I was quite young - I'm part of that weird pseudo-generation that remembers 9/11 itself, but has no real sense of "what life was like before", which can make it hard to contextualize the changes. I do remember the day, though, because instead of getting on the bus to the YMCA afterschool program like usual, my mother picked me up directly when school let out. I remember some concern that one of my mother's coworkers would need to stay over at our house, but that didn't end up happening. Of course, later I would learn about the struggles my father and stepmother went through, working in New York as they did, and my aunt's family, who lived in Brooklyn. I had actually visited the World Trade Center with my father some time in the prior couple of years. My memories are very hazy - just an image of a large, floor-to-ceiling window, looking out from very high up.
I remember watching Bush's speech that night on the tiny CRT my mother had, which I believe is older than I am. The speech seemed short to me - if he had so little to say, at this point, why make such a fuss about saying it? To this day I question the value of having federal officials make immediate commentary on local, singular events, no matter how momentous.
There is one other memory, or pair of memories, that I associate with 9/11 and its aftermath. I remember my grandmother, in the kitchen, talking about the war in Afghanistan and the hunt for Bin Laden, saying that the military had said they had found a very tall man, and dropped a bomb on him, and this might have been Bin Laden. And I remember some time very soon after, I was very confused, because all the news stories were suddenly about Saddam Hussein and Iraq, and Bin Laden and Afghanistan had seemingly disappeared.
Thank you for sharing. Those are important insights. I guess the reason that Bush spoke even though there was little to share is that Presidents are expected to do it. It is odd to me to see how little the wars that followed are discussed, and tend to be forgotten. Terms like “never forget” ring hollow now.
Working as an Election Poll Worker at a local public school,
the news spread in pieces as it unfolded. A teacher came to tell us and l thought the terrorist attack was a rumour. When the second building was hit l thought it was an inside job by the Bush administration because they hated New York City so much!
I just couldn’t wrap my mind around the way the hijacker’s coordinated attack and carried it out with no actual weapons.
One of our friends had been a career soldier and he happened to be near the Towers. He told us later that he immediately realized what was happening and fled for his life. That’s when l realized how out of touch l was!
I was shocked but not surprised by the attacks as I remembered the truck bomb attack of a decade earlier. I instantly went into “going to war” mode. Years of being alerted on the Fulda Gap to prepare to battle the Soviets, sometimes when tensions were high and we didn’t know if the alert was real or just a drill. Of course there was the attack on the USS Cole the year before too.
What I can’t get out of my mind are those terrible images. Today, I watched several episodes of a limited series about that terrible day. Those memories came flooding back. So many people killed, so many families devastated, and then all the lives lost in endless wars.
I appreciate you sharing your experience, thoughts, and feelings that day. I can only imagine as a New Yorker just how you might have thought and felt that day. I can only imagine if something that terrible happened today with all the damned QANON and Right Wing conspiracy theories out there, including the 9-11 deniers.
Having grown up in a conservative Jewish family who emigrated to the US to escape persecution and poverty at the beginning of the 20th Century (1910ish), the unpleasantness unfolding in Europe was kept in the background. Why worry when there were Jewish comedians and Fred Astaire to keep you entertained?
It took about 15 minutes to realize that something was wrong with this picture. To me, finding my place in history is essential.
To blanket out unpleasant facts is dangerous. A lifelong fascination for questions of historical context is what drives me, not a quest for the almighty dollar!
Writing prose and poetry provides the template for understanding what has transpired. Fortunately my work has continued since childhood and so has the search for answers to two basic questions:
Like you, I find it hard to believe it has been 22 years. In some ways, it is still so raw, so real. I remember precisely where I was when I heard the news of the first plane ... walking from the payroll desk to my own desk ... I could point out the exact spot if the building were still there. The next days are a blur ... trying to work through the horror being constantly replayed in my head, watching the endless news on television all evening. Finding out several days later that my cousin had been attending a business breakfast at Windows on the World. I watched a documentary about it last night ... big mistake, but how could I do otherwise? I am still haunted by that day, the images, the sounds.
