Remembering 9/11

[Celery Man 20886]

I've stopped and started this thread a few times. Just, thinking about 9/11, and also thinking about where I keep seeing 9/11 symbology.

I was a sophomore, I remember exactly where I was and what happened. Lots of that day is very clear and specific. I know the feeling of that day was very similar to the day my mom died (shit, I guess 6 months later) - just kinda shell shock, the world is suddenly different, oh my god, what are we supposed to do, etc. The absolute shock of an enemy reaching into America and touching us like we hadn't been since the Brits burned the White House - shocking, incredible.

It's been 21 years. I think it's fair to say that our reaction was a bigger catastrophe than the event itself. What a fucking disaster. And man, from the MAGA dipshits in the Facebook community group I block who have twin tower page banners 60% of the time to the blue lives matter/antivaxxer schoolboard candidate folks across the street who put up a fucking 9/11 lawn flag a week ago - I'm so... what does 9/11 symbolize to these people? How are we remembering 9/11, and how should we? After 20 years, why is it such a symbol for people who want to end American democracy?

[Willfully Horn 7916]

Our first was four months old that September eleventh. When she was in elementary school, I mentored a youngster who mourned his grandfather’s passing, and that his birthday was 9-11. 

MAGAts embracing 9/11 surprises me only in that those dumb fucks haven’t struck me as capable of such self awareness. 
 

Unlike R posters here. They are capable of making that link, but haven’t the balls to admit it.

[bernorange 8348]

I was home (home office) and happened to turn on CNN that morning (not something I normally do at that time) and saw the plane hit tower #2 live.  It was totally surreal and I got zero work done that day.  My heart runneth over for everyone on United 73.  Let's roll indeed.

[hookemATL 11611]

I apologize in advance 

 

http://youtu.be/C2xFnKWSxdQ

[staboner 4959]

the end of America. what a fucking disaster. Fuck me I miss the 90s.

I was at Heathrow at a bar. Watching the faces of busy travelers walk by looking at the TV on at at the bar is something I will never forget. Flew east Sept 12th. 4 hours on the tarmac that morning. By far the most quiet plane I have ever been on. 

Edited September 12, 2022 by staboner

[WhatTheBuck 28713]

Fuck George W. Bush for ignoring the warnings and for failing in his response to the attacks.

Can you imagine how unmercifully the Republicans would’ve attacked a Democratic President if 9/11 had happened on his or her watch?

The top two guys responsible were bin Laden and al-Zawahiri. Obama got one, Biden got the other. Fuck the GOP.

[bernorange 8348]

*93

[Fastbreak 3959]

I was on the 183 to Mopac ramp when I heard on KLBJ that a small plane had hit the WTC. By the time I got to my office at mopac and steck it was clear it wasn’t a small plane…

[WhatTheBuck 28713]

12 minutes ago, bernorange said:

*93

Heroes. True Patriots who stood up against terrorists. They gave their lives to protect our Capitol.

To apply the term “patriot” to the domestic terrorists who assaulted the Capitol on 1/6/20 in an attempt to overthrow American constitutional democracy is an affront to everything this nation stands for. Right-wing radical Christian white supremacists like the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, the 3 Percenters and the KKK and all the neo-Nazis like the ones who marched in Charlottesville, who Trump called very fine people, who he says he loves, who he incited to violence before and is doing so again should he be indicted...they are no different than the 9/11 attackers and al Qaeda, IS, and other terrorists. 

[brakeman 28253]

 

[South Austin 52146]

I was working my biglaw job at Trammel Crow Center in Dallas and watched the footage on one of the partner's TV.  They closed the office after the towers fell and sent everyone home.  I remember a very erie quiet as so many cars made their exodus out of downtown.  Everyone was bumper to bumper but nobody was blowing their horns like in normal traffic, and a lot of drivers had a stunned look on their faces.  I went straight to an Albertson's near my apartment to get a case of beer, and then proceeded to get drunk while watching CNN the entire day.

[Brisketexan 104628]

My daughter was around 8 months old on that day.  It was a beautiful day here in Austin.  My wife took her outside into the yard, and she crawled around and played in the grass and the sunshine.  My wife took a video on our old videocamera, just noting that it was a beautiful day here, on an otherwise awful day in history.  It's just a few minutes of a child smiling, laughing, plucking blades of grass.

