So, how has your life changed because of/since 911?

[SkiDork]

I was standing at my desk on the 58th floor of 2 WTC (also known as the South Tower) when United 175 slammed into our building. Thats what 2-58 means in my sig. I got knocked to the ground by the impact. With the help of God I managed to walk out of the building along with thousands of others in the stairways.

It sounds corny but I do appreciate life and my family a hell of a lot more. I pray that the people with hate burning inside themselves so much that they must do these things can eventually see the error of their ways. It will probably take a lot of time for that to happen, unfortunately.

[mrryde]

my office at 130 liberty was was destroy, eventually i put the house up for sale and moved. Images from that day still haunt me.

[Bluebird]

Instead of commuting to NYC from NJ and spending too many hours dedicated to a high paying wall street job I now work at the base of a ski area in VT. (spending too many hours dedicated to a low paying job). I met the girl of my dreams and got married because of it. I am in a better place for it.

I still think about 9/11 and how it has affected me, my friends and family. I knew too many people with very close calls and a few who didn't make it. I can't bring myself to watch all the documentaries/movies and pretty much try to not think about it. It was a shitty day. Luckily I wasn't in the City that day, but I turned a friends house into command central. If our friends and family were trying to find someone they went through me. THe only part of that day I want to relive is getting a few beers and pizza at Star Tavern with all my friends/family who spent hours trying to get out of the City that day.

[Aldo]

I'm standing outside looking at the weather 13 miles west of the WTC site. Funny thing is it's a carbon copy of that same day 5 years ago. Bluebird, crisp air on a chilly breeze. Did my life change? I'm still alive, so it wasn't that drastic I guess. I've had my fair share of job turmoil. I lost friends. The world turned a corner 5 years ago. Best we can do is cope with that. Life goes on, that hasn't changed.

[BushwackerinPA]

Sept 11, 2001 I was 17 a senior in High School in Western PA. It truly started out as beautiful day. Sunny, clear, not to warm, had gym that morning the contrails were visable. One contrial was clearly going agaisnt the grain this morning and seemed out of place. It was flight 93 soon to be doomed.

Hearing of fire at the WTC my french teacher that morning turned on the TV only to see the second plane hit. People in the class room were crying, what just went down will be the worst terrorist attack on US soil we have ever seen. the second plane confirmed it was an "accident" because at the time that what everyone thought the first plane was. It hurts worse to know some one willing did this.

[BushwackerinPA]

second part of the post cause my computer is fed up.

after all the TV in the school were shut off because of the events. I logged on the net and find about flight 93 and told a couple friend that plane went down an hour away. My school didnt like I was spreading a un true rumor and I got called down the office only for them to find it was true. At that piont the choice was made to send everyone home early.

I didnt lose anyone in these events but the pain could be felt miles away.

[Boomer28]

2 World Financial Center (the building right next to the twin towers, the one with the black dome top) 20th floor. Watched 2nd plane hit from the street. Bad, bad day.

Don't give it much thought but today I'm sitting here at my desk and it's a struggle. I hate all this sensationalized BS the media is doing (CNN replay of their broadcast from that day? gee that sounds uplifting!). It's gonna be a tough day.

[Grange]

I am guaranteed to be late to work every time 9/11 end up on a week day. Just like the day it happened I'll be glued to the TV watching the events unfold.

I was the bearer of bad news that day for the majority of people in the office and nothing was done for almost three days. The large conference room was packed with people watching the TV coverage.

I didn't lose anyone that day, but hearing those names being read brings a tear to my eye. There is defininitely a somber feeling here this morning.

[BeanDip4All]

Twelve of my immediate friends escaped the towers in time, and many people from my firm lost their lives. This morning my swim team had a memorial practice in honor of our three teamates who perished in the attacks.

I hate walking to 1 Chase Plaza or S&P for a meeting and seeing people hawking "memorbilia" crap like $2 replicas and fucking snow globes of the former WTC outside of the ground zero. At first I used to have to literally restrain myself from flipping out and punching them in the face. Now they just depress me.