I understand so well. I can remember everything so well, the images are seared into my mind. I didn’t mention the images of people jumping to their deaths to avoid being burned alive, the recordings of first responders who didn’t return, the horrible videos of people fleeing, of police and firefighters making trips up the stairs of the towers, and so much else. I watched several episodes of a limited series about the day. It brought all of those memories back. But, like you I had to watch, and remember.
First, grateful for what you’ve done, then and I suspect before - and after. So many both who I will always honor, and remain in awe of - and in mourning for.
It was a beautiful morning in Philadelphia, our household was up but neither going to work, class or travelling because of a family funeral the day before. Having coffee, wandering back to the living room where the Today Show was on. Silently watching, horrified realizing we were not witnessing a small plane accident, striking a building, but death on a scale perhaps only soldiers witness. A deliberate, catastrophic attack. First thought was for two loved ones who were with us the evening before but who we also knew to be in, at that time precisely, in very close proximity to the Towers.
I’ll share what my niece (who spent that morning watching everything unfold a block from the WTC) first experienced though, in a subway car at the WTC stop. A woman running towards the doors of the train, screaming that a plane had crashed into one of the towers. The woman was still sobbing when they got off at the next stop.
Thank you for sharing. These are so many stories like yours and that of your niece that need to be told. I was reading today about how for many Americans this anniversary is no longer important, and for so many others, unknown. I plan to take the first part of my classes on Tuesday to talk about this with my freshman to senior high school history students, and show at least part of a video. The memories are still so vivid.
So glad that you are doing this Steve. It’s a pivotal day, not unlike the attack on Pearl Harbor, and informs such a range of history - from religion, geopolitical forces, government policy, and not least of all, the humanity of those who sacrifice in their daily lives who we oftentimes don’t pay enough attention to. Be well, Patris
I was quite young - I'm part of that weird pseudo-generation that remembers 9/11 itself, but has no real sense of "what life was like before", which can make it hard to contextualize the changes. I do remember the day, though, because instead of getting on the bus to the YMCA afterschool program like usual, my mother picked me up directly when school let out. I remember some concern that one of my mother's coworkers would need to stay over at our house, but that didn't end up happening. Of course, later I would learn about the struggles my father and stepmother went through, working in New York as they did, and my aunt's family, who lived in Brooklyn. I had actually visited the World Trade Center with my father some time in the prior couple of years. My memories are very hazy - just an image of a large, floor-to-ceiling window, looking out from very high up.
I remember watching Bush's speech that night on the tiny CRT my mother had, which I believe is older than I am. The speech seemed short to me - if he had so little to say, at this point, why make such a fuss about saying it? To this day I question the value of having federal officials make immediate commentary on local, singular events, no matter how momentous.
There is one other memory, or pair of memories, that I associate with 9/11 and its aftermath. I remember my grandmother, in the kitchen, talking about the war in Afghanistan and the hunt for Bin Laden, saying that the military had said they had found a very tall man, and dropped a bomb on him, and this might have been Bin Laden. And I remember some time very soon after, I was very confused, because all the news stories were suddenly about Saddam Hussein and Iraq, and Bin Laden and Afghanistan had seemingly disappeared.
Thank you for sharing. Those are important insights. I guess the reason that Bush spoke even though there was little to share is that Presidents are expected to do it. It is odd to me to see how little the wars that followed are discussed, and tend to be forgotten. Terms like “never forget” ring hollow now.
Peace,
Steve
Working as an Election Poll Worker at a local public school,
the news spread in pieces as it unfolded. A teacher came to tell us and l thought the terrorist attack was a rumour. When the second building was hit l thought it was an inside job by the Bush administration because they hated New York City so much!
I just couldn’t wrap my mind around the way the hijacker’s coordinated attack and carried it out with no actual weapons.
