue.

Only a couple of years later do I learn the significance of that event.


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## YayMii (Sep 11, 2011)

I was 5 at the time. The only thing I remember from 9/11 was seeing Bin Laden on TV and saying he was "a bad guy who kills people". I didn't know the significance of 9/11 until a few years later.


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## Costello (Sep 11, 2011)

my contribution is not overly interesting but since I'm asked:
I had just turned 14, and was in high school at the time. Everything happened normally and I went home around 4 or 5pm IIRC. (with time zones... that was slightly after the time it happened). 
Me and my bro turned on the TV to watch our favorite cartoons. But our cartoons weren't on and we had news reports on all channels instead.
We were quite shocked and watched TV for a couple more hours. 

I think from that day on I started showing interest in news reports. I constantly read the news now, like every hour (on Google news). Can't help it.


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## Yatashi Strife (Sep 11, 2011)

I was in the 86th street subway when it happened and people were running and freaking out, and when i came out of the subway all i could see was abunch of smoke... i was scared shitless...


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## R2DJ (Sep 11, 2011)

I lived in the Philippines at that time. I was only 9 at that time and I was enjoying my Crash Bandicoots on my PlayStation. Then my mum told me to stop playing so we can watch the news. Almost all channels had a live coverage of one of the Twin Towers being burned down in the process. Also, the "the devil's face is on the smoke" was a really big deal to everyone. Everyone was making a fuss out of it. Especially in school. It was so impactful that on one day, before teachers would go and start teaching, they'd talk about it. 

Condolence to those who are affected by this world-changing incident. RIP.


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## coolness (Sep 11, 2011)

I was 5 years old when that happened, but i have seen this on the tv thats what my mother told me
my mother tough that there was WAR in U.S.


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## CarbonX13 (Sep 11, 2011)

I was in elementary school, not knowing what had happened until I got home from school that day.


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## ShadowSoldier (Sep 11, 2011)

I was in grade 7.

Woke up, turned the TV on to watch my toons that I watch before school. After finding on our Satellite menu saying "Inspector Gadget" and then seeing every channel about News, I angrily turned the TV off and said "thats fucking stupid, I want to watch my shows". It didn't dawn on me what I was watching as I didn't really care.

Went to school. 10 minutes in, an emergency assembly and we were all forced to watch it. I still didn't care much for it.

Even to this day, I acknowledge it, but I don't care much for it. No reason for me too. Do I feel bad? I feel bad for the people who were killed, sure. But eh... not something I keep track of every year. 

This might piss people off, but the way I see it, the faster we forget about 9/11, the faster we can heal.


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## Canonbeat234 (Sep 11, 2011)

Finally I can post about something that doesn't show any disregard towards the topic. 

Let see if I can remember this clearly...I remembered looking at the news about the ARABS and JEWS arguing, bickering, or some kind of confrontation about a piece of holy land in the middle east (Yes due to my grandmother and mother watching the news like majority of the time I did observe some political aspects at that time; this was before the 9/11 incident) What have happened on that day of 9/11, I was inside middle high school of the ghetto with a literature teacher who can care about your lives let alone your education. I was sitting inside the classroom thinking about 'another normal day in school' until my teacher's eyes looked kind of 'fix' on the situation outside. To the best of her knowledge she didn't know what was going on 'till she got a phone call from the classroom telling her about the incident. She exclaims to us in her blunt expression that one of the twin towers has been struck. I didn't know what the twin towers were so my naivety kind of blocked out the seriousness of the incident and I personally thought it was an isolated issue at that time. 

When I got home due to the half-a-day for all the students and teachers to cope of what have just happened, I rushed to the TV watch my toons and only to find out my precious cable have went offline. I complained to my mother about the cable and she smack me in the face and confronted the harsh reality to me. I just felt annoyed that I will miss one day of cartoon goodness, only to my shock Fox 5 was showing Digimon kind of late in the afternoon.