The deep sadness I used to feel whenever I walk across those platforms that span the site and look down on vast hole has numbed into a dull ache over the past two years.

[Boomer28]

[QUOTE=TacomaLuv] I hate walking to 1 Chase Plaza or S&P for a meeting and seeing people hawking "memorbilia" crap like $2 replicas and fucking snow globes of the former WTC outside of the ground zero. At first I used to have to literally restrain myself from flipping out and punching them in the face. Now they just depress me. QUOTE]

Wow, you pretty much summed up my feelings in a nutshell. The city officially says those dirtbags can't be down there selling their trinkets but they do NOTHING to stop them. A freind of mine calls ground zero "WTC Adventure Land" due to the theme park atmosphere down there and I hate to say I agree with the sentiment.

The sad thing is that it is as much a demand as a supply issue with these "vendors". If no one bought their crap they wouldn't be there. Every time I'm down there I see dozens of fat tourist buying statues & photo collages of the destruction. We got some f'd up attitudes towards tradegy in this country......

[Monique]

the anger is more towards the politicians and the media. also towards people who trivialize or profiteer from the events of that day. i, personally, dont approve of the blockbuster movies made about those events. flight 93 and the nicholas cage flick...no. i think thats wrong.

Other than adding travel time to every plane trip, my core framework (family, friends, home, how I make a living) seems unaffected and I'm grateful for that. On the other hand the resulting zeitgeist is responsible for some significant changes in my life, e.g. I've re-energized my political involvement. Unfortunately I now have a prevailing sense of discouragement about a pervasive blind thought process in this country. Every time I think politicians (both sides of the aisle) have reached a nadir of cynicism they take it a little farther. And with so many people using all those deaths as a platform for heightening their hatred and prejudice, I wonder how different our country would be right now if, instead, they could have interpreted the attacks as a sobering example of what happens when hatred and prejudice are played out, and then used the experience as a stimulus to re-think their world view. That day was like a terribly painful cultural lobotomy with varying results—in some people it produced a pattern-interrupt, stimulating amazing and good things; but in others it heightened their pathology.

AbsolutStoli, I’m going to speculate you haven’t seen “United 93.” It was made with the approval of all of the families of passengers who are characterized. The actors visited each family and interacted with them to better understand the responsibility of portraying the people who died, and to hear the family’s fears and feelings about the movie’s creation. The film is extremely restrained and simple and thoughtful. I’m not saying it’s free from commercial interests but it certainly doesn’t pander to anything, it seems to have been made as respectfully as possible, and I think the kind of storytelling it does is helpful. (If it weren’t, this thread wouldn’t exist).

[13]

Directly, not much has changed in my life except added annoyances when I fly somewhere.

Indirectly, my life is now different in that I worry that the government is less a government of and by the people than it was in the past.

In my very humble opinion, I think the people of New York have coped with the events of that day far better than a vast majority of Americans. I think that's a wonderful thing and I wish many of my peers could learn from this.

[FrankZappa]

I remember hearing "we'll never know freedom as we have before today" and slowly realizing it was true. Then a few days later seeing my nieces who were in high school then and wondering how many of thier friends would end up in the war that would follow.

I also noticed the silence from lack of air traffic. I have to admit that I enjoyed that part - even though it was erie.

[glademaster]

I'm standing outside looking at the weather 13 miles west of the WTC site. Funny thing is it's a carbon copy of that same day 5 years ago. Bluebird, crisp air on a chilly breeze.

Every September 11th has been a carbon copy of that day weather-wise where I live(and lived at the time), around 60 miles west of the city.

I was in 7th grade in 2001, so my perspective is probably a bit different than many people's here. I can still remember being called into the gym and being told that the WTC were on fire, but no mention of hijacked planes at the time. As dramatic as that was, going to class a few minutes later and being glued to CNN, watching the second plane fly into the south tower and then the towers fall. Those images were effectively burned into my mind, but for some reason, I didn't realize the gravity of the situation at the time.

