CALIFORNIA
"Where were you on 9/11?" as remembered by those in California that day.
California resident Justin remember his Uncle Victor, one of the pilots lost on 9/11.
1. "My Uncle, Captain Victor John Saracini, was the Captain of United Flight 175. Flight 175 was the plane that struck the South Tower on 9/11, that morning.
All the hijacked planes were headed to California. My Uncle flew out of Logan in Boston that day, which was not his traditional route. He lived in Pennsylvania and he was flying out from Logan Airport in Boston to come out and see me. He was an influence in my life, I didn't have much of a father growing up and and as a pen pal and father figure - he was mine.
He was on his way out to see us but he didn't make it.
I was pulled out of 8th grade Spanish class that morning by two gentlemen I'd never seen in my life and they drove me to my house. They didn't say much in the car and I walk in the door and I can smell my mom's cooking. Because Vic was coming out to see us she had to make his spaghetti and meatballs. I saw my two sisters and my mom in the corner, holding each other and crying. I knew our life was was different but I had no idea why.
Later, while most commercial air travel was still restricted, we ended up flying out of Sacramento to Pennsylvania. My aunt, my mom's sister Vic's wife, had really gotten disinterested in speaking to all of the government officials that had to come in and see whether or not our family was involved in any of this mess so she requested that my mom come. The next weeks to months were a whirlwind. We we had taken our time as a family in all ways - in love, character, trust, and memories - memories is what we still have. We had police guiding us all the way during his service from Pennsylvania up to New York, up to the the site and back. Vic had a couple thousand people celebrating his life for his funeral, he always joked he'd have to his mom and and the person telling his story.
So in looking back on the events of that day and how our nation changed and how my family changed - some for the better some for the worse - I know Vic would want us all to be proud to be Americans, I know he'd want us all to be proud of who we are and I know he'd want us all to get after life the way he did. He grew up very very poor in Jersey on the Jersey shore and as a father figure he said,
'Me becoming a captain for United Airlines is no different than you playing shortstop for the Yankees.'
Which was my dream and it was also the dream of his daughter Brielle who wanted to play shortstop for the Yankees, I guess we all do a little bit. She wrote Derek Jeter a few days after 9/11 and told him that my dad would have wanted me to reach out and tell you about my dream. Jeter gave her a phone call one day and they became fast friends. She now works for the Yankees.
There were many differences during the couple of months after 9/11. I got pulled out of 8th grade and spent a couple months after 9/11 on the East Coast and there were many differences from my time there to a few months later when I came back home to Sacramento, California. There was distrust early on back east along with fear and a little bit of anger but we all came together all of those emotions quickly turned into fearlessness and courage. When I came back to California, it wasn't the same. We were still in, at least around me, the tragic mindset and the tragedy stayed here for some time.
Part of me was real proud that something that happened on the opposite coast affected us that way and part of me also admires how the East Coast handled 9/11, at least from a 13 year old's perspective. This nation was forever changed that day our family was forever changed that day. We owe an incredible amount of gratitude to all the service workers and all the Americans who gave their part and still to this day are suffering from that. I believe it's true that 9/11 is one of the only attacks on our nation and including our nation that has a continuing death toll. Every single day, that death toll is still live. As service workers continue to pass from the tragic events and their efforts thereafter, they are too to be remembered.
- Justin C
All the hijacked planes were headed to California. My Uncle flew out of Logan in Boston that day, which was not his traditional route. He lived in Pennsylvania and he was flying out from Logan Airport in Boston to come out and see me. He was an influence in my life, I didn't have much of a father growing up and and as a pen pal and father figure - he was mine.
He was on his way out to see us but he didn't make it.
I was pulled out of 8th grade Spanish class that morning by two gentlemen I'd never seen in my life and they drove me to my house. They didn't say much in the car and I walk in the door and I can smell my mom's cooking. Because Vic was coming out to see us she had to make his spaghetti and meatballs. I saw my two sisters and my mom in the corner, holding each other and crying. I knew our life was was different but I had no idea why.
Later, while most commercial air travel was still restricted, we ended up flying out of Sacramento to Pennsylvania. My aunt, my mom's sister Vic's wife, had really gotten disinterested in speaking to all of the government officials that had to come in and see whether or not our family was involved in any of this mess so she requested that my mom come. The next weeks to months were a whirlwind. We we had taken our time as a family in all ways - in love, character, trust, and memories - memories is what we still have. We had police guiding us all the way during his service from Pennsylvania up to New York, up to the the site and back. Vic had a couple thousand people celebrating his life for his funeral, he always joked he'd have to his mom and and the person telling his story.
So in looking back on the events of that day and how our nation changed and how my family changed - some for the better some for the worse - I know Vic would want us all to be proud to be Americans, I know he'd want us all to be proud of who we are and I know he'd want us all to get after life the way he did. He grew up very very poor in Jersey on the Jersey shore and as a father figure he said,
'Me becoming a captain for United Airlines is no different than you playing shortstop for the Yankees.'
Which was my dream and it was also the dream of his daughter Brielle who wanted to play shortstop for the Yankees, I guess we all do a little bit. She wrote Derek Jeter a few days after 9/11 and told him that my dad would have wanted me to reach out and tell you about my dream. Jeter gave her a phone call one day and they became fast friends. She now works for the Yankees.
There were many differences during the couple of months after 9/11. I got pulled out of 8th grade and spent a couple months after 9/11 on the East Coast and there were many differences from my time there to a few months later when I came back home to Sacramento, California. There was distrust early on back east along with fear and a little bit of anger but we all came together all of those emotions quickly turned into fearlessness and courage. When I came back to California, it wasn't the same. We were still in, at least around me, the tragic mindset and the tragedy stayed here for some time.
Part of me was real proud that something that happened on the opposite coast affected us that way and part of me also admires how the East Coast handled 9/11, at least from a 13 year old's perspective. This nation was forever changed that day our family was forever changed that day. We owe an incredible amount of gratitude to all the service workers and all the Americans who gave their part and still to this day are suffering from that. I believe it's true that 9/11 is one of the only attacks on our nation and including our nation that has a continuing death toll. Every single day, that death toll is still live. As service workers continue to pass from the tragic events and their efforts thereafter, they are too to be remembered.
- Justin C
Written Stories:
2. "I was in the 6th grade at the time. I was asleep, but started waking up when i could hear muffled voices coming from the living room. My dad burst into my room, shook me to make sure i woke up and in Spanish said,
'Get up, the Twin Towers are under attack.'
I remember thinking what are the Twin Towers? Why is this such a big deal that it’s freaking him out so bad?
I had gone back to sleep since school didn’t start till about 8:30.
When I got to school all three of my teachers I had before lunch started their classes by giving a speech about what happened and what the world is going through. Around 4th period, the Principal went on the loudspeaker and called everyone out, just to stand outside their class. I remember walking out next to my friend Andrew and telling him,
'Dude, this isn’t cool. Whatever happened, it’s big.'
We had a moment of silence and then kept the day going. It wasn’t until I got home that i then started watching TV and seeing all the replays. Over dinner, I remember my parents gave me and my sister a hug, reminded us how much they love us and to just remember that no matter what happens, try to do good. Any good, every day."
- Arturo L.
'Get up, the Twin Towers are under attack.'
I remember thinking what are the Twin Towers? Why is this such a big deal that it’s freaking him out so bad?
