So, in honor of the date, which is today, why don't we start things off by describing where you were when you first heard about the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I don't want this to turn into some political argument or anything. Some people recomend having jubuliouse celebrations while others want nothing more than a few seconds of silence nation-wide. I think it would be best to just pass the ball around and describe, as an international community, what if felt like and what we were doing when the news came to us. No story is too boring or too long to hear.

I'll start:

When I first heard of a plane hitting the world trade center I was in woodshop, one of my least-favorite classes but I had to take something for credit that period and taking Algebra and Spanish II over again didn't really appeal to me. Anyway, so in the door came these people who I hated due to their constant ignorance and bliss which they celebrated, not caring about what others though of them, they were always rambunxiouse and ill-mannered, but that period they came in with their faces cold, still, one in tears, wide-eyed they could only stare off into space, they didn't make eye contact and sat down slowly, appearing to take in the moment, I, as I usually did, ignored them and continued to draw out plans for a chess board... Then they started talking about it, and as always, I coulnd't help but overhear their conversation... They spoke of the obviouse facts which we all know today but came to my ears first via their mouths. I then recalled a certain writing from nostradameuse about an Iron bird, which I'd always thought to represent a Nuclear missile, but his predictions haven't been wrong yet, though this last one was some 19 years off... and then again that's all with interpretation, after all, he did write his predictions in code. Well anyway, somehow all these thoughts went through my head and I knew then and there that the tower was bound to collapse, I sort of expected it to take out half of NewYork, Times Square included, but then again, interpretation... Aaanyway, the period right after that was lunch, so I went home and turned on the television, everyone around was worrying about what would happen, if the skies were all goign to start raining jet air liners, the Base went to a hightened state of alert and for 2 weeks nobody could even park their cars near buildings... >_> Since then, nothing similar has happened, though life has certainly changed, because of the war in alqueda we get prisoners, with prisoners come troops, lots more people around now than there were then... It changed life in ways which could not have even been expected to have occured on september the 10th, or even at 8:00 AM September the 11th... It truley will be a day that will live in infamy for us all...

*tosses ball into crowd hoping some one will catch it*

<font color=skyblue> On my way to work, I nearly got there when I was listening to 107.5...and Jack Murphy..the radio personality made a comment about some fool flying into the WTC. He thought a first that somebody was playing a joke on him, then they were wondering if the pilot was drunk or something. I got outta my car and was walking to the door when a lady asked me about it, and I tod her that I only knew that a plane crashed. When I got to the office, everybody was huddled around a tv. I decided it was a good reason to not start working yet, so I joined them. That is when I saw the second plane collide and I knew that the first plane was not just an idle accident. That whole work day was spent passing by TVs, listening to the latest news.
I logged on here, and found GenCon loaded with numerous threads...and began reading each one...hoping to learn something new from those that were posting the latest news that they were hearing on thier radios and tvs across the world.</font>

It was pretty weird for me. I normally wake up pretty late in the day, usally around 11 am or so.. But for some reason I woke up early that day, I woke up about 8:30 Am or so, I walked into the bathroom to get ready for the day, when my family shouted out Oh my God or something like that, ok, my family is generally loud, so I was acustom to stuff like this being shouted, but something almost voiced me into the living room where everyone was, and found out what had happened.

Strange eh?

I was sleeping ;) (I'm homeschooled so I can do that). I was woken up by just a few words from my mom who had burst into my room, "The Pentagon is gone." I thought something to the effect of "Holy Sh**!" Of course that wasn't the case, but that was what my older brother had told my mom before either of them had actually seem it on the news, my brother had just heard it from his friend. I got up and saw the smoke billowing out from the WTC on TV and I wondered "Why can't I see the other tower?" I had thought it was just that the smoke was so thick, but I was apparently wrong... Only minutes after I saw the second tower come down, live on television. It was scary as hell.

On a side note, not REALLY on topic with this particular thread but I talked to a friend of mine via AIM later that day who lives in NYC... turns out he was 1 block away from the WTC when it happened a the high school near there, Styvesette or something like that, I never remember the name... He wasn't the same and I haven't talked to him since, he never answers IM's or anything...

-Jafin

<font color=pink>Good thread Ian!

I was on my way to school at about 6:30AM, listening to the AM news radio. I heard all the things happening, like the plane crashing, and it didn't quite register in my head what was going on. At around 9:30, when I was in AP History, watching it on CNN, i saw the 2nd plane crash. I think it was my 1st day of school too, what a way to start the year. And it doesn't even feel like a year since then, if u know what i mean...</font>

It was around 9 pm and I was at my PC checking email when I received an email from a friend who was then staying in Pennsylvania (or was it New Jersey?).
Anyway she wrote that a plane had just crashed into the WTC in NY. At first I thought it was a joke, or perhaps an accident, or even domestic terrorism. I visualised a small light aircraft. Never could I imagine that it was a fully-laden airliner.

I walked into my bedroom, told my wife about our friend's email, and tuned to the local news channel here.

I was flabbergasted to see footage of the aricraft hitting the building. It was replayed over and over and when the second one hit I knew it was no accident.

Then reports started coming in about the Pentagon being hit, and another one crashing in the countryside of Pennsylvania. Rumours that a bomb had exploded at Capitol Hill.

My wife & I stayed up until 2 am.

The scary part was a few months later, the police arrested a few guys in Singapore who allegedly belonged to a terrorist cell. They had videotaped possible targets like an MRT station (subway to the rest of the world), and I believe the shipyards where USN vessels were berthed whenever they stopped over here.

I was in a train.

A guy near by was listening to the radio via a headset. He starting saying "Oh my god, unbelievable,..." (Later I learned that's when he hear the first plane hit the first tower). But at the time, Danes being very reserved people, nobody in the compartment actually asked him what whas happening.

Later though he started murmuring again (second tower, pentagon), I asked him what was going on and he told us...

I was in England (as per usual) and I didn't hear about it... unitl I got home that evening... to be honest I wasn't sure what accually happened... not 'til a couple of days later... all of the news channels were saying something about a plane crashing into a building, the world trade centre, but, I didn't really find out anything until 2 days later... erm, and to be honest I was slightly shocked... they weren't sure at that point if it was "accidental" I beleive... but, erm, thats how I got the news I think... :(

Well I was in bed, it was around 12 pm here in iceland but I was working late shifts and had to go to work at 2 pm, my sister came into my room and told me some one had flewn a plane into the twin towers and it was on the tv, I just couldn't believe it, all I kept thinking about were the poor people up there, so I got down and sure there it was on the tv. I went to work and had a small headset radio and listened to the news all day. I just couldn't believe this.

I was right here browsing the Ironworks forum when Mark/Skywalker posted a topic about a plane crashing into the WTC (this was almost immediately after it happened). Right then my boyfriend came home and we quickly had to go do the weekly groceries. I had no idea at that point how bad it was... I guess I was a bit dumbstruck by the topic. Just before I left I saw Skywalker post something like "Oh my God... another plane just crashed into it".
I was a bit confused as we walked through the supermarket, not sure what the situation was like, when my sister called me on my mobile phone with the latest news. (She was at home watching the telly). I was shocked as I started to get an inkling of the enormity of the disaster, and told some people in the supermarket the news. None of us, however, really realised the gravity of the situation. On the way back home we listened to the radio news. It wasn't until we came home and turned on the TV that it hit us. Spent most of the evening watching the news and browsing IW, especially because I was worried sick about people in the neighbourhood like Yorick. I remember the relief when Leonis posted he was alright.