It really began to settle in the first time I saw the new skyline of Manhattan later that year, in November. Even though I was only driving to the Meadowlands for a ski swap, it was dramatic moment when my dad and I first glimpsed the revised skyline of lower Manhattan that day. I remember feeling furious. Inconsoleable anger was how I would describe it at the time, but I soon began to realize that that was the wrong reaction. Anger won't solve any problems, it won't bring closure, it won't help me gain understanding.

For me, it took nearly 5 years to really understand how I feel about that day. Maybe I'm more mature, maybe I've just seen the way world events have unfolded since that fateful day, or maybe I've gained true perspective on the event. Despite living an hour from Manhattan, I manage to get into the city once every year and a half or so, and I had not been to lower Manhattan since the towers fell.

However, thanks to a chance meeting with a girl who lives in Manhattan, I've spent more time in Manhattan this summer than I ever have before in my life. And finally, on August 11th of this year, on our way to see Josh Ritter at Southstreet Seaport, I made my way to ground zero. Looking out over the void where the towers once stood, I realized that I did not feel anger, rage, or anything like that. It was simply sadness. Sadness that such strong hate could be fostered in the world today, sadness that so many people lost their lives, and most importantly, sadness that America has done little (if anything) to make ourselves better understood worldwide, sadness that instead of focusing on a just, retaliatory war, we have been distracted by the Iraq war.

I for one am glad that some news agencies have decided to re-broadcast the coverage from that day, I'm watching it, not because it makes great tv, but because my family has gone out of its way to avoid anything even pertaining to 9/11 ever since it happened, and that made it seem almost fake to me. Seeing it again, from any entirely different point in my life in terms of maturity and life experience, has been beneficial. It is one of the few events that truly effects me in a deep way. Funerals for close friends, relatives, etc don't cause me to display much of anything in the way of emotion, never have, probably never will. 9/11 is the only thing that has brought me to tears since I was a small child, and I'm not ashamed to say that.

As I talked to a friend who lives on the upper east side last night, she mentioned that she had a view of both the Empire State Building and the lights of ground zero. For those outside of the area, the normally illuminated top of the Empire State Building was dark last night, and the light towers designed to simulate the twin towers were lit last night. I for one am proud of the city for choosing to do this. I'm sure many people who have wanted red, white and blue lights atop the Empire State Building, but I disagree. That sadness that I felt that day one month ago at ground zero made me realize that this is not an American issue, a patriotic issue, but a human issue. It is a human tragedy, a worldwide tragedy, not an American tragedy, and as such, should not be automatically associated with our nation. I can only hope that with time, more people all over this country and the world gain perspective on this and other acts of its kind and realize that the solution does not lie in fear mongering and paranoia, but through gaining understanding of the way the world around us and the people who inhabit it work.

[BushwackerinPA]

If you're gonna jump
Hey you, hang on
If you feel like giving up
Hey you, hang on

I won't forget today
The sun is bright the sky is blue
The pain will go away
In another year or two

If you got a phone
Hey you, call home
If you got a voice
Hey you, rejoice

I won't forget today
The sun is bright the sky is blue
I won't forget to pray
Day is night the world is new
The pain will go away
In another year or two
In a hundred years or two
In a thousands years or two

If you're gonna fly
Hey you, don't cry
You gotta live to die
Hey you, goodbye

[Buster Highmen]

. , it's had a huge impact on how my unit .

Ouch.

For me, it's nice to be recognized as an imminent threat.

[leroy jenkins]

I just find the news slightly more annoying now.

[AbsolutStoli]

A freind of mine calls ground zero "WTC Adventure Land" due to the theme park atmosphere down there and I hate to say I agree with the sentiment.

