ANNIVERSARY-SEVEN YEARS AGO...

[minie812]

TAKE A MOMENT OUT OF YOUR BUSY DAY....

FOR THE PEOPLE LOST & FOR THE LOVED ONES LEFT BEHIND...HUG AND KISS YOUR LOVED ONES AND BE THANKFUL YOU HAVE THEM IN YOUR LIFE...AND MOST OF ALL NEVER FORGET!

 

[nootka]

I was lying in bed, waking up slowly. Two weeks from having my second son (scheduled C-section) and the news hit me terribly hard, bringing this new life into the world that was so stressed and tense.

We watched TV all day, and agonized. We had some family that worked in the towers delivering mail, but finally heard that they'd evacuated, though it took all day for Robin to get home (her husband was on the SI Ferry on his way to work, and saw the towers get hit, knowing his wife was in there...the ferry turned around and he didn't get to hear from her for hours. I can't imagine...). Think of the similar stories and of course the ones that did not turn out well. So many lives gone, forever changed.

Of course I will never forget.

Liz

 

[Frankie]

My thoughts are with all of those affected and I am sure there are more than any of us will ever know.

I was having morning coffee and in a panic. My then 20 year old daughter had just moved to New York. It took days to get a hold of her. Being 20, her comment was, come on Mom, I was 12 miles from there. Now 27 her thoughts on that have changed. She continues to see the affects.

 

[Carolyn R]

I was pulling into the mall parking lot in Allentown, Pa (about 1-1.5 hours outside of NYC) when the announcement came over the local radio station I had on.

I was the manager assigned to open the store that morning. We closed by noon that day, we sent all the employees home. I remember approaching a woman in the store (it was a toy store) her daughter was playing with some demos, I told her we were closing early due to the events that had occured that morning. She had not turned on the TV that morning, when she went out she played kids music in her car. She had no clue what had happened. I saw the color drain from her face as I told her what had happened, I will never forget the look on her face.

I remember the sky was so blue that day, a more brilliant blue than usual. The sky was so quiet, there were no planes over head due to the nation wide grounding of all aircrafts. My mother was a nurse at the Lehigh Valley Hospital, all the major hospitals in the area received calls putting them on alert, and also wanting them to have as many nurses on call as possible to respond to the overflow of victims NYC hospitals. All day she waited by the phone, expecting to get called in, by evening it became apparent that there weren't any patients.....

My heart and prayers will continue to go out to those whose lives were forever changed by that day.

Carolyn

 

[sedeh]

I had just had some bad news that week. I was recovering (I thought) from an ankle fracture and when the cast came off and they took more x-rays they discovered my heel was horribly fractured also. Because it was 8 weeks out they couldn't do anything until it was healed(another 4 mo) and then do reconstructive surgery. So I was still stuck in my recliner, non-weight bearing and feeling sorry for myself. I remember my parents calling me and telling me to turn on the TV.....I said "what station" and when they said "any station" my heart sank.....knew it was bad whatever it was. I was watching live when the towers collapsed. It was a horrible feeling. I still cry when "9/11" is brought up. Because I was basically housebound at the time it was all I watched. It was horrifying, depressing and uplifting....all at the same time. I will forever be affected by that day.

 

[Mark & Sharon Bullington]

That day Sharon was getting ready for work and I was getting ready to fly to the AMHR National Show. Dad just called and said "turn on your TV" Like alot of others, at first I just thought something had gone terribly wrong - then we saw the plane hit the second tower - and knew it was no accident. Later in the day, when we heard they were closing all the airports, I wondered what would become of Nationals. I called Lenard Davenpport, who told me that it would go on as we had people already there, some already on the road and as he put it - "if we don't have the show, the brats win", just get here the best way you can. Two of the judges (Portia Kalinka and Margo Hepner-Hart) were from Oregon as well, so the three of us and Portia's then husband went to the Portland Airport, rented a minivan and drove 29 hours straight through to get to Columbia, Mo. for the show. We got off of the freeway at 1:00 am on the morning the show began. It was the last place we wanted to be - away from our families - but it was the greatest show I have ever been associated with. The feeling of togetherness, helpfulness, love, respect, and sense of Country was awesome. Tony Graves, then President of AMHA, was there and sang our National Anthem so beautifully, Hal and Deb Bryant decorated their multiple hitch wagon and horses with lots of American Flags and paraded around the show ring - and there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Alden and Linda Eld read some passages from the bible that were truly inspiring and appropriate. One lady there made pins of red, white, and blue - with a gold star in the middle - I still have mine. She made these little pins until her hands were almost bleeding. Though we all wanted to be there with our families - we WERE there with our extended families - and some of the best friends we will ever have. I am proud to have been a part of that show - very proud.

