MINNESOTA
"Where were you on 9/11?" as remembered by those in Minnesota that day.
Minneapolis resident Jeff remembers what it was like working at 3M on 9/11.
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Cari remembers how her family helped a stranded man get home after U.S. airspace was grounded.
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1. "I was on an international conference call at 3M headquarters in St. Paul when our director Sara E. came in, somewhat in a stumble, telling us two planes hit buildings in New York City. We got disconnected from Phil G, in Europe and Henry Y. in Asia. I ended the meeting of eight early, found a TV on the floor of building 42 and we all just gawked. I had another 9 o'clock IT meeting that started as usual. I found it strange that we still forged onward with that meaningless meeting. Because I was on the corporate incident/spill team for 3M, I had a pager that would also give breaking news in 40 character headlines. During this IT meeting, I kept announcing my urgent texts received (several of them false):
The Pentagon has been hit.'
'The Supreme Court has been bombed.'
'New York City has been bombed.'
'Nine planes unaccounted for.'
I left that IT meeting early, and just went home. The IDS center in Minneapolis and Building 220 at 3M (our tallest building) were evacuated. I remember coming home, turning on the TV, watching the towers collapse and just weeping as I leaned into a pillar to avoid collapsing from grief. Did I just watch 50,000 people die? 5,000? 500? The numbers didn't matter, I just knew this was the saddest day of my life.
After Rebecca made it home from the U, I had to do something/anything... so I filled up the Highlander with gas. I remember a somewhat mob scene at the Super America, with a lot of honking and budging, long lines, and yelling. It was chaos. People were in shock. I was in shock. Not our collective best moment. But then, later that night and in the next weeks, we came together. Flags flew. People befriended strangers. Donations grew. A resolve was borne. We were united."
- Jeff McComas
The Pentagon has been hit.'
'The Supreme Court has been bombed.'
'New York City has been bombed.'
'Nine planes unaccounted for.'
I left that IT meeting early, and just went home. The IDS center in Minneapolis and Building 220 at 3M (our tallest building) were evacuated. I remember coming home, turning on the TV, watching the towers collapse and just weeping as I leaned into a pillar to avoid collapsing from grief. Did I just watch 50,000 people die? 5,000? 500? The numbers didn't matter, I just knew this was the saddest day of my life.
After Rebecca made it home from the U, I had to do something/anything... so I filled up the Highlander with gas. I remember a somewhat mob scene at the Super America, with a lot of honking and budging, long lines, and yelling. It was chaos. People were in shock. I was in shock. Not our collective best moment. But then, later that night and in the next weeks, we came together. Flags flew. People befriended strangers. Donations grew. A resolve was borne. We were united."
- Jeff McComas
2. "I always felt more detached to 9/11 because I wasn't in school that day. I lived in Nebraska, but on September 11th, 2001 I had my yearly appointment with an orthopedic doctor at the Shriner's hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The waiting room was normal. We were waiting longer than usual, but we had no idea something was going on. I remember some Mennonite women walking with a child in a wheelchair, and maybe a few other parents with a broken child like me were also waiting. After waiting nearly an hour, my dad got a call on his cell phone. He said,
'You've got to be shitting me.'
And then got up from his chair. My dad's friend Zach was on the phone and told him a plane had hit the World Trade Center. Dad got up to find a waiting room with a TV and confirmed what Zach told him.
That was all I knew, a plane hit a building. Eventually, my mom and I went back to the exam room. We waited a long time for the doctor, much more than normal. I remember finding a pen and drawing on the paper on the exam bed. We played games and tried to make the best of the wait.
Things seemed normal when the doctor came in. He didn't say anything about what was happening in New York. He examined my ankle and made suggestions about how to help improve my condition. Then we left and went to find my dad.
My dad went back to the waiting room with a TV, and he met an older Shriner man. The man was originally going to fly to Nebraska, but the flight was cancelled. My dad offered to let him ride back to Nebraska with us. My mom was fine with it, so we finally left for home with an extra passenger about three or four hours after we would have normally left the hospital.
On the drive home I mostly listened to my music on a portable CD player, but I remember catching a few things on the radio like that the President was heading to the bunker at a Nebraska Air Force base. I also remember seeing two men fight at a gas station. They just punched each other over gas. I really didn't understand why.