I had gone back to sleep since school didn’t start till about 8:30.
When I got to school all three of my teachers I had before lunch started their classes by giving a speech about what happened and what the world is going through. Around 4th period, the Principal went on the loudspeaker and called everyone out, just to stand outside their class. I remember walking out next to my friend Andrew and telling him,
'Dude, this isn’t cool. Whatever happened, it’s big.'
We had a moment of silence and then kept the day going. It wasn’t until I got home that i then started watching TV and seeing all the replays. Over dinner, I remember my parents gave me and my sister a hug, reminded us how much they love us and to just remember that no matter what happens, try to do good. Any good, every day."
- Arturo L.
3. "I was in fourth grade in Sacramento. By the time we arrived at school our teachers had been told to inform the classes so that any students who had seen news reports wouldn't end up being the ones to inform the rest of us.
I don't think I could grasp what was happening, it just sounded unreal. No one knew for sure what was going on, just that it was really bad. I remember thinking that I'd never get to go up into the World Trade Center. A year or two before, my parents had taken me on vacation to New York to visit a family friend. We went up into the Statue of Liberty, and did all sorts of other touristy things, but the evening we planned to go up into the World Trade Center I got nauseous I didn't want to go... so we didn't.
When I got home I panicked at last. I asked if our family friend was okay, had mom heard from them? I was so relieved when she explained that they didn't live in New York anymore.
A few days later, we learned that our school's principal's ex-husband had been on the plane that crashed into a field where the passengers fought back (United 93). Her children had lost their father because of the terrorists.
Even all the way across the country, in a tiny little private school, September 11th had stolen the life of someone important to someone that I knew."
- Johnna R.
I don't think I could grasp what was happening, it just sounded unreal. No one knew for sure what was going on, just that it was really bad. I remember thinking that I'd never get to go up into the World Trade Center. A year or two before, my parents had taken me on vacation to New York to visit a family friend. We went up into the Statue of Liberty, and did all sorts of other touristy things, but the evening we planned to go up into the World Trade Center I got nauseous I didn't want to go... so we didn't.
When I got home I panicked at last. I asked if our family friend was okay, had mom heard from them? I was so relieved when she explained that they didn't live in New York anymore.
A few days later, we learned that our school's principal's ex-husband had been on the plane that crashed into a field where the passengers fought back (United 93). Her children had lost their father because of the terrorists.
Even all the way across the country, in a tiny little private school, September 11th had stolen the life of someone important to someone that I knew."
- Johnna R.
4. "I was a freshman in high school. The bus to school would play top 40, 107.9 The End. I listened to "Battle of Los Angeles" by Rage Against the Machine on my Discman. As we approached the school, I took my headphones off. There wasn't the usual Britney Spears playing in the bus, it was the news. They were reporting live from outside the Pentagon where a plane had struck. Wait, what now? Then offhand, almost casually, oh yeah one of the towers at the World Trade Center in New York has just collapsed.
Wait, what??
My first class was Home Ec. and the teacher wheeled in a TV. We sat silently watching the footage on repeat of the second plane striking and of the towers collapsing.
Second class, English, same thing.
Wait, what??
My first class was Home Ec. and the teacher wheeled in a TV. We sat silently watching the footage on repeat of the second plane striking and of the towers collapsing.
Second class, English, same thing.
Third class band, our band director told us we would remember this day for the rest of our lives.
Fourth period, lunch. Rumors abound with a bunch of teenagers in a pre-smartphone era.
'San Francisco was also attacked, but the East coast media isn't covering it!'
'We nuked Afghanistan!'
All non-military flights in the US were grounded so when a helicopter flew a few hundred feet over the quad at lunch we all hit the deck and screamed."
- R. W.
Fourth period, lunch. Rumors abound with a bunch of teenagers in a pre-smartphone era.
'San Francisco was also attacked, but the East coast media isn't covering it!'
'We nuked Afghanistan!'
All non-military flights in the US were grounded so when a helicopter flew a few hundred feet over the quad at lunch we all hit the deck and screamed."
- R. W.
5. "I was in my mid 30s, enjoying my new in Southern California. My husband and I had moved into our house months before and were in the process of finding new jobs.
We had a friend who worked for the Walt Disney Company that had given us tickets to Disneyland. We decided to go to on 9/11. That morning, we woke up to the phone ringing. It was my sister and she said,
'Guess where you’re not going today. Turn the news on, now.'
We turned the TV on just in time to see the second plane hit. Most of the day was filled with phone calls. We went over to the nursing home where my mother lived. She always had CNN on anyway, and that day was no different. We watched the news and consoled each other the whole day.
We had a friend who worked for the Walt Disney Company that had given us tickets to Disneyland. We decided to go to on 9/11. That morning, we woke up to the phone ringing. It was my sister and she said,
'Guess where you’re not going today. Turn the news on, now.'
We turned the TV on just in time to see the second plane hit. Most of the day was filled with phone calls. We went over to the nursing home where my mother lived. She always had CNN on anyway, and that day was no different. We watched the news and consoled each other the whole day.
We tried to convince my sister to come to my mother’s place, but she said that the only way she could get there was to drive by the Federal Building in LA and she didn’t want to do that because it was rumored to be a target.
Another rumor was that Disneyland might have been a target, since it is an icon and so representative of innovation in the US.
- Lydia P.
Another rumor was that Disneyland might have been a target, since it is an icon and so representative of innovation in the US.
- Lydia P.
6. "On any other day I would have been watching cartoons as I ate my morning cereal. On 9/11, I saw Grandma had the news on for some reason. This was probably around 6:30 or 7 am. I had never even heard of the WTC and now I was watching it collapse.
My uncle was certainly interested, staring at the TV as he adjusted his tie and put his jacket on. Years later he said that he and my aunt drove all the way downtown before they realized all government buildings were closed.
At some point afterwards I wrote a journal entry of my memories. It included lines like,
'We knew we were at war: a war on terror.'
Even though my own memories are not significant and I probably didn’t understand what was happening at the time, I’ve always enjoyed reminiscing about it with others.
I feel like mine is the last generation to be able to do that."
- W. T.
My uncle was certainly interested, staring at the TV as he adjusted his tie and put his jacket on. Years later he said that he and my aunt drove all the way downtown before they realized all government buildings were closed.
At some point afterwards I wrote a journal entry of my memories. It included lines like,
'We knew we were at war: a war on terror.'
Even though my own memories are not significant and I probably didn’t understand what was happening at the time, I’ve always enjoyed reminiscing about it with others.
I feel like mine is the last generation to be able to do that."
- W. T.
7. "SoCal in the first grade, no memories of 9/11. What I do remember is 9/12, we planted a tree at school.
That was the highlight of my early childhood education even though teachers were all depressed for some reason."
- M. L.
That was the highlight of my early childhood education even though teachers were all depressed for some reason."
- M. L.
8. "I got up that morning to put a bunch of checks in the bank, then go to the library in El Toro for a book sale. Things seemed normal at the bank, but as I was driving down to El Toro, Bill Handel was on the radio and talking about someone crashing an airplane into the World Trade Center. I thought,
'Some idiot in a Cessna, hope not too many people got hurt...'
It eventually became clear it was a big plane - an airliner.
I parked at the library and went to a sports bar next door. It was pretty early in the morning and the place was packed, people were crying and the scene of the crash was on the TVs. The bartender poured glasses of wine to the brim, and I guess was similarly generous with other people's choices. All I wanted was a glass of milk and I paid $5 for it!
