Angela

I was in bed and my husband called me from Atlanta. He said get up and turn on the tv. I said "Why?". Then as I turned on tv I saw second plane strike. I was in absolute horror because I worked at the time for American and recognized the "silver bird".<BR>I then got a call from Operations at AA to report to work immediately. The rest of the day was spent taking calls. It was the most depressing day of my life. I will never forget the people with whom I spoke. Speaking to relatives all day long worried about their loved ones. It was too much. Nothing in my life ever prepared me for that day. <BR>I can never forget the 11th. There were many victims and so much pain. <BR>I cannot bear to watch tv because I am tired of the continous repetition of the press. Tomorrow I am going to church for an early morning prayer service. Then I am going to have a quiet day.

John

We come from Scotland and we were on holiday in Italy at the time. We were all in very high spirits until we saw the horrific pictures coming out of New York, it changed the mood of the holiday for some considerable time. <BR>Myself and my friends would like to send<BR>our best wishes to the American people at this sad time.

Linda

My husband and I are over here in Germany with the military and he was at work. He sent me an email that the Pentagon had been attacked and to turn on the news. We only have German TV here but do have one channel in English - CNN. As my neighbour and I watched in horror we both realized that in one form or another this was going to mean war and how would that affect our husbands, not to mention all of those directly touched by these attacks. The American community here pulled tightly together but were also very much supported by our German neighbours and friends. Getting onto the base was next to impossible for several days, so those of us who didn't have to go there just sat by our TV's. Now, a year later, we still are very much aware of the increased security and risks we take on entering the base. How could you not be when your grocery store is surrounded by blast barriers?

s.fowler

I was here on the Europe forum doing my morning Fodors "run" -- when a post appeared with the title that a plane had gone into the WTC. I ran downstairs, turned on CNN in time to see the second plane I "hung" on Fodors most of the morning for information and moral support. It was a special time here indeed.

Melissa

I was sleeping in bed....here in Honolulu we are 6 hours behind New York. The strange thing was, I am a heavy sleeper but my eyes jolted open without the aid of an alarm at 3:30 AM that morning (which puts us at 9:30 AM New York time). I thought it was odd, but proceeded to the kitchen and turned on the TV along the way out of habit. As the news progressed, I was filled with absolute horror over the events of the morning. And of course, I could not get any calls through to my friends and family in new york.<BR><BR>Doubly strange: My brother and another friend here also reported jolting awake at 3:30 that morning. Our theory was that the collective 'energy' or tension was so extreme that as it traveled to us it was powerful enough to wake us (and probably others).<BR><BR>I've been told to tune in to "America Rebuilds" on Public Television tonight at about 10 PM.

kathryn

We were in a motel in Libertyville Illinois,after arriving from England the previous afternoon.<BR>I had switched on the tv & heard that a plane had hit a tower,& just assumed that it was a light aircraft hitting a grain tower somewhere.I shouted to my husband to come out of the shower when I saw what was going on & we both watched in disbelief as the 2nd plane hit.Then we heard about the other 2 planes - it still seems nightmarishly unreal even now.<BR><BR>We decided to stay away from big cities for a few days,as we were really confused about what was happening- I kept thinking 'what if theres a war,how will we get home?'<BR><BR>Neither of us will ever forget that day.I can remember driving up to Lake Michigan,listening to the car radio,hoping that they would have reports on more people being rescued & then walking along the beach & looking up to see no planes overhead & very few people about.It was just such a beautiful day too, & that somehow made it seem worse,to see such horror on such a lovely morning.<BR><BR>We didn't try to phone home because we knew all the lines would be jammed & that other people had a greater need than we did, & also we didn't know what we could tell our families.A year later I can still see the events of that day in my mind,even down to the most trivial things we did.We will never forget it & I hope that I never see anything like it again.