I have always thought my wife was wise to capture that juxtaposition.  I've never been able to reconcile it -- man's tendency towards evil, and the beauty of humanity and life.  Probably never will.  But there it is.

[Hermanator 6944]

It's been 22 years. Time to let it go. 

Especially considering this country just endured an insurrection attempt and it took 2 1/2 years to even bring charges against the former president and his stooges who masterminded it. 

I can't bring myself to give a shit about something that happened 22 years ago in light of what's happening now and how our homeland is crumbling. The past has been cried over many times. Save your tears for the far worse future that's coming. 

 

[TexArcher 37520]

10 minutes ago, Hermanator said:

It's been 22 years. Time to let it go. 

Especially considering this country just endured an insurrection attempt and it took 2 1/2 years to even bring charges against the former president and his stooges who masterminded it. 

I can't bring myself to give a shit about something that happened 22 years ago in light of what's happening now and how our homeland is crumbling. The past has been cried over many times. Save your tears for the far worse future that's coming. 

 

It's not en either/or.  

I will never "let it go" with regard to 9/11.

And, I'm super fucking pissed about 1/06.

I can multi-task.

[SimonBolivar 10932]

I was in 7th grade and I remember being extremely upset that they didn't cancel afternoon football practice. Selfish little asshole that I was not grasping the magnitude of the event, also why the fuck didn't they cancel football practice? After practice I remember going home and watch hour after hour of coverage on cable. I got sick of it later in the evening and noticed that Nickelodeon was the only channel not talking about it so I watched like an hour of Spongebob before going to bed.

 

My wife was in Kindergarten at the time and has no memory of it other than adults being upset about something.

Edited September 11, 2023 by SimonBolivar

[ohchaucer 1443]

It's been 22 years. Time to let it go. 
Especially considering this country just endured an insurrection attempt and it took 2 1/2 years to even bring charges against the former president and his stooges who masterminded it. 
I can't bring myself to give a shit about something that happened 22 years ago in light of what's happening now and how our homeland is crumbling. The past has been cried over many times. Save your tears for the far worse future that's coming. 
 

Out of respect for the subject matter, I'll temper my "Surly response."  I understand the sentiment you're conveying but just know this is a profoundly insensitive take.  I walked home 80 blocks covered in dust and surrounded by hundreds of people, terrified, horrified, confused, and not knowing who or how many people I knew of the lives that had surely just been lost.  (Turned out to be 11 not counting indirect colleagues/clients).  And I still was one of the lucky ones that day. I'm going to assume you weren't there and didn't smell the acrid smoke and see the haze for days later.   A haze covering a city that I hold to be the greatest in the world; that I adopted as a young man because I believed in the power of New York to bring people together in a truly unique way - good, bad and ugly.  I'll also assume you weren't one of the tens of thousands of people - still horrified, still confused - who stood for hours at a time to donate blood, to deliver food, to help each other find some relief or peace for weeks following 9/11...  for our LITERAL NEIGHBORS.  You must not have experienced how thoroughly unsettling and heartbreaking it was to look up every day and not have two of your most trusted, iconic skyscrapers ahead of your walk - just a gaping hole.  And that's all to say nothing of the loss of life, the loss of a sense of security (false or otherwise), the loss of men and women who showed unfathomable courage. 
So, on second thought, go fucking fuck yourself.  I'll fucking mourn and remember and be affected for 22 fucking years and I'll fucking do it for another 22 fucking years if I want to.  I'm not ignorant of the political context or aftermath.  But you seem to be ignorant of the pain people felt who might have experienced this shit up close and personally.  
And for the record, I don't just mourn the tragedy.  Time smooths those edges.  But I do mourn the powerful feeling of togetherness and humanity that I experienced as a New Yorker that sadly, and regardless of the why or how, hasn't ever been the norm.  If only more people understood that and if only it didn't take thousands of innocent lives to bring it about, even for a few moments so many years ago.

[Poe It Up 126]

1 hour ago, Hermanator said:

It's been 22 years. Time to let it go. 

Especially considering this country just endured an insurrection attempt and it took 2 1/2 years to even bring charges against the former president and his stooges who masterminded it. 