I watched as the 2nd plane hit. After I finished my milk I drove home, knowing things wouldn't be normal for a while."
- Alex Carter
'Some idiot in a Cessna, hope not too many people got hurt...'
It eventually became clear it was a big plane - an airliner.
I parked at the library and went to a sports bar next door. It was pretty early in the morning and the place was packed, people were crying and the scene of the crash was on the TVs. The bartender poured glasses of wine to the brim, and I guess was similarly generous with other people's choices. All I wanted was a glass of milk and I paid $5 for it!
I watched as the 2nd plane hit. After I finished my milk I drove home, knowing things wouldn't be normal for a while."
- Alex Carter
9. "I had just moved to Los Angeles from the Inland Empire, and was taking an 8 am Spanish 1 class at LACC, after which I'd walk a couple blocks to open the shop I worked at. I started walking and turned on my phone as usual, but within a minute my mom was calling me. At first, I thought she was messing with me, or maybe she'd mistaken a movie for the news,
'Look up, all flights are grounded.'
I was on Vermont Avenue, just North of Santa Monica Boulevard. Less than a quarter mile away are the Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Kaiser hospital. The KTLA TV station is maybe a mile to the West. In other words, there is ALWAYS air traffic: distant planes to and from LAX and Burbank Airport, and all kinds of helicopters. But they weren't there. Just the eerily empty, hazy sky.
My manager came in a little while after the shop opened and sent me home. I went back to school instead, and joined the crowd that had gathered in the student union to watch CNN. There were at least a hundred students crammed in there, and except for the broadcast, it was completely silent.
I left sometime after the first tower fell. After seeing the people jumping, it was just too much -- I just couldn't take in any more. There were officers down in the subway station. I got on the train, and there were officers on the train. When I got off, there were officers there, too. They looked tense, but everyone else looked dazed. I'm sure I did, too. I must've turned the news on at some point, called my mom back, all that, but the rest of the day is a complete blank.
- Kate Haslam
'Look up, all flights are grounded.'
I was on Vermont Avenue, just North of Santa Monica Boulevard. Less than a quarter mile away are the Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Kaiser hospital. The KTLA TV station is maybe a mile to the West. In other words, there is ALWAYS air traffic: distant planes to and from LAX and Burbank Airport, and all kinds of helicopters. But they weren't there. Just the eerily empty, hazy sky.
My manager came in a little while after the shop opened and sent me home. I went back to school instead, and joined the crowd that had gathered in the student union to watch CNN. There were at least a hundred students crammed in there, and except for the broadcast, it was completely silent.
I left sometime after the first tower fell. After seeing the people jumping, it was just too much -- I just couldn't take in any more. There were officers down in the subway station. I got on the train, and there were officers on the train. When I got off, there were officers there, too. They looked tense, but everyone else looked dazed. I'm sure I did, too. I must've turned the news on at some point, called my mom back, all that, but the rest of the day is a complete blank.
- Kate Haslam
10. "I was 25 and had recently moved in with my ex in the Bay Area. We heard banging on the front door early in the morning and since my ex was half asleep and went to answer. It was our neighbor telling us to put the news on, a plane had hit the World Trade Center. I dismissed it as him being high and thought he was just imagining things.
We turned on our TV and both woke up real quick once we started watching the coverage. When the second plane hit I said,
'What the **** is happening?'
We were glued to the TV for the next hour, but I had to go to work. I drove into the office,which was by the airport, and everyone seemed unaffected by what was going on. I thought,
'Why am I here?'
I tried to call a potential customer and they said,
'We're evacuating our building, I'm not sure why you're calling.'
Our boss finally caught on after hearing chatter about airports being targeted. I went home and my ex, along with other members of his family, were huddled around the TV and watching the reports coming in. Over the next week, you heard about who the hijackers were and people started taking out their anger and hatred. Hard working people being beaten, shot, and killed because they were brown or because they wore a turban. My family is from the West Indies, so I was terrified to go out, even if I did live in the Bay Area. I still can't watch videos or hear stories because I tear up. I finally got to see the Memorial in 2017 and I remember feeling such heavy energy in the area. I can't explain it, it's something that will remain in my mind forever.
- Rishma R.
We turned on our TV and both woke up real quick once we started watching the coverage. When the second plane hit I said,
'What the **** is happening?'
We were glued to the TV for the next hour, but I had to go to work. I drove into the office,which was by the airport, and everyone seemed unaffected by what was going on. I thought,
'Why am I here?'
I tried to call a potential customer and they said,
'We're evacuating our building, I'm not sure why you're calling.'
Our boss finally caught on after hearing chatter about airports being targeted. I went home and my ex, along with other members of his family, were huddled around the TV and watching the reports coming in. Over the next week, you heard about who the hijackers were and people started taking out their anger and hatred. Hard working people being beaten, shot, and killed because they were brown or because they wore a turban. My family is from the West Indies, so I was terrified to go out, even if I did live in the Bay Area. I still can't watch videos or hear stories because I tear up. I finally got to see the Memorial in 2017 and I remember feeling such heavy energy in the area. I can't explain it, it's something that will remain in my mind forever.
- Rishma R.
11. "I had an early morning class at Palomar College and was driving from Camp Pendleton base south to the highway when I heard the radio share a brief report about a plan hitting the first tower. I thought,
'Aw, man, some poor guy in a bi-plane just smacked into that huge building.'
Then, as I continued driving, a newscaster came on talking about the first plane and the flames. I began to think something was fishy when he started detailing and that's when the second plane hit. The sheer terror in his voice as he talked about the rolling flames, the absolute horror of the situation, completely rattled me, and I pulled over at a nearby Starbucks to get a grip on my nerves.
I went inside and told the staff, and they thought I was a lunatic woman...offered me a free coffee to get me out of there. They didn't have a TV on, so no one in there had heard about the second plane yet.
I drove to college and the classes had of course been cancelled, so I went home and tried to find the best way to tell all my kids what had happened. So I told them the truth, let them watch one news footage, and then sent them outside to play so they wouldn't become overwhelmed."
- Victoria Hill
'Aw, man, some poor guy in a bi-plane just smacked into that huge building.'
Then, as I continued driving, a newscaster came on talking about the first plane and the flames. I began to think something was fishy when he started detailing and that's when the second plane hit. The sheer terror in his voice as he talked about the rolling flames, the absolute horror of the situation, completely rattled me, and I pulled over at a nearby Starbucks to get a grip on my nerves.
I went inside and told the staff, and they thought I was a lunatic woman...offered me a free coffee to get me out of there. They didn't have a TV on, so no one in there had heard about the second plane yet.
I drove to college and the classes had of course been cancelled, so I went home and tried to find the best way to tell all my kids what had happened. So I told them the truth, let them watch one news footage, and then sent them outside to play so they wouldn't become overwhelmed."
- Victoria Hill
12. "I was 30, living in San Jose, California.
The first indication I had that something unusual had happened was when I turned on the radio as I started my drive to work. Instead of music, the DJs were passing on news reports, but they were talking about responses, never actually saying what had provoked them. I remember hearing the phrases:
'The president is airborne.' - 'The city of Los Angeles is on full tactical alert' - 'The Trans-America building in San Francisco has been evacuated.'