Fast Freddy

I was in a #2 subway train under the World Trade Center when I found out about the attack. The second tower had just been hit, and three hysterical women got on the train and proceeded to tell us what happened. We were in disbelief. When we emerged at Wall Street Station, we could smell the smoke, see the Towers aflame and see the streets littered with falling papers. I went up to my office where my secretary filled me in on what happened. The decision was made to evacuate the building, so we were on the street 4 blocks from the Towers when they came down. At first, we didn't know what the rumbling was or where the debris cloud came from (we assumed it was a truck bombing). When we arrived at South Street Seaport, we turned around to see that the first Tower had collapsed. I inhaled a pound or two of smoke and dust from the collapse. I will never forget that day, or my friends who were lost in the attack.

Kerry

I was sleeping when I got the call from work to come in. I'm a scub nurse in the OR. My manager told me to come in right away, they had called a Disaster 33.I could see all the smoke driving in. I was assigned to Pre-Op and given a magic marker with instructions to mark each body with a number. Seems just like yesterday. The other nurse I was with was wondering if her husband was okay, {he was a fireman}. She never saw him again.

Tony Hughes

Fixing breakfast on Vancouver Island, Canada. Obviously with the time difference, the major damage had already ocurred by the time I switched on the TV.

Faye

I am in Los Angeles, and I was sound asleep when my son called from his cell phone to tell me we (the USA) were being attacked. I tried to wake up as I stumbled towards the living room and turned on the tv just in time to see the first tower collaspe. I was in shock and just kept watching the horror unfold on tv. I was shaking and sobbing in anger and disbelief with a sick feeling in my stomach. <BR>We didn't go to work that day because I work in a high profile company that gave us the day off, but really, I wouldn't (couldn't) go in anyway.

heartfeltsympathies

We feel for you.

John

Also on the west coast, I was making coffee and switched on the TV to see smoke from the first tower, then saw the second plane hit. I roused my wife - she has done a lot of work with the Port of NY/NJ and had a lot of colleagues in the WTC, and we both have lots of friends on Wall St. We spent the rest of the day, and much of the next, just watching TV and having all those emotions wash over and through us - fear, rage, unspeakable sorrow, pride... and wondering, like so many of us, who we knew that had been murdered that day.<BR><BR>All our friends in NYC had survived, we learned days later. But another friend, who we hadn't talked to in years, had been at her desk doing her "dream job" in the Pentagon that morning, and was killed. <BR><BR>September 11 was a gloriously beautiful day in Seattle. We had to go out and take walks, and cry a little, in the park across from our house. I will never forget the silence in the sky that afternoon.

Ginny

Here in NYC in my office where I went online to talk about what was going on, I did this on the American board. Very freaked out and not as strong as I would have expected. I am not close to ground zero in distance and did not witness much of the horrific sights people saw down town. So I expected to be tougher than I was.<BR><BR>A Friend walked five miles to meet me, she was three weeks from her pregnancy due date. She was employed in the first tower towards the top floors. She had made her way to the concourse when the first plane hit. Her experience and one business relationship we lost on that day brought me closer to what took place. She lost 700 people in her company, only a week before several had thrown her a baby shower. <BR><BR>Feel very very lucky to be able to talk about this terrible day with great distance. Wish I could better help my friend get by this loss. She is fairing better than many but I worry about what is not apparent. She worked with those people for 5 years, every day. <BR>

Judy

Sally, was it not eerie here? FODOR'S Forum was where I heard about the attack!!!! I, too hung around the Forum, and near the TV. <BR>Judy

Darlene

I was in the air flying from Lourdes, France to Paris. We had no idea what had happened; even when we had landed in Paris, still no word. We arrived at our hotel, and the staff did not speak of it. We finally heard bits & pieces of the news as we were walking to find a restaurant for dinner to celebrate my mother's birthday. During our meal, a couple sitting near us tried to explain in body language what had happened. It still was not clear to me what had happened. It wasn't until after dinner, and after I had gotten back to the hotel when I received a phone call from family describing the events and the current status. I was horrified. We spent a lot of the rest of our trip in front of CNN,near the phone, emailing, and trying to figure out when we were coming home, since our flight back was originally scheduled Sept.13th.

