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[Laura]

I was in the Maricopa County jury room.

[Cillaliz]

The concrete trial?

[Cillaliz]

I was on my way to work when I first heard that a plane had hit the trade center.  It was on the radio, but they thought it was some small plane.  When I went into the federal building where I worked I went into Senator Grassley's SC office where I knew there was a television.  That was the first I saw what was going on.  I watched for a few minutes and went to the elevator to go to my office. My phone rang and my secretary told me we had to evacuate.

I went home and watched the tv for awhile and then went to the blood bank where there were literally hundreds and hundreds of people lined up to give blood.  The whole day was surreal, as I'm sure it was for everyone.   My nephew had just gone to London the week before or so, with no planes flying we had no idea when he would be able to come home.   We have a fighter wing here, so the fighter jets were flying over. Every time I heard one of the jets it made me jump a bit.

I don't remember much else except not being able to get away from watching the tv, whether I really wanted to or not

[elmore3003]

I was in London.

[Cillaliz]

How long was it before you could get home, Elmore?

[Cillaliz]

I did my laundry this morning while watching tv.  Now I need to vacuum the house and then go to the office for a few hours. 

[Ben]

I was at the office and my sister called from Minneapolis asking if I was OK because a plane had flown into the WTC. I thought, as many did, that it was a small commuter plane or something else. The news web sites were mobbed and I couldn't get on. I called Anthony and told him to call his mother so she wouldn't worry. We were still at work but I ran home for a few minutes to make sure all was OK. I went back and soon after that we closed for the day. Anthony and I went out and bought some groceries and I made lots of phone calls locally and to Minnesota to assure everyone that wer were OK and well removed from the carnage. We watched a lot of news that day though after a while it became the same stuff over and over so we stopped. Even if we wanted to leave we couldn't because all transportation had been shut down, no trains to Long Island or anywhere else. The subway had shut down and the streets were empty except for people walking. We went out later in the day around 5pm and walked to the river. As we arrived we say WTC Tower 7 fall.

My office was closed the next day. I slept fitfully and late not knowing what else could happen.

[Druxy]

I was packing up my condo in Calabasas, preparing for our move into Los Angeles.

My wife called me and told me to turn on the television.

[td]

I had just stepped out of the shower and was reading rec.arts.theatre.musicals where a message appeared that the World Trade Center had been hit by a plane.  I turned on The Today Show immediately, continued reading RATM, before heading into work at Sam Morgan's.  We tuned all of our 13 tv screens to live coverage, and though I was only scheduled to work until 2, I stayed until 7, waiting tables and watching. 

[elmore3003]

How long was it before you could get home, Elmore?

My return ticket was Sept 22, so the airports were open for about a week before I flew back. Rosemary Harris was stuck in London because of the canceled flights, so she came every day to the studio - Henry Wood Hall - and hung out with us.

MSNBC is broadcasting the actual news broadcast from 9/11, and I'm finding it interesting in that I'm finally hearing what was broadcast and speculated on here instead of in London. The footage on London tv was excellent but much more violent than the news footage I've seen from American networks; I remember shots of people jumping from the buildings and other frightening things. Of course, the same may have been shown here and now it's been edited out for taste.

[JoseSPiano]

Good Afternoon!

I'm done for the day, except for a brief session of callbacks at 6:30. I may venture out to dinner later, but I'm also thinking of just treating myself to room service and watching TV for a bit. The hotel's cable system has HBO and Food Network(!).

[Jeanne]

Hello, everyone.

I have not caught up on the posts, so...

[Jeanne]

John G, I'm very sorry to hear about your uncle. It came at an especially sorrowful time. Vibes of comfort to you and your family.

[Jeanne]

And, of course, vibes of healing to all Americans. Some were affected more directly than others, but we we all touched to some degree.

[JoseSPiano]

I was still in Richmond at the time. I had just flown back from SETC the day before - it was in Charlotte that year - and was sleepily watching "The Today Show" when they showed the first plane flying into the Tower...

After some frantic calls to my parents and brothers, as well as chatting via AIM with friends in NYC, Steve told me to head to the hospital (where he was working) to have some lunch and take a break from all of the coverage on TV.

On the first anniversary of 9/11, I was on a plane down to Orlando... Flying out of National Airport. Needless to say, I was a bit wary and worried that day. And it, too, was another beautiful day, sunny and blue skies.

[JoseSPiano]

...I started to watch some of the coverage of the ceremony at Ground Zero before I headed down to play auditions this morning... It took me a while to pry myself away from the verge of tears.

[Jeanne]

I was in the shower when I heard one siren after another after another after another. I kept thinking there must be a huge fire nearby. Well, yes. At the Pentagon, just a couple miles from where I lived. A neighbor who lived down the block from me worked there--in that wing, even. She got out safely, but many of her coworkers, of course, did not.

[JoseSPiano]

OK...