From that I concluded that something of potentially national scope was going on, so I went back into my apartment and turned on the TV where I got my first look at the two towers spewing out smoke and flames.
My wife was still asleep and I made the difficult decision to wake her up because I knew she would want to bear witness. Looking at her face as she slept peacefully, I felt like crying knowing what I was about to wake her up to. I shook her gently and when she opened her eyes I told her, 'Something's happened. It's bad. Somebody hijacked multiple airplanes and flew them into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. I think we're at war.'
We watched the first tower collapse on TV, then I headed in to work. I heard the report of the second tower falling during the drive.
Most of the rest of the day is a blur. I remember the cashier at the sandwich place I went for lunch, on auto-pilot, asking me how my day was going. I froze up briefly, because what do you say in response to a question like that on a day like that?
'All things considered, I've had better days.'
I also remember the President's speech that evening. After listening to it I called my parents, and in the ensuing conversation I remember saying, 'There was only one thing of significance in that speech: the promise to treat nations supporting terrorists the same way as the terrorists themselves. If he sticks to that, we'll win.'
He didn't, and we, well, that's another story."
- Kyle Haight
The first indication I had that something unusual had happened was when I turned on the radio as I started my drive to work. Instead of music, the DJs were passing on news reports, but they were talking about responses, never actually saying what had provoked them. I remember hearing the phrases:
'The president is airborne.' - 'The city of Los Angeles is on full tactical alert' - 'The Trans-America building in San Francisco has been evacuated.'
From that I concluded that something of potentially national scope was going on, so I went back into my apartment and turned on the TV where I got my first look at the two towers spewing out smoke and flames.
My wife was still asleep and I made the difficult decision to wake her up because I knew she would want to bear witness. Looking at her face as she slept peacefully, I felt like crying knowing what I was about to wake her up to. I shook her gently and when she opened her eyes I told her, 'Something's happened. It's bad. Somebody hijacked multiple airplanes and flew them into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. I think we're at war.'
We watched the first tower collapse on TV, then I headed in to work. I heard the report of the second tower falling during the drive.
Most of the rest of the day is a blur. I remember the cashier at the sandwich place I went for lunch, on auto-pilot, asking me how my day was going. I froze up briefly, because what do you say in response to a question like that on a day like that?
'All things considered, I've had better days.'
I also remember the President's speech that evening. After listening to it I called my parents, and in the ensuing conversation I remember saying, 'There was only one thing of significance in that speech: the promise to treat nations supporting terrorists the same way as the terrorists themselves. If he sticks to that, we'll win.'
He didn't, and we, well, that's another story."
- Kyle Haight
13. "Was in San Diego. I met a girl playing volleyball near the Jetty and we spent all night of the 10th together. On the 11th, I didn't get out of bed until 2 pm.
I was driving to work and had the radio on. Some guy was talking about how he was on the tram under one of the buildings, but I didn't know what was going on. When I got to work, everyone was in shock that I didn't know.
I then started watching everything like the rest of the world."
- Mike
I was driving to work and had the radio on. Some guy was talking about how he was on the tram under one of the buildings, but I didn't know what was going on. When I got to work, everyone was in shock that I didn't know.
I then started watching everything like the rest of the world."
- Mike
14. "I was 13 and getting ready for school. I liked having the news on in the background when I got ready in the mornings. As I saw the tower on fire I thought,
‘I hope everyone got out ok.’
I went to school and asked everyone if they saw the news. One kid said the first plane came from Mexico and then maybe from China. Science was first period so I remember my teacher making a statement about how we need to be respectful and not start the rumor mill about who did it.
I didn’t even know about the second plane until after I got home from school that day. I liked listening to the radio while I did homework but that day they didn’t play any songs. It was heart breaking to listen."
- T. P.
‘I hope everyone got out ok.’
I went to school and asked everyone if they saw the news. One kid said the first plane came from Mexico and then maybe from China. Science was first period so I remember my teacher making a statement about how we need to be respectful and not start the rumor mill about who did it.
I didn’t even know about the second plane until after I got home from school that day. I liked listening to the radio while I did homework but that day they didn’t play any songs. It was heart breaking to listen."
- T. P.
15. "I was in college, my mom left a message on my answering machine while I was still asleep so I had these very strange dreams until I finally woke up- Turned on the news and was mesmerized. I was doing very well in my English class, but had already missed the allotted amount before I would be docked a full letter grade for missing a class. I called school and they said class was still on. I walked through an empty city to school, and there was a note on the building saying class had been canceled.
My mom had me over for baked cookies and we cried. I saved her message on my answering machine until about 10 years later when I moved from the city and I didn’t even have a landline anymore. I had lived in NYC and it was nearly impossible to get ahold of any of my friends. They were all ok, including one who had worked in the WTC until a few weeks prior.
I spent the next week or two glued to MSNBC. The videos were terrifying. You don’t see a lot of them anymore, people jumping out of the towers. You can’t unsee that."
- I. M.
My mom had me over for baked cookies and we cried. I saved her message on my answering machine until about 10 years later when I moved from the city and I didn’t even have a landline anymore. I had lived in NYC and it was nearly impossible to get ahold of any of my friends. They were all ok, including one who had worked in the WTC until a few weeks prior.
I spent the next week or two glued to MSNBC. The videos were terrifying. You don’t see a lot of them anymore, people jumping out of the towers. You can’t unsee that."
- I. M.
16. "I was in a little town south of San Luis Obispo. I had driven from the northern Bay Area, about a 5 hour drive, late the night before. We were selling our house in the Bay area and moving due to my husband's new job. Husband had started the new job and was living in an apartment there.
Our youngest daughter, 22 years old, was with me. She and I were still sleeping when our oldest son called and woke me up.
'Mom, where's dad?'
'Dad has gone to work.'
'Is there any chance he's on a plane?'
He traveled for work often, but I reassured our son several times he wasn't traveling today. Finally I woke up enough to ask why he was so worried. He told me what was happening, and asked again if I was sure that dad was not on any airplanes.
I turned on the TV and watched for awhile and then woke my daughter. I told her what happened and we watched a little more TV until we did the only thing I could think to do - Carry on with the day as we had planned to.
We went out to breakfast then ran some errands for my husband. The freeway was mostly empty, as were the restaurant and stores we went to. The people working seemed glad to see us and we all acted as normal as we could.
Later, I learned that bridges and freeways in the Bay area and in LA were closed. The whole day had an unreal quality."
- M. N.
Our youngest daughter, 22 years old, was with me. She and I were still sleeping when our oldest son called and woke me up.
'Mom, where's dad?'
'Dad has gone to work.'
'Is there any chance he's on a plane?'
He traveled for work often, but I reassured our son several times he wasn't traveling today. Finally I woke up enough to ask why he was so worried. He told me what was happening, and asked again if I was sure that dad was not on any airplanes.
I turned on the TV and watched for awhile and then woke my daughter. I told her what happened and we watched a little more TV until we did the only thing I could think to do - Carry on with the day as we had planned to.
We went out to breakfast then ran some errands for my husband. The freeway was mostly empty, as were the restaurant and stores we went to. The people working seemed glad to see us and we all acted as normal as we could.
Later, I learned that bridges and freeways in the Bay area and in LA were closed. The whole day had an unreal quality."
- M. N.
17. "I was working at home when a friend called and told me to turn on the news. My wife at the time, an Israeli native, told me,
'Now you see what we have to deal with.'"