Once home, dad dropped off my mom and I, then took the Shriner to his home in Omaha. By then, it was past my bedtime, so I didn't see anything about 9/11 on TV that day. I had no idea the scope of what had happened or how it wasn't an accident. I had no idea about any of that until later.
The next day, my friends talked about how the teachers stopped class and they watched the news. They saw the second plane crash into the tower. They saw the buildings collapse in real time. They have visceral memories because they saw it as it happened. Then there was me, who wasn't there and wasn't even connected to the world when it happened. While my memories of that day are striking, they are nowhere near what my friends experienced together on 9/11.
Looking back, I can't fault my parents. I was in 8th grade, more than old enough that they didn't need to have a special talk with me about it. I think it was just the situation, we were in a different place and had a very different time than anyone else I know."
- Cari Shepard
The waiting room was normal. We were waiting longer than usual, but we had no idea something was going on. I remember some Mennonite women walking with a child in a wheelchair, and maybe a few other parents with a broken child like me were also waiting. After waiting nearly an hour, my dad got a call on his cell phone. He said,
'You've got to be shitting me.'
And then got up from his chair. My dad's friend Zach was on the phone and told him a plane had hit the World Trade Center. Dad got up to find a waiting room with a TV and confirmed what Zach told him.
That was all I knew, a plane hit a building. Eventually, my mom and I went back to the exam room. We waited a long time for the doctor, much more than normal. I remember finding a pen and drawing on the paper on the exam bed. We played games and tried to make the best of the wait.
Things seemed normal when the doctor came in. He didn't say anything about what was happening in New York. He examined my ankle and made suggestions about how to help improve my condition. Then we left and went to find my dad.
My dad went back to the waiting room with a TV, and he met an older Shriner man. The man was originally going to fly to Nebraska, but the flight was cancelled. My dad offered to let him ride back to Nebraska with us. My mom was fine with it, so we finally left for home with an extra passenger about three or four hours after we would have normally left the hospital.
On the drive home I mostly listened to my music on a portable CD player, but I remember catching a few things on the radio like that the President was heading to the bunker at a Nebraska Air Force base. I also remember seeing two men fight at a gas station. They just punched each other over gas. I really didn't understand why.
Once home, dad dropped off my mom and I, then took the Shriner to his home in Omaha. By then, it was past my bedtime, so I didn't see anything about 9/11 on TV that day. I had no idea the scope of what had happened or how it wasn't an accident. I had no idea about any of that until later.
The next day, my friends talked about how the teachers stopped class and they watched the news. They saw the second plane crash into the tower. They saw the buildings collapse in real time. They have visceral memories because they saw it as it happened. Then there was me, who wasn't there and wasn't even connected to the world when it happened. While my memories of that day are striking, they are nowhere near what my friends experienced together on 9/11.
Looking back, I can't fault my parents. I was in 8th grade, more than old enough that they didn't need to have a special talk with me about it. I think it was just the situation, we were in a different place and had a very different time than anyone else I know."
- Cari Shepard
Written Stories
3. "I worked at a call center and would often golf before going in. After my game, I drove to work and immediately knew something was wrong because the rock station I always listened to was playing news. While I was trying figure out what was happening, the second plane hit. When I got to work the phones were dead.
No one was calling, but they wouldn't send us home."
- Ben F.
No one was calling, but they wouldn't send us home."
- Ben F.
4. "I was in 6th grade, going into math class when I saw all the TVs were on. I thought it was gonna be the best day ever, no math, watching a movie, and I had something of a crush on that teacher (former Vikings Cheerleader).
We took our seats, she hadn’t said anything yet which seemed weird. Our entire class sat wondering why she wasn't telling us what we were watching. Then we all saw footage of the second plane hitting, it started to sink in that something bad was happening and that this wasn’t movie day."
- Anonymous
We took our seats, she hadn’t said anything yet which seemed weird. Our entire class sat wondering why she wasn't telling us what we were watching. Then we all saw footage of the second plane hitting, it started to sink in that something bad was happening and that this wasn’t movie day."
- Anonymous
5. "I was driving to work and listening to the radio when there was breaking news of a plane crashing into one of the World Trade Center towers. I was almost to work so I didn't really think much of it; I just assumed it was a small aircraft that clipped one of the towers or something like that.