I can't bring myself to give a shit about something that happened 22 years ago in light of what's happening now and how our homeland is crumbling. The past has been cried over many times. Save your tears for the far worse future that's coming. 

 

[Disco Strangler 1865]

1 hour ago, SimonBolivar said:

I was in 7th grade and I remember being extremely upset that they didn't cancel afternoon football practice. Selfish little asshole that I was not grasping the magnitude of the event, also why the fuck didn't they cancel football practice? After practice I remember going home and watch hour after hour of coverage on cable. I got sick of it later in the evening and noticed that Nickelodeon was the only channel not talking about it so I watched like an hour of Spongebob before going to bed.

 

My wife was in Kindergarten at the time and has no memory of it other than adults being upset about something.

That is how you humblebrag.  *cough cradlerobber cough*

[wildcat09 29260]

I for one think that we should be pissed off enough at the Saudis over their role in it that neither of our political parties would even think to kiss their asses. 

[animaltobacco11 107]

For a few years I didn't understand the gravity of it. I was a snarky, late-blooming teen and thought all the hand-wringing and weeping, while understandable at first, was beyond dramatic and hyperbolic as the weeks and months wore on. 

Being in Texas, and I know we had fast enough internet and Nokia cell phones, but the world still felt big enough to where NYC (a city I had never been to, at that point in my life) might as well have been Canada for all I knew or cared.

Of course with time and maturity, I've come to understand things with an adult brain and I get it. I really do. But all I remember vividly is waking up sometime in the afternoon with a horrible hangover from being hazed the nigh before, having skipped all my classes.

And maybe because of how I first conceptualized and synthesized that day and have had to try to feel it in the right way retroactively, I've still struggled with being as emotionally invested or moved as others and so I enjoy reading ya'lls stories.

[Hefeweizen 5307]

It’s like the Berlin Wall or the Challenger explosion, anyone my age remembers exactly where they were.  I was at a project meeting early that morning so I didn’t hear about it until I walked into my office and everyone was watching CNN.

 

I was trying to reach my sister in NYC for around three days after that.  She was in midtown so not near the towers, but scary times all around.  I can’t believe how the tragedy was misused in so many ways.  Fucking TSA.  Iraq.  Just a litany of bad geopolitical decisions.

[tx 3 putt 76403]

I’m also with team let it go

a lot of brave people gave their all that day, a lot of good and innocent people died. May them and their families find some peace 

[South Austin 52146]

What does "let it go" mean?  We stop the annual remembrance ceremonies on September 11?  We close the 9/11 museum?  We stop talking about this event altogether? 

And whatever your definition of "let it go," do you think we should also let Pearl Harbor go?  And yes, I agree that the movie was awful.

[Snake Diggity 4614]

This far removed, the most lasting impact of 9/11 was how it marked the loss of security and innocence.  Any American born since that day grew up without the feeling they could be confident that our basic way of life would go on uninterrupted.  

[Hermanator 6944]

3 hours ago, TexArcher said:

It's not en either/or.  

I will never "let it go" with regard to 9/11.

And, I'm super fucking pissed about 1/06.

I can multi-task.

No, American society has shown repeatedly it cannot muti task. One of the biggest problems in this country is focusing on the past "greatness" while ignoring the volcano we are flying directly into. 

 

[ohchaucer 1443]

No, American society has shown repeatedly it cannot muti task. One of the biggest problems in this country is focusing on the past "greatness" while ignoring the volcano we are flying directly into. 
 

Good point. I’m so tired of people referring to the greatness of September 11th.

You’re not making the point you think you are. And the point you THINK you’re making is nonsense at best and at the very least absolutely shittily callous.

America can’t en masse can’t do shit right and is headed for disaster. No shit. Has nothing to do with people feeling sad and memorializing a tragic human event. And most certainly has nothing to do with the amount of time that has passed.

[Brisketexan 104628]

46 minutes ago, South Austin said:

And whatever your definition of "let it go," do you think we should also let Pearl Harbor go? 

In my mind, Mr. Blutarski was wrong, and it WAS over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor.

[South Austin 52146]

1 minute ago, Brisketexan said:

In my mind, Mr. Blutarski was wrong, and it WAS over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor.

He did have a perfect grade point average.

