9/11/2001. 25 years ago

[SillyOldBear]

I know many of you were not even born 25 years ago, and others were really too young to remember, but lets use the cafe today to share the memories we have.

I remember turning on the TV and seeing this image that made no sense at all. A giant hole in a building with smoke boiling out. The announcer finally cleared that up for me.
I remember a man in a white shirt desperately clinging to the outside of a window many, many stories up.
I remember 3 people holding hands as they jumped. They chose to fall 80+ stories as opposed to being burnt alive inside the building.
I remember all the shocked looks we gave each other at the office. Nothing about what happened made any sense.
I remember how the world came to our aid, and how Americans did anything they could to help the victims.
Those are just a few of my memories. I hope some of you will share yours.

 

[Sunspots]

I had just put my two year old down for an afternoon nap, came downstairs and was walking through the living room when there was a newsflash on the BBC. The second plane had just hit.

It was just so horrifically shocking. Even though I was thousands of miles away and have no real connection with the USA other than visiting for holidays a few times I just sat there crying. A couple of minutes later my friend knocked on my door to see if I was watching it. We sat together until it was time to collect our older children from school. All the other mums in the playground had the same shocked expression. It was so surreal, I've never felt that way before or since. It felt like the world was ending and in a way I suppose it did - it's certainly not been the same world since.

Thinking of everyone who lost loved ones on that day and the days that followed.

 

[1Lefty]

I was at work in the repair lab, one of the techs was listening to a radio and said that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center. It didn't register at first, but then the supervisor wheeled a tv into the breakroom, and we watched as the second tower was hit. Just a sense of disbelief.
The general manager of the facility could barely speak as he sent us home early, saying something like "Just be with your families"


peace

 

[cymbele]

I was also at work in a lab testing parts when one of the technicians got a phone call from his wife and announced the first strike of the twin towers - although we didn't know it was the first plane. We all turned to the Internet which was jammed and so were all the phones. We got to see the collapse in the lobby where the janitors setup tvs. One guy was frantic he couldn't contact his son who was working there. I never found out the outcome. It was a clear day where I was at the time.
My daughter who was in elementary school at the time came home after school and I guess she was told about it (being in fifth or sixth grade). She was also told not to dwell on it and told us her parents who were transfixed on the tv after work.

An earlier generation can recall the time of what they were doing at JFK's assassination. I understood at the time of 9-11 that it would be forever burned in my memory.

 

[DarkNightshade]

I was at school but, since I was 8 years old, I did not understand what it was exactly. I think my mom probably shielded me from it at first, but when I finally understood I was horrified. I can remember the feeling; the same I have today when I see it. I'm not from the US, but everyone felt the horror regardless.

 

[Fbr27]

I was 5/6 years old and saw everything on TV on a game room on the apartment complex where I lived. I remember even when the second plane hit the South Tower.

I knew what terrorism was and I knew it was a very bad thing that happened, but I really didn't have the notion of the historical event until some years later when it started to show up in history books and docs.

2001 was so many years ago, but it really feels like a very recent thing in my mind. Maybe because the entire world and modern history since then is consequence of that event in some way or another.

I wonder how we are going to describe that period between 2001 and whatever we are going through now. It feels like a lot has changed (9/11, the internet, social media, the rise of China and of right wing parties, climate change, COVID), but we still aren't exactly solving those problems very soon.

 

[Windhover]

I was sitting in front of the television, feeling my baby son. I was numb with shock as I watched the news, and I wondered what sort of world it'd be for him.

 

[FlamingoWrangler]

I was working as a substitute school nurse. I had spent the first part of the morning keeping a suicidal child safe while waiting for her to be transferred to a psychiatric hospital. She was 5. ❤️‍🩹 She transferred out about 5 minutes prior to the school going on full lockdown. No one in, No one out. I was notified a plane had hit the tower. I was already feeling bewildered by the child in such distress. I found a tv. Schools let out early.
Hugged my kids a little tighter. Talked and watched the TV coverage trying to comprehend it.

Today, my oldest participated in a local memorial service. He gave a talk about the significance of the fireman’s bell. He also commanded the honor guard. It was a lovely service. Some tears fell…