We were both working... normal lives, with a house and two kids (15 and 13) and a dog and a cat. I was working as an appraiser at a Maaco Collision Repair Shop. Worst job I ever had! And Ruth was working at an office supply company. Where I was, the radio was always on the talk news station, so we heard the whole thing right from the beginning and the office staff listened to it all day.
When we both arrived home, we watched the television for the rest of the day where we could actually see what had happened.
This was on Tuesday, September 11, and we had flight tickets to go to Nova Scotia a couple of days later. That was cancelled but only by a day or two, and on the Friday of that week we flew out on one of the first flights that was allowed. We remember all of the overseas airplanes that had been grounded in Halifax lining the grass on both sides of the runway.
And only the year before, we had been in New York City. This was in early October, 2000 and it was the first time we had been to the Big Apple. So of course we did a few of the touristy things including a trip to the top of one of the World Trade Center's twin towers.
To visit the top, the vast majority of tourists would stand in a huge long lineup with all of the other tourists, pay the $10 entrance fee at the time, and take the elevator to the viewing deck of the south tower.
However, even back then we were not normal tourists. We had read that it made more sense to take the north tower elevator to the Windows on the World restaurant. There was no line up, and it was totally free, except that you had to get a table and buy something. We paid $10 each to get a drink in the restaurant. It wasn't busy, and we had lots of opportunity to take photos. So the cost was the same, but we didn't have to wait in line, and we got a drink out of the deal!
We took in a New York Yankees game.
Me, with the bull outside the stock exchange.
We've been to New York City a couple of times since then. In November 2013, and again in March 2014. There's so much to see and do there, we've often said we'd like to spend a whole month there and really get to know the city.
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And in Canada...
I was at home, raising my kids, had just sent them off on the bus. I was getting ready to watch a talk show when all this started. I never left the couch all day, was stunned and shaken at the possibility of 50 thousand dead once the towers fell. Horrible day. The world hasnt been the same since I believe.
ReplyDeleteI think many of us were glued to the TV those first few days, it was such a horrible thing that had happened and no doubt we were all stunned and shaken that something like this could have happened. It definitely changed the world!
DeleteI had the TV on and getting ready for work and saw the second plane hit. Needless to say I was late for work, teary eyed. The boss let us all go home. After that the government mandated a survival gear for all high rise employees good for five years. I kept mine under my desk where I'd duck if anything happened. They swapped out the survival kit every five years. I'm retired now so don't know if they still do that.
ReplyDeleteWe had never heard about this survival kit before, that is very interesting! What did it include?
DeleteI had just driven home o New Brunswick after visiting family in Ontario. On the Sunday, I came down with the flu, and barely made it to Saint John to pick up my wife returning from seeing friends in San Francisco. I stayed home, feeling horrible. On Sept. 11, I was watching TV when they reported the first crash. It was thought to be a small rivate plane at first. As the news unfolded, the second plane hit the other tower, and it all came together. The heroes were the first responders, and the passengers who rushed the cockpit to prevent the plane from reaching it's target.
ReplyDeleteYep, I think everyone at first thought that it was just an accident until that second plane hit, then the truth of the situation came out and of course hearing about the other two planes as well.
DeleteWe agree with you the first responders and the passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 were definitely the heroes. We can't even begin to imagine what they all went through and how many of them gave up their lives to save so many others.
It was my youngest son's first birthday and I'm ashamed to admit that my first thought was "They've ruined my baby's birthday forever" because I knew it was my generations Pearl Harbor. Fwiw, we were living in SC, knew no one in NYC and didn't realize the full scope until days later. Ironically enough, dh has a cousin who gave birth that very day, so it could have been worse.
ReplyDeleteYour son will never remember that particular day but he will always remember the events of that day every time he has a birthday. Not sure if that is a good thing or not for him. It sounds like there was at least another happy memory of that day when your husband's cousin gave birth that same day.
DeleteI had spent 2000 Christmas in New York with my friend Julie, who is a NY fanatic. It was the end of a year working in MN, USA. It was a very white Christmas for us two Aussie girls.
ReplyDelete9/11 happened in the wee hours our time. For some reason, I couldn't sleep and had turned radio on. I thought it couldn't be true. I rang Julie around 4am and told her to put on the news. Everyone here was waking up to this dreadful news. I had a friend who worked in Washington. Rang his sister. We had a staff meeting before school started to be consistent with what we told the children. There were tears and fear. I believe more Aussies per capita were lost than any other country. It was on all our media for months, years.
In 2018, I went back to New York - Julie had her 60th there with 17 Aussies joining her. We paid homage at ground Zero. Sobering. Grateful.
We are glad that you got to see New York City with the towers still standing, just like we were able to as well. To have visited so soon before the towers came down seemed to make all that more real for us and I am sure for you as well. What a horrible day that was and it is one that as a world will never be forgotten.
DeleteI am glad that you made it back to New York City with your friend in 2018 to pay homage at ground Zero. Definitely sobering to be there!
As a west coaster, I woke up to pictures of a smoldering Pentagon. It was all confusing at first until they cut back to the towers and I eventually learned the full tragic scope of what was happening 3,000+ miles (and 3 times zones) away. I immediately called my mom, who was preparing to leave for work at one of Hilton hotels central reservation in SoCal. Once there, she was inundated with calls from frantic people who were staying at various Hilton properties at Ground Zero that suffered major damage or complete collapse. She and her colleagues compassionately listened to these distraught people, working hard to find them other accommodations outside the city. Several years later, as one of their top reservation specialists, my mom and some of her colleagues were treated to a trip to NYC to see how the hotels had recovered.
ReplyDeleteMy youngest brother moved to NYC about 8 years (but has since moved back to CA after COVID due to lack of work) and loved living in the virbrant city! In fact, he was working on a CNN special on 9-11 last week (he's a video editor) that moved him so much he flew last minute to NYC for the 20th anniversary. Makes me sad how divided our country has become since the days after when we all came together in unity. God Bless everyone!
The memories that we all have of that day are so interesting and how that day has affected so many people in so many different ways. Even more so if it somehow you have been directly affected by it in your own personal life.
DeleteI am glad that your brother was able to make it back to NYC for the 20th anniversary, I am sure it was a labor of love working on that special 9/11 video for the anniversary as well.
It certainly did bring the country together, if fact I think it brought most of the world together at least for a short while.