Mark Bullington

 

[Kathy2m]

I was working at a TB farm. We had just started weaning mares from babies. We kept the radio on in the barn, and when we got lunch we went into the clubhouse to watch it on the T.V. It was so very surreal. Kathy

 

[Gini]

I was on the freeway headed for work when the news came on and announced the 1st plane hitting the tower. Cars were pulling over and stopping right there to the side of the road. Work was called off for the day. I will remember 9-11 and heartache it brought to the families and this country for the rest of my life.

 

[Tapestry Minis]

I was working night shift at the 911 dispatch center in Jerome, ID. I was sleeping when my husband called and I was too slow to grab the phone. All I heard him say over the answering machine was "turn on the tv" I sat in bed not knowing what to think other than anger.

 

[muffntuf]

Mark,

I remember thinking the same thing - What are we going to do, Nationals are supposed to start. Not that I was going, but I had many friends that were. I heard it on the radio as I started to head for work. I was working for GMAC at the time. It was eerie on the freeway as there were no air planes in the air! Everythiing had been grounded nationwide in a matter of minutes of the two planes hitting the towers.

When you work next to an International Airport and there are no and I mean no flights going in or out - it is every eerie.

It took me 50 minutes to get to work back then - half way through the ride - I saw fighter jets out circling the state capitol. A short time later, more were doing patterns from SD/ND to the WI borders. We have silos in our state. That was the only air traffic.

As I walked into work, no one there was aware of what was going on. I turned on the radio and turned it up. Then people started hitting the internet. That's when I saw something similar had happened to the Pentagon. All I could think of was my brother, he worked in the Pentagon back then.

The management team there didn't have the grasp, all I was told was to go to work, it was New York's problem. I asked if they had anyone on the east coast this might effect. Apparantly not. But when business was shortened because communications went down, then it concerned them. The parent company GMAC, issued a statement that everyone could go home if we wanted to. I don't think it took long for the building to clear.

When I got home, it was tough to not sit and watch the horrors that were coming out of the east coast. It has altered our country forever. May we always stay vigilent in our watch. May we always remember, even though we have our lives, we are still one Nation.

 

[SWA]

I had just returned to work the day before, having been out for over a month after a car wreck. I was in my office (I was the Captain's Administrative Assistant at my hometown Police Department back then) when the Chief came in and very sternly called "Admin, Meeting, my office, NOW!" My heart sank as I followed him to his office, wondering if my job was in jeopardy from having missed so much time from work.

I walked in behind him, and Captain was there along with all the Lieutenants and Sargeants, etc. They had the TV on, and all was silent as in that instant there was a "replay" of the 2nd plane hitting. Within moments of that, they went LIVE as we all watched in utter disbelief with the falling of the first tower. I lost my legs. Thankfully the wall was right there. Chief pulled up a chair for me and we all just kept watching and looking at each other and looking at the tv and back at one another. It was the most horrible feeling I have ever known. The images are forever burned in my heart.

We then went about our work trying to make sense of it all, and still maintaining any amount of composure to be able to begin administrative structure in stages of "state of alert" mode for public safety within our feeble local level. My Captain, the Chief and all the rest, I don't know how they did it, but I'm so thankful they were able to keep themselves so admirabley composed and carried out the necessary duties involved with local law enforcement...as all the while, all I wanted to do was scream in utter bewilderment! If not for them, I likely would have.

I remember after our meeting we were allowed time to call our families. I called my husband, then my mom and then my sister. Then I called my mom again... together, we just prayed our most fervant prayers. Then I remember coming on "here" hoping and praying that no one here lost family or loved ones among those taken so horribly that day.

Then tried as best I could to continue with "work"...but it was so feeble in effort it seemed, as there was literally NOTHING ANY OF US "here", could do to help ALL THOSE PEOPLE IN THEIR DARKEST HOUR. Heaven, have mercy!!! All we "could" do was just PRAY, and then PRAY SOME MORE.

Gosh, just typing this brings it all so vividly back to surface, the emotions, the anger, the deepest sorrow I have ever endured, the warmest love I have ever seen among family, neighbors, friends and even strangers in passing!!! The resolve among our great nation. The heart grew stronger in America that day, it wasn't blown to bits, much to the dismay of these evil cowards. We were a nation, awakened, UNITED!

