Just as the generation before us all had a story of where they were when President John F. Kennedy was killed, our generation will all be able to tell where they were and what they were doing when the attacks of September 11, 2001 happened.
I still remember it fairly well, although Aaron disagrees on the details. When the first plane hit, I was blissfully unaware. I was a graduate student at Miami University at the time, in my 8am Costume Design class. The class let out early (around 8:45am), so I decided to walk across the street to the dining hall for a snack while waiting for Aaron to meet up with me.
The dining hall had a big screen TV, and it was probably showing the usual talk shows or other brainless TV. I usually never paid attention. The radio was also on, and the volume had been turned up, while the TV had closed captioning on. There was some talk on the radio about a plane hitting one of the World Trade Center towers. They thought it was a small, two-seater plane, possibly pilot error – details were still just coming in. I was only half-paying attention, because it didn’t seem like that big of a deal.
Then the reports came in about the second, large plane hitting the other tower, and the full weight of the situation started to dawn on everyone. Someone switched the TV over to CNN. The news was now reporting it as a terrorist attack, and they didn’t know if more were coming. Students were now beginning to gather around the TV, and I was now watching it myself. Then the radio news reported that there was an explosion at the Pentagon, and the mood of the students only darkened deeper. While I could hear some students chatting with their friends or making jokes at first, now the room had grown quiet.
Aaron and I walked home after that news, and the scene while walking home was something I will never forget. Miami is a campus that restricts cars, so students are generally walking everywhere. Now, generally you’ll see that nearly every student is happily gabbing away on a cell phone, because no one can take the time to actually say hi to anyone. This day, however, those we passed who were talking on cell phones were crying and trying to find out if their families and friends were OK. (Note: Miami has, for some reason, a high number of students from NY.) Those who weren’t on cell phones were walking with their heads down, some wiping tears from their faces.
The rest of the day, I was parked in front of the TV. I was in shock about what was happening. I watched the towers fall on live TV, and watched people diving out the windows to their deaths, but it just didn’t seem real to me. I didn’t know anyone who worked or lived anywhere near the WTC or the Pentagon, so there was no personal element to the tragedy. My general concern for life kept me watching and hoping that as many survivors could be found as possible.
I also remember feeling so glad that I lived in middle-of-nowhere, OH. Because even if more attacks were coming, I could be fairly certain that the small town of Oxford was safe. I figured a terrorist probably couldn’t even find Ohio on a map. I feel a little guilty for such a selfish thought, but in moments like these, you think of protecting your family and friends and yourself.
That is my memory of the day. Anyone else care to share theirs?
I was living in New Jersey and working in NYC. I described my day in today’s entry on my blog.
I also have my memory up on my blog. I was getting ready to go to my very first dr’s appt for my pregnancy.
I took my son to his physical therapy appointment in the city. And watched in disbelief along with every other citizen in North America.
God Bless those who died, and the survivors.
I was also in class. Upon leaving, I heard someone say something about the Pentagon being on fire. I figured it was no big deal, as they would probably get it out quickly since it’s such an important building. When arriving at my next class, the tv was on and I saw for the first time what was really happening. I was watching live when the second plane hit Tower 2. It is a day I will never forget.
I also was glad that I live in Oklahoma, a town where foreign terrorists should have no beef with! Don’t feel guilty for thinking that way. I’m sure a lot of people were thinking the same thing.
I was teaching very innocent and VERY confused 4th graders that day.
Little did they know… their teacher was much more confused than they were. We didn’t talk a lot about it the day of.. but we spent the following weeks letting them talk, write, and draw about it. Wow. So powerful to see the world through little eyes.
My biggest memory is driving to work on September 12th wanting to drive in the exact opposite direction.
I was SO in shock that I don’t have many memories from that next day. The only thing that really remember is that they kept asking “why?” and they seemed so shocked that their all- knowing all- powerful teacher just didn’t know why.
Mine is not so noteworthy but it’s on my blog if you want to read it. (it’s not real long)
Hope all is well with you and that you’re enjoying school 🙂
I was 7 months pregnant with my second child and home with my son, who was almost 2. My sister called me and told me to turn on the tv… I watched the Today show and saw the footage live just after the first plane hit. I was horrified because four of our friends who were in our wedding lived in the SoHo area of Manhattan, and I feared for their safety. I talked with just about all my family members and my friends throughout the day. My husband was working, and I didn’t speak with him until he got home around dinner time. I was never so happy to see him. I remember the feeling I had when he walked through the door. God, what an awful day.
I was 3 weeks from my due date with my first son and living in L.A., when my mother in NJ called me at 6am to tell me a plane had hit the WTC. Next thing, I put the TV on to the Today Show and became horrified by what I was seeing. I had to relay most of the day’s events to my mother, who was unable to see any of it unfolding on TV, because there was a huge TV antenna on the WTC that supplied reception to most of the tri-state area. She only smelled and saw the black smoke bellowing from the NYC skyline, which is visible from where she lives.
Dave and I had just moved out of the city 2 years before that, and I had just flown across country from Newark airport to LA just about 3 weeks before 9/11. So I felt grateful for 2 things: I was home safely with my husband, and I no longer lived in NYC (because based on my work schedule, I would have been walking up 5th avenue at the time of the chaos). I was feeling terrible about another thing, though: I was just 3 weeks away from giving birth to my first son, and couldn’t help but think what kind of world am I bringing him into? Because as we all know now, 9/11 was just the start of a chain of events.
I’ve never returned to “ground zero” since and have no intention. We were just in NYC this summer for vacation and we did not trek downtown. I do not feel the urge to see a mass grave and I am absolutely disgusted by people who visit the site and pose for family pictures in front of it. I would rather remember the skyline as it was when I was growing up – full of hope and not with a wound that has yet to be repaired. What a disgrace that after 5 years, they have not yet erected anything in its place to commemorate this great American tragedy.
Thanks for sharing your story. I too went to Miami, left in 1989 though to go to U of I. Small world.
I was in Japan at a “required” dorm party where the girls from the 1st women’s dorm (where I moved into) were invited to the 1st men’s dorm. People were drinking, laughing, talking as they should in a party. Then I noticed a cluster of the Japanese kids crowding around the TV. I went to see what was going on, I saw planes crashing into the towers.. “Oh, it’s some action flick on TV”. Not understanding a single word of the Japanese announcer, I walked away wondering why everyone was so excited about a stupid movie.
Then everyone just kinda stopped partying and all gathered around the TV. Between the bits and pieces I caught in the conversation, I finally understood what happened. I ran back to my dorm, grabbed the phone card from my room and ran back outside to the pay phone.
There, I frantically dialed my home phone, couldn’t conect. When I was finally able to get through, no answer. Called my sister and dad’s work, no answer. I walked back and forth around the phone booth freaking out. Then called again 15 minutes later, this time my sister picked up at work. It seemed that she was on her way to work when I called. She assured me that everyone was fine and Columbus was fine. I have to agree, althoough I felt guilty about it, I was glad that Columbus wouldn’t be high on a list for attacks.
My son was 3 months old and I was breastfeeding him while watching TV. I stayed glued to CNN for the next few weeks. PPD, a baby that nurses every hour and 9/11 … I was a mess for a long time.
My son was 3 months old and I was breastfeeding him while watching TV. I stayed glued to CNN for the next few weeks. PPD, a baby that nurses every hour and 9/11 … I was a mess for a long time.
I posted my story in my 2005 entry (as well as a link to it on this year’s post).
I didn’t realize you’d been in grad school at Miami. My grandmother graduated from Miami, as did a few of my cousins. And my youngest cousin is heading to OSU this week for her freshman year. Small world!