Where were you on this day 4 years ago?

Sitting in my office waiting for my FH and friends to call me. Luckily I got the call from FH but didn't from some friends

I was living in an apartment, at college.. and we had no tv set up yet, i was getting dressed for work, when my mom called me to tell me... my dad works in the city (no where near there thank goodness, but of course we were still worried and sad and nervous for everything that was going on, i went to SHU with my roommate and we watched the tv that the university set up and everyone gathered in the lobby, people were crying and scared, i will never forget that day and that feeling

I had just gotten off the M train at the Broad/Wall Street station. It must of been 9:03 am (of course I was late) bc thats when I saw a bunch of people running down Nassau Street screaming that the 2nd plane just hit the WTC. I hurried upstairs (80 Broad) thinking in my mind 'This cant be happening'... Once at work, everyone was nervous trying to call their loved ones. Our receptionist's fiance had an 8:30am meeting that day at the WTC, and she couldnt get in touch with him, and one of my childhood friends, my neighbor, worked for Cantor Fitzgerald. The whole day was pretty much a blur. We were evacuated from our building after the first building collapsed (can you believe that we all stayed around??)...all was so surreal...I walked home home to Queens that day, being able to get in touch with only one person...my FH...I lost a very dear friend that day who trapped on one of the CF's floors of WTC 1...Jen...you're always in our hearts and our prayers...

Looking back at 4 years ago...we were all so different...I was different...didnt begin realizing what has happened until a year later...thats when the nightmares began...my mom works in the Metlife building and the countless times I woke from a nightmare that somethign terrible has happened I would call her in themiddle of the night telling her that I loved her...we all have lost our innocence through this tragedy...

Tell your loved ones everyday that you love them, bc in reality you never know when you will speak to them or see them ever again. I see Jens mom every so often...every time, I say my hello and just give her a big hug...thats all you can do...

ETA: Our receptionist;s fiance was fine, he actually met us at the office and we walked home together that day.

Watching from my office window.

I was home watching it all unfold on TV- I went to school at FIT but I didn't have tuesday class-

I will never forget that day- it was a perfect day just like yesterday

I spent the whole day watching tv and waiting to hear from my uncle- he was a police officer but he didn't get there unitl after the towers fell-

I was crossing the Manhattan Bridge on the train when I looked out the window and saw the 1st tower smoking. We were sitting there for what felt like forever and the train conduckor just said OMG and we all looked out the window and saw the second plain hit.
I got off the train in midtown and walked back to the bridge to walk home over it.

It was the saddest and scariest day of my life and I will NEVER forget all the loved ones that were lost that day.

It was my 2nd week at school(40th and 5th avenue)....I remember lookin at my watch b4 I went in-it was 8:48...I headed downstairs to our classroom in the basement....No one had heard anything yet. At about 9:45, this girl next to me said there was a bomb at the WTC...we had a 2 hour class at that time, and a break at the hour, so one of the girls went upstairs. We really didnt know what happened. She came down, hysterical and said that the EMPIRE STATE building was hit...I lost it. My FH was also at school, right across the street from the empire state building....everyone began to panick and the teacher went upstairs..after a few min, she came back down and told us to evacuate. Apparently, the school FORGOT we were downstairs and the rest of the school was gone.
So I got my things, and headed out.....my phone wasn't working, nothing was. I kept hearing 'bombs, attacks, no subways/no trains, etc'. I wasnt sure what to do, go to my FH's school or my fathers office which was 2 avenues away?
I had to think quick, so I ran in my 4 inch heels to my FH's school..as I ran that way, mobs of people were running towards me. When I got to his school, the security guard said, I don't know if you want to go up there.....it might not work. We might get hit across the street. Took my chances n went up..There was one kid left in the class. He told me that he had seen my FH leave.
I decided to go back the way I came, in case I saw him on the way...As I crossed 5th avenue, I saw the 2nd tower fall. In that moment, that's how my life was. I didn't know where anyone was, I didn't know what was happening, I couldnt get in touch w/anyone. I started to cry hysterically and passed my school on the way back. One of teachers was yelling..JEANINE...JEANINE...she told me my FH had passed, he was going to my fathers office. So I went there. There was A LOT of people outside, but no father or FH. I went in the building. Security guards wouldnt let me up-the elevators were SHUT DOWN. As I went back outside, I caught sight of my father, then FH. I broke down then, crying and falling to the floor. I had never been so happy to see them in my life. Since the bridges were closed, one of my fathers coworkers told us to go by his friends apartment on 49th and 1st....as we were walking, we were tryin to remember anyone who worked downtown. My father had seen the 2nd plane hit. When we got to the apartment, and we watched tv...we didn't really know/realize what had happened. The extremity of it. I was crying the whole time and my father said, okay, you need a little vodka to calm you down! Very weird.
So finally it was announced that the bridge was open. We started our journey walking over the Queensborough Bridge, and as we were walking across it, my father said to me 'Do not forget this date Jeanine, b/c you will remember it forever'. We finally made it home at 5:00....my feet were bruised, blistered and bleeding. I hadnt gotten in touch w/my mother either, none of our phones were working.
I will never forget that day as long as I live....