[HornPhD 1364]

We had just wrapped the morning 7th grade football practice (O. Henry in Austin) when I walked into our coach’s office and heard that a small plane had just hit a WTC building. Went to my classroom and turned on the TV when the 2nd plane hit. The rest of the day was a blur of sadness and drinking.

[Satchel 6908]

1 hour ago, South Austin said:

What does "let it go" mean?  We stop the annual remembrance ceremonies on September 11?  We close the 9/11 museum?  We stop talking about this event altogether? 

And whatever your definition of "let it go," do you think we should also let Pearl Harbor go?  And yes, I agree that the movie was awful.

Strikes me as very unsurly like to tell others how to feel about one of the most tragic days in American history. What does letting it go look like?

[WhatTheBuck 28713]

2 hours ago, wildcat09 said:

I for one think that we should be pissed off enough at the Saudis over their role in it that neither of our political parties would even think to kiss their asses. 

If you can provide evidence that the government of Saudi Arabia participated in or even knew about the attacks, I’d love to see it. 

[TexArcher 37520]

2 hours ago, Hermanator said:

No, American society has shown repeatedly it cannot muti task. One of the biggest problems in this country is focusing on the past "greatness" while ignoring the volcano we are flying directly into. 

 

I actually agree with the second line.

But, that's not what people are doing with 9/11.  It's a day of remembrance.

And, it has nothing to do with the insurrection or punishing those responsible.  A bunch of people just got sentenced last week. 

No one is taking his eye off the ball by looking back at 9/11 and maybe removing his cap for a moment. 

[High Plains Drifter 10978]

 

Pretty sure I've told this story at least once before, but here goes again...

 

I was a grad student at UT at the time. I got to the lab I was working in, and everybody was talking about it. No tvs in the lab, so we all went home.

Later that day I got a frantic phone call from my half sister: Her mom (my step mom) was in Manhattan for work. She couldn't get a hold of her on the phone. My father was drunk (as usual) and losing his shit and was talking about driving from Dallas to NY to try and find her. He wanted me to drive to Dallas from Austin to stay with my high school age sister. I talked him out of it, luckily.

I hadn't even known my step mom was in Manhattan.

Much later that day, we finally got a call from my step mom. When the first plane hit, she was in a conference room a few blocks from the trade center in a meeting with a bunch of co-workers, most of whom she hadn't ever met in person. When they heard the explosion, security started yelling to evacuate the building. Then the first building collapsed, and cops yelled for everyone to get back inside. A few minutes later, people who were closer to ground zero started coming into the lobby of her building, completely covered in ash. Looked like ghosts, my step mom said. She ended up walking from lower Manhattan to the train station and took a train to New Jersey. She stayed with a co-worker from their NY office that she had never met before. She never recovered any of her stuff from her hotel room (clothes, credit cards, etc). After about a week, she rented a car and drove back to Dallas. I think she found somebody who was also from Dallas and they shared the ride.

There is more to the story, the long trek through manhattan, the ash and smoke and general chaos, the train ride to New Jersey, staying with complete strangers in a house with two kids, and not even being able to buy a toothbrush (much less clothes that weren't completely covered in ash) until we could get some money sent to her. The PITA of trying to rent a car to get home.

Every year I call her on 9/11. Every year she tells me the same story, and every time she starts to cry when she gets to the part about the people completely covered in ash. Even if I'm talking to her on the phone I can hear her get upset.

 

One year, my daughter in about 5th grade or so, mentioned that her step grandmother had been in Manhattan on 9/11 to her teacher, and the teacher wanted her to come to the school and tell her story. She didn't want to, said it would be too hard. I really need to record her telling the story, she's in her upper 70s now, and may not be around much longer to tell it.

 

 

 

 

[TexasHooch 5117]

Is it just me, or does anyone else feel like the conspiracy nuts are worse this year than ever before.  I don't know if it's a sign of the times, twitter policies, or what, but man are they everywhere today.

[4th&Five 41461]

Probably just the Elon effect.  

[Dbeasy 14970]

I was in a VC office in Galleria towers that day getting ready to watch a startup present. We had to go home midday because the Galleria was the tallest building in Dallas open to the general public and they were worried about an attack. 

But I learned a month ago for the first time that a childhood friend was in Manhattan that day and was scheduled to be in the Towers at 8:30 that day. I forget which floor. But he had gotten so drunk the previous night he blew off the meeting. Drinking pays. 

