Eleven

[Knight165]

Re: Eleven

Always a tough day for a lot of people.
It's nice to see that so many...and so many YOUNG guys remember this day as something reverent.

Honestly....I doubt there has been a day in the last 11 years that I haven't thought of Sept. 11, 2001 in some way, shape or form......mostly because of the brothers I lost that day.

A lot of good people.


343
All gave some. Some gave all.

M.K.
Knight165

[DJ]

Re: Eleven

I would like to thank all of the NY-area professional athletes that took time to visit with all the servicemen after the 9-11 attacks. They really helped to boost morale, at least I know in the case of my dad, it was a big help after spending the day at or around Ground Zero.

As a lifelong Yankees fan (yeah, I know, I'm the black sheep of the family), my dad said the visit from Joe Torre, Derek Jeter and Scott Brosius really stood out because all 3 guys really took a lot of time with each guy to ask how they were doing. They signed autographs and took pictures without a second thought.

One of my prized possessions is a photo of my dad with all 3 guys mentioned above. I'm a huge Mets fan but for at least a few months, I was a Yankees fan, too. That photo carries a range of emotions for me; some days I'll smile, others I'll cry.

Thanks again to all of those athletes that provided a morale boost during a very trying time.

[Marino]

I was in the 7th grade. Had no idea what was going on until the last class but you could tell something was up because of everyone being picked up by their parents. My dad always bowled on Tuesday night and that night it was packed. But it was nice because it just felt that everyone was there together and we just needed to be there together.

I remember coming home and was pretty scared and that's when I learned about Osama Bin Laden, so all I saw when I slept was images of him and well, just could not sleep.

I also remember all the morning radio guys being on all day into the evening. I know many people in this area have opinions about Ace and TJ and their morning show, but their amazing coverage and calming tone throughout the day was awesome and they have aalways earned my respect.

Its funny, I cant really remember things I do hours after doing them, but I could paint a vivid picture of that week for you from going to the bowling alley, to the Five for Fighting song constantly played on MTV, to playing Matt Hoffman BMX all day because the sporting events were canceled.

It was our modern day Pearl Harbor.

[VandyRedskins21]

Re: Eleven

I remember being in 2nd grade living in Annapolis, MD and our teaching was reading us a book and then all of the sudden over the intercom the principal was saying that school had closed. Nobody in our class had a clue and I didn't find out until my dad picked picked me up. I don't remember too much after that though.

[Knight165]

Re: Eleven

I would like to thank all of the NY-area professional athletes that took time to visit with all the servicemen after the 9-11 attacks. They really helped to boost morale, at least I know in the case of my dad, it was a big help after spending the day at or around Ground Zero.

As a lifelong Yankees fan (yeah, I know, I'm the black sheep of the family), my dad said the visit from Joe Torre, Derek Jeter and Scott Brosius really stood out because all 3 guys really took a lot of time with each guy to ask how they were doing. They signed autographs and took pictures without a second thought.

One of my prized possessions is a photo of my dad with all 3 guys mentioned above. I'm a huge Mets fan but for at least a few months, I was a Yankees fan, too. That photo carries a range of emotions for me; some days I'll smile, others I'll cry.

Thanks again to all of those athletes that provided a morale boost during a very trying time.

This is very true.
One of the staging areas for the F.D.N.Y. was in a marina parking lot just outside of Shea Stadium. In the weeks/months after the attacks....there were tons of donations of everything from water/clothes(work clothes)/gloves....etc and occasionally we would have to use the Shea Stadium parking lot to load the trucks with equip/food/water. While loading up one day...I can't remember how long after the 11th though.....Piazza/Ventura/Zeile/Bobby V. ..and of course John Franco among others from the Mets were right there with us helping hump the boxes from one vehicle to the next.
It kind of lightened up the mood a bit as I remember...it was about the time we realized that we weren't going to find anyone on the pile.....and they were talking more and more about going to heavy machinery to move the debris....something that most of us in the F.D.N.Y. were resisting(futile...we knew) as it meant the switch from a rescue mission to a recovery mission. Something that we are just not used to.
I do remember either Kevin Appier or Grant Roberts(maybe another pitcher, I can't remember exactly)....starting really goofing around....and the other players were telling him to knock it off....but I think he understood fireman better any of them.....not that we wanted to be laughing like nothing happened...but we did get a few chuckles and it helped.

M.K.
Knight165

[mb625]

Re: Eleven

I was in 4th Grade. I was in from recess that day (for what reason, I don't remember) but anyway, my teacher called me over to his computer and showed me the story on CNN.com. I didn't really understand quite what had happened until I got home (I was under the impression that it was an accident at first and when it was explained to me that it was purposely done it was just beyond me as to why someone would do something like that) and my mom explained to me what had happened and why someone would do such a thing... it was a super scary day for me though.