I was home watching the morning news getting ready for work. I had just flew home the night before from Seattle. Once the first plane hit, I went to my firehouse and within 2 hours we where in Manhatten at a EMS Staging area performing Rehab for the workers. I will never forget the details of this day. They are so fresh it almost feels like it was yesterday.

in class at college - it was so strange that we were all sitting in class like any other day and such awful things were happening (and we had no idea!)

The man I was completely in love with had spent the night. And at around 9am my Grandmother called and left a message saying that something terrible was happening and hung up. My Grandma can be alittle wierd at times so I didn't think to much about it, but as I went to call her back my best friend Rob called and told me what was going on. I didn't have cable at the time so I got nothing but static on the TV. So BF and I took a cab to his house. The really scary part was the BF was a paramedic at the time and he works in Brooklyn right across the bridge from the towers so he would've been there, and could've been killed. Luckily, he was on vacation at the time. So he was planning on going in ( I was scared to death and didn't want him to) but of course I understood that he had to. He called his chief and they told him not to come that there were already enough people and craziness going on. ( He did go in later and for weeks afterword) So we went to Robs house and watched all of horror happen. I remember that the first tower fell while we were in the cab on the way to his house. I remember when we were at Robs house and they said that 344 fireman were killed my BF ( who wasen't an emotional person) was tearing up. He lost 54 friends and colleages that day.It was a terrifying and very sad day. I'll never forget where I was that day, and I'll never stop thanking God that BF wasen't hurt or worse. We aren't together anymore but he is still my best friend and I'd never want to be without him. My heart has always, and always will go out to all the people that lost loved ones in 9/11. God bless all of them.

Sleeping..I was unemployed and well, So was FH. So his dad came running down knocking on the door saying...'you two need to get up and see this!!'

We flew upstairs and stayed glued to that tv for the next 4/5 hrs im complete shock as to what was happening.

A very say day
A day we will never forget.

In the Bahamas on vacation. We were getting dressed to go to the gym and DH just kept on saying Oh My God over and over again as he was watching CNN.

One thing to note is, that if you weren't in NY, PA or DC, the emotional impact was different in other areas. People in the Bahamas understood what happened, but life went on business as usual. We went to Seattle about a month later and there were no American flags up anywhere, here they were everywhere.

ETA: we sat in our hotel room for days crying and watching TV.

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Posted by Blu-ize

In the Bahamas on vacation. We were getting dressed to go to the gym and DH just kept on saying Oh My God over and over again as he was watching CNN.

One thing to note is, that if you weren't in NY, PA or DC, the emotional impact was different in other areas. People in the Bahamas understood what happened, but life went on business as usual. We went to Seattle about a month later and there were no American flags up anywhere, here they were everywhere.

ETA: we sat in our hotel room for days crying and watching TV.

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That's a very good observation that you brought up - the impact on those who live outside of the affected areas.

My friends in CT didn't understand the magnitude and the amount of distress until the actually came to the Ground Zero and saw the empty space and the affected areas.