- V. R.
'Now you see what we have to deal with.'"
- V. R.
18. "I was living in Louisiana at the time, but was visiting a friend in California while I re-evaluated some life stuff. I was supposed to fly home the 14th. I woke up right after the second plane hit, and watched the replays while tears just kind of fell out of my eyes, not crying out loud... just staring and shedding tears. I lit candles for the dead because I didn't know what else to do. I still can't stand cucumber melon scented stuff.
It took two weeks to get my flight switched to an Amtrak ticket and get back home. I remember how quiet everyone seemed the entire trip, and how courteously aware of others they were in their shared grief."
- E.
It took two weeks to get my flight switched to an Amtrak ticket and get back home. I remember how quiet everyone seemed the entire trip, and how courteously aware of others they were in their shared grief."
- E.
19. "I was in the 6th grade and would wake up really early for school because my parents had work very early. They would drop me off at school before heading off for work.
That morning, I woke up and my parents were watching the news. I don’t quite remember how they addressed it to me, or even if they did. I remember having breakfast, getting in the car, and going to school. The fact that that piece is missing tells me that either my parents also didn’t understand what was happening, or they decided to go the ‘la-la-la everything’s fine, no need to worry the 11-year old’ route.
It wasn’t until we were all sitting in the classroom that I started to suspect something was strange about that day. Our teacher immediately just turned on the TV. No attendance. No lesson plan. Just sit down and watch.
I remember not understanding anything that the ‘news people’ were saying.
The reporter was an older gentleman, and I distinctly remember him drilling into our heads how historically significant this was. I remember finding it annoying at the time, how much he kept repeating that we would remember this 'for years and years.'
Our office staff popped in and out of the classroom during the news and we just played games all day. There wasn't any class.
The rest of the day was a blur to me. Probably because I went home and, I assume, my parents went on with their ‘la la la nothing’s wrong, we have young children.’
I don’t remember talking about it with my parents. I don’t remember watching the news with my parents. It wasn’t until years later that I looked back on it in school, that I was able to put two and two together.
- S. J.
That morning, I woke up and my parents were watching the news. I don’t quite remember how they addressed it to me, or even if they did. I remember having breakfast, getting in the car, and going to school. The fact that that piece is missing tells me that either my parents also didn’t understand what was happening, or they decided to go the ‘la-la-la everything’s fine, no need to worry the 11-year old’ route.
It wasn’t until we were all sitting in the classroom that I started to suspect something was strange about that day. Our teacher immediately just turned on the TV. No attendance. No lesson plan. Just sit down and watch.
I remember not understanding anything that the ‘news people’ were saying.
The reporter was an older gentleman, and I distinctly remember him drilling into our heads how historically significant this was. I remember finding it annoying at the time, how much he kept repeating that we would remember this 'for years and years.'
Our office staff popped in and out of the classroom during the news and we just played games all day. There wasn't any class.
The rest of the day was a blur to me. Probably because I went home and, I assume, my parents went on with their ‘la la la nothing’s wrong, we have young children.’
I don’t remember talking about it with my parents. I don’t remember watching the news with my parents. It wasn’t until years later that I looked back on it in school, that I was able to put two and two together.
- S. J.
20. "I was in 4th grade and first heard about it while we were having small group reading which consisted of about five kids and the teacher’s assistant. The school counselor found our group and told us what had happened and that we needed to go back to our classroom immediately. I don’t think any of kids really understood the full gravity of the situation but I remember the school was put on lock-down and we all had an early school day. We waited until our parents came and picked us up and in the meantime we got to play games inside. I guess this was done to keep us all calm.
My mom picked me and my brother up from school and gave us really big hugs. When we got home we turned on the television and I’ll never forget the feeling of watching that news report that day. Just standing there glued to the TV. Everybody in my family just watching stunned.
I’ll never forget that moment.
- J. A.
My mom picked me and my brother up from school and gave us really big hugs. When we got home we turned on the television and I’ll never forget the feeling of watching that news report that day. Just standing there glued to the TV. Everybody in my family just watching stunned.
I’ll never forget that moment.
- J. A.
21. "Sacramento - 7th grade - Picture day. We didn't watch TV that morning, so when I got to school my best friend at the time told me that some 'tourists' got a hold of a plane and crashed it into the twin towers which blew up and fell over. Sounded wild, but I wasn't sure how true it was. Class eventually starts and our teacher is super somber, telling us all what had just taken place. Every period that day was dedicated to talking about it and it wasn't until 6th period that we got to see a TV with news footage of everything which was so surreal.
As soon as school was over I immediately went home and became glued to the TV. My mom was crying, wondering what if they attacked the state capitol building?
Every time I open my 7th grade yearbook, I'm reminded of that day. That's the outfit I wore on 9/11/2001."
- S. P.
As soon as school was over I immediately went home and became glued to the TV. My mom was crying, wondering what if they attacked the state capitol building?
Every time I open my 7th grade yearbook, I'm reminded of that day. That's the outfit I wore on 9/11/2001."
- S. P.
22. "I was in 7th grade and right before heading to school, there was something about the towers on the television.
I didn't think much of it at the time.
First period was Spanish and as soon as I get into the classroom our teacher had it turned on to the news. For every subsequent class until the towers fell, those televisions remained on. I just remember being in this group of twelve year-olds during Algebra 1, watching what was happening in an almost disconnected fashion as the first tower fell. Someone exclaimed in shock, but the reactions were far more numb than many might wish to claim.
That isn't to say it wasn't important or that we didn't care, just that nothing had ever happened in our lives that matched that particular magnitude. I don't think the severity of it all set in for my classmates and I during that long school day.
Yet I can still vaguely remember the faces of my teachers. They knew. They knew what we were seeing and the world shaking implications between the loss of lives and how it would go down in the annals of history. To their credit not one of them made us turn away. Those old, hand-me-down box televisions kept on playing scenes of horror throughout the day as my teachers struggled to find the words to impart to us what had just happened."
- B. T.
I didn't think much of it at the time.
First period was Spanish and as soon as I get into the classroom our teacher had it turned on to the news. For every subsequent class until the towers fell, those televisions remained on. I just remember being in this group of twelve year-olds during Algebra 1, watching what was happening in an almost disconnected fashion as the first tower fell. Someone exclaimed in shock, but the reactions were far more numb than many might wish to claim.
That isn't to say it wasn't important or that we didn't care, just that nothing had ever happened in our lives that matched that particular magnitude. I don't think the severity of it all set in for my classmates and I during that long school day.
Yet I can still vaguely remember the faces of my teachers. They knew. They knew what we were seeing and the world shaking implications between the loss of lives and how it would go down in the annals of history. To their credit not one of them made us turn away. Those old, hand-me-down box televisions kept on playing scenes of horror throughout the day as my teachers struggled to find the words to impart to us what had just happened."
- B. T.
23. "I was 21, an undergrad at CSUS. I had a girlfriend, a car and a great group of friends. Looking back, it's difficult for me to put into words the happiness each and everyday brought me. Anxiety simply wasn't on my radar. After a rough time in high school, I had my stride.
The morning of 9/11, I woke up, ate breakfast and drove over to my friend's apartment. We had planned on playing music all day and then barbecuing (every day was just great). I got to my friend's place, a couple more friends showed and we were setting up our gear when a neighbor told us to turn on the TV.