One of our friends had been a career soldier and he happened to be near the Towers. He told us later that he immediately realized what was happening and fled for his life. That’s when l realized how out of touch l was!
Babette,
I was shocked but not surprised by the attacks as I remembered the truck bomb attack of a decade earlier. I instantly went into “going to war” mode. Years of being alerted on the Fulda Gap to prepare to battle the Soviets, sometimes when tensions were high and we didn’t know if the alert was real or just a drill. Of course there was the attack on the USS Cole the year before too.
What I can’t get out of my mind are those terrible images. Today, I watched several episodes of a limited series about that terrible day. Those memories came flooding back. So many people killed, so many families devastated, and then all the lives lost in endless wars.
I appreciate you sharing your experience, thoughts, and feelings that day. I can only imagine as a New Yorker just how you might have thought and felt that day. I can only imagine if something that terrible happened today with all the damned QANON and Right Wing conspiracy theories out there, including the 9-11 deniers.
As always, peace and be safe,
Steve
Having grown up in a conservative Jewish family who emigrated to the US to escape persecution and poverty at the beginning of the 20th Century (1910ish), the unpleasantness unfolding in Europe was kept in the background. Why worry when there were Jewish comedians and Fred Astaire to keep you entertained?
It took about 15 minutes to realize that something was wrong with this picture. To me, finding my place in history is essential.
To blanket out unpleasant facts is dangerous. A lifelong fascination for questions of historical context is what drives me, not a quest for the almighty dollar!
Writing prose and poetry provides the template for understanding what has transpired. Fortunately my work has continued since childhood and so has the search for answers to two basic questions:
What happened and why!
Like you, I find it hard to believe it has been 22 years. In some ways, it is still so raw, so real. I remember precisely where I was when I heard the news of the first plane ... walking from the payroll desk to my own desk ... I could point out the exact spot if the building were still there. The next days are a blur ... trying to work through the horror being constantly replayed in my head, watching the endless news on television all evening. Finding out several days later that my cousin had been attending a business breakfast at Windows on the World. I watched a documentary about it last night ... big mistake, but how could I do otherwise? I am still haunted by that day, the images, the sounds.
Jill,
I understand so well. I can remember everything so well, the images are seared into my mind. I didn’t mention the images of people jumping to their deaths to avoid being burned alive, the recordings of first responders who didn’t return, the horrible videos of people fleeing, of police and firefighters making trips up the stairs of the towers, and so much else. I watched several episodes of a limited series about the day. It brought all of those memories back. But, like you I had to watch, and remember.
Peace and be safe,
Steve
First, grateful for what you’ve done, then and I suspect before - and after. So many both who I will always honor, and remain in awe of - and in mourning for.
It was a beautiful morning in Philadelphia, our household was up but neither going to work, class or travelling because of a family funeral the day before. Having coffee, wandering back to the living room where the Today Show was on. Silently watching, horrified realizing we were not witnessing a small plane accident, striking a building, but death on a scale perhaps only soldiers witness. A deliberate, catastrophic attack. First thought was for two loved ones who were with us the evening before but who we also knew to be in, at that time precisely, in very close proximity to the Towers.
I’ll share what my niece (who spent that morning watching everything unfold a block from the WTC) first experienced though, in a subway car at the WTC stop. A woman running towards the doors of the train, screaming that a plane had crashed into one of the towers. The woman was still sobbing when they got off at the next stop.
Thank you for sharing. These are so many stories like yours and that of your niece that need to be told. I was reading today about how for many Americans this anniversary is no longer important, and for so many others, unknown. I plan to take the first part of my classes on Tuesday to talk about this with my freshman to senior high school history students, and show at least part of a video. The memories are still so vivid.
Peace and stay safe,
Steve
So glad that you are doing this Steve. It’s a pivotal day, not unlike the attack on Pearl Harbor, and informs such a range of history - from religion, geopolitical forces, government policy, and not least of all, the humanity of those who sacrifice in their daily lives who we oftentimes don’t pay enough attention to. Be well, Patris