[Demko]

So, it seems that remembering 9/11 this year has somehow become more unpopular than it has been in years past. Has there been enough time between then and now that people have stopped mourning our losses on that day?

Well, either way, however unpopular it is to remember... I will never forget.

And, since I haven't known any of you that long (and some of you I just don't know that well), I'd be interested in hearing your story. What were you doing that Tuesday morning when you first heard about the crash? Was someone important to you inside that building? I know some of you live in the NY area. Do you have any personal experience with the ground zero site since then?

Let me share my story... it's strange. I was dating someone new during September of 2001, and on the night of 9/10 (like, really late night, so in fact, our anniversary wound up being 9/11), we'd made the decision to start getting more serious. Her name was Jenni. Well, she went home that night, and I had the day off from work the next day. I was working at an AOL call center here in Tampa, so I had odd days off.

I awoke the next morning to the sound of the phone ringing. It was Jenni, telling me to turn on the TV, quickly. I did so, and saw, live, the sight that I've never quite been able to get out of my mind. It was the sight of the 2nd plane hitting the towers. I was speechless. After a few minutes of watching, and hearing Jenni in my ear "Michael? Michael, are you there?" I finally said "Please come over." I had no idea what was going on, but the CNN commentators were starting to clarify what was happening. By the time she came over, I understood the significance of what had just happened, and it scared the everloving out of me. I was sincerely freaked out by this.

After a while of sitting on the couch in near silence with Jenni, something hit me. I had a very good high school friend who worked one of the higher-floor restaurants in Tower #1. I hadn't seen him in a year or so, but I still had his number in my phone. I called him. The phone rang... once... twice. At nearly the end of the 4th ring, my friend, Byron, picked up. Here was the conversation that ensued:

Byron: Hello?
Me: Hey man, you okay?
Byron: (apparently looked at the phone) Demko? Yeah man, why wouldn't I be?
Me: Have you turned on the TV today?
Byron: No. I'm home sick today.
Me: Turn on the TV.
Byron: (sounds of fumbling for the remote) Ho. Lee. Shit.
Me: Yeah. I know.

As it turned out, he wasn't actually sick, but just got a feeling that he shouldn't go to work today. His thought was that he was going to get into it with a co-worker he'd been at odds with, but nonetheless, he got a strange feeling that he didn't wanna go to work. How weird is that? And I've heard hundreds of similar stories of people who had different reasons NOT to go into the office that day. Little did they know at the time that this decision probably saved their lives.

Anyhow, I spent the rest of the day Tuesday and most of Wednesday glued to the television, because I kept fearing that something even worse was about to happen. I spent my life in that paranoid haze for probably about a month afterwards (as did most Americans, it seemed).

I know a lot of you probably won't wind up reading this, but I just wanted to get my story out there. I think it helps a little bit when something like this isn't all bunched up inside you. If you get it out, sometimes it helps you to feel a little better.

Like I said, I don't really know many of you that well, so I have no idea how many of you have served in the military, or in a government capacity, or as a firefighter or police officer. But any of you who fits these categories, let me say to each of you personally: THANK YOU. From the very bottom of my heart. I honor and respect you on this anniversary of such a great loss. Because these organizations showed what kind of true strength and bravery that Real Americans have in particularly hard times.

I'm sorry that this went a little longer that I'd expected, and I'm sure that this all comes off as a little cheesy and hokey... but thank you for reading this far.

[Fire-Babe]

Actually, this is the first time in a while our local village here is doing anything.

I was sitting in my office getting ready to teach classes. I was on IRC with a friend who said "A plane just hit the world trade center." We speculated on whether it was an accident. She was watching TV (no cable in my Fortress of Solitude, here) so giving me the play by play. She was watching when the second plane hit.

Me: Are you sure it wasn't just a replay of the plane hitting? You know how they run those things over and over.

[of course, they wouldn't have footage of the first plane, silly firewoman, but it was still in that realm of unthinkable, ya know?]

As I wondered to my secretary's office to see what was going on (she had a little black and white TV that got local channels. I brought one to my office the very next day) the plane hit the pentagon.