Elizabeth

In Manhattan, on my way to my office on Broadway below 14th Street. My friends had phoned me to tell me what happened.<BR><BR> Someone who was supposed to meet me here called to tell me she'd just been on West Broadway and that she'd seen many many people "falling" from the windows of the burning Towers.<BR><BR> My office building was closed for the next week. I spent a lot of time in Union Square, day and night, and in an Internet cafe. <BR><BR> I started having very strong anniversary reaction anxiety today, and so did everyone I talked to. For us this day, the Tuesday, feels like the real anniversary.

somegirl

My husband and I were flying to vegas for our anniversary. We had to land in New Orleans, Louisiana. The pilot never told us what the problem was. Once everyone had landed everyone used their cell phones. Thats when we heard the news. We had to drive from New Orleans back to Miami, FL. As an American Muslim I was terrified! I was scared of all the ignorant people that are out there. Many people dont understand the Muslim religion (for example the ones that comitted the crimes!) because it is not about hate. But now when the word terrorist pops up, who do you think of first? The people that made the attacks were not muslims, they were creatures from hell! Who destroyed everyones life! And thats where they are going back!

somegirl

My husband and I were flying to vegas for our anniversary. We had to land in New Orleans, Louisiana. The pilot never told us what the problem was. Once everyone had landed everyone used their cell phones. Thats when we heard the news. We had to drive from New Orleans back to Miami, FL. As an American Muslim I was terrified! I was scared of all the ignorant people that are out there. Many people dont understand the Muslim religion (for example the ones that comitted the crimes!) because it is not about hate. But now when the word terrorist pops up, who do you think of first? The people that made the attacks were not muslims, they were creatures from hell! Who destroyed everyones life! And thats where they are going back!

Ginny

Some girl I don't think of Muslims. Whenever I do here of a connection between any religion with violent acts I know it is more about extremism and that can be found in all religions anywhere. Anyone who does not see this needs to make one Muslim friend.

pip

I was in NY on a business trip from Chicago. I had gotten enagged 6 weeks before and remember as I walked to the office that morning how beautiful it was out and how happy and lucky I felt. Blue sky, crisp air..yes, I love NYC! We were in a meeting when someone came in to tell us that a plane had hit one oif the WTC towers. Like many of you, I thought a prop plane had accidently run into it (how could you miss them though?) We continued with our meeting and then someone came in and told us about the second plane. No doubts at that point. We huddled around a TV, some people left as the remaining tried to call loved ones. It was insane trying to get through on cell phones. My fiance had no idea where I was, as I didn't leave my office address with him (why would I?). After I assured him I was OK, I got in touch my sisters, who live in NYC. My younger sister was at our older sisters apartment and I told her not to leave. My older sister works in Times Square and I was in Midtown. As we walked to meet one another, it was a scene from a movie. Times Square was SILENT. People were staying at the jumbotron, car doors open as people were listening to radios. I will never forget that. My sister lives on 21st street and as we made our way downtown, we seemed like the only ones heading in that direction. Suddenly, we noticed ash on a mans shoe, a shirt ripped...the smell in the air. She lives next door to a police station and the academy is also close by. The police had set up a command center. Like everyone we were glued to the TV for minutes, hours, days, but when we wanted a break we stepped outside and saw the police and the trucks that had returned with financial statements, smashed windows and ash all over. It certainly was not a "break"...it was in our backyard. I finally took the train 3 days later, back to Chicago-no matter, I was heading home. My fiance surprised me at the train station-8AM Saturday morning. I think the whole week, we knew i would not be home until then, but I was coming home. Unlike those hardest hit, I was returning. I heard my name in the train station and turned around and there he was...I dropped my bag and hugged him . I was home, very grateful to be alive and very lucky again.