Whats up folks,
this is out of the ordinary, but Sept 11th is right around the corner, on friday.
i dont know about you fellas, but i lost a few friends in the disaster when i lived there back in '01. its a very sad and emotional day for many of us.
I remember that year very well, how can any of us forget really?
a week after the 11th, i was walking in the east village, the smell from all of the death nauseated me. but as i was walking, i looked at all of the fliers and pictures of missing people, it took up an entire city block!! it hit me really hard, i broke down and cried. i had never cried so hard in my life. all the emotion poured out me, and i was drained, i couldnt even walk.
now mind you, im not easily stirred by feelings, but it couldnt be helped. all of those people were gone, almost like they never even existed. all those families who lost fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters......
i was at work that morning, and my ex worked ablock and a half away from the tower.
on the morning of the 11th,( I had just taken the express bus to work from Bay ridge brooklyn, the blasted bus runs under the WTC, in the Battery tunnel) i got a call from her after the 1st plane hit, and she was frantic, i couldnt understand a thing she was saying.
after she had explained it to me, i immediately ran up to the rooftop (i was a superintendant on the upper east side), and i was floored.
the second airplane was being followed by police gunships, threatening the media to leave the airspace, or they would be shot out of the sky. they meant it.
i dont have to tell you that the airplane found its way into the tower, everyone knows that.

the point of this thread, is to have you share with all of us bloomilk members here on the site, what you were doing that day. even if you didnt get up til 10 in the morning, i personally want to know. i think the people that were lost in the tragedy need to be remembered, even if we didnt know them personally.
i know that my prayers are with the families of my friends, and the families of people that werent my friends. they are held dear to my heart, forever and always.
theres a documentary on HBO. its about the yankees (Im a Red Sox fan), and what they did for this country when it all went down. even if you arent a Base ball fan, or a yankee fan, you should watch, just for Vigil.

Living in Illinois you don't get the full impact as those closer to where it happened. I do remember I was outside working in the yard and my wife called to me to come inside. At first I wasn't really sure what I was watching until my wife explained to me it was in NY. I just kind of watched the replays over and over numb.

I was out feeding the cows on a pretty nice morning when my aunt told me that an airplane had crashed into the WTC. Now I know my history and that airplanes crash into skyscrapers from time to time including a bomber into the Empire State Building sometime in I believe the 40s so I wasn't all that concerned. It wasn't until I came in from doing my chores and turned on the television, my tractor at the time didn't have a radio, that I saw what actually happened. Once I saw that I realized that September 11, 2001 was the day the 21st Century actually started as opposed to some random January 1 on the calendar.

6th grade english, Ordean Middle School, Duluth, MN. Didnt get to see the news until school got finished. They made us stay the rest of the day after announcing what had happened over the intercom. I think i would have rather not known until i got home, i had all day in school to think about it.

I was stationed at FT Sill Oklahoma when it happened I was coming back from a 4 mile run with some of the other Rangers, When we heard the alert announcement go off with base wide orders for every one to report to their emergency assembly area's in full gear immediately. The 6 of us on the run thought that it was just another readiness drill until we passed a couple of reception platoons near the 95th reception battery and the Drill Sergeant's told us that it was not a drill and flagged down a civilian pickup that was still on base to have her drop us off at our barracks.


When we arrived at the barracks and met up with the rest of our unit we geared up and were rushed to the landing strip where there were 2 Blackhawks waiting to take us to an undisclosed location ( to this day I still don't know where in the hell we were) where they took all of our cell phones and briefed us about the situation and told that we would be the first on the ground.

Amen.

A truly horrible day. My sympathies go out to anyone who lost someone that day. We must always remember 9/11.

I was in Kennebunkport, Maine, teaching my 6th graders when the janitor came in and mumbled something to me about a plane hitting the WTC. I figured it was a cessna or something. Then, the teacher across the hall had her TV on and her room was silent.
We went next door to watch the news, and I think (It's all a surrealistic blur) we watched the 2nd plane hit and as the reporter was talking... I watched in shock like the whole nation did, thinking "the world has changed.."
Then, the drama teacher came down the hall (not knowing) saying "it's time to do some drama..." I quickly told her and then drama class was spent talking about it for awhile and then the class did some drama games to get their minds off of it.
Soon after, parents were pulling their kids out of school right and left. Remember, this is Kennebunkport where Pres. Bush has his summer home. Many people thought our school might be a possible target. I later tried calling our friend, my daughters' godmother, who works about 5 blocks from ground zero. NO reply. Later that day, she called us telling us she was ok, and she was going to work at one of the medical wards near ground zero. she's a doctor. She said it was very eerie and sad because very few people needed medical attention. SHe has pictures of hundreds of beds set up for the hurt, with only a couple being occupied. That picture sticks with me when I remember in times like this.
We went down two weeks later to visit, and ash was still falling. The streets were still and firemen were quietly collecting donations in their boots. My heart hurt that day to see and feel the aftermath.
I also remember after Sept 11, everyone was nicer and more patient with each other. I even rooted the Yankees that year, even though I am a Red Sox fan. That may seem trivial, but I think our hearts and prayers were with NYC that day.. and more importantly, we became unified Americans. Drivers seemed more generous and polite. Maybe I am wrong, but that's how I remember it. We should be like that all the time.

Hopefully, Sept 11 will not be forgotten and the lives of those who perished will somehow help the rest of us become better people and make the world better.
Peace,
MAINEiac

I too rooted for the "Stanks", it was almost like i had no choice. the best part was that i was content doing it. lets just hope that we dont have another tragedy like that again, because after this season, it will be really hard for me to root for them again.

just doing my civic duty.
its officially the day, and i know there are members who are just dying to tell theyre stories, but might find this thread too much.
oh well, the next time we decide to have a thread discussing politics, ill just turn the other cheek. its amazing how people are more willing to point the finger at "terrorists", then take a look at the mirror and ask themselves, "what has our country come to? that we could actually do this to ourselves, and blame others for our misfortunes."
A blind eye is less possible to see the world for what it truly is.