So, it became 9am-ish and I had to get to class, but clearly this was NOT going to be a typical first day. I got there, handed out the syllabus and said "I don't know how many of you have seen the news, but two planes hit the World Trade Center in NYC. I don't know why or what is happening, but I'm headed back to my office to find out. See you Thursday."

I ended up having to stay on campus for what was a beautiful early fall day. Totally clear skies (even clearer without planes flying through them) because I had a 1:00 class. The school eventually cancelled classes for the day, but I wasn't sure how many students heard classes were cancelled, so I stayed. About half my afternoon class showed up, and we talked for a bit. I checked in with the PD at some point that day (the college and the PD are basically right around the corner from each other) but they said for now to go on home, but keep my cell phone on.

Throughout the day frantically checked e-mails and voice mails to hear from friends in NYC. It took several hours before my Rush-concert-going buddy was able to check in.

That night we listened to what seemed like a bazillion helicopters take off from somewhere and fly to NYC and DC and other places.

[Demko]

Sept 11, 2008 8:07:58 GMT -5 Fire-Babe said:

Totally clear skies (even clearer without planes flying through them)

Yeah, I remember just how eerie this was... I lived real close to Tampa International Airport, so I'd hear the planes going over all the time, and it was pretty much just background noise to me. But the rest of that week, it seemed so strange not to hear ANY planes leaving the airport.

[Mikey]

Great read, Demko.

Sept 11, 2008 7:58:49 GMT -5 Demko said:

I was dating someone new during September of 2001, and on the night of 9/10 (like, really late night) we were getting our groove on

Yeah, me too.

So having been up late getting my groove on and worrying about the condition of Kurt Angle after Austin had tossed him off the ramp onto his head earlier in the night on RAW, I drove back down to Troy at like 3am because I had a 10:00 class the next morning. Got back to the dorm, specifically remembering having to park across campus because our lot was full, and crashed out. As usual, I woke up 10 minutes before class, grabbed a shirt - I'd slept in my jeans - threw on a hat and walked out the door. No radio, no TV had been flipped on.

Get down to the end of the dorm hall and there's a flier posted on the glass that read something to the extent of: "There will be a candlelight vigil tonight at Trojan Arena at 7:00 for the tragic events of this morning." I didn't have a fucking clue what this meant. The first thing that went thru my mind was a building collapse on campus or a major car wreck that went into a building or something.

So I walk across campus with this on my mind. And I remember how QUIET everybody else was walking to class. NOBODY was talking to anybody. My class was in the journalism computer lab and in there, EVERYBODY was silent. I didn't look at anything on anyone else's computer, sat down at mine, and told myself, "Okay, everything on campus is quiet, no smoke, nothing like that - let's check the news." And my mind went COMPLETELY blank. For what seemed like 5 minutes, but probably wasn't more than 20 seconds, I struggled to think of a news site. Finally, CNN came to mind and I typed it in the browser. As the page loaded, our professor walked in and said: "Well, to say today is a big news day is the biggest understatement you'll ever hear in your life." And the page came up as soon as he finished his sentence.

From there, I only remember three specific things from the remainder of the day:

1. Going to the student center and watching (I think) FOX News on a mounted 17" TV along with about 200 hundred other people huddled around it.

2. Going back to the dorm where my roommate was gone, turning on the TV, seeing a replay of the towers falling, and just breaking down into tears.

3. Having lunch with a buddy of mine and watching the news on the big screen in there - where we were the only ones in the place - when I heard the name Osama bin Laden for the first time.

[Demko]

Yes! I completely remember Angle/Austin from the previous night's Raw, specifically because Jenni was actually a wrestling fan, and she was a total markout for Angle, so she was sincerely worried about him.

And I also remember when I went back to work on Thursday, how everyone was huddled around the 1 TV they had in the call center. Like 150 people, all on their break, standing around the TV. Not a single one of them speaking. Just all of us understanding, in silence, how we had come together, despite our differences.

[The Jewish Cunthead]

Nice job, MD.