Time for a nap.

Laters...

[Jeanne]

Yes, Jose, the skies were as blue and sunny as it gets. An absolutely gorgeous day weatherwise. Each time we'd have another day like that--there weren't usually that many--I'd think about what had happend--with sorrow and dread.

[Jeanne]

As for the news media, I too have my quarrels. Coverage of an event while it is occurring is one thing, but every time someone mentions 9/11 they show those horrible shots of the towers burning. I truly believe that the news media contributed to the trauma we all suffered by repeating the visuals sooo many times, long after the event.

[Ginny]

Sunday afternoon greetings!  Richard and I listened to the first 45 minutes of the WTC commemoration on our way to Lima this morning.  We are back now, relaxing a bit before heading to the Cincinnati 'burbs to see DR Edi's film Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story. 

[Jeanne]

JRand, yes, I agree with you. Mother's Heartbeat is the best CD for sleeping. I especially like the sound of the ocean on the first track. Fortunately, my neighbors were spoken to--again--and so far have been quieter. Now I only need the CDs for my occasional bouts of insomnia.

[Jeanne]

Bruce, you mentioned redesigning the website. May I suggest that you think long and hard about this? I have seen one website after another revamped and NOT for the better. What seems like a good idea to young programmers USUALLY ISN'T a good idea in the eyes of the users. I've had to stop using more than one site because of these "improvements." In fact, I'm unhappy with Google at the moment because they make so many changes, which just get in my way.

I would suggest that you take a very targeted approach by changing only what really needs it, and not disturbing the "look" of the site. You may not realize it, but HHW has a distinctive look, which is very YOU, I think. If you change the look you'll be telling users that you've changed HHW, that it's a different animal now, whether you think so or not.

And besides, YOU'RE the one who always says how you hate change!!

[Ginny]

10 years ago today, I was in the telephone reference center of Dayton's Main Library helping my colleagues get ready to open for the day.  As DR Ben described, our computers were useless until the news outlets went to text-only and we had a manager who thought there was no need for a TV.  Fortunately, someone had a radio that we kept on all day.

The library remained very quiet all day and the higher-ups kept saying, "No, we're not closing early."  Then, at 5:25pm there was a very abrupt PA announcement that all Dayton Metro Library locations would be closing at 6pm.  We were wondering what prompted that sudden decision when there was an explosion or something that shook the plate glass windows.  As we walked to our cars, we saw fighter jets returning to Wright Patterson Air Force Base that we learned later had been part of President Bush's escort back to Washington.  Apparently, the explosion was a sonic boom, but it made for a very scary drive home.  When I got here, I hugged my family and sat down in front of the TV for my first glimpse of the day's visuals.

Rob had turned 16 on the 7th, but I've always felt that his childhood ended on the 11th.

[Jeanne]

Ah, yes, the fighter planes. I knew the sound because I used to drive by Miramar Navel Air Station in San Diego sometimes on my way to work. It came up in conversation one day a few months after the attacks. I realized that many people did not recognize the sound.

[Ginny]

Fr. Richard incorporated this into today's liturgy:

A Prayer of Remembrance for 9/11 -Based on the Prayer of Pope Benedict XI at Ground Zero, 
New York, 20 April 2008

O God of love, compassion, and healing, look on those who remember the scenes of incredible violence and pain ten years ago.

We ask you in your goodness to give eternal light and peace to all who died — the heroic first-responders:
our fire fighters, police officers, emergency service workers, and Port Authority personnel, along with all the innocent men and women who were victims of this tragedy simply because their work or service on September 11, 2001.

We ask you, in your compassion to bring healing to those who, because of being at the Trade Center that day,
suffer from injuries and illness.
Heal, too, the pain of still-grieving families and all who lost loved ones in this tragedy. Give them strength to continue their lives with courage and hope.

We are mindful as well of those who suffered death, injury, and loss on the same day at the Pentagon and in
Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Our hearts are one with theirs as our prayer embraces their pain and suffering.

God of peace, bring your peace to our violent world: peace in the hearts of all men and women and peace among the nations of the earth. Turn to your way of love those whose hearts and minds are consumed with hatred.
God of understanding, overwhelmed by the magnitude of this tragedy, we seek your light and guidance as we confront such terrible events.
Grant that those whose lives were spared may live so that the lives lost here may not have been lost in vain.

Comfort and console us, strengthen us in hope, and give us the wisdom and courage to work tirelessly for a world where true peace and love reign among nations and in the hearts of all.

This we ask in thy Son’s Holy Name.
AMEN

[Jeanne]

I wish everyone here a day of peace.

[Jeanne]

Quite eloquent, Ginny.

[Jeanne]

TTFN.

[Ginny]

I think what happened 10 years ago today had a lot to do with Rob's decision to become a paramedic.  Fitting that he starts his new job in that field day after tomorrow.