[dcbc 14410]

2 hours ago, South Austin said:

He did have a perfect grade point average.

A perfect circle.

 

I've posted it upthread, but for anyone inclined to read it, this is my friend's moment-by-moment account of getting out of the North tower from the 85th floor.

 

Link

[Doc Sam Beckett 5784]

1 hour ago, High Plains Drifter said:

My father was drunk (as usual) and losing his shit and was talking about driving from Dallas to NY to try and find her. 

 

I don't know how I've never connected the dots before, but.....I'm your dad 

[animaltobacco11 107]

18 hours ago, Doc Sam Beckett said:

I don't know how I've never connected the dots before, but.....I'm your dad 

Post of the year. 

[Sawbonz 27436]

 

19 hours ago, High Plains Drifter said:

 

Pretty sure I've told this story at least once before, but here goes again...

 

I was a grad student at UT at the time. I got to the lab I was working in, and everybody was talking about it. No tvs in the lab, so we all went home.

Later that day I got a frantic phone call from my half sister: Her mom (my step mom) was in Manhattan for work. She couldn't get a hold of her on the phone. My father was drunk (as usual) and losing his shit and was talking about driving from Dallas to NY to try and find her. He wanted me to drive to Dallas from Austin to stay with my high school age sister. I talked him out of it, luckily.

I hadn't even known my step mom was in Manhattan.

Much later that day, we finally got a call from my step mom. When the first plane hit, she was in a conference room a few blocks from the trade center in a meeting with a bunch of co-workers, most of whom she hadn't ever met in person. When they heard the explosion, security started yelling to evacuate the building. Then the first building collapsed, and cops yelled for everyone to get back inside. A few minutes later, people who were closer to ground zero started coming into the lobby of her building, completely covered in ash. Looked like ghosts, my step mom said. She ended up walking from lower Manhattan to the train station and took a train to New Jersey. She stayed with a co-worker from their NY office that she had never met before. She never recovered any of her stuff from her hotel room (clothes, credit cards, etc). After about a week, she rented a car and drove back to Dallas. I think she found somebody who was also from Dallas and they shared the ride.

There is more to the story, the long trek through manhattan, the ash and smoke and general chaos, the train ride to New Jersey, staying with complete strangers in a house with two kids, and not even being able to buy a toothbrush (much less clothes that weren't completely covered in ash) until we could get some money sent to her. The PITA of trying to rent a car to get home.

Every year I call her on 9/11. Every year she tells me the same story, and every time she starts to cry when she gets to the part about the people completely covered in ash. Even if I'm talking to her on the phone I can hear her get upset.

 

One year, my daughter in about 5th grade or so, mentioned that her step grandmother had been in Manhattan on 9/11 to her teacher, and the teacher wanted her to come to the school and tell her story. She didn't want to, said it would be too hard. I really need to record her telling the story, she's in her upper 70s now, and may not be around much longer to tell it.

 

 

 

 

I was in the OR in my fellowship in the northeast. My wife paged me (cell phone minutes were expensive) and the OR nurse answered and told her we were scrubbed. She told him a small plane (funny that’s what everyone was saying — no one could imagine an attack like that) hit one of the towers. He gave her the direct number to the OR  to keep us posted and the next call was to say there was another hit. We all knew immediately what that meant

 

Our chairman spent the afternoon coordinating with hospitals in Manhattan to figure out how we could get down there to help but it quickly became clear we weren’t needed - people were either banged up a bit but not critical, or dead. Most of the residents were from the northeast, and all knew one or more people who worked in the towers.  For many it was friends from growing up or from college, but a few had family members. The waiting for them to find out was hell. Amazing how many got out. One resident’s brother had called in sick that day. He worked up high and would have died 

[Sawbonz 27436]

 

19 hours ago, High Plains Drifter said:

 

Pretty sure I've told this story at least once before, but here goes again...

 

I was a grad student at UT at the time. I got to the lab I was working in, and everybody was talking about it. No tvs in the lab, so we all went home.

Later that day I got a frantic phone call from my half sister: Her mom (my step mom) was in Manhattan for work. She couldn't get a hold of her on the phone. My father was drunk (as usual) and losing his shit and was talking about driving from Dallas to NY to try and find her. He wanted me to drive to Dallas from Austin to stay with my high school age sister. I talked him out of it, luckily.