My story isn't as "exciting" but since this is our generation's "where were you when...." moment, I might as well share. I was listening to Stern per my usual morning commute when the news hit and I thought maybe it was a private plane or something. I remember reading about a little plane that hit the Empire State Building so I thought maybe the same thing happened. I got to work and was glued to my radio all day since we didn't have a TV there. I finally got home in the afternoon and watched the footage the rest of the night. I had been hearing the details all day but once I actually saw the planes slice into the towers, was I finally able to put it into perspective. I didn't know anyone directly who died that day but I have friends in New Jersey who lost loved ones and family members so I always think of them when this date rolls around.

Like I said, I don't really know many of you that well, so I have no idea how many of you have served in the military, or in a government capacity, or as a firefighter or police officer. But any of you who fits these categories, let me say to each of you personally: THANK YOU. From the very bottom of my heart. I honor and respect you on this anniversary of such a great loss. Because these organizations showed what kind of true strength and bravery that Real Americans have in particularly hard times.

Sums up how I feel too. Especially to those who went into the buildings knowing they weren't coming out. The definition of a true hero.

[bdoriginal]

I was actually too drunk to know what was going on at the time. I forwarded an e-mail to like four girls I liked asking them to marry me, and the one I did end up marrying asked me if I had watched the news yet. I hadn't so when I did, I had no clue what was happening. It also didn't dawn on me that she had instant messaged me, which meant she was home. She works for the government, so her building had been evacuated since Atlanta is a pretty big city in the south and potential target.

The scope of it really didn't set in until later that afternoon when I had sobered up a bit and my mom called (the same woman ready to kick me to the curb at that time) begging me to stay home. As fate would have it, I was a week away from going to boot camp when 9/11 happened and maybe it was the alcohol, because sad to say I never considered myself patriotic, but it hardened my resolve to go through with it and do my part.

Flash forward 7 years and it still doesn't sit well with me that we're in Iraq, haven't caught Bin Laden, or hell, explained why it is absolutely necessary that the war on terror be fought where it is now.

[Jack Quinn]

it's weird when you KNOW a certain event will be THE defining moment of your generation. Before this, I think that moment was the Space shuttle disaster in 1986.

Anyway, at the time I was going to school at the University of Michigan - Dearborn (more on that in a few minutes) if I remember right, it was a Tuesday when it happened, and I didn't have classes that day. Normally I would have slept through it, but we had to take the dog to the vet that morning, so we were up early. I remember them breaking into whatever I was watching talking about how a plane had hit the tower. Being the skeptic that I am, I didn't think it was that big a deal, until the second plane. Then the Pentagon. Then the plane that crashed in the field. Suddenly, I guess it had dawned on me: we had been attacked. I know I watched for hours as whatever channel I was watching, probably CNN, tried to make sense of it. I was pretty much numb to the whole thing, until they showed people jumping from the building. That hit me hard. Trying to imagine the mindset of these people, knowing they are trapped, knowing they are going to die, and choosing to leap to their deaths rather than wait for the inevitable collapse. Just so hard to see. At some point I guess the history part of my brain kicked in and I started to wonder if this was how the people felt immediately after Pearl Harbor.

As far as school goes, Dearborn, Michigan has the highest Arabic population in the US, I believe. It may be per capita or something, I am not sure. The point is, there are a lot of Arabic folks there, and because of that, I went to school with A LOT of Arabic kids. One thing I will never forget when we finally went back to class was the look of fear on their faces. And that made me just as sad as the people jumping out of the building. I am sure these kids were just as hurt by what happened as everyone else. They are all, presumably, Americans, and I am sure they felt like this had happened to "us" instead of it being something that happened to "them." Some of the comments I heard, people's attitudes after 9/11, it still makes me sad. It seems wrong when a national tragedy doesn't so much bring us together as it does foster reasons for misplaced and irrational hatred.

As for the military aspect of it, Flea and I had set our wedding date for October 13, 2001, just a month after 9/11. My best man and her maid of honor, as well as several guests in the wedding party were all in the military, and they went on complete lock down. We had to scramble to find replacements, but given the circumstances, it really didn't seem like a big deal.

As for 9/11, I have mixed feelings about the remembrance of it. On one hand, I think it is something that everyone should take a moment to reflect on today, and give a passing thought to the people who lost their lives because of what happened. But on the other hand, the fact that such a tragic event could inspire such hatred, racist sentiment and spawn the magnetic ribbon industry just irks me to no end. It was among the most tragic events in US history, I don't need to be reminded to NEVER FORGET. Believe me, that is something no one will ever forget.