2001 was a very different time as far as the spread of information is concerned. Now, I can't imagine not knowing within fifteen minutes of the fist strike. In 2001, the first plane hit at 5:46 am west coast time and the first indication anything was wrong for me came about five hours later and was shouted to me from a friendly neighbor.
We turned on the TV and every channel was covering the carnage. We watched for a while but ended up turning it off. It was off-putting but it didn't really register. In my mind, it was like seeing coverage of a train derailment; terrible but not something that would change my world.
I called my girlfriend and we talked about it a little. I went over to her house, she lived with her dad and he was glued to his TV. He was a staunch conservative and his anger didn't seem much different than his usual demeanor but I was starting to realize this might be different. I called my parents and spoke with them. My mom was worried to the point of panic so my girlfriend and I drove over to my parents' house.
Once there, the scope of what had happened started to penetrate my psyche. I watched CNN until 3:00 am but even when I went to sleep that night, I hadn't really let go of of my world."
- Jesse Gray
The morning of 9/11, I woke up, ate breakfast and drove over to my friend's apartment. We had planned on playing music all day and then barbecuing (every day was just great). I got to my friend's place, a couple more friends showed and we were setting up our gear when a neighbor told us to turn on the TV.
2001 was a very different time as far as the spread of information is concerned. Now, I can't imagine not knowing within fifteen minutes of the fist strike. In 2001, the first plane hit at 5:46 am west coast time and the first indication anything was wrong for me came about five hours later and was shouted to me from a friendly neighbor.
We turned on the TV and every channel was covering the carnage. We watched for a while but ended up turning it off. It was off-putting but it didn't really register. In my mind, it was like seeing coverage of a train derailment; terrible but not something that would change my world.
I called my girlfriend and we talked about it a little. I went over to her house, she lived with her dad and he was glued to his TV. He was a staunch conservative and his anger didn't seem much different than his usual demeanor but I was starting to realize this might be different. I called my parents and spoke with them. My mom was worried to the point of panic so my girlfriend and I drove over to my parents' house.
Once there, the scope of what had happened started to penetrate my psyche. I watched CNN until 3:00 am but even when I went to sleep that night, I hadn't really let go of of my world."
- Jesse Gray
24. "I was in high school chemistry class taking a test. I think the test was on how to calculate molar mass and we had posters all over the room of goofy ways to calculate it. The teacher had the news on our classroom TV as one of her siblings lived in New York City. Since we were on Pacific Standard Time, we didn't see anything live except interviews but we did see replays of the incidents over and over again. I
We went through our school day with several announcements, some parents came to the school to pick up their kids, some didn't.
After school resumed the following week the teacher decided to scrap the test scores since everyone apparently did terribly."
- Jon Young
We went through our school day with several announcements, some parents came to the school to pick up their kids, some didn't.
After school resumed the following week the teacher decided to scrap the test scores since everyone apparently did terribly."
- Jon Young
25. "I was 8, and it was my first day of school in a brand new city. I was still getting adjusted from the move, my parents woke me up frantically and told me to come to the living room. When I got there, they were watching the news reports with looks of horror on their faces. They told me what had happened, but like so many people around my age, it didn't sink in.
When I was taken to school, my parents tried to keep a positive outlook for my sake, but no one could hide how shaken they were throughout the day. The teachers talked with us all about it, made announcements, and it made for a grim first week. I didn't at all comprehend the scale of what happened, but having something automatically in common made for a great icebreaker with my new class. Just being able to have kids my age to talk about it with also made getting through that rough period easier on me."
- Richard M.
When I was taken to school, my parents tried to keep a positive outlook for my sake, but no one could hide how shaken they were throughout the day. The teachers talked with us all about it, made announcements, and it made for a grim first week. I didn't at all comprehend the scale of what happened, but having something automatically in common made for a great icebreaker with my new class. Just being able to have kids my age to talk about it with also made getting through that rough period easier on me."
- Richard M.
26. "Our drama teacher Mrs. D called the project 'The Complete Package, Abridged'. It was a collection of three plays satirizing the works of Shakespeare, the Bible, and the history of the United States. I was a principal actor in 'The Complete History of America, Abridged', and we were set to open the third week of September like usual.
The week before Tech Week, 9/11 happened. I arrived at school in Brentwood knowing nothing, but as I approached my first period class in the Performing Arts Center, my friend Eric came out to tell me that the WTC was under attack. I rushed into the classroom just in time to see the first tower fall. The rest of the day was spent watching the news in various classrooms, as our teachers agreed we were too distracted for any actual instruction that day.
None of us felt much like satirizing US History (and by extension, the US itself) in the following weeks, but eventually we agreed that we could all use a little laughter and camaraderie, so the show would go on. With one small, but significant change:
As originally envisioned, the show would open with a raucous, discordant, intentionally bad rendition of 'The Star-Spangled Banner.' Instead, we sang it straight, earnestly.
It helped us heal."
- Glen G.
The week before Tech Week, 9/11 happened. I arrived at school in Brentwood knowing nothing, but as I approached my first period class in the Performing Arts Center, my friend Eric came out to tell me that the WTC was under attack. I rushed into the classroom just in time to see the first tower fall. The rest of the day was spent watching the news in various classrooms, as our teachers agreed we were too distracted for any actual instruction that day.
None of us felt much like satirizing US History (and by extension, the US itself) in the following weeks, but eventually we agreed that we could all use a little laughter and camaraderie, so the show would go on. With one small, but significant change:
As originally envisioned, the show would open with a raucous, discordant, intentionally bad rendition of 'The Star-Spangled Banner.' Instead, we sang it straight, earnestly.
It helped us heal."
- Glen G.
27. "I was five years old and despite certainly not having a full grasp on the events and magnitude of that day at the time, it left a mark on me. I’m sure it left a mark on all of us.
I remember going to school, as I normally would, and my after-school program. Memory is hazy, but I think they sat a few of us down in a circle and tried to talk to us about what was happening (in a very, very watered-down way). In the evening, I was sitting with my parents on the couch while they watched the coverage on the news.
Watching the news, two things vividly occurred to me:
I remember going to school, as I normally would, and my after-school program. Memory is hazy, but I think they sat a few of us down in a circle and tried to talk to us about what was happening (in a very, very watered-down way). In the evening, I was sitting with my parents on the couch while they watched the coverage on the news.
Watching the news, two things vividly occurred to me:
1) The realization that planes could crash. Prior to 9/11, that thought would never have crossed my rose-colored mind. Ever since then, I’ve always been slightly afraid of flying in the back of my mind, even though the crashes on 9/11 were intentional disasters by terrorists. My mom used to travel a lot for work, and she once brought me a little box back from one of her trips, small enough to fit a pair of earrings. The purpose of it was to make a wish and keep it under your pillow. On a tiny scrap of paper, I wrote:
'I hope all of my mom’s flights arrive safely at their destination.'
I kept it under my pillow every time she flew. To this day, I always pretend I have the lucky cricket from Mulan on my shoulder when I board a plane. It just is something I have to do to feel comforted.
'I hope all of my mom’s flights arrive safely at their destination.'
I kept it under my pillow every time she flew. To this day, I always pretend I have the lucky cricket from Mulan on my shoulder when I board a plane. It just is something I have to do to feel comforted.
