Where were you when you heard about 9/11?

[benchwarmer 625]

It was a Tuesday as I recall.  I lived in Attleborough and was having a new bathroom installed that day so the water was off.  I went over to Kings Lynn to see my parents (now deceased).  We didn't put the radio or TV on all day, so I didn't find out until I got home about 7pm.

 

Edited October 25, 2022 by benchwarmer

[A Load of Squit 5,161]

I was working for a large insurance company and the alerts on the servers that connected us to the internet all went red very very quickly. The problem was that none of us could attach to them to find out what was going on, eventually someone went out to the car park and found out what was happening from the radio.

We had to shut down the servers before they melted.

 

 

[Yellow Fever 3,767]

New York !

Not in the centre (Manhattan) though.

Edited October 25, 2022 by Yellow Fever

[canarydan23 4,060]

I was walking from my school to the train station through the Castle Mall and noticed a group of people huddled around the window of a shop staring at a TV but didn't really think anything of it. I hopped off the train in Brundall and walked to the primary school where my Mum was working and bumped into the school caretaker, Mr Harding, and he told me what had happened.

[Yellow Fever 3,767]

9 minutes ago, Yellow Fever said:

New York !

Not in the centre (Manhattan) though.

I'll enlarge on that a little - I worked in NYC - was actually looking for property at the time. Total shock and confusion. 

On the property front - for quite a while afterwards Battery Park new 'apartments' as we would say (bottom end of Manhattan near the ferry) were all discounted to encourage people back! It wasn't at the time what I was looking for.

[The Raptor 1,205]

On a bus in the middle of Iceland. The driver turned the radio up and the other passengers were telling us what was going on. I assumed something had got lost in translation until I saw the video later. 

Random thing to bring suddenly bring up. I had to check the news to see if I've missed something today!

[Thumbbass 318]

In Wodonga, Australia, watching it all happen on a broken tv. Had to fly home a couple of months later and we were all evacuated from the plane after a suspicious package was found. A very nervous flight.

Watched the lions tour on the same broken TV. Something the kids of today will never have to deal with but the horizontal balance had gone and the bottom half of the picture was at the top of the screen. Not the biggest issue dealt with in this post granted!

[ricardo 7,384]

20 minutes ago, Yellow Fever said:

I'll enlarge on that a little - I worked in NYC - was actually looking for property at the time. Total shock and confusion. 

On the property front - for quite a while afterwards Battery Park new 'apartments' as we would say (bottom end of Manhattan near the ferry) were all discounted to encourage people back! It wasn't at the time what I was looking for.

The Statten Island Ferry, probably the best free ride on Earth. I was atop the twin towers almost 4 years to the day before the fateful event.

On the day, I had just begun a two till ten shift when someone stuck his head round the office door to say a plane had flown onto one of the towers.

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

Just walking back from afternoon tea break when one the chaps shouted out that a plane had hit the WTC. Put the radio on and listened intently. By the time I got home the first tower started to crumble.

No doubt one of the most dramatic stand alone vents in my life.

Visited Ground Zero later and it was a strange experience. Basically looking at a mass grave.

[SteveN8458 64]

I was on my way back to work after being at a good friends funeral! 😞

A **** day all round really!

[kick it off 1,948]

Just got back from school and the news was on when I walked in as I think my dad had been off that day. Was watching report about the first plane and the second one hit

[Herman 9,754]

Listening to Mark and Lard on the radio, at work, and they were being their usual daft selves and it started to get more and more serious as the day went on.

Funny how the footage has tinkered with my memory. I sometimes think it happened in the morning, over here.

[Yellow Fever 3,767]

2 hours ago, ricardo said:

The Statten Island Ferry, probably the best free ride on Earth. I was atop the twin towers almost 4 years to the day before the fateful event.

On the day, I had just begun a two till ten shift when someone stuck his head round the office door to say a plane had flown onto one of the towers.

I have many a story (or advice) on NY.  Luckily I was no where near the event but can only discuss the Yanks reaction to it.

As to the best way to 'see' NY - if you have car don't drive to Manhattan (if you do the 'Bus Station' car park) -  park for free on the Jersey shore (Liberty State Park) behind the Statue of Liberty (actually where the 9/11 memorial and flags now are). Water Taxi (used to be $7 each way) from the 'light ship' to WTC. The 'view' of lower Manhattan across the water is always taken from here! Only way to arrive. I used to have to 'idle' away weekends in NY sometimes so I eventually did all the touristy things winter and summer and oddly sometimes used to show our own US visitors around the city (even had my own 'pet' Italian restaurants). Seems a life-time ago now.  

 

Edited October 25, 2022 by Yellow Fever

[Wings of a Sparrow 1,413]

At work. Huddled round a slow internet on on of those old fashioned monitors in disbelief.

[ricardo 7,384]

59 minutes ago, Yellow Fever said:

I have many a story (or advice) on NY.  Luckily I was no where near the event but can only discuss the Yanks reaction to it.