[Habs]

I remember exactly what happened that morning. I was working in Montreal at the time, and my company had just finished building an assembly plant for Bombardier (a plane builder). Now I was in charge of deficiencies. Basically fixing everything that wasn’t built or worked properly in the manufacturing plant. Now this is the WORSE job of any construction project. Because you just don’t fix things, the client usually wants more then he asked for, so you end up negotiating new stuff, they feel they don’t have to pay for it you say it was not in the contract… Long story short, every Tuesday morning at 7h30, I had a 3 hour long meetings where it was usually me alone against 8 to 12 pissed off directors from the Bombardier Plant.

So on that Tuesday the meeting was particularly brutal (I’ll spare the details) so I come out totally depressed wondering how the hell am I going to get final completion on this project, the Client isn’t reasonable in his demands, he threatening to bring us to court etc. I was seeing myself having these meetings for the next year!

The security guard tell me then that a plane just hit the World Trade Center. My first tough was of a small plane and that it was an accident. But the security guard said that it was a mighty big hole for a small plane… So we were looking at the footage when we saw the second plane it! And that was no small plane. That’s when I got it that something really bad was happening.

Got into my car and grabbed my cell phone to call mom and dad. You see mom just retired that summer (she was a teacher) and my parents decided to go spent some time in the Bahamas on their sail boat. We had sailed for 20 years on Lake Champlain (on hour south of Montreal in NY) and it was always a dream of my parents to go spend some winter down south. That year was the year they decided to go. September 11th was the day the anchor was raised to start their retirement (I got great stories of sailing, just some hints here if I ever get on the review board). To go from Lake Champlain to the Bahamas, their route took them right down the Hudson River into New York. Of course, I’m on the phone but no answer. Finally mom calls to brag and I tell here to put on the news. Delayed their journey for a month but that got my mom thinking about her cousin who’s husband works in one of the Towers. Now his story is simply amazing.

He was working in the Towers one a bomb exploded in the garage a few years earlier. Since then, he had hip surgery and had an artificial hip(he was in his late 60). Fortunately he worked in the second tower. When he saw what happen to the first tower, even though the loud speakers where telling everyone in the second tower to stay put. He started his way down from the 76th floor. He doesn’t know why he did it, but he just got up and walked away. By the time he was almost down, the second plane hit. He got out off the building and again just started walking away. When the towers fell, he was at a safe distance. That’s when he thought that he should call home to say he’s OK. He goes into the first stores he sees, asks for the phone, gets a line (!!!!) and lets everyone know he’s fine and to set up a meeting point outside of Manhattan (lives on Long Island). When he got home at 6PM he was covered in dust. This man used to be a happy, talking social guy, that would defend the Mets and the Islanders like there was no tomorrow, always had stories about anything and everything. Now he rarely talks and never tells this story, I got it from his son.

Now to tie this up to the beginning of my post, I never got to solve the issues with the pissed off Bombardier plant directors, there was no meetings anymore at 7h30 on Tuesday. Like many other aircraft industry companies, Bombardier was hit badly by the crisis. The plant was shut down (it re-opened 2 years later), so these little deficiencies became irrelevant. And I was moved to another project with a promotion...

I’m usually not this long winded in my posts, but I figured that this being the 11th, I could make an exception.

[The Jewish Cunthead]

Great story habs. I can't even fathom what's going through his mind having cheated death like that. Amazing.

I'm with Moose. The mindset of jumping or burning... I can't wrap my head around that, especially hearing stories of people thinking bombs were hitting the street when they were just falling bodies.

[Concrete TG]

I remember much of that day because it was a weird one for me from the start.

I was still living in FL at the time and I worked for a community college as an after-hours "Babysitter" for the equipment when the tele-courses aired. Occasionally, we'd be called in for functions and this particular morning I drove across town to the East Orlando campus to videotape a session discussing Puerto Rico's status with the US. The discussion on whether or not they should be admitted to the US as the 51st state or if they just wanted to continue to have all of our benefits without paying for it took a back seat when one of the engineers mentioned to me that a plane hit one of the Trade Center towers.