2) There was a photo of a woman, maybe blonde, I think she was a passenger on one of the planes, and I think they said 9/11 was her birthday, and the fact that she died on her birthday stuck out to me as something very sad. I’ve not heard nor read about anything like that since, so maybe I’m misremembering. But I do distinctly recall having this thought.
Since 2001, I’ve come to realize how significant 9/11 was, and my heart breaks for the innocent lives that were lost and families that were broken that day. I truly hope their souls are in peace and that they will one day be reunited with their loved ones."
- Rachel Inkheart
Since 2001, I’ve come to realize how significant 9/11 was, and my heart breaks for the innocent lives that were lost and families that were broken that day. I truly hope their souls are in peace and that they will one day be reunited with their loved ones."
- Rachel Inkheart
28. "I was 6 years old in L.A., getting ready for school. I didn’t really know what was going on at the time, but was use to watching the news with my parents. I remember seeing the burning tower and not knowing what was happening. Then the second tower was struck and I vividly remember seeing papers fly out of the buildings and people falling to the ground. It created the first real sense of panic in me.
From that point on for a few weeks in a row I would have nightmares of falling from tall buildings, dying in plane crashes, or just the knowing I’m trapped in a doomed building. Because of 9/11 I had a fear of flying, fear of heights, and a fear of being in skyscrapers. And this was me a 6 year old on the complete other side of the country. Because of that those memories, I know forever I will never forget 9/11."
- Ian-kendall Troupe
From that point on for a few weeks in a row I would have nightmares of falling from tall buildings, dying in plane crashes, or just the knowing I’m trapped in a doomed building. Because of 9/11 I had a fear of flying, fear of heights, and a fear of being in skyscrapers. And this was me a 6 year old on the complete other side of the country. Because of that those memories, I know forever I will never forget 9/11."
- Ian-kendall Troupe
29. "Sitting my car by the Dairy Queen in Santa Cruz. We had just dropped my brother off at our middle school and were on the way to Stanford so I could start testing for what would turn out to be Asperger syndrome.
Mom got a call on her cell from Dad and I answered. He was rambling, distressed about something. I couldn't figure it out so I passed it over to Mom. He has apparently calmed down enough to tell her to turn on the radio. We turn it on just in time to hear,
'... I repeat, two planes just crashed into the World Trade Center towers.'"
- David Wofford
Mom got a call on her cell from Dad and I answered. He was rambling, distressed about something. I couldn't figure it out so I passed it over to Mom. He has apparently calmed down enough to tell her to turn on the radio. We turn it on just in time to hear,
'... I repeat, two planes just crashed into the World Trade Center towers.'"
- David Wofford
30. "I was 13 years old and supposed have started the 8th grade a week earlier but my family and I had moved that summer and I was yet to be registered for school. September 11th, 2001 started with me waking up and hearing my mom exclaim,
'OMG, a plane crashed into the Twin Towers!'
I figured it must have been an accident and tried to go back to sleep. Later, my mom then yelled,
'ANOTHER plane hit the other tower!'
That was what made me get up and run to the living room. Sure enough, she was watching our local Fox affiliate who was broadcasting the feed from Fox News. I sat with my mom as we watched everything unfold on TV. I don't remember the reactions of my family members as we watched the second tower go down live on TV.
The day was pretty much a blur except for a few things. I rode my bike to the nearby Burger King to pick up some lunch and saw a small group of people in the restaurant watching the footage that was being replayed over and over. One man said,
'We're gonna get whoever did this!'
My sister and I also ran a few other errands later that day. I recall how quiet the sky was due to the absence of planes.
At midnight on September 12th, I was watching TV with my parents when I heard a plane outside. I immediately start to panic thinking the terrorists were coming for us in California but my mom talked me down.
It still feels like yesterday."
- Crystal D.
'OMG, a plane crashed into the Twin Towers!'
I figured it must have been an accident and tried to go back to sleep. Later, my mom then yelled,
'ANOTHER plane hit the other tower!'
That was what made me get up and run to the living room. Sure enough, she was watching our local Fox affiliate who was broadcasting the feed from Fox News. I sat with my mom as we watched everything unfold on TV. I don't remember the reactions of my family members as we watched the second tower go down live on TV.
The day was pretty much a blur except for a few things. I rode my bike to the nearby Burger King to pick up some lunch and saw a small group of people in the restaurant watching the footage that was being replayed over and over. One man said,
'We're gonna get whoever did this!'
My sister and I also ran a few other errands later that day. I recall how quiet the sky was due to the absence of planes.
At midnight on September 12th, I was watching TV with my parents when I heard a plane outside. I immediately start to panic thinking the terrorists were coming for us in California but my mom talked me down.
It still feels like yesterday."
- Crystal D.
31. "I got up on at around 5:30 a.m. and headed to the set of Alias about 6. The commute from Topanga Canyon to the Disney lot takes about half an hour and I always listen to NPR on the way to work. As soon as I started driving, very sketchy reports were coming in about the first plane hitting the tower. The news anchor was in complete disbelief about the events that had just happened. As I was on the freeway, the second plane struck the other tower and it became obvious that this was a terrorist attack.
When I got to the stage, the crew was standing around and listening to some crew members describe what they had seen on the news. Everyone was in shock and no work was even attempted. Someone had the sense to go and get a television from one of the offices and we sat as a group, watching as the towers started to fall. After an hour, the producers came to set and told us to go home. They would contact us later in the day to decide when we would resume production again. I went home and spent the entire day watching the events unfold over and over, the reality of what had occurred sinking in slowly. My wife and I tried calling friends in NY to see if they were okay, but we couldn't get a call through. The feeling I remember is one of helplessness, there was nothing I could do but stare at the TV."
- John Smith
When I got to the stage, the crew was standing around and listening to some crew members describe what they had seen on the news. Everyone was in shock and no work was even attempted. Someone had the sense to go and get a television from one of the offices and we sat as a group, watching as the towers started to fall. After an hour, the producers came to set and told us to go home. They would contact us later in the day to decide when we would resume production again. I went home and spent the entire day watching the events unfold over and over, the reality of what had occurred sinking in slowly. My wife and I tried calling friends in NY to see if they were okay, but we couldn't get a call through. The feeling I remember is one of helplessness, there was nothing I could do but stare at the TV."
- John Smith
32. "I moved to Los Angeles from Serbia in 1999, amidst the war in Kosovo. I was going through my own trauma and as a result and I have very vivid memories from around that time.
The attacks on September 11th came two days after I had returned from my first trip home in nearly two years. I landed back in L.A. on September 9th, 2001, feeling the end bits of euphoria from having been home and the early pangs of nostalgia from leaving with a heavy dose of jet lag. September 11th marked the first day of school. Needless to say, I was awake at really odd hours.
As it so happened, I was awake to answer the phone call from my uncle at just before 6 am. He was living in Florida at the time and was on about his day when he heard the news. He very quickly told me to turn on the news, wake my mom and tell her not to have my brother and I go to school. Not 30 minutes later, we watched in shock and horror. The feeling was reminiscent of the war we recently escaped from. Watching that second tower get hit by a plane after knowing that the first suffered the same felt just like hearing the nightly raid siren that warned us of incoming bombers so that we may get into bomb shelters. Its one of those days that's burned in your memory however faulty our memories may be."
