View Full Version : My memories
I will never forget where I was on the 11th September 2001 when the first tower was hit. I was waiting at Edinburgh airport where my dad was due to land. I had radio 5 on and heard the news coming in live. We had closed on our villa only 11 days earlier having bought it at the end of July. We had been to the USA so many times and always had a fantastic holiday, it always feels like we are going 'home'. That day changed lives all round the world. My heart goes out to anybody who lost someone they loved that day, it will never be forgotton.
Ruth
bellaepovera
05-09-2002, 22:58
I was in Florida at the time. This was the first year my husband came in 13 yrs due to our business in Italy. The first week passed hurricane gabrielle which wasnt bad but rained the whole week. I was on my way to have coffee with my parents when i walked in their home and my dad said look what happen a plane hit the tower. Then boom another. My dad knew then who was at fault. I had the goose bumps at that moment that i will never forget. I ran to wake up my husband to tell him and we were both in shock. This totally ruined our vacation as we were all depressed for days. My mom made us the last 3 days go and have some fun but how can you...
We were very worried about flying out of Newwark on the 18th as you tended to always look at everybody...
My heart goes out to all the families who lost there love ones. This will be a day i shall never forget but i feel that we Americans have learned a lot from this tragic story and will learn much from it.
patti pacienza
I remember the day as if it were yesterday. I went to have coffee with a friend. She always has the TV on in the kitchen. As I walked in it was all happening - we both stood there mouths open. Then my friend turned to me in a daze and said "my Mum and her husband are there - in NYC". Little did we realise what we had just watched on a TV screen they had just seen from their hotel window.
My friend spent hours and hours trying to contact her relatives - eventually she did - they were ok. They had spent the hours after helping the rescue crews and walking wounded.
A day the world will never forget.
Debs.
I remember that I was in work and the details were very sketchy. I went home early that day and my most vivid memory is seeing a constant repeat on Sky TV of the planes crashing into the towers and the towers collapsing. It didn't seem to matter how many times it was repeated, it still seemed unbelievable.
My thoughts are with everyone affected as we near the anniversary of this tragedy.
David Preece
I was at work speaking to someone on the phone who told me that a plane had been crashed into the WTC - but that it was terrorists. We couldn't believe it and I got on the net to see what had happened, and saw all the horrible details.
I collected my daughters from the coach, they had heard about it and we went home and switched on the TV. We couldn't believe what had happened, and I have to say, I felt as though London had been attacked.
The impact here was tremendous. I had friends refusing to go to London in case we were next. I felt very strongly about this, that we should not give in to terrorism. All these years we've faced atrocities from the IRA in London. My father was a senior army officer and spent quite alot of time in Northern Ireland and we always had to take special care, armed bodyguards, drivers etc. But I do feel we have to go on as normal, take extra precautions yes, but let it affect your life so you won't go about your normal business, no. But what I would have felt if I lived in New York I don't know.
I have to say I felt a twinge of nerves when I flew out to the States in December, but there was no question that we would not go. I can't tell you how many Americans talked to us and thanked us for coming, and what we (the Brits) were doing to support them.
Fiona
caroline
06-09-2002, 16:33
I remember being in town having lunch with a friend, and not hearing about until I got to school to collect my son - all the mums in the playground were discussing what had happened.
When the children came out, many of the older ones had been allowed to watch it on the TV during the afternoon - and our normally noisy children came out quiet and subdued.
We went home and sat silently in front of the TV watching the news, and probably like many others, everytime that the terrible scenes were shown, kept somehow expecting the plane not to crash and it all to have been some ghastly hoax.
One of my daughters friends has just done her A level art, and her main painting was of the Statue of Liberty, with tears on her cheeks and the reflection in her eyes of the ruined towers - when I saw it at the schools art exhibition - I too had tears rolling down my cheeks, along with just about everybody else that saw it.
Caroline
orlandobabe
06-09-2002, 22:15
We flew to Florida 9 days after Sept 11th. Normally I'm terrified of flying -but this time I was so upset and angry that people should violate our freedoms in this way-that I was absolutely fine. It didn't even bother me.
The day it happened was just harrowing!
Orlandobabe
imported_n/a
07-09-2002, 01:05
I was at work and couldn't believe what I was hearing on the radio so we turned on the telly to watch in horror - but it still didn't register that the States were under attack! We all sat there glued to the TV and then went to fetch my daughter and most of the children were very upset as they had heard the news.
I didn't stop watching Sky TV or CNN for days and still one year on, cannot believe that all happened.
