[RubberMallet]

I was a sophmore at LU, asleep in my dorm room and the phone rang an my roomate who was also asleep answered it and the conversation went a little something like this

Guy on the phone: "dude, turn on the TV there's planes crashing into buildings!"
Roommate: "what?"
turns on TV
Roomate: "dude, there's planes crashing into buildings!"
Me: "what? holy cow. There's planes crashing into buildings!"

We then watched it for the next few hours as people started coming back from classes. I just sat there thinking about how much other stuff might be going on and if there was going to be a huge wave of retaliation and if I was going to get drafted and how I didn't know if they drafted college students. I still think the fact that those buildings aren't there anymore is insane. How the heck do you knock them over? (that's rhetorical. I've seen all of the TLC programs about it)

Then we went to a special emergency convo that I wore jogging pants to. It was the first time I had ever seen that giant flag backdrop they use sometimes.

the guy was telling me that it was happening all over the country...the goleden state bridge, the sears tower....it had been going on a while too when we finally got woken up....we'd of probably missed the convo if noone would of called...

[RubberMallet]

actually i think we woke up just in time to see the buildings fall....it was kind of surreal because we were still waking up

[BJWilliams]

I was at Hargrave Military Academy. We were in Weightlifting class when the guy over at the lat machine says "Dude, I just heard that a plane hit the World Trade Center" We kinda chuckled because we often would make jokes to lighten the mood. Well we finished and then headed back to barracks. Before our 20 minute break a formation was called. Now we don't normally have a formation during the class day so something had to be up. We were called to a school circle and President Baker (President of Hargrave) told us the news. I went to my English/Critical Reading class and we watched the news for the first half of class...MAJ Leftwich (our teacher) had a tear in his eye because he was a part of Desert Storm back in 1990 and he still I believe had some friends in the military even then.

We had a special ceremony on the parade field that Friday and the seniors and PGs spent about a week talking about what if there was a draft

[Jasmen8182]

Reading the posts tears up my eyes; I had headaches 4 days in a row so I only watched bits of the news and didn't see the 9/11 movie. My son watched it w/ his stepdad. We went on a field trip "yesterday"-Wed.- to the Naugutuck, CT firehouse and post office. The Fire Inspector mentioned an area below the tower that had food... where someone he knew went (EMT's?) but found no survivors. I have an even deeper respect for emergency personel after hearing and seeing how their job is even in "normal" circumstances; the tour was interesting. When he asked if any of the kids wanted to be a fireman, my son (the oldest one there) said he's been thinking abt. it b/c of the TV this wk. I don't consider myself a pacifist and get angry abt. the protests... but it's still hard to think of one's son going into that line of work. We have a small firehouse in our section of the city; one of the firemen is also an entrepenuer- makes wooden items to sell at homesch. conventions.... Even getting to know him and talking w/ a couple other guys, there's still an aura abt. them, IMO. BTW, my husband was in the Marines then switched to Army b/c of being married (?). I wasn't the one w/ him back then; I probably would've had a mixture of pride and fear that something would happen.
To the original ?- I was working my stupid job; everyone started going over to the tv's in dining area, leaving me to cont. holdin' down the fort. I felt a little concerned-aside from being in shock- b/c my fiance' was further down in CT, closer to NY and the sub base.... I was also concerned abt. my son in 2nd grade- how much were they telling the kids...?

[TDDance234]

Was looking through some old threads--it's a good reminder of this week's past 6 years ago.

Feel free to post stories.

[Fumblerooskies]

I was sitting in my office...prepping for my next class...when my dad called and said someone just flew a plane into the WTC. As I was on the phone with him...he told me about the second one. It was very difficult for me to teach that class...and in the middle of it, my wife called (my old office was actually built in to the classroom area) and told me about the Pentagon. After that, I dismissed class and shut it down for the day. Ended up going to the special convo...security was everywhere. After going home to watch...I picked up my son at Middle School (8th grader) and none of the teachers had said a word to the students. We watched it for a while...saw the towers fall...and took him back to school.