- Uros Kostic
The attacks on September 11th came two days after I had returned from my first trip home in nearly two years. I landed back in L.A. on September 9th, 2001, feeling the end bits of euphoria from having been home and the early pangs of nostalgia from leaving with a heavy dose of jet lag. September 11th marked the first day of school. Needless to say, I was awake at really odd hours.
As it so happened, I was awake to answer the phone call from my uncle at just before 6 am. He was living in Florida at the time and was on about his day when he heard the news. He very quickly told me to turn on the news, wake my mom and tell her not to have my brother and I go to school. Not 30 minutes later, we watched in shock and horror. The feeling was reminiscent of the war we recently escaped from. Watching that second tower get hit by a plane after knowing that the first suffered the same felt just like hearing the nightly raid siren that warned us of incoming bombers so that we may get into bomb shelters. Its one of those days that's burned in your memory however faulty our memories may be."
- Uros Kostic
33. "9/11 changed the entire trajectory of my life--I would never have met my husband had 9/11 never happened.
On 9/11/01, I was 28 years old and living in San Pedro, California. New York is three hours ahead of us, so I was still asleep when the two World Trade Center buildings were hit. I got up about 6:30 and phoned one of my coworkers to let her know I was running late for work. I planned to ask her to cover for me but before I could say a word, she shouted into the phone,
'Girl, we're under ATTACK!'
I was utterly confused until, at her direction, I turned on my TV.
I don't think I'd ever given the New York World Trade Center more than a passing thought in my entire life but I was instantly transfixed and horrified. I decided to call in 'sick' to work so that I could watch what was transpiring on the screen before me. To my surprise, my boss at the department store where I worked answered the receptionist phone. Even more shocking, she told me that the store would not open that day. Barring the typical holidays, that never happened--not in my 13 years of working there. This was the moment I realized the magnitude of that day's events.
My only child had just started kindergarten only a few days earlier but she was staying with her father, and I was alone in my apartment. For the first time in my life, I contemplated the fact that there was a World Trade Center building in my neighboring city of Long Beach, ten minutes away and on the other side of the Vincent Thomas Bridge, a local landmark and the sister bridge of the Golden Gate. The bridge was within walking distance. I also remembered hearing on the news that the two planes that hit the NY buildings had both been enroute to Los Angeles. This felt like one too many eerie connections, even though I was on the other side of the country.
I called my then-fiancé and arranged to meet him at his grandmother's home, 25 miles away. I felt safe there. Together, the three of us stayed glued to the television for the rest of the day. I don't remember eating or even moving from the couch for hours. I didn't know anyone from New York except for a middle-school acquaintance I hadn't spoken to in years but it was a deeply traumatic event nonetheless. It felt like the horrors would endless: the Pentagon attack, the fourth downed plane, the collapse of the Twin Towers, and all of the casualties.
A year and a half later, my country had changed forever. I discovered that most of the people I knew had transformed in unrecognizable ways. They had become seemingly addicted to plastering the American flag everywhere, they were suddenly distrustful of anyone from the Middle East, and they were now much more conservative and fearful of everything.
In March 2003, my friend whom I'd called on the morning of 9/11 told me that a news website had recently put up a link that would allow people to directly contact servicemembers in the Iraq War to offer support. My fiance and I had split up four months earlier. While I wasn't looking for or expecting a new romantic relationship, I thought it would interesting to strike up conversations with people who were having such extraordinarily different life experiences from anything I'd ever known.
My friend persuaded me to write, so I typed a brief message of support. A few people wrote me back, one of whom was my future husband. At the time, he was on a Navy aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. Through our increasingly frequent emails, I quickly fell in love with him from over 8,000 miles away. We were each other's support systems daily for two months until he returned from his deployment and we were able to meet in person.
If it wasn't for 9/11, however, our life paths would never have crossed. Like me, he'd grown up in California, except several hundred miles away. We were nearly a decade apart in age. Just prior to 9/11, he had joined the military and was stationed on the east coast that tragic day. There's no way we would ever have known each other if 9/11 had not happened, he had not been deployed due to the ensuing war, and a news station had not been trying to raise morale during that assigned mission.
It's a strange and tragic way to have met. I was very fortunate not to have lost anyone personally on 9/11 but it really did directly change the course of my life."
- Paris Brown
On 9/11/01, I was 28 years old and living in San Pedro, California. New York is three hours ahead of us, so I was still asleep when the two World Trade Center buildings were hit. I got up about 6:30 and phoned one of my coworkers to let her know I was running late for work. I planned to ask her to cover for me but before I could say a word, she shouted into the phone,
'Girl, we're under ATTACK!'
I was utterly confused until, at her direction, I turned on my TV.
I don't think I'd ever given the New York World Trade Center more than a passing thought in my entire life but I was instantly transfixed and horrified. I decided to call in 'sick' to work so that I could watch what was transpiring on the screen before me. To my surprise, my boss at the department store where I worked answered the receptionist phone. Even more shocking, she told me that the store would not open that day. Barring the typical holidays, that never happened--not in my 13 years of working there. This was the moment I realized the magnitude of that day's events.
My only child had just started kindergarten only a few days earlier but she was staying with her father, and I was alone in my apartment. For the first time in my life, I contemplated the fact that there was a World Trade Center building in my neighboring city of Long Beach, ten minutes away and on the other side of the Vincent Thomas Bridge, a local landmark and the sister bridge of the Golden Gate. The bridge was within walking distance. I also remembered hearing on the news that the two planes that hit the NY buildings had both been enroute to Los Angeles. This felt like one too many eerie connections, even though I was on the other side of the country.
I called my then-fiancé and arranged to meet him at his grandmother's home, 25 miles away. I felt safe there. Together, the three of us stayed glued to the television for the rest of the day. I don't remember eating or even moving from the couch for hours. I didn't know anyone from New York except for a middle-school acquaintance I hadn't spoken to in years but it was a deeply traumatic event nonetheless. It felt like the horrors would endless: the Pentagon attack, the fourth downed plane, the collapse of the Twin Towers, and all of the casualties.
A year and a half later, my country had changed forever. I discovered that most of the people I knew had transformed in unrecognizable ways. They had become seemingly addicted to plastering the American flag everywhere, they were suddenly distrustful of anyone from the Middle East, and they were now much more conservative and fearful of everything.
In March 2003, my friend whom I'd called on the morning of 9/11 told me that a news website had recently put up a link that would allow people to directly contact servicemembers in the Iraq War to offer support. My fiance and I had split up four months earlier. While I wasn't looking for or expecting a new romantic relationship, I thought it would interesting to strike up conversations with people who were having such extraordinarily different life experiences from anything I'd ever known.
My friend persuaded me to write, so I typed a brief message of support. A few people wrote me back, one of whom was my future husband. At the time, he was on a Navy aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. Through our increasingly frequent emails, I quickly fell in love with him from over 8,000 miles away. We were each other's support systems daily for two months until he returned from his deployment and we were able to meet in person.
If it wasn't for 9/11, however, our life paths would never have crossed. Like me, he'd grown up in California, except several hundred miles away. We were nearly a decade apart in age. Just prior to 9/11, he had joined the military and was stationed on the east coast that tragic day. There's no way we would ever have known each other if 9/11 had not happened, he had not been deployed due to the ensuing war, and a news station had not been trying to raise morale during that assigned mission.
It's a strange and tragic way to have met. I was very fortunate not to have lost anyone personally on 9/11 but it really did directly change the course of my life."
- Paris Brown