I was apprehensive about flying and I too always seem to look at the other passengers......
I just pray that nothing ever happens like this again.
floridadreamvilla.co.uk
07-09-2002, 01:41
I was at work - it was just after lunchtime and a colleague returned from lunch to tell me an aircraft had crashed into the World Trade Center. I immediately logged onto the BBC News website to be greeted by the pictures I could never have imagined I would see <img src=icon_smile_sad.gif border=0 align=middle>.
We spent the rest of the afternoon talking about what had happened amongst ourselves and keeping up to date with the breaking news on the net.
One year on and I still cannot believe such an evil thing has happened.
John & Sarah Rooke
www.floridadreamvilla.co.uk
www.orlandovillas.com
www.vacation-rental-villas.com
www.park-tickets.com
www.orlando-guide.info
One year on and I still find it hard to beleive that so many lives were lost.
Thank God the final toll was so much less than that expected.
My heart went out to the flight crews who knew what was going to happen and could do absolutely nothing to prevent it.
My son called me just as the first plane hit. I had just been swimming and got to a TV (wrapped in a towel) just as the 2nd plane hit.
When stories of the great losses suffered by firefighters from NYFD started coming in my concern was for my niece living in New York and just about to be married to a New York firefighter.
He was one of the ones who got through those terrible days alive.
Siobhan
I live in upstate NY and I have to tell you for WEEKS I cryed I still can't watch the Towers on TV,I was on my way that morning to deliver airline tickets to a client and was peeved that she wouldn't answer the company door. I went to my office and everone i knew was calling me, I happened to witness the second tower being hit. I will never forget it as long as I live. There were many families in our area directly affected by losing someone. I could not function that day at work. I can still remember someone coming in to book a trip and I was amazed they acted like nothing happened and I was all puffied eyed from crying all morning. The next few days no one came in, there were phone calls to cancel trips, and people telling me who they lost or who was found. Terrible. My children will have this horrible memeory forever.
I'd been to lunch with a friend and got back just after 3.30pm. I turned the radio on and sat down at the computer. About that time every day, Radio 4 has a 15 minute story.
I'd been half listening to the "story" for about 5 minutes and thought that it was a modern day "War of the Worlds". A newscaster said something which made me start, sit up and listen intently. With mounting horror it finally sank in that this was reality.
I can't imagine what it must have been like to be in the planes, the Towers or on the ground trying to help.
God bless us all, and save us from anything like this happening again.
Carla
"It's been a quiet week in Lake Wobegone"
Edited by - Margot on 08/09/2002 16:54:09
I was just cumin out of the wood yard and my grand doughtier was in the car and she and it was on the news she told me whot was going on i got on the mobile to my husband who was at home and told him to put the TV on,
I arrived home later to see him siting looking at the TV with a look of disbelief on his face and tears in his eyes.
The next few hours wear so difficult for us as i had a relative who worked in the towers and we were unable to contact any one in the US who could give me any info about her
Later I was told that she was not feeling to well so she went home from work and was laying in a nice hot bath with her music on so did not know whot was going on that day her life changed
We already made arraignments to go to Florida later that month to look at villas on the idea of buying a holiday home,
we went ahead with the trip and all so brought our dream holiday villa as we found the Americans welcome us so much at such a difficult time it made me wont to be part of a country that was so full of love for out sides who wonted to travel to their country at a time of great sadness
I must say i am so pleased that tourism is still on the up in Florida and the USA.
Marion
Marion
My husband woke me up to tell me that a plane had crashed in America (i work nights) i came to the t.v and was`nt sure if what I was seeing was real or some special effects show I felt so shocked and appalled when it was revealed that it had been a terrorist attack. We travelled to Orlando ten days following the disaster and I have to admit that I was scared of getting on the plane and unsure of the atmosphere we would find when we arrived, we need`nt have worried the flight was the best we have ever been on and every American we came into contact with, was,while aprehensive of the future determined not to let this act defeat them. We where impressed with their Sprit and Patriotism. Our thoughts are with all the families worldwide whose lives will never be the same
We flew to Florida 2 weeks after 911. The roads were very quiet and flags flew everywhere. There was a determination to carry on as usual
knowing that nothing would be the same again.
Everyone knows someone who was affected that day. Our thoughts are with you all.
Alain
It was really shoking news. I was at work, it was almost 4 pm in Moscow. TV in the office was always tirned on. I entered the room and I didn't notice at that moment that everyone who was there stood in front of TV and kept silence. At that day noone could work, everybody was watching news and tried to understand what was going on. It was really hard to believe.