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## ShadowSoldier (Sep 11, 2011)

Canonbeat234 said:
			
		

> Finally I can post about something that doesn't show any disregard towards the topic.
> 
> Let see if I can remember this clearly...I remembered looking at the news about the ARABS and JEWS arguing, bickering, or some kind of confrontation about a piece of holy land in the middle east (Yes due to my grandmother and mother watching the news like majority of the time I did observe some political aspects at that time; this was before the 9/11 incident) What have happened on that day of 9/11, I was inside middle high school of the ghetto with a literature teacher who can care about your lives let alone your education. I was sitting inside the classroom thinking about 'another normal day in school' until my teacher's eyes looked kind of 'fix' on the situation outside. To the best of her knowledge she didn't know what was going on 'till she got a phone call from the classroom telling her about the incident. She exclaims to us in her blunt expression that one of the twin towers has been struck. I didn't know what the twin towers were so my naivety kind of blocked out the seriousness of the incident and I personally thought it was an isolated issue at that time.
> 
> When I got home due to the half-a-day for all the students and teachers to cope of what have just happened, I rushed to the TV watch my toons and only to find out my precious cable have went offline. I complained to my mother about the cable and she smack me in the face and confronted the harsh reality to me. I just felt annoyed that I will miss one day of cartoon goodness, only to my shock Fox 5 was showing Digimon kind of late in the afternoon.




Luckily here, we have a channel for toons, YTV. They showed their regular programming during 9/11. But that's because their audience is kids right? Can't exactly say "Yeah, we're interrupting your shit because some shit is happening and shit, and some other shit happened, the whole thing is just shitty".


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## gameandmatch (Sep 11, 2011)

second grade, in class then the principal made an announcement and we all left school early to see what was going on.


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## The Catboy (Sep 11, 2011)

I was in third grade and I remember my teacher was called out of the room then walked in white as a ghost and sat down at her desk without a word. Then within minute they told us we had to go home. I got home to see what happened. I still remember the mixed amount of emotions I felt as I watched the news.


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## Ace (Sep 11, 2011)

I was in first grade. I was the weird kid in class who had a hard time talking, because I had to learn 2 languages from scratch and couldn't express myself.

I barely knew any english, and I went to an American school in Bolivia. The fateful day, I'd already had art class. We later heard the news from our teachers and the principle. Because it was elementary school, they called all the parents to pick us up, and they let the teachers go to make their calls to see if their friends and family were alright.

I was too young and perhaps too shunned to understand until 2002.


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## rastsan (Sep 11, 2011)

Working at Ryerson university bookstore through a temp agency (in toronto).   They closed down early sent us home with pay and stayed closed the next day.  
I remember eating out that night.


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## darkangel5000 (Sep 11, 2011)

Well, I was 11 and sat in front of the TV and waited for Dragonball Z to begin. That show was the highlight of my day, since I had only one friend (who was, unlike me, not visiting the gymnasium (a german schoolform), so I saw him only on my birthday and every 2nd weekend), I was really excited about it. Yet my excitement faded quickly away when the second episode was interrupted because of the terrorist attacks on the WTC. So that day wasn't only the saddest day in the history of the USA, no, September 11 and 12 are the saddest days in my whole life.


Remember the friend I was talking about before? Well, his father was an US-American citizen and he died when that whole 9/11-stuff happened. At first I didn't realize what it would mean for me, that he would leave germany with his mother, but on the 12th of September, my birthday, it came clear to me. He wouldn't come to my birthday"party". I've just lost my only friend. I was alone. And so it comes, that I haven't had a single friend or a birthday party for 10 years now. So, while I should be out, drinking with friends, partying and all while the 12th draws nearer and nearer, just waiting to celebrate my 21st birthday, I'm sitting in front of my PC and being depressive. Thank you, Al-Quaeda!


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## R2DJ (Sep 11, 2011)

ShadowSoldier said:
			
		

> This might piss people off, but the way I see it, the faster we forget about 9/11, the faster we can heal.


It's a very significant part of history that will be very hard to forget. It's one of those very memorable things that happened to the world, so significant that it has affected people from around the world.


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## gamefan5 (Sep 11, 2011)

R2DJ said:
			
		

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True, but I actually think ShadowSoldier is right...