I shrugged it off as an accident, picturing in my mind some little Cessna sticking out of window about halfway up and emergency crews trying to get to the pilot. A short time later, word came about teh second plane.

During the intermission the small theater we were using for this meeting emptied out as people scrambled for tvs. I had a work pager that sent sketchy details of the events, and that was all I had for info (crew weren't allowed to leave the theater).

the second half of the session started with a moment of silence for those killed in the planes that hit the Trade center. I don't remember the rest of the panel discussion, but I DO remember driving home and not hearing a plane in the sky or seeing a single person manning the toll booths.... that scared me.

Once I was home, my roommate and her boyfriend were still asleep (about 1p - they both worked late shifts). I put the TV on and watched replays of the towers falling, thinking it looked like a movie to me - it still hadn't sunk in.

I called my parents a little later and had to calm my mom down. From there, I napped beacuse I didn't know what else to do - I couldn't watch anymore and I prayed I would wake up to it being a bad dream.

I actually had to work that night as well and I remember the security guard telling me to go home. I told him I would after I at least made sure we were still up and running. I didn't stay longer than about 20 minutes, went home and tried to get through the shock.

I almost didn't come to work today because I think that this is one day we should close everything down and remember this day- and those that suffered because of someone else's hatred. It was a day that pulled a nation together, patriotism somehow flourishing. Some of it was very misplaced, true; but seeing people actually WANTING To fly a flag has to count for something.

Today, here in Ohio, it's as nice a day as it was in NYC that day. That doesn't really help my feelings about the event too much

[Lucky]

Sept 11, 2008 7:58:49 GMT -5 Demko said:

So, it seems that remembering 9/11 this year has somehow become more unpopular than it has been in years past. Has there been enough time between then and now that people have stopped mourning our losses on that day?

I'm kind of one of those people who is really raw at this stuff so I just felt like saying something in response. It isn't about no longer mourning "our losses" and that phrase almost gets me annoyed even if I think it safe to presume you aren't trying to call anyone callous and forgetful. I just think that with each passing year many of us are annoying that we'll never be allowed to move on. There are plenty of vigils and prayers. Lots of masses and grave site visits today. No one is being forgotten. But for the life of me (and I'm sorry, Crete, I don't mean to offend you) I don't get how shutting our lives down that same day is supposed to accomplish anything except digging up a trying time and making it harder. And the bombardment of the memories and messages can just get to be too much. I think a lot of people are like habs' mother's cousin who just rather not tell the same story 100 times. After all, its a difficult one.

I mean, if this is what you want or need to make things easier I don't begrudge you it. If these "Where were you?" stories help people feel better they're good things. But I think I can safely say that some people just wish this day didn't have to be all about that horrible day to the point where if I encounter enough people one of them will call my character into question for not doing more of this.

Again, in no way am I crudding on this thread or anyone's stories. If it makes you feel better during a tough time, its a good thing. I just reread that first paragraph a bunch of times and felt a need to respond and point out that the desire NOT to stand on ceremony all day is as much about what we lost and went through as these are, and not about "forgetting" or being "unpopular to remember." Its a lot like asking people to dig up one of the worst days in their lives and relive it every year on the anniversary. And it just feels tacky and uncomfortable sometimes.

[Jack Quinn]

See I can see both sides of what Lucky is saying. On one hand, for some it is cathartic to keep reliving the events until at some point, it stops being a painful memory. On the other hand, like Lucky said, for some, it is just keeping a wound from healing. Sort of like the parents who lose a child and keep their room untouched like it is a shrine. I have never understood that.

Anyway, back to your method of healing

[Demko]

Sept 11, 2008 11:29:34 GMT -5 Lucky said:

I'm kind of one of those people who is really raw at this stuff so I just felt like saying something in response. It isn't about no longer mourning "our losses" and that phrase almost gets me annoyed even if I think it safe to presume you aren't trying to call anyone callous and forgetful. I just think that with each passing year many of us are annoying that we'll never be allowed to move on. There are plenty of vigils and prayers. Lots of masses and grave site visits today. No one is being forgotten. But for the life of me (and I'm sorry, Crete, I don't mean to offend you) I don't get how shutting our lives down that same day is supposed to accomplish anything except digging up a trying time and making it harder. And the bombardment of the memories and messages can just get to be too much. I think a lot of people are like habs' mother's cousin who just rather not tell the same story 100 times. After all, its a difficult one.

