Where were you when the Twin Towers fell?

[turbo6bar]

I turned on TV after breakfast and saw the first tower burning. At that time, broadcasters claimed a plane flew into the tower by accident. I was minding my own business when I saw the plane hit the second tower. Chills ran up and down my spine. I managed to watch longer and thought to myself "the Towers are strong. They won't fall." Shortly thereafter, all heck broke lose.

[GrindingGears]

It was the week before school started at the Univ of Oregon, heavy partying that week. My roomate and I were both yakking our guts out early that morning from a long night of drinking. I was puking off the deck, he was bowing to the porcelain god. I was mid puke when my roomate called my attention to the tv. A crazy day that started with puking and ended with crying. I still can't believe that happened...

[tabs]

Sleeping......

[singpilot]

I had taken a crew to dinner in Windows On The World Sunday night. Flew a trip Monday morning back to Raleigh. Deadheaded same day to Tuscon, Az for training. Was in the sim at 4am that Tuesday morning, when on first break, was called on cell, asking if I was still in Manhattan. Found a TV and saw the second one go in.

My credit card was never charged for the dinner.

[MrPants]

I saw the second plane hit live during good morning america or one of those shows. I was on my way out to work. I was an office slave at the student conservation association in NH then. When i got there everyone had gathered around a tv in the basement. I got there in time to see the tower go down. I couldn't beleive it actually collapsed.
They let us go home early.

[ronin]

was just getting up to get ready for work (appr. 6ish west coast) was listening to the radio and heard the reports. wasn't sure whether this was a hoax (or really bad joke) so I called my friend/boss to turn on the TV in our shop and tell me what he saw without telling him what was going on. all he said was "oh *****." still went to work that day business as usual, but needless to say the mood was extremely somber

[jyl]

In the office, preparing for the markets to open. A trader ran into my office and told me a plane had hit one of the towers. We went up to the large conference room, the screen had been switched to CNN. We watched the second plane strike and knew it was a terrorist attack. I left the office, got in a taxi, and went to a conference in town, that I was scheduled to attend. All the screens in all the presentation rooms were switched to CNN. Everyone was standing around watching. I saw one of the towers fall. People were stunned, silent, swearing. I returned to my office, packed up my briefcase, and took the subway home.

[TimT]

I was at work, on the Marine Pkwy Bridge...maybe 5 miles away as the crow flies..

"Felt" the first plane hit... saw the second plane going in..

felt the shockwave from the first tower collapsing....

Then a few weeks later, the plane went down in Rockaway....

I work in the construction industry... Rehabing bridges... gives me unique perspectives to see things sometimes

[Zeke]

Like they said, it was early morning here on the left coast. Getting ready to go to work. Couldn't believe what was going on, especially when the second one hit live on TV.

Hope we never see anything like that again anywhere. And if we do, I'll personally push the button if they'd let me. Don't go and ask me where the missles would be aimed. I'd just take out a couple of well known mountain ranges and wait to see.

[vash]

waking up for one of the first times with my current girlfriend. i will never forget her muffled scream.

[nostatic]

I had no idea...got up, took a shower, dressing for work. My son was watching Cartoon Network. I got a phone call from one of my employees asking what we were going to do about work. I asked him what he was talking about. He said to turn on the TV.

Ended up going into work, but sent everybody home since it was nuts, and people thought we (USC) or downtown LA could be a target. The most eerie thing was in the following days. We are right under the "downwind" leg of approach to LAX for jets coming in from the north or west. For the rest of the week the skies were silent.

[UconnTim97]

I was at work, we were let out early

[Adam]

Southern Hemisphere - It was approx 11pm and I was watching the West Wing. They interrupted it, actually to report on the event.

[layzee]

On vacation in Santa Monica, that day we were headed for San Diego. A couple of days before there had been a 4.x earthquake so the whole experience seemed very surreal. Then we went on to Vegas - seeing the giant signs displaying 'God Bless America' etc. was a strange sight compared to the $3.99 all you can eat steak dinners that were showing on my last visit.