Not long after I got into work, some of my co-workers started chatting in the halls about a second plane crashing into the Trade Center. I remember being pretty confused so I went to our break room and saw both towers in flames and news anchors discussing the AIRLINERS that hit the towers and how it was obviously a direct attack.
Our office remained open that day, but I can't recall much work getting done. Lots of people crying and wondering what in the hell actually just happened. The bar below our office was REALLY full that afternoon and there was just a general atmosphere of confusion and sadness."
- J. J.
Not long after I got into work, some of my co-workers started chatting in the halls about a second plane crashing into the Trade Center. I remember being pretty confused so I went to our break room and saw both towers in flames and news anchors discussing the AIRLINERS that hit the towers and how it was obviously a direct attack.
Our office remained open that day, but I can't recall much work getting done. Lots of people crying and wondering what in the hell actually just happened. The bar below our office was REALLY full that afternoon and there was just a general atmosphere of confusion and sadness."
- J. J.
6. "I was in 11th grade in a video journalism class editing a community feature story for our Friday show. My teacher was out of the room and must have seen it from someone else’s room as he came back in and turned it on in our classroom.
At the time we just thought it was a bad accident as CNN was showing the aftermath of the first plane. A few minutes later we saw the second plane hit.
The rest of the day was mostly classes watching the coverage and talking about it."
- T. K.
At the time we just thought it was a bad accident as CNN was showing the aftermath of the first plane. A few minutes later we saw the second plane hit.
The rest of the day was mostly classes watching the coverage and talking about it."
- T. K.
7. "We had football practice that morning and I had just gotten out of the locker room when someone said a plane had crashed into the Twin Towers. I assumed it was a small plane, as more classmates got to school they were saying they heard it was larger and a few said the building had a huge hole in it.
It was first period when they announced over the intercom that another plane had struck the trade center and a plane had also struck the pentagon in an apparent terrorist attack. Every class room had a TV mounted in the corner. Our teacher turned it on and we all watched in horror seeing people jump and then the towers collapsing. I remember one girl gasped and said something like,
'All the firemen were in there!'
Some people cried most people were just in shock.
I remember how quiet the lunchroom was. It wasn't like you could hear a pin drop, but much for subdued than usual. There was none of the usual laughter. Here we were thousands of miles away in Minnesota and we all felt as if it was our town that was attacked.
Our world had just changed.
We all knew someone who had joined the military after high school so how was this going to affect them? A lot of guys were talking about joining the military. I remember a few who vowed to drop out of school, get their GED and then enlist. Others were talking about getting their parents to sign a waiver so they could join at 17. While no one dropped out the subsequent graduating classes all saw dramatically higher enlistment rates.
There really weren't any actual classes that day, you went from watching the events of 9/11 in one classroom to watching it happen in a different room."
- O. L.
It was first period when they announced over the intercom that another plane had struck the trade center and a plane had also struck the pentagon in an apparent terrorist attack. Every class room had a TV mounted in the corner. Our teacher turned it on and we all watched in horror seeing people jump and then the towers collapsing. I remember one girl gasped and said something like,
'All the firemen were in there!'
Some people cried most people were just in shock.
I remember how quiet the lunchroom was. It wasn't like you could hear a pin drop, but much for subdued than usual. There was none of the usual laughter. Here we were thousands of miles away in Minnesota and we all felt as if it was our town that was attacked.
Our world had just changed.
We all knew someone who had joined the military after high school so how was this going to affect them? A lot of guys were talking about joining the military. I remember a few who vowed to drop out of school, get their GED and then enlist. Others were talking about getting their parents to sign a waiver so they could join at 17. While no one dropped out the subsequent graduating classes all saw dramatically higher enlistment rates.
There really weren't any actual classes that day, you went from watching the events of 9/11 in one classroom to watching it happen in a different room."
- O. L.
8. "I was driving to my job in accounting at a newspaper, listening to a local rock station. When they announced it, I thought it was a terrible joke.
At work I found out it was real and spent the day working and listening to the radio.
When I got home I didn't even look at the TV. I had seen the newspaper photos and wanted to see no more.
I cried, I drank, and I spent time with my family then did the same the next day with friends.
