Written Stories:
1. "I was having a girls night watching Ally McBeal or something the night before. My friend Jenny woke me up and told me something had happened. We didn't have cable at Jenny's and it took forever to refresh the Yahoo News page. The first image we saw was of the a burning tower.
My Nokia rang and it was my boyfriend who had just flown out overseas the day before to give a University lecture. He was awake watching it on TV and I went outside to take the call.
It was such a beautiful day.
He and I cried together on the phone as he described what was happening on TV. His hotel phone bill turned out to be over $300 and nearly twice what a months rent was at the time.
I don't know why I remember that and not how I got home that day, only that when I did I noticed the lines outside of the gas stations as I went past. "What do these folks in the lines know that I don't?" I thought.
'Is it over, or is this just beginning?'"
- Mary Alice P.
My Nokia rang and it was my boyfriend who had just flown out overseas the day before to give a University lecture. He was awake watching it on TV and I went outside to take the call.
It was such a beautiful day.
He and I cried together on the phone as he described what was happening on TV. His hotel phone bill turned out to be over $300 and nearly twice what a months rent was at the time.
I don't know why I remember that and not how I got home that day, only that when I did I noticed the lines outside of the gas stations as I went past. "What do these folks in the lines know that I don't?" I thought.
'Is it over, or is this just beginning?'"
- Mary Alice P.
2. "I was a sophomore in high school taking Indiana's standardized tests. We had already started testing when the attacks commenced. They did not interrupt us, but you could see teachers and faculty speaking to each other in hushed tones. When we finished our testing before lunch, they had us all go to our afternoon class early; it was there that the teachers told us what was going on. My teacher was one of the few to have a TV hooked up in her classroom, so we spent the remainder of the day watching the news and discussing. Afterwards, my mom took me and my sister to our grandparents and we watched nonstop coverage of the event. The rest of the week was watching the news and trying to wrap your head around this attack."
- Mark M.
- Mark M.
3. "I was in 6th grade. I remember sitting in class when the teacher turned on the TV. Everyone in the class sat in silence. Just - Stunned.
The teacher was crying, my classmates were crying. I remember not much work getting done and we just had a discussion about what happened the rest of the day. I will never forget seeing those images on the TV and the looks of my classmates."
- Ryan M.
The teacher was crying, my classmates were crying. I remember not much work getting done and we just had a discussion about what happened the rest of the day. I will never forget seeing those images on the TV and the looks of my classmates."
- Ryan M.
4. "I was listening to Bob and Tom Morning Show; for anyone that doesn't know, they make fun of everything. So when I had turned on the radio, and they announced the Pentagon had just been hit, I thought it was another of their bad jokes."
- Reddit user /u/dgillam1
- Reddit user /u/dgillam1
5. "I was a freshman in high school religion class. The Catholic school wheeled in TVs so we could watch the coverage. As we saw the aftermath of the first tower being hit our teacher turned it off saying nothing further was likely to develop.
I didn't learn of the second tower being hit until after school.
I remember my father learned of the first tower being hit on NPR. Because everyone is so calm on NPR, he thought it was a private plane hitting the tower and not a major commercial airliner."
- Reddit user /u/notthegoatseguy
I didn't learn of the second tower being hit until after school.
I remember my father learned of the first tower being hit on NPR. Because everyone is so calm on NPR, he thought it was a private plane hitting the tower and not a major commercial airliner."
- Reddit user /u/notthegoatseguy
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6. "My wife and I were getting ready to take our daughter to preschool. We heard the news on the radio of the first plane and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up because I read something similar happening in a Tom Clancy novel (Debt of Honor). We watched the rest of the morning play out on the TV news."
- Reddit user /u/kevbayer |
7. "I was middle school gym and we saw our coach crying. Being boys, we poked fun at him. He got a bit upset with us and made us watch the TV just before the second plane hit. I didn’t really understand what it all meant, but I knew something serious was going on when we were all sent home. My mom came and got me and my brother, and when we got home she explained everything a bit better and it was at that point that I understood the severity of what I had witnessed an hour or so earlier on TV. It’s been almost 20 years now but it still seems so surreal."
- Nic X
- Nic X
8. "I was in 3rd grade and had no idea what was going on. The teachers weren’t allowed to show the students the TVs and when I came back from first recess everything seemed off. When school had ended and my dad had picked my brother and myself up, he told us to hurry and buckle up because we needed to get to the gas station quickly. We pulled in and there were probably 20-30 cars in line waiting. I asked my dad what was going on and he had told me that people flew two airliners into the World Trade Center towers in NYC.
Seeing that I was only in 3rd grade I could never imagine people doing something like that to harm others. I sadly thought it was cool that it happened not realizing what was going on and the pain and damage that was afflicted to thousands of innocent people. Even to this day I sometimes think of how I felt when I was little and feel like a complete ass.
To all everyone that was there and helped save lives thank you. You’re more than appreciated by myself and millions of others.
And to the people that lost loved ones to such a senseless tragedy. I’m sorry for your for your loss, it’s something that no human being should ever have to go through "
- Reddit user /u/Kotterman21
Seeing that I was only in 3rd grade I could never imagine people doing something like that to harm others. I sadly thought it was cool that it happened not realizing what was going on and the pain and damage that was afflicted to thousands of innocent people. Even to this day I sometimes think of how I felt when I was little and feel like a complete ass.
To all everyone that was there and helped save lives thank you. You’re more than appreciated by myself and millions of others.
And to the people that lost loved ones to such a senseless tragedy. I’m sorry for your for your loss, it’s something that no human being should ever have to go through "
- Reddit user /u/Kotterman21