The deep sadness I used to feel whenever I walk across those platforms that span the site and look down on vast hole has numbed into a dull ache over the past two years.

yea...same here. last march was the first time i actually went to the wtc site, because i had to take the path downtown to get to the piers. when the train first approached the station, making that little circle around the hole, i first didnt even realize where i was. i couldnt understand why there was sunlight coming in and it was an open-air ride all of a sudden. then it hit me. i had trouble breathing until i reached church street. ive never had a panic or anxiety attack, but i definitely had one that day. ive been around there one other time since then with a similar reaction.

and it still bothers me off that tourists go there to gawk at the hole as if it was some tourist attraction. i understand their desire to pay respects, but for some reason it still bothers me.

AbsolutStoli, I’m going to speculate you haven’t seen “United 93.” It was made with the approval of all of the families of passengers who are characterized. The actors visited each family and interacted with them to better understand the responsibility of portraying the people who died, and to hear the family’s fears and feelings about the movie’s creation. The film is extremely restrained and simple and thoughtful. I’m not saying it’s free from commercial interests but it certainly doesn’t pander to anything, it seems to have been made as respectfully as possible, and I think the kind of storytelling it does is helpful. (If it weren’t, this thread wouldn’t exist).

no, i havent. im sure youre right, and that it was made with all respect. but its going to take me a long time to be able to see a feature movie on the subject. maybe its too soon? i dont know...maybe its something else.

[SkiDork]

I found my story on my PC at home...

===========================================

My WTC attack experience

I arrived at work on 09/11/01 at the usual time of 04:35 AM. It was a pretty clear night out there, as I looked at the Statue of Liberty and the Verrazano Bridge through the windows which face south. I ‘m located on the 58th floor of 2 World Trade Center, also known as the South Tower. I work for a company called Bridge Information Systems, which occupied 58 and half of 57.

I had my usual 2 cups of coffee, while I was checking the systems, catching up on e-mail and reading about the latest happenings in the industry as I do every morning.

The next people on my side of the floor started arriving at the usual 07:30 or so. They turned on the lights (I always keep them off in the morning, I like that better, you can still see fine).

Around about 08:40 or so I got a call from my parents. We were chatting about something when all of a sudden there was a very loud bang, followed almost immediately by a shower of thousands of pieces of 8-1/2 x 11 white paper, along with some flaming debris. The flaming debris and ash fell on the surrounding rooftops and the street. The paper was just fluttering around everywhere.

I told my parents that someone must have exploded a letter bomb up on the roof of our building, as that is where the observation deck is. I hung up with them and proceeded to call my wife and tell her I think some kind of bomb went off. She said she would check the TV and get back to me. By this time it was approximately 08:55.

She called back quickly and said that a plane had hit the other tower. I thanked her and walked over to the other side of the floor, which faces north. I looked up. There it was, a huge flaming and smoking hole in the side of the building about 20 or 30 floors up. The atrium between the two towers was littered with dust and debris.

I ran back to our side and told my boss and a few other co-workers that a plane had hit the other tower. We all ran back to check it out, and then walked back to our side. We discussed whether or not we should go downstairs. My boss and 2 others took the local elevator down to the 44th floor skylobby, but were told to go back up as there was no reason to evacuate. They came back up.

I was back at my desk. At about 09:00 or so the fire alarm announcement came, they said “Everything is OK with 2. The only problem is with 1 so if you’re in 2 please stay where you are” I walked back over to the north side and looked again at the hole. Someone said “Oh my God, someone is jumping’. As soon as I heard that, I walked right back to my desk. That was not something I wanted to witness.

Now, about 5 minutes after the announcement there was another very loud bang which actually rocked the building and knocked me on my butt. White boards fell off the walls, and some of the walls cracked. I immediately knew we were under attack. I grabbed my wallet and headed for the stairs.