[Paco Anton]

Less than one month earlier my wife and I were at the top of one of the Towers.

She said "Let's buy some souvenirs". I said, "Not today, we'll buy them some other day..."

[RoninLB]

This is JP (Overpaid Slacker), I crashed at Ron's after getting back from Hershey --

I was living in New York (Brooklyn Heights) at the time, but my firm's fiscall year ended 9/30 and I had vacation I'd lose ... so I took a week off and went up to Syracuse (where I'd grown up, so I was staying at my mom's). I'd been out until about 6:00 in the morning, so I was just hitting "power sleep" mode when the phone rang.
MOM: "Get up, turn on any television. A plane just hit the Trade Center"
ME: (who you rouse from sleep with the same degree of risk to grievous personal injury as a particularly ornery Grizzly): What?
To be honest, I thought some guy in a Cessna had a heartattack or got too close on a flyby and pranged the building
MOM: Get up! A plane just hit the Trade Center!
ME: Mom, whatever happened will still have happened after I get a few hours' sleep. I'll call you later.

And I hang up. Ten minutes later, just as I'm getting back to real sleep, the girlfriend (who lived with me and works in midtown, but hadn't made the trip to the 'Cuse) calls from her office:

ME (particularly irate now): Hello?!
G/F: JP, a plane just hit the trade center, get up!
ME: I know, my mom just called. I'm exhausted. I was at (a friend's) until six. I've got to get some sleep.
G/F: It's terrible! The plane just flew into the building!
ME: I KNOW! Look, are you OK?
G/F: Yes.
ME: You're at your office?
G/F: Yes. But JP, it'sterribletherearepeoplejuststandinginthestreets and..
ME: Well, that's New York for you. I'll call you later.

I hang up. Let me re-emphasize that I'm exhausted and foggy and have no idea the magnitude of the event. Ten minutes later, my sister calls:

ME: HELLO!!
SIS: JP, Oh my God, a plane just Kamikaze'd the Trade Center.
ME: G-dammit, Peggy, you're my *third* call in twenty minutes, I know!
SIS: Are you up?
ME: No, I'm trying to get some f*cking sleep!
SIS: Oh my God, I think a plane just hit the Pentagon!
ME (not really paying attention at this point): Peggy, I'm going back to sleep, I'll call you later!

I hang up. I'm almost back to sleep, and the words "Kamikaze'd" and "Pentagon" are tumbling around in my head. I can't get back to sleep now, so I angrily cast the sheets aside, stomp downstairs and turn on the TV.

I spent the rest of the day fielding cell phone calls from friends and relatives who didn't know I was in the 'Cuse and wanted to make sure I was alive. It took me 2 hours to reach the G/F (though I was sure she was OK, being in mid-town). The now ex-G/F never let me live it down.

I really wish I'd slept through that day, even if I would've spent the last 6 hours of the pre-9/11 world unconscious. A buddy lives down the street, so I rolled down there and the two of us just watched in silence as much that we believed collapsed with the towers.

JP

[Schrup]

I, like a lot of others watched the second plane live. Went to work & watched the towers fall, then we had to secure all our water reservoirs.

[on-ramp]

was doing work at a client. they walked in the door and said a plane hit the tower and it collapsed....huh?

i ended up driving home with the top down, not a single plane in the sky could be seen or heard, earie.
that's what it was like before plane travel.

[350HP930]

I heard about the first crash on the radio right as I was arriving at work.

Where I worked at the time had a large training and conference room with 5 TVs and cable television.

Me and about 20 of my coworkers spent most of that day in that room tuned into NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN and MSNBC and watched the carnage as it occured.

[RANDY P]

walking up the stairs out of the garage into the living room and my cell phone rings, buddy says:

"WWIII JUST STARTED! TURN ON CNN!"

I'm all what the hell? Turn on the TV. Didn't turn it off for 4 days. Dropped everything I was doing. For awhile, figured it was the end.