Where were you....when the world stopped turning??

[Stormsfury]

I was at work that morning listening to the "Bob and Tom Show" on Q104.5 here in the Charleston area ... at first, the day was like any other... when the news broke, and I'll never forget hearing Bob on that show in the background saying "Oh My God" right when the 2nd plane hit the WTC ... by then, the Post Office Station's radio was already fixated on a news station with coverage ... I continued to listen to the "Bob and Tom Show", and for the first time, the show, which is usually a little edgy and full of humor ... turned into a serious, most informative, and calming show ...

The day seemed like it never moved ... there was total confusion in the Post Office during that workday, and several other people I worked with were in tears ... I was totally in shock of event of Sept. 11th, 2001 ... But the Bob and Tom show was a great outlet for information that morning, and despite what people may or may have not thought of them with the frivolous humor/jokes under normal circumstances, they displayed a professionalism and journalistic side, along with a personable and humanistic side which was far better than many others ...

A lot of people may or may not here that the Charleston AFB here holds the C-130 and C-141's here and they're almost always flying around the skies in Charleston, SC ... as well as Charleston International Airport ... and it was also very eerie, once the planes were grounded, to see not one single plane in the skies, a sight I've never seen in Charleston in all the years I've lived here ...

Even weatherwise, as a line of severe thunderstorms dropped through the area moving SW across the Charleston area, not much was paid attention to it newswise despite the severity of the storms (with 60 mph winds and damage across the Charleston area in spots) ... because all eyes continued to be and the prayers/thoughts lied with the people of New York and Washington, DC on that fateful day in which the rules were rewritten and that fateful day which "awoke the sleeping giant" ...

[Colin]

I was in school... switching from Social Studies to HealthQuest... my HealthQuest teacher had one serious face on... she started saying, "A terrible tradgedy has just occured...," and she turned on the TV and we watched the second plane come smashing into the Tower, all of us were shocked and scared.

Then the Principal came over the loudspeaker and said to turn off all the TVs because she didn't want us watching that kind of stuff.

We didn't get out early or anything like that, because the principal thought that school was the safest place to be.

[JQ Public]

I was eating breakfast at my college's dining facility when the planes actually hit the buildings and when the first building collapsed. I saw the second building collapse when i was in my dorm room. I did not know anything was happening until i got to my room though.

[nystate]

I was living on Fort Drum on 9/11, and I have to admit that I didn't know anything until about noon, when somebody said something about a car bomb in DC (I don't know where they got that info!). Driving home, I noticed a longer line at the gate than usual, but it didn't really phase me. Also, I noticed that one of the freight trains that usually comes through Drum was stopped, and soldiers with M-16s and mirrors were crawling under the cars. I got home at about 3:00 PM, not knowing what had happened, when my neighbor said, "Go inside and turn on your TV." I was shocked and horrified at the same time. I couldn't stop watching. At dusk, I noticed some F-16s taking off from Wheeler-Sack, probably heading to New York. My neighbor, who is an engineer, was sent the next day to the WTC. The next day, every car going in Drum was searched. Even the schoolbuses were two hours late to pick up the kids. I noticed two tanks stopped right by the main road. Needless to say, I was scared that I would be living through WWIII.

[JetMaxx]

A couple memories from that week...

I hadn't eaten all day on 9/11 (and Granny hadn't eaten since breakfast), so around 5 p.m., Granny asked me to go pick us up something for dinner. I didn't figure anything was still open in light of what had transpired, but to my surprise Wendy's was open (I called before leaving the house).

That was the eeriest trip of my life. At 5 p.m. on a September Tuesday, 4-lane Hwy 92 (Fairburn Road) would normally bumper to bumper with work traffic coming from Atlanta. On 9/11, I was the ONLY car on the highway. During the entire trip to/ from Wendy's, the only people I saw were the two female employees at the Wendy's drive thru window.

The quietness of the night...no noise from trucks on I-20, no airplanes flying overhead was also quite strange; absolutely no noise at all It isn't that quiet here on Christmas Eve or when 8" of snow is on the ground.

Of course, another very bizarre sight were the F-16's flying in formation (flying air cover over Atlanta)....they were so easy to spot in the plane-free sky. It was totally surreal...

[bfez1]

I was at work when a lady from upstairs ran down to tell me there was a plane crash and then shortly after the other plane crash. We were all in state of shock. Then my boss comes in and tells us to settle down and get back to work that "it" doesn't concern us. Can you believe it???? The man is in denial about everything.

[Guest]

Where was I when the world stop turning - I had just arrived at work and a woman at our workplace started screaming that airplanes where flying into the WTC - we got on the internet and actually saw the second one happen. You have to understand my workplace was in a panic - I worked in a 20 story building and could see the control tower for Intercontinental Airport out of my cubicle. We all walked around in a daze - watching tv and etc. - some even feared we would be hit so they simple left work - then the call came for all the planes to stop flying - now folks - I watched planes coming and going from the major airport all day long and that is something that I'll never forget - NO PLANES NO WHERE. We saw one in a distance that looked like it had an escort - never heard or confirmed but it looked like a military plane was following it to land - just from visual - it could have been something else. Then no planes flying for how many days was it - we had people in our office who were on trips trying to get home. We actually found cars for two of our bosses and they drove nonstop back to Houston.

My older sister worked in downtown Houston - I called her and told her to get out .... she didn't but was on alert. We got to go home early - alot of churches were having prayer services so we all left around 4 p.m. to attend services and be with our families.

The hardest thing was trying to explain to my daughter what had happened and let her know she was safe. The school didn't tell them anything - but she overheard the older kids on the bus riding home that we were being bombed and etc. I limited her TV access and made sure she felt safe and secure. I know she will remember this day and she was only 6 years old.

This is my story - probably one I'll never forget either.

[DaylilyDawn]

I was at home having just coming in from my crossing guard duties for the elementary school behind my house. My son Jared's friend called me from his job and said turn on your tv. I sat there stunned to see what was happening in New York.The first thought I had after I realized we had been attacked was that my son would soon be in the front lines of the retaliation that was bound to come. My son Jared is a PC2 class Interior Communicactions Officer aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt which indeed launch the first strikes against Saddam Husseins's regime.

[therock1811]

I was in math when the planes hit the WTC... around 0920 I went to my 2nd block Spanish class. Not 5 minutes later, my aide came in and told my teacher to turn on the TV... which didn't work. Long story short, we were glued to TV and radio much of the rest of the day. I came home just after 2pm and turned on the computer and watched as the info came in for the ensuing 2 hours.