It was eerie to have no planes overhead for days.
9/11 has effected everyone who was alive that day and old enough to understand it and all this time later it is still hard to think about... I am going to leave my response at that."
- L. Z.
At work I found out it was real and spent the day working and listening to the radio.
When I got home I didn't even look at the TV. I had seen the newspaper photos and wanted to see no more.
I cried, I drank, and I spent time with my family then did the same the next day with friends.
It was eerie to have no planes overhead for days.
9/11 has effected everyone who was alive that day and old enough to understand it and all this time later it is still hard to think about... I am going to leave my response at that."
- L. Z.
9. " I was in 9th grade and after our teacher turned on the news we were snickering at the idiot who flew into a building. Then the second plane hit and everything got real quiet. All we did all day was watch news coverage.
We had a volleyball game that night and I remember being on the bus driving through towns and seeing cars lined up like crazy as gas prices skyrocketed. I wanna say it was over $5/gallon. I'm from northern MN where there are just little towns every 10 miles and everyone commutes to the bigger little towns for work. I remember crying because gas was so expensive that my parents were going to have to move us to the town they worked in and everyone in that town was always so mean when we played them.
Those were the problems of a 14 year old.
I also was sad because my birthday is September 12th. It was a very subdued 15th birthday."
- E. K.
We had a volleyball game that night and I remember being on the bus driving through towns and seeing cars lined up like crazy as gas prices skyrocketed. I wanna say it was over $5/gallon. I'm from northern MN where there are just little towns every 10 miles and everyone commutes to the bigger little towns for work. I remember crying because gas was so expensive that my parents were going to have to move us to the town they worked in and everyone in that town was always so mean when we played them.
Those were the problems of a 14 year old.
I also was sad because my birthday is September 12th. It was a very subdued 15th birthday."
- E. K.
10. "I was a freshman at a university in Minnesota and my roommate woke me up saying,
'Check this out.'
In my sleepy stupor I thought it was a really realistic movie and was about to go back to sleep when I realized it was real life.
As a military-aged individual, my immediate thought was that I'd be drafted and that it would probably be the start of World War III. I was really worried that it was about to be the end of my life as I knew it and the start of a world war that I'd be involved in as a young adult. Even my mother wrote letters to me to that effect, that the US had survived the Vietnam War and previous world wars, and that this would be my generation's fight."
- K. A.
'Check this out.'
In my sleepy stupor I thought it was a really realistic movie and was about to go back to sleep when I realized it was real life.
As a military-aged individual, my immediate thought was that I'd be drafted and that it would probably be the start of World War III. I was really worried that it was about to be the end of my life as I knew it and the start of a world war that I'd be involved in as a young adult. Even my mother wrote letters to me to that effect, that the US had survived the Vietnam War and previous world wars, and that this would be my generation's fight."
- K. A.
11. "I was going into the second grade, and actually happened to still be at home because the school I attended had moved buildings and needed an extra couple of weeks to finish getting set up before students could start the school year.
In a very fitting way for a child who didn't realize this was a massive event, I remember being really frustrated that my rabbit ears TV was playing the same clips of the planes over and over on every channel; why couldn't they let my kids shows play on SOME of the channels since the planes were on EVERY channel?
School was delayed for another couple weeks after that; the fire alarm system they needed to install before we could attend was supposed to be delivered by air mail and it couldn't get through with all the planes being grounded."
- C. S.
In a very fitting way for a child who didn't realize this was a massive event, I remember being really frustrated that my rabbit ears TV was playing the same clips of the planes over and over on every channel; why couldn't they let my kids shows play on SOME of the channels since the planes were on EVERY channel?
School was delayed for another couple weeks after that; the fire alarm system they needed to install before we could attend was supposed to be delivered by air mail and it couldn't get through with all the planes being grounded."
- C. S.
12. "I was a sophomore, walking into high school when I heard two upperclassmen talking about how,
'The World Trade Center got hit by a plane.'
It didn't really register with me at the time, I hadn't been to New York before so I couldn't visualize the buildings and brushed it off as probably a small personal plane got too close to a building.
It wasn't until I walked into my art class and saw what my art teacher was staring at on the wall TV. The second plane had just hit. I was gripped with so much fear, I nearly dropped my supplies as I stood there. Most of my fellow students had the same reaction as we gathered around the TV in horror.