I mean, if this is what you want or need to make things easier I don't begrudge you it. If these "Where were you?" stories help people feel better they're good things. But I think I can safely say that some people just wish this day didn't have to be all about that horrible day to the point where if I encounter enough people one of them will call my character into question for not doing more of this.

Again, in no way am I crudding on this thread or anyone's stories. If it makes you feel better during a tough time, its a good thing. I just reread that first paragraph a bunch of times and felt a need to respond and point out that the desire NOT to stand on ceremony all day is as much about what we lost and went through as these are, and not about "forgetting" or being "unpopular to remember." Its a lot like asking people to dig up one of the worst days in their lives and relive it every year on the anniversary. And it just feels tacky and uncomfortable sometimes.

It just seems to me that anytime I brought up something about 9/11 coming up, people would roll their eyes at me, like I was being overly dramatic about it. I never meant to presume that people wouldn't remember it, or that the losses on that day had somehow been forgotten. I'm sure that if I'd gone back to actually edit myself before I finished that first post, I'd have edited the first paragraph out, as it sounds harsh and bitter. That was not the intention at all. My intention was to get to know people on the board a little better through stories and experiences regarding the 9/11 Tragedy.

I'm very grateful for the stories that people have told, because not only does it enhance my feeling of community here at PH, but it also helps me to gain a little insight as to the people telling the stories.

[Tommy]

Sept 11, 2008 11:29:34 GMT -5 Lucky said:

Sept 11, 2008 7:58:49 GMT -5 Demko said:

So, it seems that remembering 9/11 this year has somehow become more unpopular than it has been in years past. Has there been enough time between then and now that people have stopped mourning our losses on that day?

I'm kind of one of those people who is really raw at this stuff so I just felt like saying something in response. It isn't about no longer mourning "our losses" and that phrase almost gets me annoyed even if I think it safe to presume you aren't trying to call anyone callous and forgetful. I just think that with each passing year many of us are annoying that we'll never be allowed to move on. There are plenty of vigils and prayers. Lots of masses and grave site visits today. No one is being forgotten. But for the life of me (and I'm sorry, Crete, I don't mean to offend you) I don't get how shutting our lives down that same day is supposed to accomplish anything except digging up a trying time and making it harder. And the bombardment of the memories and messages can just get to be too much. I think a lot of people are like habs' mother's cousin who just rather not tell the same story 100 times. After all, its a difficult one.

I mean, if this is what you want or need to make things easier I don't begrudge you it. If these "Where were you?" stories help people feel better they're good things. But I think I can safely say that some people just wish this day didn't have to be all about that horrible day to the point where if I encounter enough people one of them will call my character into question for not doing more of this.

Again, in no way am I crudding on this thread or anyone's stories. If it makes you feel better during a tough time, its a good thing. I just reread that first paragraph a bunch of times and felt a need to respond and point out that the desire NOT to stand on ceremony all day is as much about what we lost and went through as these are, and not about "forgetting" or being "unpopular to remember." Its a lot like asking people to dig up one of the worst days in their lives and relive it every year on the anniversary. And it just feels tacky and uncomfortable sometimes.

I agree with you 100% Lucky. It's hard enough remembering the person you lost that day on days other than Sept. 11th.

I do think it's evolving though, and turning into a National Holiday; and maybe a little bit of the "in-your-face" shit will die down in time.

The fact that it's become a political tool IMO makes me sick to my stomach, but that's another thread for another time.

--

Again, if it makes you guys feel better to share your stories, by all means do it, but leave your chastising for how other people deal with their grief for another thread, if you don't mind.

I'm done, carry on.