[VDusen04]

Re: Eleven

I was a senior in high school. Discussion & Debate class was winding down and I was touching this girl's back whom I had a crush on and telling her she had scoliosis. Then the principal came over the announcements and informed the school that a plane had flown into the World Trade Center. I was instantly confused because I didn't realize why it was particularly note worthy, I was only picturing a one-person plane. It wasn't until she continued and began saying something along the lines of, "Clearly this is a terrorist attack" and saw the reactions of those around me that I began to understand the gravity of the situation.

My next two classes were Journalism and Independent Study Journalism, so clearly we did nothing else but watch the situation unfold. I was flat out scared, because it seemed like new attack reports were emerging every five minutes. One building, another building, a missing plane headed toward California, a plane reported crashing into a mall (they were referring to the Mational Mall, I didn't know what that was at the time). The WTC attacks were crazy enough but what really put me over the edge was the attack on the Pentagon. Once I heard the Pentagon was hit, a place I figured no one could ever touch, I was shook entirely to the core.

I left the main journalism room after both towers collapsed and I sat alone in the editing room. My teacher eventually joined me, sat two stools adjacent from me, and we didn't even say much of anything to each other, but we connected because we both understood what the other was feeling. Looking back, it may have been the realest moment I've ever had with an educator.

After school, I remember gas stations being packed because folks thought gas prices were going to sky rocket. And everything just felt. . . insecure. A lot of things lost meaning and it took me a long, long time to truly return to any sort of normalcy. Further, as another poster mentioned, a lot of classmates were popping off about a military draft and that scared the hell out of me on top of everything else. It all became too real.

[chilli311]

Re: Eleven

I had just dropped out of college at the beginning of the year, and was about six months into my military career, still in technical training. I had gotten in trouble about a month before for "stealing" a pack of cigarettes from the BX (for the record, I hadn't stolen them). My punishment was a day of Scared Straight, a program that is basically a day in military jail. A drill sergeant barks at you, and forces you to humiliate yourself in order to learn your lesson. It usually started by standing at attention while your entire squadron marches by with him yelling at you, and you repeatedly asking for permission to entire the confinement building. While I was outside, his assistant came out and told him, "Sir, you need to come inside." The drill sergeant replied, "Can't you see I'm busy trying to teach this thief a lesson?" His assistant came back and said, "Sir, the state building has just been bombed." He immediately left with me still standing, alone now, at attention. Ten minutes later, he came back and told me to get my *** inside, and sit at attention while we watched the coverage. We stayed there until lunch time. By that point, the base had gone into full lockdown, and nobody except armed Security Forces officers were allowed outside. They released everyone from training and marched them back to the barracks, myself included. Once back, I didn't have a TV, so I snuck out to a friend's room who did, and we watched the President's speech.

That weekend, when we were finally allowed out for more than just meal time, we all sat around the smoke pit, and talked about what it meant for us. I remember several people regretting that they joined, thinking that they were just in it for the college money, and would be out in four years. It really made me question the patriotism of those around me.

One year later, I was in Kuwait, flying reconnaissance missions over Iraq.

[Jr.]

Re: Eleven

I was in the 7th grade. Had no idea what was going on until the last class but you could tell something was up because of everyone being picked up by their parents. My dad always bowled on Tuesday night and that night it was packed. But it was nice because it just felt that everyone was there together and we just needed to be there together.

I remember coming home and was pretty scared and that's when I learned about Osama Bin Laden, so all I saw when I slept was images of him and well, just could not sleep.

I also remember all the morning radio guys being on all day into the evening. I know many people in this area have opinions about Ace and TJ and their morning show, but their amazing coverage and calming tone throughout the day was awesome and they have aalways earned my respect.

Its funny, I cant really remember things I do hours after doing them, but I could paint a vivid picture of that week for you from going to the bowling alley, to the Five for Fighting song constantly played on MTV, to playing Matt Hoffman BMX all day because the sporting events were canceled.

It was our modern day Pearl Harbor.

I remember listening to Ace and TJ in my bedroom all night, that night. I couldn't sleep and they played a replay of their day-long show after they went off-air. I couldn't get my thoughts together all day about what happened. It seemed like a dream that I couldn't wake up from.

I was a Freshman in high school and was in English when I heard about it. Another teacher came in and told us and our teacher wheeled in a TV for us to watch what was going on. Every class I had that day we watched TV. We had a lot of people picked up from school. Both of my parents were working and I lived close enough to my school to walk home, but I didn't want to be alone. It made it easier for me being at school with other people around.

[AC]

Re: Eleven

I was in JK... I was just being dropped off at my school. My memory is a little sketchy, but I remember one teacher crying.

I was at my dad's later that day, and he was showing me on the news, and I just kinda knew that something wasn't right.

My mom worked in Commerce Court, which the Torontians will know is part of the banking core of the city. She was in a tower. They sent her home from work as a precaution.