I just found this really interesting and I don't really want to bump the thread, but I figured this would shine an interesting light on history as it happened, through CF. Where were you when 9/11 happened? I was in 1st grade. RIP to all those who were claimed on this dark day. http://bbs.clutchcity.net/showthread.php?t=21805
I happened to call a friend in Boston that morning. She was frantic; her son was supposed to be flying out of Boston that morning and she was not sure of his flight number or destination. I knew nothing about the attacks and went straight to the TV. Her son was fine.
I remember I was watching ESPN and it was around the time they had started doing those wacky commercials. A member of the crew comes on and says for more information about the plane crash in New York, tune into your local ABC affiliate. When I first heard it I though it was one of those commercials but then quickly realized they wouldn't joke about a tragedy so I turned to ABC real quick. I turned the channel and soon after I saw the second plane hit. I remember going to class shortly after and although my campus didn't close down, instructors were letting people out so we could all stay informed about the situation. Then I remember pretty much every metropolitan area evacuated their tallest buildings so I was on the phone with relatives in Houston, Atlanta, Memphis, Little Rock, etc. making sure everything was fine. Then staying glued to the tv, radio in the car or Internet in the house to get the latest word on what was going on. It was a crazy, crazy time period because it certainly lasted more than just a day.
I was off that day, and got online (Cluchfans of course) and saw that thread really early, like 10 minutes after it started. My wife and I were glued to the TV the rest of the day.
1st class of the day was just about to end (history) when I first heard about it. The teacher let us go into another room to watch if we wanted. For the rest of the day I just heard bits and pieces. I didn't really appreciate seriousness for a day or two. I was very ignorant. For example, I thought it was crazy that they were cancelling the Astros game that day (I was a huge baseball fan back then and had tickets).
I was in my fourth grade class...I wasn't fully aware of the severity of it until my parents explained it on the way home.
I was about 13 when it happened and didn't understand much about the world. The seriousness hit me when I saw the videos of the people jumping out of the windows later that night on the news. Seeing the bodies falling and limbs flailing in the air and thinking about the decision those people made was horrifying. I couldn't handle it then and to this day I still can't watch those scenes.
I was at work. Yahoo was my homepage and I remember getting annoyed that it was crashing...until I realized why. Everyone was trying to go there to figure out what happened. I stayed up all night watching the news.
This is always a little embarrassing to admit, but I actually slept in really late on 9/11. My friends and I had stayed up late the previous night at a karaoke party, so I didn't wake up until well after all of the major events had already occurred. I remember vaguely thinking it was odd that my college roommates seemed to be watching CNN in the other room, especially in the morning, but I didn't get up until later. I was kind of groggily stumbling into the kitchen to get breakfast when a friend told me that the World Trade Center had been attacked by terrorists. I was only half awake, but I told him that that had been years ago. (referring to the 1993 bombing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_World_Trade_Center_bombing) Another friend of mine had actually been travelling from New York that day, and he ended up being detained in Chicago for several days when they grounded all air traffic.
I wasn't yet on clutchfans then. I remember I was teaching an early morning lab section. So my 20 students mostly heard the news from me, because I'd heard it on the radio on the way to work. Such a surreal day.
I was a lurker on and off CF at the time, hadn't registered. I worked with Andy Moon at the time and he was constantly on CF. I remember ironing my clothes while watching TV and seeing the first plane hit. I though it was horrible but nothing insane and went to work. It became clear that it wasn't an isolated event. Crazy, surreal day. No one got anything done. At one point everyone at work went outside and did this prayer ring thing.
I was a senior in college, living in the Northeast, but not NYC. I know there are young-ins on this board, but as I get older, it is awesome/crazy how perception, and your view of the world, getting older, etc. changes. Like most old enough to comprehend, I remember the day like yesterday. Which of course must be like those older than me remember events like JFK assassination, moon landing, etc. A side question on this... as far as the hangout is concerned, would 9/11 be the most historically significant event to go back and find since the BBS has been in existence? I think so...