Where Were You?

I had just dropped my 13 year daughter off at Saint Ann's School in downtown Brooklyn and returned to my Sunset Park coop apartment to began a work day as an independent education consultant. The first plane must have hit when I was waiting for the train, down in the subway. The only thing that might have indicated something was wrong was an announcement stating there would be no trains going to Manhattan. Luckily I was going deeper into Brooklyn so I wasn't concerned. Once I got back to my home neighborhood, the thing that made me think something was going on was the clusters of Chinese merchants/business owners standing out on the street in front of their establishments, huddled in conversation. They are usually working hard, loading and unloading goods, preparing sidewalk display cases, sweeping the sidewalks, getting ready for the day. When I arrived at my apartment I immediately turned on the news and saw that a plane had hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center. At that time, newscasters were trying to figure out how this "accident" happened. Once the second plane hit the South Tower, everyone knew this was not an accident, we were being attacked. I stood there for a moment stunned. I couldn't catch my breath for a moment. It seemed unreal that this was happening. I called my daughter's school to ask them to keep her there until I could get back to her. Monday, September 1st was my only child's first day of school and we had agreed upon a plan to have her start taking the subway on her own. This took a lot of coaxing from her and the Dean of her school because, yes, I was a helicopter mother. We decided for the first week I'd still ride with her to school, but she'd travel home alone, which she'd done successfully on September 10th. She was excited that things were working out as planned because the following week she'd do round trips on her own. No more meddling mommy treating her like a baby. On September 11th, I kept calling and calling the school and all I got was a busy signal over and over again. When I saw the South Tower just fall and flatten into itself, that's when I decided to go to the school myself. Of course all subway trains had stopped running by that time. I was panicked and asked, "When will service be restored?" The clerk at the train station said, "I don't know, honey. Something very bad happened today." I yelled, "I know. I have to get to my daughter. She doesn't have any way to get home." She said, "Ohhhh," and then told me to try taking the bus. I ran the few blocks to the bus stop and luckily one came quickly, but then traffic was stalled because everyone was trying to get to their people. A trip that normally took a half hour took two hours. I kept dialing my daughter's school the whole time I was on the bus and kept getting a busy signal. I finally got to my daughter's school where she was in the basement with two teachers and three other children who had not been picked up. I bought bottled water and snacks because I told her we'd have to walk back home. By this time buses were only picking up people in downtown Manhattan and bringing them back to the outer boroughs. I felt like ducking every time one of those military planes sped past us overhead. They seemed to fly in some kind of group formation. It was like nothing I'd ever heard before. The next day all schools were closed so my daughter and I watched grainy pictures of the news. The whole thing was devastating and extremely scary. For months after, it was like living in an alternate reality to see military soldiers with very long guns and mean looking German Shepard dogs in train stations and posted on strategic corners. Every September 11th I pray for all of those people who lost their lives and all those who lost family members. I also thank God for helping me get to my daughter.

I drove my daughter to school came home. I was getting ready to go to job interview in Staten Island. I heard a big boom like a 16 wheeler rode by. Then my phone rang and I heard the horrible news. It was like the world stopped no one know if it was an accident or terrorist attack until the 2 nd plane hit.

I as many were working , and heard a plane had hit one of the towers , Tower 1 I believe. I figured it was one of those small planes , unfortunately it was not I was working at Rockefeller Center at the time and I barely was there three months as an Asst Controller ,. The owner of the company called in and told us to leave immediately that we were under attack as it was not a small plane but a big commercial jet ! Then another hit Tower two , I couldn't believe what was happening ! I walked downtown and the closer I got to the Brooklyn bridge , I couldn't believe what I was seeing , the towers burning and people covered in ash and soot I continued walking over the BK bridge and home to Park Slope where I saw soot and ashes all over the cars I said a prayer for those who perished and the injured and till this day pray our country never ever has to experience an attack again While we all do not agree on politics , we can agree on something , that no matter who our President is Democrat or Republican that they will make sure this country is secure

I was at my office about a block and a half north of the North tower. I heard a boom and the building shook. We went to the south windows and saw the tower burning, staying there until we saw the plane hit the South tower. Then building management told us to get away from the window and when the South tower fell, we were evacuated. As I slowly walked North, looking back I saw the North tower fall and we ran. We spent the next 8 months at various alternate sites recovering from the loss the use of our main building. When we were told to go back to that building in May 2002 I was afraid for my health but they insisted, as had the city to the residents near the site, that it was safe.