[Tommy]

Sept 11, 2008 12:10:06 GMT -5 Demko said:

It just seems to me that anytime I brought up something about 9/11 coming up, people would roll their eyes at me, like I was being overly dramatic about it. I never meant to presume that people wouldn't remember it, or that the losses on that day had somehow been forgotten. I'm sure that if I'd gone back to actually edit myself before I finished that first post, I'd have edited the first paragraph out, as it sounds harsh and bitter. That was not the intention at all. My intention was to get to know people on the board a little better through stories and experiences regarding the 9/11 Tragedy.

I'm very grateful for the stories that people have told, because not only does it enhance my feeling of community here at PH, but it also helps me to gain a little insight as to the people telling the stories.

And that's fine, but the "unpopular to remember" crack really bothered me. First, it's on the news all day today; and there are PLENTY of people with "never forget" threads on MBs or emails. The truth is, anyone with the ability to remember; remembers.

For some people though, Sept. 11th isn't just something that happens once a year. It's not a bumper sticker or a lapel pin or a campaign slogan; it's real honest-to-goodness shit for a lot of people; and unfortunately, those people have to deal with that, even 7 years later - a lot more often than once a year.

I don't know anyone who "intentionally forgets" 9/11. Some people may be tired of it; that's their own deal - some people strongly feel it should be commemorated. Don't worry, as long as there's politics, it will be commemorated. I'd just rather not have to deal with the yearly "sorry" and "oh yeah I forgot" phone calls.

So I remember. I'm not wearing a lapel pin, or a bumper sticker, or a t-shirt, and I'm not sending emails or text messages saying "NVR FRGT", but I remember. Let me remember in my own way if it's all the same to you, please.

[Demko]

Sept 11, 2008 13:11:52 GMT -5 Tommy said:

So I remember. I'm not wearing a lapel pin, or a bumper sticker, or a t-shirt, and I'm not sending emails or text messages saying "NVR FRGT", but I remember. Let me remember in my own way if it's all the same to you, please.

As I said, my intention was never to try and dictate to anyone how they should remember, or even that they SHOULD remember. I was just trying to learn a little more about anyone willing to share. That first paragraph, I can only defend as it being too early in the morning for me to want to censor/edit myself.

[Byrntrigan]

I was dating my girlfriend (who ended being my ex-wife) and we had just moved to downtown Chicago (about 1 mile from Sears Tower) about 2 months previous.

I was managing the IT department for a manufacturing company in the Suburbs, so I would leave around 7:00 AM. She managed a clothing boutique and she would leave around 8:30 to get to work so she was still sleeping.

I had been at work for maybe 30 minutes when 5 or 6 of the 200 Engineers that worked there came up to me and asked why none of them could get to cnn.com - but they all seemed rather upset, more then anyone should be about not being able to get to a website (considering these 6 were the ones I hung out with and had backdoors past the proxy to look at porn and shit).

I checked and couldn't get to it from my PC's and some servers. I got into my home servers and couldn't get to it either.

I called my buddy and couldn't get him either (who also worked in IT).

I told the guys I'd look into it and one of them started crying. After a bit he told me that he had a brother in the World Trade Center.

At this point - I sorta freaked out. Why would this 6' 6" guy be crying? What the FUCK is happening at the WTC?

I ran over to the main conference room and hooked up the projector to the DirecTV reciever I had in there. I didn;t even have to change the channel.

EVERY SINGLE CHANNEL HAD THE SAME STORY.

I sat there in disbelief as they played and replayed the first plane crashing into the building. When I looked up I was joined by 40 - 50 people. Most were crying.

I watched the second plane crash and ended up walking away. I couldn't understand who / what would do this and tried to get to work.

Figured the whole just bury your head and work thing worked for the pregnancy scare a month earlier, might work for this. But all I ended up doing was calling my girlfriend, making sure she was ok, and talking with anyone and everyone as we all tried to make sense of this.

She ended up getting let go to go home early (like an hour after she got there) and I told me company I was leaving. Apparently most weren;t even telling their bosses, they were just leaving.

I made sure the Middle Eastern engineers were ok (I hoped that they would be smart enough to not say ANYTHING as well as everyone else smart enough to not do ANYTHING) and made sure they were safe and ok.

