A simple 9/11 memory

I was in Colorado Springs, Colorado, working on a project for my company and visiting my sister and her husband.

For reasons that I don't remember, I stayed home from the office that morning and was still in my bathrobe, working on my laptop. And while I normally don't like having the television turned on while I'm working, for some reason that morning I did.

The horrifying images of the burning towers are seared forever into my memory, as they undoubtedly are for everyone who saw them. And invariably what pops into your head at those times are things that make a personal connection. In my case, that was my friend Melissa, whom I had known since high school and who went away to live and work in New York City. Her office was in the south tower, somewhere around the 40th floor.

So my first thought, after the initial shock of seeing the planes hit, was ... oh my god, that's where Melissa is. That made the whole thing personal to me.

I waited three days to give things a chance to settle a bit, then I phoned her. I listened to the rings, praying that she would answer. Finally, she did. Unbelievably, she had been out of the office that morning to take care of a minor traffic ticket, a ticket that very likely saved her life.

When she first moved to New York, I had teased her about being a city slicker. She told me that "everything you could possibly want could be found in New York." I laughed and told her that there were those who might not agree.

On the phone, we cried and cried for all the innocent lives that were lost, many of whom were her friends and co-workers, and for a world where something like this could happen.

That's my 9/11 memory.

 

I was living in andover, massachusetts at the time and when I turned on the TV and I was floored.

The skyscrapers in downtown boston were evacuated for fear of a second wave of hijackings; and the state police were cordoning off logan airport where two of the flights took off essentially making it one huge crime scene

Later that day I drove to a friends house who lives in the boston area, and I drove his bicycle around the deserted city streets (with the exception of a dozen cops armed to the teeth at every major intersection)


Hotwater

 

I think that fear was pretty common. In Colorado Springs, there was the fear that Cheyenne Mountain might be a target. As you know, that's the headquarters of NORAD.

 

Believe it not, I missed the whole thing? I didn't know anything until 7 o'clock that night. I was on a temp layoff from work, slept until not quite noon, and went outside and read a book. I remember what a beautiful day it was, and how peaceful..not knowing. It was peaceful because all the air traffic had ceased and the whole world as I knew it ground to a standstill.
Funny thing was my cat either heard or sensed the whole thing from 35 miles away, she woke me up a couple of minutes after the first tower was hit, was in my room pawing at the windows. Then she was back half an hour later. She had a cat door, so I'm wondering wtf is she doing in the house pawing at the windows when she can let herself out? I didn't put together until a couple days later after the shock wore off.

 

ok, this will sound cold blooded.
it was about 3:00am in seattle when i heard about it on npr (national public radio.)
my first thought was...SHIT!
next, i turned on the tee vee. i watch it unfold for a few moments and, started laughing my ass off watching people fall to their deaths and, joking about all the "street pizzas" on the sidewalks around the towers.

i know that sounds cold hearted and sick as all hell, and a lot of you are thinking, i'm some kind of monster.
well, i'm not. this is just my way of dealing with grief, horror, shock and, stress.
i worked almost 5 years in an er.
dark, sick and twisted joking, got both me and, everyone else who worked the er, through each day, doing our jobs of helping people and saving lives.

on 9/11 all the emergency response people in new york city, were being just as sick and twisted as i was so, they could do their jobs of saving lives!

 

That's not uncommon. I have a friend who is a nursing supervisor in a large hospital. She says the same thing.

 

I understand what you're saying...but I'm sorry, I find that messed up.

And that's putting it kindly.

I live in New York and no one was laughing at all.

Even the meanest coldest hearted people were in shock.

Shocked n' angry....lots of tears...no laughter....for weeks....n' longer...

I can't speak for everyone, but I seriously doubt that.

Again, I live here in New York and don't know what the rest of the country was feeling...but no one here was joking or laughing at all...not even for a second, from what I experienced.

The radio stations here on Long Island didn't even play music for 2-3 weeks...people were messed up...most everyone was helping in some way.

 

Or maybe you're just kidding yourself. Maybe you really are a twisted fuck. Are you sure?

 

Thanks for turning a thread about memories of a traumatic incident into yet another stupid, petty round of whining and bitching.

 

caliente, i do apologize to you if, in anyway i ruined this thread... that was not my intention!
i thought it might be insightfull, if other members of hip forums, could gain in understanding of how emergency personnel, (fire, medical, police and, so forth) have to develop this type of de-sensitized mentality, to be able to do the the job of helping people and saving lifes.
caliente, i see from your post above you have some insight and understanding of that type of mentality.


i should have known this type of shit would happen!
over the years, most people never are able to understand, the type of world that emerengency personnel deal with!
i tried to give you some ideal how we, the people, who protect you and, save your lives in times of disaster; wether it be mass murder, as was 9/11 or, something "much smaller," as an automobile victim whom, is wheeled into the er with, their brains and guts hanging out of their bodies.
THEY ARE BOTH DISASTERS AND, WE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO FIGHT TO SAVE LIVES!
if being some kind of "sick fucks" is what helps us do our jobs of saving lives... i say you should be greatfull for us "sick fucks" who take care of you all!

oh holy shit, i did not mean to rant and rammble on here!
people please, do show some respect here in this thread, for all those "sick fucks" emergency personnel, who lost their lives on 9/11 fighting to save the lives of others in need!

 

The whole incident has been greatly over-hyped. In the context of world history, a death toll of less than 3000 in a single day is not that big. And how many people in America have died since then in "ordinary" traffic accidents? Are they not equally dead? Where is the outrage over this?

The national obsession that we have over high-profile fatalities borders on the absurd. I think it is mostly posturing.

 

Yes, they are "equally dead", and I agree with you that there should be more outrage over the carnage on our highways.

However, you are completely missing the point about 9/11.

 

I got it. I can read.

 

But I don't really believe you knew someone with a connection to the World Trade Towers. You know too many well-connected people, meet too many celebrities, and have too many profound adventures. You have to be making most of it up.

 

Whether you believe it or not is of no consequence whatsoever.

 

Black humor is what keeps folks working in hospitals, morgues, and war zones and other levels of hell quasi-sane. Helluva coping skill, and I see its' purpose, but most folks don't want to hear about it. I worked with a guy who wound up at ground zero, sifting through the debris for body parts. He didn't have any such coping skills in place, called our human resources gal and pretty much had a nervous breakdown while on the phone with her. If you can't crack a grin, your heart might break. But sharing the moment with someone who hasn't walked that walk or seen the same elephant you have just ain't gonna understand. Ever watch Rescue Me? black humor in action..

 

Jeez, man, you really are an ass. Caliente is one of the brightest, best people on HipForums.

 

I question the intelligence of anyone who believes what they read on an internet message board. Anybody can type in anything.

 

i was walking into work just minutes before the second plane struck,
it was on my one year anniversary being in the military.
that day changed everything.

 

You miss the point, as someone has already pointed out. If 9/11 can be fully believed, then the implications of what happened that day, beyond the casualties, is what truly matters. What unfolded in New York changed how the world functions and relates to each other. Call it good, bad or whatever you feel, but you can't deny that the world is especially different. If you understand then you clearly see how that day will be one to remember. Forever.