It's been 8 years since the terrorist attacks here in the US.  Does anyone care to share where you were at the time they ocurred?  Or how life has changed for you or your family since that day? 

I was at work, like a lot of people. We rigged-up a TV antennae from a demo room TV and tuned in a TV station the best we could. We couldn't quite believe what we were seeing - then the second tower in NY got hit.  I can't say my life changed too dramatically since that day though - at least not as much as I expected at the time.

I too like most was at work. Sitting in my ambulance waiting for the next call when Central Dispatch (911) alerted all companies of the attack on the 1st tower and the suspicion of terrorism. We were then all pulled into our base station where we huddled around the tv. As management prepared to send trucks, personel, and equipment toward NYC we prepared our families for our absence for who knows how much time. Sadly we weren't needed.

My personal life really hasn't changed that much, my work life will never be the same nor will the lives of my family who knows should it ever happen here I can't make the promise to them that I won't do my job no matter the cost. Training is the biggest change for work. When I started in EMS in 1999 words like bioterrorism weren't part of what we were taught now terrorism classes are everywhere and training for MCI's (more patients or time span than one service can handle) is done yearly. We now know that it can and will happen right here at home and hope to be better prepared in the future. Central Dispatch still takes a minute of silience on 9/11 and probably always will, and we still cry every year it never fails. 

medic - A big THANK YOU as well for your service as well.

I was at work as well when the news came over the radios.  Noone could get any work done that day. 

The Air National Guard out of Pomona, NJ , the Fighter Wing 177th could be heard above.  I work in Atlantic City and we were seeing many planes being forced to land at the Atlantic City International Airport.  Some were circling in over the ocean which was strange in itself.  It was so surreal driving home and not seeing ONE AIRPLANE in the sky.  The images on the television were so horrific and disturbing and you couldn't take your eyes off of the television for a second. 

I can't believe it's been 8 years already... 

I was still at home when my oldest daughter called and told me to turn the tv on.  I had just turned it on and was watching it when the second plane went into the tower.   I was in total shock and didn't want to leave for work.  However, I did and as soon as I could I got back home to continue watching the coverage over and over again. 

My husband was taking our youngest daughter to high school when they heard it on the radio.  They didn't know what to do.  Should they return home or go about the day like nothing happened?   It was a day that changed our way of looking at our lives for the rest of them.  We are so grateful to be living in America and I consider myself a better Patriot today then I was before 9/11.   

I was at work in NJ when I got a call from my husband who was also at work in Manhattan. He called to tell me a plane hit one of the towers and he would probably be working late. He worked for the phone co and had some accts at the trade center. Then the 2nd plane hit and we found out it was no accident. He did make it home that night after the trains to NJ were operating again.He usually commuted by bus but the tunnels were closed. I packed all the kids in the car and drove 40 miles to pick him up late at night. Thankfully none of my relatives were killed that day but a cousin has been ill with the mysterious respiratory ailment and had to stop work. She was covered in dust from the towers and another cousin has PTSD from the sights he saw and no longer works in NYC. My husband retired from his job several months after that. My uncle had retired from the Fire Dept in Staten Island . He was the chief. Sadly his replacement and several of his men perished that day. My husband rode the bus daily with someone who died that day and another woman attended our church. Such a sad time

Oh dear Lord Brooklyn Born!  I have a chill just reading your account. 

I'm so very sorry about your cousins.   

I was born in Richmond Hill, Queens and lived on Long Island until 1977 when my family moved to New Jersey when I was 15.  Almost all of my relatives lived somewhere on the Island.  NY holds a special place in my heart. 

I agree Ann, everyones life has changed because of what happen that day.  I was getting ready for work and had the television on and heard the reporter say something that caught my attention.  I stopped what I was doing went to the living room and stood there in horror. I got to work and told my manager about it and at first he thought I was trying to pull a joke.   When I pulled up the internet  and showed him it was no prank. He then made an anouncement for everyone to go to the training room (which had a television) so he could let them know.  It was a somber day.  And as we began to hear the details of what had transpired I was saddened and angry as well as shocked. 

Has this changed my life,   YES!       

