Can't believe it's been eight years...9-11-2001

[celticmama36]

Anyone else remember 28 January 1986? That is the day, outside of family tragedies, that stands out in my mind. I wasn't born yet for the Kennedy assassination, and my daddy was only 4 days old when Pearl Harbor was attacked.

28 January 1986 was somehow a turning point for me, and made me even more fascinated with this thing called "space". I can still see Challenger, with those people, that school teacher, inside it, so clearly. I was 4 months pregnant with my firstborn, sitting in my living room generally feeling like death warmed over from all the hurling. Then I saw on the news when the shuttle exploded. I was inconsolable. I just couldn't fathom something so horrible happening.

Even when Alzheimer's gets me fully in its grips somewhere down the road, I will never forget that day. What must have been going through the minds of her students as they watched her die like that? The minds of the families? I didn't know any of them and it traumatized me, touched me for life. I can only imagine what it did to them....much like the families of 9-11, only with 9-11 there were so many, many more to suffer such pain.

[L Stegall]

I didn't remember the date itself, but I do remember vividly seeing the Challenger liftoff and explosion. It's was numbing to watch and realize what was happening.

Also, Suzanne, my first response on this thread had a message to you. At the bottom of the comment.

[lscottpht]

Originally Posted by celticmama36

Anyone else remember 28 January 1986? That is the day, outside of family tragedies, that stands out in my mind. I wasn't born yet for the Kennedy assassination, and my daddy was only 4 days old when Pearl Harbor was attacked.

28 January 1986 was somehow a turning point for me, and made me even more fascinated with this thing called "space". I can still see Challenger, with those people, that school teacher, inside it, so clearly. I was 4 months pregnant with my firstborn, sitting in my living room generally feeling like death warmed over from all the hurling. Then I saw on the news when the shuttle exploded. I was inconsolable. I just couldn't fathom something so horrible happening.

Even when Alzheimer's gets me fully in its grips somewhere down the road, I will never forget that day. What must have been going through the minds of her students as they watched her die like that? The minds of the families? I didn't know any of them and it traumatized me, touched me for life. I can only imagine what it did to them....much like the families of 9-11, only with 9-11 there were so many, many more to suffer such pain.

I didn't remember the date that Challenger happened, but I remember that day. I was in Psychology class, and our teacher told us. The thing I kept thinking about was the teacher that was aboard it. Another sad day.

[Crashoran]

I was in 7th grade when 9/11 happened. School didn't close early but we spent each class watching TV. Nobody really understood the magnitude of what was really going on, just alot of the usual clowning around.

[johnastovall]

I remember Columbia all too well. I was in my front yard watching the sky for a possible view of the reentry fire ball as it was passing over center Texas. Instead, I saw a long contrail going across the sky with a white mass at the front. I know something had gone very wrong. I went back in and got on the net and learned contact had been lost. I went out back out and just watched the contrail until the winds aloft slowly broke it up. After that I went and got my American flag and ran it up to half staff.

[cooltouch]

9/11/01 Never Forget!

It wasn't a disaster or a calamity. It was an atrocity. We must never forget that simple fact. And there is only one solution to the cause of the atrocity, but I will not mention it here. You know what it is.

-M

[celticmama36]

Originally Posted by L Stegall

I didn't remember the date itself, but I do remember vividly seeing the Challenger liftoff and explosion. It's was numbing to watch and realize what was happening.

Also, Suzanne, my first response on this thread had a message to you. At the bottom of the comment.

I'm so sorry that I missed your note to me, Lisa. I just went back and saw it:
***"Suzanne, I cannot imagine what you have gone through every year on this anniversary with your son's illness and loss. I'm so sorry. Even though we don't know each other, my heart just breaks at this."***

Thank you so much for your kind words and compassion. Another friend of mine is walking this same path right now and it is so, so hard. Her little one is 5 years old. It just feels so wrong...losing older folks is hard, way hard, but it is expected. But to lose a child...it just seems so unnatural.

Thank you again. {{{hugs}}}

[Jeff_Green]

I was working for a cable company and was driving to my first job. I listen to Sports Radio 1310 The Ticket all the time and they were watching it unfold and describing everything in their untrained breaking news style. They went through what I went through. They didn't try and have the answers... they do SPORTS! I sat in my truck for 30 minutes outside a customers house because I didn't want to turn the radio off. I listened to The Ticket non-stop for the next week. They helped me cope with such a horrific attack... a war waged against my country.

[texkam]

Certainly a good day for a surprise coast guard exercise. Doh!

[ekermit]

I had been home from work and asleep for about 3 hours when I got a call that we'd been attacked and to be on stand by. I had the ringer turned off and only heard the answering machine clicking which I normally didn't hear. Of course ther was no way I could go back to sleep and didn't have cable hooked up yet so I went to work and watched the coverage for hours. My mom was stranded in Arizona and my step-dad had to drive to pick her up since flights were grounded. A friend of ours brother was stationed at the Pentagon and the plane hit his office. He was burned pretty bad but had he not gone to the bathroom he would have died.

[johnastovall]

Originally Posted by cooltouch

9/11/01 Never Forget!

It wasn't a disaster or a calamity. It was an atrocity. We must never forget that simple fact. And there is only one solution to the cause of the atrocity, but I will not mention it here. You know what it is.

-M

[Sonny]

My wife and I were in NYC for the one year anniversary of 9-11. We finally made it to the site two days later.

Please forgive the cruddy pics. This was before I started in photography.

[Murph]

Get some kleenex

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yVG3nX8MJI

[Jeff_Green]

Thanks Murph.

Images like that make me really hate Charlie Sheen.

[DEMDeepEllumMusic]

I happened to be online on a website that dealt with corporate screw ups (site is no longer active) that had a lot of members (including the owner PUD) who lived in NY City whose apts/biz overlooked the twin towers and they were giving live comments as to what they were seeing out their windows which was erie since many of their comments as to police/fire movements and how the city was reacting was several minutes at times ahead of the TV news announcements. Then there was one guy, we never found out who he was, who had to be top level military since he was giving out information (that was soon publicly announced anyway) about military moves up to 20 minutes before that same info was announced on the air in reguards to air traffic and a few other things but it was amazing. Guess there had to be about a dozen people giving eyewitness accounts of the attack and probably a couple thousand just reading the updates. (I really hope that PUD archived those posts from that day before shutting his site down since it was a really detailed account of what went on- I actually reread them on the first and second anniversaries of the attacks).

As to Kennedy I was in school in a Dallas Suburb and I still remember my teacher crying when we came back from lunch (no one told us in the lunch room and I don't remember anyone acting odd at the time but of course we were playing outside since it was a nice day and one of the girls was talking about how her dad was going to watch the President drive by near his office) and then we heard the announcement.

Now when Columbia passed over Dallas it had already started breaking apart and it sent 5 distinct sonic booms over the city as it passed early in the morning- my dog went ape over them. (If you ever get to go to Palestine visit NASA's Baloon Research Facility there-it was the recovery area used after the crash and actually had some debri fall on their property and they also have a cool video as to what they are doing now around the planet).