The next few days (sorry...can't post any more...still tears me up with anger and anguish)

[scuzdriver]

I was at my firehouse.

[adam42381]

I was in US History with Dr. Donna Donald at 9am. A bunch of girls came in crying and later another professor came in and informed us of what had happened. I'll never forget it.

[Ed Dantes]

Well, before I mention September 11th, let me recount another story:

I was a junior at Liberty. It was late; my roommate Jeremy and I had class the following morning, but he still wanted to watch some Monday Night Football. Broncos versus the Giants.

At some point during the game, Broncos wide receiver Ed McCaffrey went across the middle to catch a pass. He leapt and grabbed the ball when the defender came crashing in to his leg. McCaffrey's leg buckled and then bowed -- and he went down. Broken leg. Season was done, and his career ended a year-and-a-half after that.

I said something to Jeremy to the effect of how strange life was, there was no way that Ed knew how his life was going to change right before the play. He was in the huddle -- and complete oblivious to what was going to happen to him.

Those are the kind of profound life philosophies that are discussed in college dorms all the time; one of my professors once said that all the mysteries of life can be discovered during conversations in a dorm late at night. I've had dozens of them while at Liberty... yet I'll always remember that one, because the day Ed McCaffrey unexpectedly broke his leg and changed his life was September 10th, 2001.

And just like how Ed McCaffrey had no idea how much his world when he was in the huddle, early in the second half... I had no idea how different my life was going to be as I huddled up underneath my covers that night.

[absturgill]

I was living in Dorm 5 at the time and that morning we had a fire alarm malfunction about 6:45 and we had to stay outside for about 90 minutes while LUPD figured out what went wrong. When I got back inot my room, my first class wasn't until 10:50 so I checked email, showered, watched GMA and so on. Not long after, Charlie Gibson and Diane Sawyer came on and said that the WTC had been hit.

[phoenix]

I was teaching a high school history class. Second period was my planning period, so I cruised over to the Social Studies workroom/lounge, and saw it on the TV in there. Spent the rest of the day calming kids down, talking about what was going to happen next, telling them that the terrorists weren't going to blow up the school, showing them where Afghanistan was in the map, etc.

It's really hard to teach history when history is actually being made. We watched CNN or Fox News for the rest of the week, discussing what was going on and tying it in to various historic events. "Teachable moment," they call it.

[Cider Jim]

I was teaching an ENGL 102-Honors class in the School of Religion. My students told me about it. One of them is going to law school now at Georgetown.

[BJWilliams]

I was a student at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham VA about an hour down 29 from Lynchburg. I was in weightlifting class when one of the guys who was at the lat machine said he heard someone say on the radio that a plane had flown into the WTC. WE kinda laughed it off because we were always tossing out BS in the weight room...then I got to teh lat machine and heard the same thing...so I thought about it...then as I was walking out of my barracks after changing back into our daily dress uniform, an announcement was made for all cadets to report to Company Street for a school circle. It was there that Col Baker, the school president, confirmed what we had originally thought was a joke...and for most of my next clas I along with all my classmates talked about what it would be like if the draft was instituted, since ALL of us were of draft age.

[cheerbren]

I was sitting on my couch as my 6 year old was getting ready to go to the bus for first grade. I was watching the news as I always do for weather here in MN and she just sat there and stared at the t.v. as we watched the second plane fly live into the tower. She did not fly for a year as she flew to TX by herself for the prior year but needed us to drive for a little while. I think other than watching my 2 other kids I stayed in my pj's and watched the t.v. all day long.

[jcmanson]

n/m

[mrmacphisto]

bump

[PAmedic]

thanks MACPHISTO

*** Never Forget ***

[fan00]

I was just getting ready for Psych Stats and we didn't have a TV in our room. I always woke up a friend of mine down the hall who had stats with me, but when I went to her room to wake her up that morning her TV was on. She told me what was happening and we watched the second plane fly into the tower together. Rumors were running rampant, from it happening all over in major cities, to a plane was heading for Lynchburg and LU. I remember our RA's telling us there was a special, mandatory convo and I remember thinking that if someone was going to attack LU we were giving them a perfect opportunity to hit all of the students, faculty, and staff at once.