To keep us from panicking, our art teacher promised to keep the TV on but sat us with our backs to it. I remember noticing at one point, one of the upperclassmen turned around and staring at the TV. I looked up with him and there was live coverage of the Pentagon.
I quickly raised my hand and in a very shaky voice said,
'Mr G, the Pentagon just got hit.'
Everyone freaked out and class was completely derailed because we now knew it wasn't isolated to New York.
My following class was English and because she knew we were all scared, the teacher refused to let us watch the TV despite our begging. You can imagine my shock to find out after that the towers fell during this time. I was super angry at her for that for the rest of the day despite her being my favorite teacher that year.
I called my dad at lunch because honestly I wanted to come home but he reassured me that we were safe in Minnesota.
The rest of the day went on like a blur and I don't remember much because I was glued to any TV I could find."
- Sarah Schmidt
'The World Trade Center got hit by a plane.'
It didn't really register with me at the time, I hadn't been to New York before so I couldn't visualize the buildings and brushed it off as probably a small personal plane got too close to a building.
It wasn't until I walked into my art class and saw what my art teacher was staring at on the wall TV. The second plane had just hit. I was gripped with so much fear, I nearly dropped my supplies as I stood there. Most of my fellow students had the same reaction as we gathered around the TV in horror.
To keep us from panicking, our art teacher promised to keep the TV on but sat us with our backs to it. I remember noticing at one point, one of the upperclassmen turned around and staring at the TV. I looked up with him and there was live coverage of the Pentagon.
I quickly raised my hand and in a very shaky voice said,
'Mr G, the Pentagon just got hit.'
Everyone freaked out and class was completely derailed because we now knew it wasn't isolated to New York.
My following class was English and because she knew we were all scared, the teacher refused to let us watch the TV despite our begging. You can imagine my shock to find out after that the towers fell during this time. I was super angry at her for that for the rest of the day despite her being my favorite teacher that year.
I called my dad at lunch because honestly I wanted to come home but he reassured me that we were safe in Minnesota.
The rest of the day went on like a blur and I don't remember much because I was glued to any TV I could find."
- Sarah Schmidt
13. "I was in 9th grade US history in St. Paul. I remember my teacher, who is now the principal, was so mad. He was positive it was bin Laden and most of us had no idea who that was. We all watched it on TV as it was happening, but I don't think us 13-14 year olds really understood what was happening. We watched it in every classroom before the final bell rang. There were tons of rumors, at one point I heard a plane was coming for the Mall of America.
I went home and turned on the TV. We had cable and EVERY SINGLE CHANNEL was covering this. The next day a lot of people were absent from school."
- Stephanie Polzin
I went home and turned on the TV. We had cable and EVERY SINGLE CHANNEL was covering this. The next day a lot of people were absent from school."
- Stephanie Polzin
14. "I was in 6th grade and my teacher always had a TV with the news on in the morning, before classes started. I walked in the classroom and the first thing I saw was a plane crashing into a tower on the news. I sort of froze because I didn't really understand what was happening.
The rest of the morning, we didn't have class. We all just sat and watched the news as our teacher explained what was happening. He said,
'This is the start of World War III.'
I was pretty freaked out, but all we could do was sit there in a stunned silence.
It hit closer to home because he'd keep taking breaks to try to call his son, who worked in one of the smaller buildings beside the Twin Towers. He wanted to find out if he was alright, but he couldn't reach him. He told us that there were so many people trying to call their loved ones that it just wouldn't go through.
The weirdest feeling was when we left to go to the cafeteria. We went at the same time as the 5th graders and their grade was chatting and laughing and acting normal and I remember it really bothered me and I was mad at them. I realize now that it's likely that they weren't told.
I don't remember much after that. I don't think we had any afternoon classes. I'm pretty sure the whole day was just watching the news, having our teacher explain it, and wondering what was going to happen next."
- Anonymous
The rest of the morning, we didn't have class. We all just sat and watched the news as our teacher explained what was happening. He said,
'This is the start of World War III.'
I was pretty freaked out, but all we could do was sit there in a stunned silence.
