Where Were You On 9-11?

in #history6 years ago

I'll never forget where I was and what I was doing when 9-11 happened. I had just finished a late dinner with DJ friends in Tokyo and I walked across the street to an internet cafe, which is now a burger shop, in Shibuya. We didn't have high speed, wireless wifi everywhere back then so if you were out you had to go to an internet cafe to get on the net.

The first thing I did was login to AIM, AOL Instant Messenger, because that was the Discord, LINE, chat app back then. Immediately two of my DJ friends back in the States told me we were under attack. I pulled up a browser and opened up Yahoo news, there I saw and read about the towers being hit. It was pure shock, surreal. I logged off to race back to my house.

I remember standing on the Oedo subway train and feeling everyone's eyes on me. I was fidgeting around as my mind was racing wondering what was going on, what was going to happen, was I ok being in a foreign country when we go to war? 

When I arrived at my house in Mejiro, my roommate/landlord filled me in on the details. We both sat glued to CNN throughout the night as the towers had came down, The Pentagon was hit and Flight 93 downed. It fucking stung and left a black hole in my heart. It absolutely changed who I was. It gave me new perspective on what it means to be American. 

I hold very strong feelings about that day and what has happened since. I won't go into them, but I will just say, I will NEVER forget.

Where Were You On 9-11?

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I can't believe it's been 17 years. One single event has changed eveyone's lives so much, some more than others.

I was at home in Hong Kong with my husband that evening watching TV as usual. My husband was working in an international sales team at that time, and had a collegaue based out in SFO who was actually in NYK that day. He was staying next to the Twin Towers and left his hotel just a little earlier and escaped the impact, The next few moments, my husband's mobile phone was ringing like mad, everyone was checking for updates. His boss wanted him to coordinate support (he workd in telecoms) for their clients in NYK remotely to see if there were anything the company could assist with. Great customer service right, but did they boss ask about the poor guy stranded out in NYK? Not once.

Time flies right? I can kind of understand your husband's boss. When 3-11 happened in Japan I was working for a Japanese company in California. We made plans to evacuate our Tokyo office and send people to Osaka incase of Fukushima. We forgot about one contract person though. Sometimes in tense situations these things happen.

I hope your husband's colleague is ok. Anyone near ground zero breathed in that toxic dust. I think the cancers have killed almost as many people as the attacks did.

My brother was living in NYC at the time, but luckily further uptown, away from the toxic dust.

Thank you for your story.

I was serving National Service in the Army and we were in Taiwan, just back from a gruelling 5 days exercise. While having dinner at the canteen, we saw on TV the footage of the plane and the burning twin tower. I remember asking my friend what movie that was. It was only when the News anchorwoman appear that we realised it was the News. It was real.

Right? It seemed like a movie because of the magnitude of destruction. Something we rarely see these days.

So it must have been a bit more serious for you since you were in the Service. Good on you for serving your country. I look back now a bit ashamed that I didn't enlist. I was 27 at the time living overseas chasing my dream and that was all I could think about.

Thank you for your story.

家の中でリアルタイムでTVを見てました。えっ!これ映画?現実?最初は訳が判りませんでした。
仕事は夜でも家の中でできましたが、チャットをしていた仕事仲間と「これどうしたの???」とずっと話してました。

シュールレアでした。ありがとうございます。

I was watching TV in real-time. when the second airplane crashed into the building, I doubted what I was seeing. my mother and father said that it was not just an accident but a terrorism. after that terrible terrorism, I started NY life. I went to the site of the world trade center building. I saw the huge wall with manes of people who passed away there.  May they rest in peace.

Comparing to Asahara, it is frightening how much destruction a few, crazy individuals can inflict on major cities. They have altered our lives and our societies forever.

I hope your stay in NYC was a good one.

Thank you for your story.

I was in town and hear about that from some people. If i remember well it was the time when i had a course.

Then saw at home what and when. I don't remember to see it live.

So sad to see this kind of things happening and how many people are not among us because of that.

I will also not entering in the conspiracy theory debate here.

Cheers

Thank you for your story.

I was at a bowling park.

Thank you for your story.

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