I remember coming home after work that day, and watching it all again with my husband and our son. My son had a very hard time with it all, he could only look at us and just have such a hard time finding words to say what was so heavy on his heart. It took him a couple days afterward to finally come to us to let us know that his mind was made up. He reminded us how he always thought about becoming a US Marine, like his dad. Only it never really ever meant anything beyond it being another form of bonding with his dad. Till now.... he was fully committed to serving our country, as it was the only way he knew how "he" would ever be able to "somehow" make it all right by all those families taken from our nation that horrible day. To serve and PROTECT all the families of our nation that had been left behind to carry on this life on our precious piece of "homeland" of this big wide earth. From that day forward, that was, still is, his greatest heart's desire.

I am forever grateful to our President and to our families serving in our nation's military forces that has worked hard night and day SINCE, who all have sacrificed of themselves so greatly to keep (and has kept) us ALL SAFE from this ever happening EVER AGAIN! God Bless America. We are NOT taking this horrible day in defeat...we are STANDING IN RESOLVE and living on....FOR THEM. Peace be with them, always.

To ALL our nation's families, I pray, God be with, protect and heal....

 

[ErikaS.]

I was driving to the stable to go muck stalls and was listening to the radio. I thought it was a joke, to tell the truth, like Orson Wells' War of the Worlds- that caused a panic whan he read it over the radio years ago. Yeah right, I thought, not funny... It took hours to sink in that it was very real.

 

[Millstone Farm]

I was at work in NYC, less than 1/2 mile from Ground Zero.

My husband sent me an email (he worked 2 blocks from the Trade Center) to tell me a plane had hit one of t he towers.

One of my best friends worked in the second tower hit. Since he had been in the original Trade Center bombing in 1995, he wasted no time getting out of the building. He worked on the 80th floor. He made it about 1/2 way down the stairs when his building was hit. He managed to get out and is ok. 19 of his coworkers didn't make it out. The building's security kept announcing that everything was ok as he was making his way down the stairs and that it was safe to go back to work.

My husband walked up thru' ash and powder that came as high as his ankles. You don't want to think about what that was...

Miraculously, everyone I know who worked in the buildings and the area made it out ok.

All of NYC was in a lockdown. all you could see were people walking north - away from the downtown area. People walked for hours to get as far as they could. All mass-transit shut down, the bridges and tunnels were closed, so if you were in NYC, you were stuck on Manhattan with no place to go.

 

[Laura]

[SIZE=12pt]Seven years ago today, I was cradling and nursing my brand new baby Mia and watching the news, heartbroken and horrified by the devastation and loss

[/SIZE]

 

[Betsy]

my cousin sara was down at our house that summer we were asleep in my room. Mom rushed in said turn on the tv. I was half awake going "huh?"

we went into the living room and sat on the couch. and was in total shock.

I wanted to tell mom why in the heck would this happen.

from then on I will still NEVER FLY ON AN AIRPLANE, won't set foot on one. I told mom "how do you know that won't happen again"

so that's why I will never get on an airplane.

God BLESS EVERYONE.

PRAY FOR THE PEOPLE TODAY!!!!

 

[Charlene]

i was at work at the courthouse when the court reporter walked in and told us about it, she had just heard in on her car radio. we didn't have a radio or t.v. anywhere so we all piled in our vehicles and went to the clerk's house to watch the coverage. i was so very saddened by it all, still am. i can't imagine the terror in those towers.

 

[Equuisize]

I was in bed with a germ. Michael came in and got me after the first lane hit.

Seeing the 2nd one hit, I felt just abject despair.

I wondered if what my body was feeling was my heart stopping, it felt as though it did.

The losses, in every aspect, remain so huge I don't think, I hope, no one ever forgets or

lets it minimize in their minds, as time goes on.

 

[Indian*R*A*I*N*Dance]

I was in school, 3rd grade and my teacher called a class meeting and she told us what had happened. They locked all the doors and windows etc. and wouldn't let anyone pick up their child.

 

[minie812]

TAKE A MOMENT OUT OF YOUR BUSY DAY....

FOR THE PEOPLE LOST & FOR THE LOVED ONES LEFT BEHIND...HUG AND KISS YOUR LOVED ONES AND BE THANKFUL YOU HAVE THEM IN YOUR LIFE...AND MOST OF ALL NEVER FORGET!

I was home with a "BUG" and had just turned the t.v. on and the second plane hit...I thought for a second I was watching some show and then it hit me...it was real. I hurried and called work and told them what was happening in front of me on t.v. and they thought I was joking. I started crying and telling them to turn on the news that it was real! To think seven years have gone by but it is still so fresh in my mind. I know it is an election year but just for one day we need to put our differences aside and give thanks to the folks that were there and did so much to help on that aweful day & say a prayer for the lost!

 

[Matt73]

I was in the dark room at my work, listening to Howard Stern. I thought it was a joke at first. I quickly found out otherwise

Such a sad, scary day(s).