Where were you when 9/11 happened?

Mad Max · August 17, 2014, 02:46:42 AM

Someone posted a topic about high school memories on b.net. If you aren't American or were otherwise unaffected by the attack, obviously this isn't aimed at you.

I was a freshman. It was Tuesday. It was only a couple weeks into the new school year. We had before-school practice for marching band [started at 6am PST, got there a little earlier]. One of my good buddies, who jokes around a lot, comes up to me an asks me if I heard about the plane crash.

"What plane crash?"
"Yeah dude, a plane crashed into a building in NYC."
I brushed it off with a "LOL yeah sure. Whatever man" and we went to practice.

It wasn't until we went to our first period class [8am PST] did I learn what really happened. Two commercial planes had flown into the World Trade Center towers. Holy shit.

None of my teachers did anything in class that day; we just watched the news on our classroom TVs. Looking back, it seems obvious, but the state of shock and panic created by not knowing what was going on was terrifying, even if I was 3000 miles away from Ground Zero. Some parents pulled their kids out of class that day.

That following Friday, my high school had its first football game of the season. Our 200-piece band played the national anthem. I'm not the biggest flag-waving American, but god damn it was the Star Spangled Banner powerful that night. Players were crying, coaches were crying, musicians and fans. It was quiet for a few more minutes after that as we all composed ourselves.

This isn't a memory I rehash often, so I don't really have a good way to tell this story. I'll have to work on it.

Erives · August 17, 2014, 03:52:13 AM

I was in 7th grade and I heard my older sister telling some weird crap is going down on TV. I went to see and I saw one of the twin towers burning.

I kept watching as I got ready for school. Right before I went to school I saw the second tower get hit. We where talking about on our way to school on the bus then all the teachers were watching the news or had the radios on.

Then one of my teachers said something I really cant get out of my head. "What you kids saw right now is history and soon war"
I didn't really get it till bush had his speech about war and first troops went to Afghanistan. The only thing that kept going through my head was all those people dying and that person that jump out the building.

Nascent Email · August 17, 2014, 04:04:24 AM

> am Anglo
> walk in from primary school.
> look from my door into my living room.
> parents are sitting on the couch.
> mother is crying, father has a pained expression.
> "what's going on?" I say.
> walk into living room and sit down. Watch as the second plane hits the towers.

Mr. Psychologist · August 17, 2014, 04:21:16 AM

Similar to Trojan's story, I got home from primary school and watched it on the news.
7/7 was somewhat more affecting for me as my dad was in central london when they all went derka derka boom and it was a few hours before we heard from him.

Reciffo_Smmoc · August 17, 2014, 04:24:51 AM

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Juuzou · August 17, 2014, 05:39:30 AM

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Mattie G Indahouse · August 17, 2014, 06:40:19 AM

I was at school during 2nd grade when it happened. After the first plane hit we were watching it on the TV in class.

Magos Domina · August 17, 2014, 07:06:18 AM

In school. It was the first event that made me politically aware.

Yu · August 17, 2014, 08:35:35 AM

First grade, didn't even knew it happened until years later.

BlitzFiend · August 17, 2014, 08:41:13 AM

Maxin'n relaxin' in a classroom. Heard someone talking in the teachers lounge. Waltzed right in only to see the flaming tower on tv.

Kinder Graham · August 17, 2014, 08:45:52 AM

Kindergarten I think. Was 6 years old at the time. Remember going to school like an ordinary day and a couple hours after school started, a whole bunch of kids were starting to get picked up as well as me. Didn't know what was happening till I got back home and watched it all on T.V

Dave · August 17, 2014, 10:21:09 AM

I was at recess.

They ended recess early so we could have an assembly about it.

Fucking terrorists.

edit: this was grade 2, I think.

Alternative Facts · August 17, 2014, 10:42:10 AM

I was in first grade, home for the day since I had a dentist's appointment. Dad was making breakfast for us while he had the news on, before it started

cxfhvxgkcf-56:7 · August 17, 2014, 12:27:26 PM

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DAS B00T x2 · August 17, 2014, 03:56:01 PM

Third or second grade, I had no clue what any of it meant.