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## dgwillia (Sep 11, 2011)

I was in the 4th grade i believe. The ironic thing was we LITERALLY had just came back inside from doing a flag dedication outside, when all of a sudden the adults/teachers were acting wierd and crying. My mom worked at my school, and i remember she grabbed me out of class and had me sitting in a room with a few of the other teachers children. Like an hour later i remember seeing on the T.V the people covered in dust from the tower collapse, and the camera feed switching to somewhere in Afghanistan and showing people happily dancing in the streets, and having no idea what was going on. (My mom hadnt told me anything because she was worried my dad might have been in the Pentagon, since he worked there often during that time period, luckily he wasnt there).

Either way, i didnt really find out what happened until like a week later when i saw my dad and he told me the whole thing after he had gotten back from helping in the cleanup at Ground Zero. 


And as far as forgetting 9/11 goes, its one of those things i think we shouldnt forget. Its just like the rest of history, it may have been a very gruesome day, but forgetting it seems just as wrong as anything else that happened to those poor people on that day.


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## Selim873 (Sep 11, 2011)

I was in the Second Grade, it was just hours after the second plane hit, I was having lunch outside.  My Dad pulled me and my brother out of school while I was eating, my older half brother (6th Grade) was already at my house, as Dad drove 45 minutes away to get him out of school without his mother knowing until his school was dismissed.  He was crying, me and my younger brother (Was in Kindergarten) had no idea what was happening.  My Mom told me everything the next day.  I wasn't allowed to tell my younger brother, my parents waited until he was "old enough" to get the story, as I didn't take it very well after being told.  I'm now 17, a Senior in High School, thinking back 10 years ago about the tragedy, never forget...


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## CCNaru (Sep 11, 2011)

I was at school, didn't know what was going on back then

Used to live in California then moved to NY a year later


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## R4Liam (Sep 11, 2011)

It is the day my father was born that's all I remember and I remember footage of it too.

I have visited ground zero and I must say it was very eerie...


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## Hydreigon (Sep 11, 2011)

If I remember correctly, I was in first grade when this happened, and I was very, VERY sick. I ended up staying at home instead of going to school. I never heard about this until a day later, when my brother explained everything to me.


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## Depravo (Sep 11, 2011)

R4Liam said:
			
		

> It is the day my father was born


11th September _2001_? That can't be right.


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## R2DJ (Sep 11, 2011)

Depravo said:
			
		

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I'm assuming day =/= date


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## dgwillia (Sep 11, 2011)

Depravo said:
			
		

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Time Paradox?


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## Joe88 (Sep 11, 2011)

Depravo said:
			
		

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I think he just means birthday
on the contrary my birthday is the same day that the last attacks on the trade center took place


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## hunter291 (Sep 11, 2011)

Depravo said:
			
		

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Many brave men get 5 year old childs when they are 5


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## exangel (Sep 12, 2011)

gamefan5 said:
			
		

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This is like saying *ignorance is bliss* and also not seeing the irony in believing that saying is the answer.

If you really think forgetting such great tragedies is necessary for healing, then you're investing in a future where no one will ever grow.  
You people who think memorializing this event is just the same thing as opening an old wound really don't understand.  I'm also extremely disappointed any of you really feel that way because I remember the 50th anniversary memorial event of Pearl Harbor in 1991, and memorial of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1995, even though I was only in elementary school then, the very idea that we should just forget about those things and "Get over it" would never cross our minds.  I may not have been there, I may not have lost anyone close to me; no one in my immediate family tree died in Pearl Harbor or WWII either.


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## Akotan (Sep 12, 2011)

I was sitting in front of my TV, unemployed, watching news coverage and reporters losing their minds. It was totally unbelievable news.


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## Chikaku-chan (Sep 12, 2011)

I was only 7.
So Im assuming I was at school, all I remember about it was when I was at home my grandparents were discussing it and that my auntie was there when it happened and how worried my grandparents were about my auntie. she was in the building but left a good 3 hours after it happened.