[ALUmnus]

I was in a dark room, developing xrays in radiology at LGH. I can still remember the rage I felt inside, much like the Hulk right before his eyes turn green.

[LUconn]

, to a plane was heading for Lynchburg and LU.

Really? Boy students are stupid. I can just picture old Osama and his buddies over in their cave "Ok guys, first we'll take down the U.S. financial center in the twin towers, then attack their military intelligence in the Pentagon. And then... THE VINES CENTER"

[RubberMallet]

hey remember i had those flags strapped to my grill guard...

[Hold My Own]

This is the first thing in my lifetime that really stands out to me for the whole "where were you when..."


I know the old folks talk about things like JFK and things like that...but I really think this was the first for the quarter lifers

[coolhandluke]

It is the most memorable moment for me in my lifetime. I was in band class and our principal come over the intercom and made an announcement. We only heard half of it because we didn't stop playing in time. All we heard was that were did not need to worry, that we were safe. Then my jackal band teacher made us keep playing. We didn't hear about what happened until the next period. All we did after that for the rest of the day was watch the news. It was possibly the most eerie feeling ever. Everyone was scared out of their minds. It was definitely an experience that I never want to have again.

We should all pray for the victims of that day today; their families and friends are probably still mourning their deaths.

[mrmacphisto]

Some additional reflection to add to my original reply...

Planes used to fly over my apartment building all the time, so it was especially eerie that night as I looked up at an empty sky and reflected on how quickly things had changed. Like most people, I would be glued to the TV for the next several weeks. On September 12, local businesses would start installing televisions because nobody wanted to hear background music anymore. They wanted to watch the towers fall again and again and again while they ate. They wanted to see President Bush with a bullhorn in downtown Manhattan while they ran errands.

Every year when I look back at the events of September 11, I remember standing outside my apartment at the end of the day, reflecting on what I had seen and heard, knowing that this was the beginning of a new era, realizing that war was right around the corner, wondering how everything would unfold. And in that moment, suspended between the chaos of that day and the uncertainty of what might happen tomorrow, for just that moment, I felt peace.

[SumItUp]

I was in Washington DC for a business conference and tradeshow. There were 4 people from my company that made the trip. I believe we were staying at the Omni in downtown Washington DC. I know that the hotel where we stayed was the tallest building near the Capitol. We had a new employee and her first day on the job was September 10th and it was a flight to Washington DC. We were meeting early on the 11th to talk about her responsibilities during the conference. We were sitting on sofas in the lobby in front of a large screen television. They shifted the news coverage to the first tower that was hit. They were speculating that it was a small plane. Soon, the discussion ended and our attention was on the television. We saw the second plane and watched in horror as it hit the building. Within 30 minutes there were a few thousand people crowding the lobby area of the hotel. Everything became surreal at this point. Strangers openly discussed and asked each other what was going on. It was very difficult to use a cell phone as we constantly heard "All Circuits Busy". We had three or four people trying to get car reservations and we were told it was impossible. Finally, we got a reservation from a rental car agency in Frederick, MD. We packed and loaded them in a taxi. As we were leaving the hotel, SWAT teams were coming into the hotel. Because the hotel was the highest in the area, they setup on the roof. As we were one block away from the hotel, the taxi driver received a call from dispatch saying that all taxis were grounded and to be used only for "government" purposes. That evening, we drove to Lynchburg and stayed at a friend's place on Ivy Lake. I remember going to the gas station on 221 to fill up the vehicle, because the rumor was that gas would be over $10/gallon the next day. The next morning, we loaded up the car and drove to Oklahoma.

At that time, very, very few people would have thought that our country would go WITHOUT another attack on US soil for the next 7 years.