In the hallway as I passed the freight elevator I could hear it freefalling, and people screaming. I also heard the cables thwacking against the walls of the elevator shaft. I then entered the staircase. There were some people in it, but the going was fairly quick. It got progressively slower with each floor. I grabbed my crucifix, which was around my neck and started reciting the Lords Prayer over and over again. I never stopped saying it. In the back of my mind I had the feeling the building may fall (I thought we might get hit again). Every so often the procession of people would come to a halt, which was not pleasant. It stopped a total of 6 times, each for about 1 minute. I didn’t know if it would ever start up again. Thankfully it always would, albeit a minute or two later. On some landings there were women’s shoes and clothing that people had discarded. There were some women behind me who were crying and saying “I hate this building I hate this building” and I actually said to myself “no more tall buildings for me…” Thankfully our staircase was lit and there was no water in it. We didn’t pass any firemen, I think they were probably mostly all in 1. When we got to the 44 skylobby we had to switch staircases (actually the staircases just went around the elevator shafts so there was a horizontal walk to get to the next section). It was here that I saw the head of security of Morgan Stanley, he was holding a megaphone and saying “keep moving, keep walking, you’re doing OK” – reassuring us so to speak. At the time I didn’t know who he was but later on I say a dateline NBC show about him. Apparently he went back up to make sure everyone in his company had gotten out. Unfortunately he didn’t make it out. I finally got down about 30 or 40 minutes later. That’s when I started seeing firemen. I looked out to the mall and saw a bunch of debris but it was a quick look and I didn’t see any of the carnage of the people jumping. The police escorted us to the lower mall level and then out by Borders books on Church St. They told us to walk over to Broadway, which I did at a fast pace.

When I got to Broadway, I turned left and headed north. I looked back at the buildings just once, and got overcome by sadness and grief when I saw the large burning and smoking holes. The World Trade Center was like a friend to me, I was very excited to be working there. This was just so horrifically sad to see a friend in as bad shape as this. Little did I know what was yet to come. I resolved not to look back again.

[SkiDork]

part 2 of WTC story:

==========================

I headed toward the courthouses and ran into another coworker standing by City Hall. I told him that I could not stop and gawk with all the thousands of others. I had to keep walking. I was still shaking with fear and sadness at this point.

I made my way north toward Penn Station, winding my way through the streets. I kept trying to call Maria on the cell phone, but it was just not getting through. It was rather hot and humid out and I started to sweat. I stopped in at a Korean deli and bought a bottle of water as all I had had was coffee that morning. I kept moving toward Penn Station. The streets were virtually empty, except for emergency vehicles.

Next I stopped by a building and eavesdropped on a conversation between a doorman and a passerby. I heard the doorman say something about a tower falling down. I thought he was simply referring to the Television tower on top of 1 WTC. I pressed on toward Penn Station.

When I got to 30th Street and I heard from others that Penn station had been evacuated, I stopped by the police precinct and asked where the nearest church was. The policeman said there was one on the next block between 6th and 7th. I strode over to St. Francis of Assisi and entered the church. There happened to be a mass in progress, although nearing the end. I sat in a pew and participated in the rest of the mass. They had everyone come up and get their forehead stamped with something I knew not what. I got stamped. When the mass was through, I spent another 30 minutes going to each Jesus and/or Mary statue there, getting on my knees and thanking them for sparing my life. I also prayed for the poor souls who were still trapped in the building, not knowing about any collapse. I lit a candle. I put $10 into the poor box. I left the church.

Across the street was a firehouse. I wandered over there where I encountered other citizens talking with the firemen who hadn’t been called yet. They were performing an immensely useful public service – making the general public feel welcome to just mill around in front of the firehouse, a virtual “safe haven”. I felt overwhelming respect for these brave men. All I had wanted to do was to flee that terrible scene, yet all they were going to do was run towards it. They truly are New York’s Bravest.

One of the firemen informed us that 2 WTC had collapsed to the ground. I felt shaky and overcome with grief. After all this was my building. The fireman asked if I would like to sit down, which I did.

Another passerby asked the firemen where he could donate blood. I immediately thought to myself “that’s a damn good idea”. I can pay back some for sparing my life. The firemen said the nearest hospital was Bellevue over on 28th and 1st. I started out for Bellevue. On the way I picked up a large chocolate chip cookie, as I still hadn’t eaten.