As soon as I left I saw a car flipped over on an embankment and like 30 cars stopped all helping this guy. I stopped but the cops and fireman basically said that the mob had already helped the guy and just be safe and go home.

I heard on the radio that the Pentagon was just hit and I seriously started to think whether downtown Chicago was such a smart idea to be staying in that night. I called my girlfriend and we decided to just go home and be together.

I finally got home and we just laid in bed together crying (yes, yes I know. - I didn't wake her up though) .

We had talked about getting married earlier in the summer, and the events of this day sealed my mind that I didn't want to waste any more time in being with this woman. If I was gonna die, I wanted to make sure it would be as her husband.

We talked about getting married that day and both were thinking the same idea (basically why put off tomorrow what you can do today) - and decided to get married that year and not the next like we had decided.

That time period was really one of the only times I was proud to be human. Everyone seemed to be looking out for everyone else, putting something in front of themselves for a change and being, well, human.

I wish it would have lasted longer...

Long story short, 9/11 made me get married 1 year earlier then I would have, and I wouldn;t change it looking back.

[Concrete TG]

Sept 11, 2008 13:11:52 GMT -5 Tommy said:

So I remember. I'm not wearing a lapel pin, or a bumper sticker, or a t-shirt, and I'm not sending emails or text messages saying "NVR FRGT", but I remember. Let me remember in my own way if it's all the same to you, please.

I'm certainly not asking for anything like that - but in a busy world like ours (and I'm not arguing with you Lucky - heck, I'm not offended) I just think a moment's reflection isn't enough for such a world-changing event.

Then again, I'm probably someone who would be sitting someplace watching the "9/11" movie by the two guys following the firefighters or History channel's "Debunking of 9/11" on a day like this.

[Lucky]

I think the real problem with the "national day of remembrance" and "world changing event" stuff is that people lose sight of the fact that at the root of it these were tragedies for individuals and communities. And as Tommy said those individuals and communities went through a lot more than most and live with it every day. And shining a big spotlight on the anniversary of the day your loved one died, you were terrified until they called you, or when your entire community fell apart is (for a lot of people) really doing the exact opposite of what you seem to be trying to get out of this. Its not the same as a thread you can ignore if you want to or a place you can go IF you want to share and commiserate.

[Tommy]

Sept 11, 2008 13:28:55 GMT -5 Concrete TG said:

I'm certainly not asking for anything like that - but in a busy world like ours (and I'm not arguing with you Lucky - heck, I'm not offended) I just think a moment's reflection isn't enough for such a world-changing event.

Why WOULD you be offended ???

And if you think "a moment's reflection" isn't enough, then that's really your business. Bear in mind, some of us reflect more than once a year.

In a "busy world like ours" news media is just plastering the airwaves with coverage of the rememberance/commemoration ceremonies in DC, Pennsylvania and NYC. NOBODY could NOT reflect or remember today. There is NO CHANCE to get away from it, even if you want to.

So like I said, the intention of this thread is in the right place I think; share your stories if it makes you feel better.

But please don't tell people how to mourn or grieve. That's beyond arrogant.

[Concrete TG]

Sept 11, 2008 14:21:32 GMT -5 Tommy said:

But please don't tell people how to mourn or grieve. That's beyond arrogant.

??? ??? ???

Last I checked, I was posting an opinion and I haven't told anyone to do anything. What I think and what the world thinks tend to be two different things.

"I just THINK" does not mean "DO THIS".....


But I didn't want to turn this into a flame thread either.

[Demko]

Yeah, I'm really not sure where this thread went wrong. I don't even think my original statement had any direct commands or thoughts on how anyone else SHOULD act. Am I missing something?

[Byrntrigan]

I think this is such a large, significant event that just talking about it stirs up emotions.

Part of my family is in RI, and they don't like talking about it..

Plus, as humans, we're all different.

Demko & Crete - I don''t think anyone has done anything but share their opinions and stories, some just handle stuff differently.

I think our Upper East Coast contingent just have been hit differently then most of us due to the closeness ie - their backyard.

It doesn't make anything abut this thread wrong, or bad, just like I said, everyone handles stuff differently.

[Tommy]

You're right you two. NVR FRGT. Got it.