I was at work, waiting for my dad (who lived with us at the time) to pick me up because I had some sort of stomache bug. I was listening to the sports radio station and the guy was talking about sports, and then just stoppes, I think he asked what the *devil* was that? or something and just sort of mumbled that there was something happening in NY. Then he said a plane had hit on of the towers. At that point, no one know what was going on, and I remember thinking what a terrible accident.  The radio host was still sort of talking to us and his producer at the same time, and we were hearing all of his reactions. we thought it was a privat plane at first, didn't realize it was an airliner. When he announced that, he was just stunned. Then he said that another airliner had hit the second tower. I went outside and told the guys I worked with what was going on. My dad picked me up and told me about the pentagon at some point, and he looked at me and said that it was no accident, it was war. I can honestly say that was the most scared I can remember being. I sat at home watching the news for hours. My husband came home early because his boss sent everyone home.  My mother was in Illinois visiting her sisters, and was scheduled to fly back a few days after this happened. SHe was not a big fan of flying in the first place, and I knew that she would not want to fly back to FLorida.  I talked to her on the 11th and told her that if she did not want to fly home, not to worry about it, I would drive up there and get her.  I wasn't going to make her fly!  She asked me if I would do it and I said, that yes, I would. I would have gotten on a plane the day after it happened and flown anywhere.  But that is just me. I wasn't going to let them win that way.  She ended up flying home, and it was fine. Everyone was scared she said, but no one was paniced or anything. THe crew was very good.  My dad was in his 50's at the time, but they sent him a letter (later of course) saying that they might recall him. He retired as a Lt. Colonel in a Transportation Battalion, and they knew they would need people, even then.  He got two more letters, but they did not recall him.

 How has my life changed? I look at things differently. Like Ann said-"what is that bag doing by itself?" We just got home from a flight out west. I didn't see a single security guard armed with anything bigger than a handgun, and we were in the Atlanta and Denver airports besides the little bitty ones here and in Rapid CIty.  But, right after the 11th, when my mom flew home, there were National Guardsmen in full on war gear in our little airport. THey had the big guns and big dogs and all that. Sandbags even.  At our little airport. I guess because were are the capital of the state, but really!  It was real weird not seeing any planes in the air, but it was even more weird seeing them again. My husband worked down by the capitol building and was going out for lunch when he looked up and saw an airplane above the capitol building. He said his heart went to his throat for a minute, even though he knew that they were allowing flights again.

I don't take things for granted like I did before, not the same way anyway. Everything is different, but it doesn't seem that way especially.  I guess it seems like things have just shifted slightly, the colors are just slightly wrong, so to speak. I don't know. It is different, but it isn't.

Heidi

I was at work at the fire station.  I remember it was a beautiful day, blue skies and sunny, then it all changed...I remember when one of the guys told us the plane crashed in the towers. We didn't believe him, then we saw the TV.  We stayed in front of that TV most of that day.  Later, some of our guys were deployed to the pile.

How did my life change?  We are no longer innocent.  We question the safety of running into any situation.  We have tools on the rigs for self injection in case of nerve gas.  We have many canisters for emergency breathing.  I have been trained to draw a perimeter around a situation until we get the terrorism rig there with enough counter terrorism medicine to treat EVERYONE or we are not allowed to treat anyone-how would you choose?  You would be overwhelmed or may be killed yourself, so it becomes the life or death choices we are forced to make.  That is hard for me to even consider, but it is now the way of the world. Rigs have to be secured, stations have to be locked down.

Traveling in an airport is very unpleasant and long, particularly with children.  I have taken the children on a plane, but watch every single person, consider every option and every single item that can be used as a weapon.  I do not relax until we land.  As you can imagine, I prefer the car to flying.

That could have been any of us in this profession, it showed us how vulnerable we were.  But in the end also how strong we could become.  So while they caught us at a weak moment, I was proud about how we came together as a nation, overcame our fears and went on with our lives.

Though the fight will be long, we now know it can happen and we will not allow it again, thanks to every man and women in our armed forces.  Thank you for my freedom and hope for a future for my children.

Thank you to all of our local towns for the Memorial Services yesterday and to all the local citizens for braving the inclement weather to come out to the services.  It was a magnificent sight to see all the support for the families.

God Bless all of our First Responders.

Ann

 I was at work. I was scared very much! It was great panic and shouts around! It was awful!