ΚΑΤΑΝΑΛΩΤΗΣ · August 17, 2014, 04:08:27 PM

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Sandtrap · August 17, 2014, 11:03:51 PM

I woke up in the morning and was getting ready for school, and I remembered watching the news. I don't know if it was a country wide thing across Canada, but the school I went to had a big schoolwide gym meeting and a moment of silence for those folks.

I was in 3rd or 4th grade I believe. I ended up coming home later and watching the news to see what happened later on in the day.

Mad Max · August 17, 2014, 11:07:49 PM

Quote from: Sandtrap on August 17, 2014, 11:03:51 PM

I woke up in the morning and was getting ready for school, and I remembered watching the news. I don't know if it was a country wide thing across Canada, but the school I went to had a big schoolwide gym meeting and a moment of silence for those folks.

Canada was instrumental in helping the US that day. After the attacks, all airborne planes were ordered to be grounded, and many foreign flights were not cleared to enter US airspace, forcing them to land in Canada. Because Canadians are so awesome, they let US flights land in Canada, and many Canadians even took in the stranded Americans for a few days until they could get home.

Thanks for being so awesome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Yellow_Ribbon

Sandtrap · August 17, 2014, 11:26:36 PM

Quote from: Mad Max on August 17, 2014, 11:07:49 PM

Canada was instrumental in helping the US that day. After the attacks, all airborne planes were ordered to be grounded, and many foreign flights were not cleared to enter US airspace, forcing them to land in Canada. Because Canadians are so awesome, they let US flights land in Canada, and many Canadians even took in the stranded Americans for a few days until they could get home.

Thanks for being so awesome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Yellow_Ribbon

Yeah! I remember that now! The airports were packed big time.

rC · August 18, 2014, 06:02:04 AM

Like kindergarten or something

Grapes · August 18, 2014, 10:14:46 AM

Not alive

Mad Max · August 18, 2014, 05:30:37 PM

Quote from: Grapes on August 18, 2014, 10:14:46 AM

Not alive

Jesus Christ, you're under 14?

Statefarm · August 19, 2014, 01:40:40 PM

Too young to remember, but my father was in the city. He worked at Macy's and they weren't allowed to leave the store and took in people from the outside for shelter.

cxfhvxgkcf-56:7 · August 21, 2014, 04:36:06 PM

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Magos Domina · August 21, 2014, 04:45:02 PM

Quote from: SoporificSlash on August 21, 2014, 04:36:06 PM

He's 12. I'm pretty sure he's young enough to be your son, Max.

Seriously?

ಠ_ಠ · August 21, 2014, 04:47:00 PM

I remember that I was in elementary school, and that school had been cancelled. So I woke up late. When I came downstairs my mom was panicking in front of the TV and trying to contact my aunt who was living in New York at the time.

cxfhvxgkcf-56:7 · August 21, 2014, 04:51:19 PM

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Magos Domina · August 21, 2014, 05:02:47 PM

Quote from: SoporificSlash on August 21, 2014, 04:51:19 PM

Yes. He really is 12.

:/

Mad Max · August 21, 2014, 05:09:17 PM

Quote from: SoporificSlash on August 21, 2014, 04:36:06 PM

He's 12. I'm pretty sure he's young enough to be your son, Max.

Good lord. Mathematically, yes he is young enough to be my son. 12 years ago I was 15.

Jocephalopod · August 21, 2014, 10:35:15 PM

well, considering that i'm from New York, I kinda remember the day. Even though I was 3 from my personal memory and from what my mother told me I can paint a clear picture

when the first plane hit, my mother went to pick up my brother in grade school with me in a stroller only to be met by a mob of parents with the same plan. I remember seeing the ash even though we weren't in the city itself and by the time my brother got out, the second plane must have hit. my mom thought we were being invaded and basically wanted to GTFO as soon as possible.

thankfully no one in my family died, although my friend's dad and a member of our church at the time never made it out.

America pretty much became the modern shit bath it is after that day......