As to the best way to 'see' NY - if you have car don't drive to Manhattan (if you do the 'Bus Station' car park) -  park for free on the Jersey shore (Liberty State Park) behind the Statue of Liberty (actually where the 9/11 memorial and flags now are). Water Taxi (used to be $7 each way) from the 'light ship' to WTC. The 'view' of lower Manhattan across the water is always taken from here! Only way to arrive. I used to have to 'idle' away weekends in NY sometimes so I eventually did all the touristy things winter and summer and oddly sometimes used to show our own US visitors around the city (even had my own 'pet' Italian restaurants). Seems a life-time ago now.  

 

I was in a small motel breakfast room in St Francisville, Louisiana about two weeks after 9/11 when a large branch fell off one of those big old trees covered in Spanish moss and made a loud bang on the roof. When I looked round, all the yanks were under the tables.

Unsurprisingly they were all a bit on the jumpy side.

Edited October 25, 2022 by ricardo

[Sheva 123]

Driving through Bawburgh towards our house.

My good American friend in Ukraine, many years later, told be how he could see and smell it from his house in NJ.

Edited October 25, 2022 by Sheva

[KernowCanary 214]

At work. One of the supervisors went upstairs to my office to tell me what happened and we just stopped working for the day and turned off all the printing presses and computers. The only thing on except the lights and tea urn for tea break was the radio.

We were all sat round it hearing the news as developments came and we hardly ever left our seats. A poignant moment that I won’t ever forget, especially when I came home and saw the tower collapsing for myself on the TV.

Edited October 25, 2022 by KernowCanary

[KernowCanary 214]

5 hours ago, keelansgrandad said:

Just walking back from afternoon tea break when one the chaps shouted out that a plane had hit the WTC. Put the radio on and listened intently. By the time I got home the first tower started to crumble.

No doubt one of the most dramatic stand alone vents in my life.

Visited Ground Zero later and it was a strange experience. Basically looking at a mass grave.

Went to Ground Zero when they were building the freedom tower in 2010. A really errie sight knowing that was exactly the spot where any chance of world peace ended.

[GodlyOtsemobor 2,292]

In class.... Mousehold first school.... Remember the teacher listening to the radio and it coming on there. 

Edited October 26, 2022 by GodlyOtsemobor

[Mello Yello 2,289]

I was still serving in the military and was sat in a restroom watching morning tv when the first tower impact was shown....We all said more or less in unison that 'that's no bloody air accident'....Then sadly strike two tragically occurred....Horrid and unbelievable....

 

[benchwarmer 625]

46 minutes ago, Mello Yello said:

I was still serving in the military and was sat in a restroom watching morning tv when the first tower impact was shown....We all said more or less in unison that 'that's no bloody air accident'....Then sadly strike two tragically occurred....Horrid and unbelievable....

 

Mello, I never imagined you were ex-forces.  Are you Yossarian* in disguise?

*Catch-22, in case that dates me

[littleyellowbirdie 2,542]

At work, wondering why I suddenly couldn't ring anybody in the USA. 

[Mello Yello 2,289]

8 hours ago, benchwarmer said:

Mello, I never imagined you were ex-forces.  Are you Yossarian* in disguise?

*Catch-22, in case that dates me

I'm certainly not a fictional Yossarian....I'm not a 'Walt' (Mitty) either....Pull up a sandbag and I'll tell you a few war stories.... 😉 

[king canary 7,603]

I was 13, got home from school and put on what was at the time Broadland 102 and was confused why there wasn't any music.

[Surfer 1,547]

In California my wife called me over to watch the news, and we watched the second plane hit.

We also took one of the first flights to the UK a few days later - complete with very obviously armed solders at airport checkin . 

I remember discussions at work that week about the UK and IRA and not overreacting to the provocation, well that didn’t go down well. 

[Worthy Nigelton 1,043]

At work just walking back in from lunch when the office seemed totally stunned. I was the youngest in the department at the time so probably didn't appreciate the significance of what had happened like the others did.

[Foxy2600 301]

Gatwick Ramp - an interesting rest of the day after watching CNN in North Terminal Departures.

[Rock The Boat 1,329]

Was working in my office in Munich when my wife called me from Asia and said to check the news as a plane had just gone into the WTC. I logged into CNN but the web page hung, logged into BBC and got the same result. Tried a few others. Switched to South China Morning Post where the website was streaming live. Passed the news to my team but all the news sites were hanging, so everyone gathered round my screen to watch events unfold and we saw the second plane hit the tower. One of our guys was an Ozzie with an American gf in NY. He called her up concerned about her whereabouts and she was in her apartment with a clear view of the twin towers a couple of miles away. Terrible day.

[The Raptor 1,205]

On 30/10/2022 at 14:54, king canary said:

I was 13, got home from school and put on what was at the time Broadland 102 and was confused why there wasn't any music.

Was probably a pleasant change from the usual rubbish they played and annoying adverts. I can still remember the member for carpet call...

[HazzaJet 252]

I was in my Mum’s car as she drove me and my brother back home from school when I heard about it on Radio 4. As soon as we arrived home we turned the TV on and watched it live