It hit closer to home because he'd keep taking breaks to try to call his son, who worked in one of the smaller buildings beside the Twin Towers. He wanted to find out if he was alright, but he couldn't reach him. He told us that there were so many people trying to call their loved ones that it just wouldn't go through.
The weirdest feeling was when we left to go to the cafeteria. We went at the same time as the 5th graders and their grade was chatting and laughing and acting normal and I remember it really bothered me and I was mad at them. I realize now that it's likely that they weren't told.
I don't remember much after that. I don't think we had any afternoon classes. I'm pretty sure the whole day was just watching the news, having our teacher explain it, and wondering what was going to happen next."
- Anonymous
15. "I was in 3rd grade and a classmate had a birthday that day and brought cupcakes. When my teacher found out about the attack, she told us we couldn't eat the cupcakes and we would have to save them for another day. Since we didn't understand why at the time, everyone was bummed out - especially the birthday kid."
- Lexi Clark
- Lexi Clark
16. "September 11th was my mom’s birthday. The plan was for my brother and I to paint her living room and kitchen as her birthday present. I had little kids to get going to school in the morning and then I was on my way to her condo. It was the sky that tipped me off that something weird was happening - The usual plane traffic route went over the highway I was on and it was normal to see airplanes either coming or going every ten minutes or so. There weren’t any planes, which was odd enough that I switched on the radio and finally heard what was happening.
I got to my mom’s, turned on the TV and waited for my brother, then called my husband to tell him to turn on the news. My brother arrived and together we watched the Towers collapse. It was so surreal. My mom came home early from work and the three of us just sat and stared crying at the TV.
We didn’t do any painting that day."
- S. E.
I got to my mom’s, turned on the TV and waited for my brother, then called my husband to tell him to turn on the news. My brother arrived and together we watched the Towers collapse. It was so surreal. My mom came home early from work and the three of us just sat and stared crying at the TV.
We didn’t do any painting that day."
- S. E.
17. "It was my 2nd week of high school and I was sleeping through first period study hall when I heard. We spent the rest of the day watching CNN during every class.
When I got home, I had to do something so I mowed the neighbors lawn.
Not the most exciting story but it's interesting the things you remember."
- George Humboldt
When I got home, I had to do something so I mowed the neighbors lawn.
Not the most exciting story but it's interesting the things you remember."
- George Humboldt
18. "I was in grad school and had slept in after a long night in the lab. I was getting up to go to my class, taught by a professor that everyone hated, and turned on the news as I made breakfast. The TV screen came on just as the second plane hit the tower, but I had no idea what was happening. I, wrongly, assumed it was another country until the cameras panned back and it was the twin towers, or at least what was left of them.
I left for the two hour class. When we were released from class, we found out the campus had officially closed over an hour ago for fear of being the next target but nobody told us. It was surreal how quiet it was everywhere. Everyone you saw seemed to be in the same state of shock. Nobody knew what to think."
- C. N.
I left for the two hour class. When we were released from class, we found out the campus had officially closed over an hour ago for fear of being the next target but nobody told us. It was surreal how quiet it was everywhere. Everyone you saw seemed to be in the same state of shock. Nobody knew what to think."
- C. N.
19. "I was sitting at my desk, as a banker at a well-known bank. The tellers were having an animated conversation with each other, and went to get the rolling TV. We turned it on just as the second plane hit the tower.
I will never, ever forget that moment. Or, the one that came after it:
'Hey, I need to open a checking account.'
'Sir, are you aware of what has just happened?'
'Yeah, and I'm in a hurry. I need to get the checking account opened and head out. Let's get this done.'
I think of that moment often. Was he truly aware of the tragedy that had occurred? Was he callous?
I'll never know, but I find myself coming back to this moment, often... especially lately."
- Kelly B.
I will never, ever forget that moment. Or, the one that came after it:
'Hey, I need to open a checking account.'
'Sir, are you aware of what has just happened?'
'Yeah, and I'm in a hurry. I need to get the checking account opened and head out. Let's get this done.'
I think of that moment often. Was he truly aware of the tragedy that had occurred? Was he callous?
I'll never know, but I find myself coming back to this moment, often... especially lately."
- Kelly B.
20. "I was unemployed, living in downtown Minneapolis - my fiancé called and woke me from a deep sleep that morning. I thought he was going nuts, babbling about some attack. I had no point of reference.