I made it over to Bellevue and waited in front along with the throngs of others. At one point they asked if anyone was a universal donor, which I am. I was told to go inside to wait. They gave me a long questionnaire to fill out. I borrowed a pen from a man in a white coat. I filled out the form. I then could not find the man I borrowed it from so I passed it along to another prospective donor. I also gave an interview to a New York Times reporter.

They took groups of 50 upstairs and started to take our blood pressure, temperature and pulse. The nurse commented that my pulse was a bit high (100) and she would come to check it again later. I explained that I had just left 2 WTC. The rest of the group heard this and started asking what had happened. I started relating this story. They were in awe. They started offering me food and juice, which I took advantage of as I was still hungry. The woman next to me gave me a hug, which I really needed at this point. The hospital personnel eventually came out and told us they had run out of blood bags and could not take out blood today. They thanked us for making the effort. I was not disappointed, as I had done all that I could.

I now exited Bellevue hospital and called Maria. She said that Eric from the Killington chat room had offered to have me come over to 40th and Park where he was. He said there was food and refreshments there and he would help me get home. I started out for 100 Park Ave. As I left the hospital I offered an interview to a Channel 7 news crew. They accepted. A few blocks north I encountered a Channel 2 news crew who also took my story.

When I got to my destination it turned out that the whole building had already left. I then called Phil from the Killington chat room who had offered to have me stay with him. I told him that I would walk over to Penn Station and check out the situation. If it was still not running, I would take him up on his offer. I walked west along 40th street.

I eventually came to a 7 train subway stop. I descended the stairs and found that the 7 was indeed running. I got onto the 7 train which goes above ground in Queens. I did not look at the WTC at all. I didn’t want to. I had planned on catching the LIRR at Woodside, but an announcement was made that no LIRR service was available there. I instead changed at 74th St. for the E train to Jamaica. There I lined up at the “Babylon” sign and waited for a man with a megaphone to announce what track the train was to be on. 15 minutes later a Babylon train arrived on track 7 which I was able to board and get home on.

Aftermath so far: Fox News saw the Times story and asked me to appear on the O’Reilly Factor show. I agreed and on Wednesday (09./12) was limo-ed into Manhattan, appeared on the show and then was limo-ed home. I also went in on Friday (09/14) to again appear on Fox News, this time with Linda Viesters. And here I now sit.

Aftermath #2: The firehouse where I spent an hour or so was the firehouse that Father Mike Judge lived (makes sense because it was across the street from St. Francis of Assisi and he was a Franciscan Priest). Father Judge was the Fire Dept. chaplain who was killed by a falling person while administering last rites to a fellow human.

Aftermath #3: On the 1 year anniversary, I went down to ground zero and walked the perimeter. It took an hour. I stopped and prayed a few times. I was choking back tears the whole time. In the afternoon I was able to ring a large bell in the street between the firehouse and St. Francis church where I had been one year earlier.

[Nohillsnearby]

Wow, Skidork, just, Wow....

[P_McPoser]

Wow. That's a tough story to share. Thank you.

[SkiDork]

Thanks for the well wishes.

After looking over the story again I've got to add aftermath number 4 - I now am working on floor 48 of a 52 story building. I guess the "no more tall buildings for me" thing went out the window. Or maybe, it's my way of saying FU to the terrorists...

[shmerham]

A) I know quite a bit more about islam than I did before 2001.
B) I think up terrorist plots that would be easier and more effective than any idea that gets brought up on tv or any actual plan that has been foiled.
C) When I listen to "Juicy" by Notorious BIG and I hear this part: 'Time to get paid, blow up like the World Trade' I say "wow" or "hmmm".

Otherwise life isn't any different. I had only been on one flight before 2001 and my job at a government facility didn't start till 2002. I didn't know any different before 2001.

[BushwackerinPA]

Skidork that is one of the best account I have ever read. skidork its was probably hard for you but thatnks for sharing.

The Phil you mentioned from the K-mart boards was that Flexon Phil?