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## notmeanymore (Sep 12, 2011)

Here's my tale, keep in mind, I was in 2nd grade at the time:

I was at home, trying to figure out why all my fave channels were showing the news instead of cartoons.
I asked my dad, and he explained it a bit, but I didn't get it at all.
It seemed to affect most of my classmates the next day, I think I was the only one 100% confused by the whole thing


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## ShadowSoldier (Sep 12, 2011)

exangel said:
			
		

> You people who think memorializing this event is just the same thing as opening an old wound really don't understand.  I'm also extremely disappointed any of you really feel that way because I remember the 50th anniversary memorial event of Pearl Harbor in 1991, and memorial of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1995, even though I was only in elementary school then, the very idea that we should just forget about those things and "Get over it" would never cross our minds.  I may not have been there, I may not have lost anyone close to me; no one in my immediate family tree died in Pearl Harbor or WWII either.



Ummm what? You can be disappointed all you want, but there are lots of people in the world who believe moving on and forgetting it is the best way to heal from something. I'm disappointed that you would feel that it's okay to memorialize every year (see what I did there?)

Also, I'm sorry, but even if my parents were or family were killed in an accident, I don't want to memorize the date or the reason why they died, I'd just choose to remember them and nothing else. And if you feel that that's wrong, then you can kindly not reply to anything I say again (not meaning to be rude, but lets be honest, there is no way to say that without sounding rude). It's just how I feel, it's what I believe, and it's what I'll stick with. I don't want to be reminded every year "Oh yeah, my family died in a building" or anything like that, and I know for a fact I'm not the only one who thinks that.


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## angelzbl0od (Sep 12, 2011)

i was in spanish class and my mom pulled me and my friend out of class and took us home even tho we were 17 lol she wouldnt stop screaming


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## exangel (Sep 12, 2011)

ShadowSoldier said:
			
		

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I have never done a thread like this before, this is the first time I've ever even written down what I experienced that day, I'm not talking about every year.  
I originally wrote this as a blog, for myself, so I'm a little more protective of what is going on in this thread than I normally would be which is the reason for my reply.  
Your attitude is disrespespectful, you have a right to have it, and I have a right to be disappointed that you're not respecting the topic of the thread.


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## Rock Raiyu (Sep 12, 2011)

I was in 4th grade. I was just in class when the princicpal came over the intercom and told the teachers to turn on the TV and I saw what was happening.

For those of you that don't know, I'm from New York. So after I saw it, I broke down and started crying cause like 95% of my familiy is in New York and I was scared. I was sent home that day, my mom reassured me that everyone in the family was safe. But one of my friends mother died that day. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 We flew out there for her funeral and lived with his aunt and uncle. It was a bit hard for me too since she was sort of like my second mother when my mom wasn't around to watch over me.


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## wyndcrosser (Sep 12, 2011)

Sophomore year in High School. Visited the recruiting station for the Marine Corps the next day... I had to wait until I was 17 though.

Wynd


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## Anakir (Sep 12, 2011)

Grade 8 history class. Another teacher came rushing in telling us what just happened. I thought it was all just a joke until I got home.


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## shadowmanwkp (Sep 12, 2011)

My mother's birthday is on 9/11, we were doing some shopping and heard about a terrorist attack on the twin towers and we thought it was nothing. My mother was quite shocked when she saw the news at 4:00PM, Last Sunday was her 50th anniversary, so it's quite a big coincidence that those two anniversaries collide.


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## ProtoKun7 (Sep 12, 2011)

dgwillia said:
			
		

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Nothing to do with me. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	





In all seriousness, I don't recall where I was.
Either time.


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## GundamXXX (Sep 12, 2011)

I was in the bus. Then i got home and watched the news. then i cried a tad. then i went and played UT99

>_>


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## nando (Sep 12, 2011)

i was on my way to school. structures class. i caught a glimpse of the first plane on tv as my roommate was watching. he was "holy shit omg!" and i was like tell me later i'm late. 

i got on the train and it was creepily empt. then i got on the bus and people were talking with each other which is weird. 

finally got to school and it was closed do to what happened.


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## Jakob95 (Sep 16, 2011)

exangel said:
			
		

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Yep he is right.  Learning and knowing what happened in the past, can help make them not happen again in the future.


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