When I did find out what had happened, I had nothing to do all day but watch the coverage alone. Not a great idea!
My mom, on the other hand had taken a trip with a bunch of church ladies to ride the Minnesota Zephyr train. She had no idea what was happening until she got home that night."
- Anonymous
When I did find out what had happened, I had nothing to do all day but watch the coverage alone. Not a great idea!
My mom, on the other hand had taken a trip with a bunch of church ladies to ride the Minnesota Zephyr train. She had no idea what was happening until she got home that night."
- Anonymous
21. "I was in college, living in an apartment with a couple of friends, and still quite firmly asleep that morning when the apartment manager, who lived across the hall from us and was about 6'5" tall with significant muscle, pounded the ever-loving crap out of our door. I groggily made my way to answer it, to see him standing there with an even more intense look on his face than usual.
'Jeez , what?' I asked, blearily.
'TURN ON YOUR TV NOW!!!' he bellowed, then turned and went back into his own apartment without another word. I turned on the TV and saw why he had woken us up as my roommates also made their way to the living room.
The hours that followed were of course just as surreal, shocking, and demoralizing for us as they were for everyone else across the USA, but all these years later, the thing I remember most vividly is the pounding on our door."
- Anonymous
'Jeez , what?' I asked, blearily.
'TURN ON YOUR TV NOW!!!' he bellowed, then turned and went back into his own apartment without another word. I turned on the TV and saw why he had woken us up as my roommates also made their way to the living room.
The hours that followed were of course just as surreal, shocking, and demoralizing for us as they were for everyone else across the USA, but all these years later, the thing I remember most vividly is the pounding on our door."
- Anonymous
22. "I worked nights, slept thought the whole thing. On 9/11 I woke up at 5 in the afternoon and couldn't figure out what 'the event' everyone was talking about. Ended up playing video games the whole day and not finding out about it till the next day when I went to work."
- B. D.
- B. D.
23. "I was in high school and we were all sitting in my first hour class, but the teacher was not there. The time for class to start passed and we were getting excited that it may be cancelled.
Then a substitute teacher walked in crying. She didn't say a word, she just walked to the TV and turned it on. We all sat there silently trying to figure out what was going on. The substitute teacher just continued to quietly cry the rest of class.
We saw the second plane hit.
The rest of the day was a blur.
I do remember that after school I ended up talking to one of the janitors for over half an hour. He was in his 60's then. I don't remember what exactly he said, but he spoke to me like an adult and made me feel better about the situation while also telling me that it was going to change our country."
- A. F.
Then a substitute teacher walked in crying. She didn't say a word, she just walked to the TV and turned it on. We all sat there silently trying to figure out what was going on. The substitute teacher just continued to quietly cry the rest of class.
We saw the second plane hit.
The rest of the day was a blur.
I do remember that after school I ended up talking to one of the janitors for over half an hour. He was in his 60's then. I don't remember what exactly he said, but he spoke to me like an adult and made me feel better about the situation while also telling me that it was going to change our country."
- A. F.
24. "I was in high school and I don't remember how exactly the news made its way through the school, but by the end of 1st period they had rolled a TV on a cart into the room and we were all glued to the news.
In 2nd period, we were watching as the first tower collapsed. I'll never forget in that moment, one of the girls in the class burst out laughing. I'm not sure if it was a weird emotional/ nervous response or what, but the teacher quickly pointed out,
'This is not funny! Many people were probably still in that building!'
Shortly after this, there was an announcement on the PA system for my brother and I to report to the principals office. I ran into him in the hallway outside of the main office and, trying to lighten the mood, joked,
'Do you think they're going to try to blame all of this on us?'
The vice principal waved us into her office - I knew her quite well, but my brother was a much better kid and it was probably his first and only time in that office.
'Boys, your mother just called, she doesn't want you to be worried - they've heard from your cousin - he made it out of the North Tower and is walking back to Brooklyn.'
That statement changed my whole perspective on the event. To be honest, I hadn't even thought of him until that point. I knew he lived in NYC of course, but I didn't know that the office building that I just watched collapse on live TV was his workplace. He's an only child, so very close to my brother and I. While I was relieved to hear that he was alright, I was also horrified to think of not just the other victims, but their family members, friends, etc... for each person that died there is an entire network of family members, friends, and acquaintances whose lives incurred an immeasurable loss that morning."