I was working at Revlon HQ in midtown. A work colleague came into my office and said "a plane just hit the trade tower". He came back 10 or so minutes later and said "another plane hit the trade tower. Terrorists". Revlon kept us inside until 4 pm. No bus or subway service so I walked 2 miles to Morningside Heights to pick up my child from school.

I worked at 2 World Financial Center for Nomura Securities and was headed to work. As I came out of the subway and was on Park Row, I could clearly see the first Tower was hit and smoke was billowing out. Rather than run, I went into one of the stores closing and asked if they had any disposable cameras; and the response was "we are closing and I have 2 left, give me $20 and they are yours". I bought the 2 cameras and started taking pictures which I have exhibited over the years and would gladly share and discuss. Somehow I made it back to my home in Queens and my boss called me that night to advise that we would relocate to our data Center in Piscataway, N.J. Hence, I packed some clothes and drove in the morning and stayed at a hotel my Company rented for the week. Overall, I was fortunate not to be in Lower Manhattan for 6 months where the air was potentially dangerous to breath each day. Yes, life was strange as I would journey late Sundays for 6 months to a large furnished apartment Nomura rented for me with space for some of my staff to stay as well. I am thankful to be alive and hopefully healthy but I will never forget the evil that caused 9/11. We must never let this happen again and remain vigilant to the fact that there is evil in the world that could potentially end civilization as we know it. I would gladly make a presentation at a future club meeting and appreciate the opportunity to share this experience.

I was boarding a plane in Philadelphia to Chicago, when the pilot came out into the gate area and told us what had just happened. I drove to a Sears and went into their TV section to spend the rest of the morning.

I remember it very vividly. I was working for IBM at the time, and was on a conference call that had started at 8am that morning that was nearing completion when a colleague from Toronto private-messaged me (yes, we had internal messaging back then) to turn on CNN. I did so at about 8:50am and obviously the first airplane had hit - but I watched the rest of the tragedy unfold before my eyes as presented on TV, switching between the networks to get different perspectives. I tried calling my family in Maryland and Canada, to no avail as the lines were down. Somehow, the internet worked and a colleague in Chicago was able to call my mom in Toronto and let her know I was OK. My home office was in a portion of my home at the time that was surrounded on three sides by rock built into the side of a hill. While I felt safe - I felt a tremendous sense of shock and concern for all those who were in the towers and lost, of course, but the survivors who were many and had to live with the PTSD of being there. I am writing this in 2026 - 25 years since that fateful day and with everything going on in our world and the radicalized middle east - we are reminded of what can happen if we disengage and let hatred fester away from watchful eyes. As I look forward, always taking perspective from 9/11 which was a tragedy and a warning at the same time - we must rebuild institutions like the UN from being ineffective as they have been, into a model that can root out terrorism before it has a chance to manifest in bigger tragedies. My annual way of honoring the memory of 9/11 is to watch and listen to the reading of the names. And each year - especially these last two, the families of those we lost - send us the messages we need to hear. Thanks to them for carrying on this important tradition. Thanks to those who envisions this trail - for giving me another way to honor the memory of 9/11 by pairing my passion for cycling with a trail that memorializes the loss.

I was working at a sports facility, setting up equipment for the gymnastics club. One of my co-workers rushed in to tell me a plane had hit a building in America. I had heard of smaller planes hitting buildings before, so I figured I'd learn more about it later and continued with my work. But through the door from the gym hall, I could see the TV in the weights room. That's when I saw what was really happening.