Be kind to each other. Do something nice for someone. Remember with respect.
I was thinking about Ed last night, his story of his son and the towers while watching a video about the attacks.
There are only 2 real events in history that truly stand out, and still make me cry.
The space shuttle explosion, and the 9/11 attacks.
God bless each of you, and our nation.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
I don't remember Ed's story...did he lose his son in the attacks?
This is a very sad day for me as well. I usually take the day off, but this year I have a boatload of work to do and need to get it done quickly. So.....
I lived in Englewood Cliffs, one of NYC's
bedroom communities, and worked in
EC about 1/2 mile from my home.
When the office heard about the first
plane, I ran home and got a portable TV
so we could stay informed. At first we
all thought it had been a small private
plane, but we soon found out differently.
We didn't get much work done that day.
DH was on his way into NYC to do a
service call, and he was on the George
Washington Bridge when it got closed
down in both directions. All incoming
traffic was stopped, and returned to
NJ. It took him four hours to get off
the bridge.
We were extremely fortunate in that
we only lost one person we knew. He
was a fireman at the closest station,
and he left behind his wife and three
month old baby.
I was home folding towels, Jesse was in the floor playing with his blocks, Aaron was napping, and Caitlyn was in first grade.
I watched in disbelief for about 5 minutes, saw the second plane hit the second tower. I immediately put my boys in the car and to get Caitlyn.
I wasn't the only one, there was a steady line on parents picking up their kids, from every school. Administration didn't even ask why. The date was enough.
All anyone wanted to just be safe with their kids.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
Wow momala so sorry that you lost your friend and his family lost their loved one and to all the geeks who were affected. My husbands good friends daughter saw both towers get hit and fall from her office. That day I was getting ready for work and really wasn’t paying much attention to the tv, they were talking about one of the towers being on fire and speculating what happened and then heard The newscasters shout out with shock when the other plane hit the second tower. We watched the news all day at work. Daughter was in college in another state and my son was in high school. I don’t believe anyone picked their kids up early from school.
We received invoices that day and the next from a company in the twin towers. It was very sad to know that they possibly didn’t make it out.
I was working in Alexandria, VA. Because our office was "high profile," we maintained access to the news at all times. I kept a small, 1-inch TV on my desk. I noticed the report of a plane flying into the WTC, but it was reported as a small private plane, and a comparison was being made to the time a small plane struck the Empire State Bldg.
A colleague of mine came into my office ranting, "can you believe someone hit the WTC? It's a beautiful day, how could you not see it?" Responding with my instinct and not my brain, I replied, "it wasn't an accident." I then looked up at him and we both froze. Then we looked at the TV and watched as the second plane hit. Immediately we ran to the conference room where there were large flat screens tuned in to the news and watched it further in there.
The following minutes were chaos. Reports of more planes, people blowing themselves up nearby, etc. Rumors were flying. A plane was spotted flying over the Mall headed towards the capitol, etc. Our office had been involved in the indictment of the terrorists who first attacked the WTC previously, so naturally we were concerned about revenge. Then the Pentagon was hit. We watched out our windows as the black cloud of smoke rose in the air from that attack. I made the decision to leave and took as many people with me as I saw on my way out. We used the stairway down from the 6th floor rather than the elevator, JIC. My car was 4th in line to exit the building. I wasted no time. As I drove home I had the radio on. The first tower fell. Then the second. I notified a few friends and family members that I was out, on the road headed home, and safe. Everyone I talked to was in panic mode.
One of my co-workers with whom I usually commuted with on the Metro, was crying. We both had decided to drive in that morning, for whatever reason. The Metro was closed down, trains were stopped, air travel came to a halt. The streets and highways were clogged, everyone in the DC area fleeing for home. A friend of mine walked home from the Pentagon. It took him 4 hours to get home on foot. He lived 15 minutes (driving time) from his work.
I can't remember if I returned to work the next day or not. Our acting USA spent the night in the office, holed up in the command center. President Bush encouraged us to return to work and not allow the evil doers to force is to live in fear. So we returned within days, if not the next day (I cannot recall). We walked around like zombies, really. Numb.
I sat in on a few of the hearings for the prosecution of Zacarias Moussaoui. I sat in during the entire sentencing phase. They played voice recordings of the victims. (Some are available at the Flight 93 memorial) Testimony of survivors and family members of victims. Each had their own tragic story. There was a screen depicting the ****pit of the plane from Flight 93. They played the recording from the "black box." As the plane dipped and turned, so did the ****pit scene so the audience could experience what they were experiencing. We heard a throat get slit. We heard the terrorists. The flight crew. The passengers storm the ****pit. Then there was silence. And the screen went black.
Sorry this was so long. I still cry as I think about it all.
A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