- E. J.
In 2nd period, we were watching as the first tower collapsed. I'll never forget in that moment, one of the girls in the class burst out laughing. I'm not sure if it was a weird emotional/ nervous response or what, but the teacher quickly pointed out,
'This is not funny! Many people were probably still in that building!'
Shortly after this, there was an announcement on the PA system for my brother and I to report to the principals office. I ran into him in the hallway outside of the main office and, trying to lighten the mood, joked,
'Do you think they're going to try to blame all of this on us?'
The vice principal waved us into her office - I knew her quite well, but my brother was a much better kid and it was probably his first and only time in that office.
'Boys, your mother just called, she doesn't want you to be worried - they've heard from your cousin - he made it out of the North Tower and is walking back to Brooklyn.'
That statement changed my whole perspective on the event. To be honest, I hadn't even thought of him until that point. I knew he lived in NYC of course, but I didn't know that the office building that I just watched collapse on live TV was his workplace. He's an only child, so very close to my brother and I. While I was relieved to hear that he was alright, I was also horrified to think of not just the other victims, but their family members, friends, etc... for each person that died there is an entire network of family members, friends, and acquaintances whose lives incurred an immeasurable loss that morning."
- E. J.
25. "I was a little kid from east central Minnesota, small little town in the middle of nowhere, and can remember watching cartoons that morning. My mom was in the kitchen doing some chores while talking to my older sister's teacher on the phone. We had this little TV in there that she would use to watch Good Morning America and morning shows like that.
I can remember hearing her talking on the phone and then this weird almost strangled cry noise coming from her, followed by her shouting,
'We're under attack!'
My older siblings were sent home early from school and while I can remember my sister not fully understanding (she was 8), I can remember my brother (he was 14) calming my mom down and helping around the house until my dad got home from work. I also remember getting mad because no one would let me watch Scooby-Doo because the news was on the whole entire day on every TV in the house."
- Anonymous
I can remember hearing her talking on the phone and then this weird almost strangled cry noise coming from her, followed by her shouting,
'We're under attack!'
My older siblings were sent home early from school and while I can remember my sister not fully understanding (she was 8), I can remember my brother (he was 14) calming my mom down and helping around the house until my dad got home from work. I also remember getting mad because no one would let me watch Scooby-Doo because the news was on the whole entire day on every TV in the house."
- Anonymous
26. "I was 20 years old, working in retail in Uptown Minneapolis. I had just gotten to work at Calhoun Square, a trendy hipster shopping center in the middle of Uptown, surrounded by the south Minneapolis Lakes. Tons of young people and everyone outside, biking, skating and hanging out around the lakes. As I walked into the back of Calhoun Square, several construction workers were standing outside the Famous Dave and looking at the small 13 inch TV outside the host station. I looked up and watched the plane hit the second tower.
All the construction workers were wondering what happened. I made my way into Express and my boss was there, her boyfriend was a lawyer and traveled to NYC frequently and did consulting work out of the towers. He was calling her frantic that he couldn’t get sold of some of his clients in the tower. Over the next several minutes we got directions from corporate to not open the store for the day and leave. I made my way back to my aunts house, who I was temporarily living with as I had just moved to the TC. My dad was frantically calling my Nokia cell phone telling me to come home and he expected other large cities to be hit by terrorists. I hoped into my 1996 white Mazda Protege and drove the 90 minutes home to my parents house. The rest of the day I spent with my dad watching the news."
- Michal Beiningen
All the construction workers were wondering what happened. I made my way into Express and my boss was there, her boyfriend was a lawyer and traveled to NYC frequently and did consulting work out of the towers. He was calling her frantic that he couldn’t get sold of some of his clients in the tower. Over the next several minutes we got directions from corporate to not open the store for the day and leave. I made my way back to my aunts house, who I was temporarily living with as I had just moved to the TC. My dad was frantically calling my Nokia cell phone telling me to come home and he expected other large cities to be hit by terrorists. I hoped into my 1996 white Mazda Protege and drove the 90 minutes home to my parents house. The rest of the day I spent with my dad watching the news."
- Michal Beiningen