Hard to believe it was 18 years ago.

Beautifully written Aniki.

Very well said, Aniki.  It is definitely a day that you notice people being just a little nicer than usual to each other.  Such a shame that it takes a tragic anniversary to have that happen.

I can't believe it has been 18 years either.  It feels like a lifetime ago.  My first husband was still alive and we were so happy together.  I had no idea what was in store for me right around the corner.  Both of us came home early and watched what was happening on the television with the dogs piled on the bed with us.  They could tell that we were upset and were cuddling in.  I clearly remember him reaching out suddenly and covering my eyes, telling me not to look.  It was when one of those poor unfortunate souls made the terrible choice to jump from the tower and the camera caught it live.  He knew it would break my heart to see it and wanted to spare me.  Even now thinking about it moves me to tears.

I was in Southern CA working for a Government Contractor that makes nuclear stuff and vehicles of war, so we were under an "orange alert", the one before red and after yellow.

I turnded on the radio and listened for a while, not quite getting it. Then spent the day on CNN while the many reports splashed across the headlines, crying while photos and videos played out.

This tragedy caused my then 18 year old cousin to join the army, for 2 different signups, to be a patriot. He came back angry as well as many other things. He has been in institutions, and had to go through intensive therapy.

The heaviness is still on us, even 18 years later.

Blessings, Peace.

What a day!  I also remember exactly when/where I was.  It's also my B-day today, kind of stopped having any big celebrations after that event...too hard to celebrate when in rememberance.

I was on my way to work when I heard on the radio- when I came into work I watched on the TV in the breakroom. I work for an airline and we could see the airport from our offices, and suddenly the skies were silent with no planes (all grounded)- it was so eerie and terrifying to see this.  Most of us wanted to go home as felt we obviously could be a target-but we also had thousands of calls to tend to with passengers calling frantically -from checking whether our flights were involved, to re-scheduling, etc...the following days/weeks were extremelly busy, all hands on deck, overtime mandatory in some cases.

I will never forget the horror seen, those lost,  nor the love/compassion shared between all of us in this country. 

Aniki you have such a way with words. I can feel the compassion in your post. God bless you and the USA.

Otherwise they would have been on one of the planes that hit the towers. I thank God everyday for his divine intervention. I had been in a car wreck the week before and was feeling sorry for myself, I had a couple of broken ribs and a broken leg. DAH called me and told me told turn on the TV, all hell had broken loose, his company was sending all the drivers home or telling them to get off the roads and stay put. DAH was 12 hours from home and got a hotel room asap. The very first thing I saw when I turned on the TV was the second tower getting hit, I kept thinking this can't be real.

So many live's lost and this impacted so many others. People think about the almost 3000 souls that were lost that day, but this effected so many others. These were our American families, we may not have known them personally, but they were still part of our lives. 

Everyone that I have talked with, that remembers 911, knew someone or a friend of theirs knew of someone that was lost that day.

I was living in California so when I got up the worst had happened.  I saw it all on TV compressed in a few minutes. Horrible. 

18 years ago I was in the states, NYC, for the first time in a lotta years. Completely surreal what was happening. Didn't think. Just DID. Thankful to be alive then. Doubly thankful to be alive now. Wish people would be kinder. Never forget. God bless you Aniki.

9/11 is always hard for us because of our close ties with NYPD. In the last few years, 3 friends have passed from 9/11 related cancer, and one of our dearest friends is fighting for his life and has been for 6 years since his diagnosis. It’s truly horrific and stirs up a lot of anger when I allow myself to dwell on it.

So today I decided not to dwell on it and went with a friend to see “You are here: a come from away film”. Y’all, if you get a chance to see this documentary, you HAVE to do it. It is such a beautiful story, incredibly heartwarming and inspiring. To be reminded on today of all days that there is true kindness and generosity out there in the world really filled my heart with joy. I can’t recommend it highly enough.