I hadn't even known my step mom was in Manhattan.

Much later that day, we finally got a call from my step mom. When the first plane hit, she was in a conference room a few blocks from the trade center in a meeting with a bunch of co-workers, most of whom she hadn't ever met in person. When they heard the explosion, security started yelling to evacuate the building. Then the first building collapsed, and cops yelled for everyone to get back inside. A few minutes later, people who were closer to ground zero started coming into the lobby of her building, completely covered in ash. Looked like ghosts, my step mom said. She ended up walking from lower Manhattan to the train station and took a train to New Jersey. She stayed with a co-worker from their NY office that she had never met before. She never recovered any of her stuff from her hotel room (clothes, credit cards, etc). After about a week, she rented a car and drove back to Dallas. I think she found somebody who was also from Dallas and they shared the ride.

There is more to the story, the long trek through manhattan, the ash and smoke and general chaos, the train ride to New Jersey, staying with complete strangers in a house with two kids, and not even being able to buy a toothbrush (much less clothes that weren't completely covered in ash) until we could get some money sent to her. The PITA of trying to rent a car to get home.

Every year I call her on 9/11. Every year she tells me the same story, and every time she starts to cry when she gets to the part about the people completely covered in ash. Even if I'm talking to her on the phone I can hear her get upset.

 

One year, my daughter in about 5th grade or so, mentioned that her step grandmother had been in Manhattan on 9/11 to her teacher, and the teacher wanted her to come to the school and tell her story. She didn't want to, said it would be too hard. I really need to record her telling the story, she's in her upper 70s now, and may not be around much longer to tell it.

 

 

 

 

I was in the OR in my fellowship in the northeast. My wife paged me (cell phone minutes were expensive) and the OR nurse answered and told her we were scrubbed. She told him a small plane (funny that’s what everyone was saying — no one could imagine an attack like that) hit one of the towers. He gave her the direct number to the OR  to keep us posted and the next call was to say there was another hit. We all knew immediately what that meant

 

Our chairman spent the afternoon coordinating with hospitals in Manhattan to figure out how we could get down there to help but it quickly became clear we weren’t needed - people were either banged up a bit but not critical, or dead. Most of the residents were from the northeast, and all knew one or more people who worked in the towers.  For many it was friends from growing up or from college, but a few had family members. The waiting for them to find out was hell. Amazing how many got out. One resident’s brother had called in sick that day. He worked up high and would have died 

[Chuckie Finster 22600]

23 hours ago, HornPhD said:

We had just wrapped the morning 7th grade football practice (O. Henry in Austin) when I walked into our coach’s office and heard that a small plane had just hit a WTC building. Went to my classroom and turned on the TV when the 2nd plane hit. The rest of the day was a blur of sadness and drinking.

It shouldn't be, but the thought of a 12 year-old getting hammered out of despair on 9/11 is an oddly funny image.

[4th&Five 41461]

My somewhat "funny" 9/11 story:  In 2008 I was road tripping with my SIL from Rhode Island back to Austin.  The first night it started snowing pretty hard in the middle of nowhere PA.  Neither of us could drive in the snow so I pulled over at the first hotel we passed and got a room.  I asked the girl at check in where we were and her immediate response was "Do you remember 9/11?"  It caught me off guard and I laughed and said "of course." It turns out we were about 5 miles from where 93 went down. I think of that girls blank stare back at me every year.

[Longhorn_Fan68 33843]

5 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

My somewhat "funny" 9/11 story:  In 2008 I was road tripping with my SIL from Rhode Island back to Austin.  The first night it started snowing pretty hard in the middle of nowhere PA.  Neither of us could drive in the snow so I pulled over at the first hotel we passed and got a room.  I asked the girl at check in where we were and her immediate response was "Do you remember 9/11?"  It caught me off guard and I laughed and said "of course." It turns out we were about 5 miles from where 93 went down. I think of that girls blank stare back at me every year.

so basically the opposite of this:

[HornPhD 1364]

4 hours ago, Chuckie Finster said:

It shouldn't be, but the thought of a 12 year-old getting hammered out of despair on 9/11 is an oddly funny image.

😂

I should have been more clear…I was one of the coaches.