Where were you on 9/11? Memorial for those we lost

[admin]

Post your comments and your stories. Share you thoughts and memories of those that were lost on 9/11.

[1lady4ever]

I work in Downtown DC about 1 block and 1/2 from the White House. I was just entering the building when the Building Engineer said to me did you hear about the plane that flew into the building in New York? I said no what are you talking about. I then went upstairs to my office and i got on-line and watched the burning building just as the second plane crashed into the second building! We then decided to close the office and send everyone home. At that time I was commuting using the DC Area Metro system and I had to catch the Metro in order to go back home. I was also trying desperately to call my husband but cell service would not work. My Metro ride includes about 20mins of underground stations and as we were coming out of the ground and crossing into Maryland where I live I could see the thick black smoke behind us. I did not know until I reached home that that was the smoke from the pentagon crash. I will never forget 9-11.

[SuperFitBrother]

I don't know what happened but I literally started to cry this morning when they started reading those names.

I had worked at 1 World Trade for a year back in 1984. I came to DC area in '85. I was on the 98th floor.

I never realized exactly "how high" I really was until this one day. I told my supervisor I was going to lunch. I looked out the window and it was perfectly sunny. When I got to ground level, it was POURING rain! I was like "damn!" That's when it really hit me.

It was amazing when I moved back to Jersey for a few years and I was working for a limo service and i had to take a client to the Millenium Hotel. That was the first time I had been to that area in 15 years. It was really amazing to see a giant hole with nothing in it!

I was just up there this weekend.

But getting back to question: I was in my apartment in Silver Spring, Maryland when I knew something was wrong because fighter jets were flying over my house. And they NEVER fly over my way from Andrews. I watched TV all day and then called my parents in Jersey. They said it was a "mess" up there. Everyone was panicked.

Just like 1941, 9-11 is a day that will "live in infamy."

[NAndrew]

We Remember…

To remember by force the eleventh day of September of every year and
in all places.
To remember the pain and horror of so many lives discarded with
disdain.
To remember the faces of our loved ones, known or unknown, the last
we saw them.
We remember…

To remember the innocent and the guilty with the same repulsion for
Human weaknesses.
To remember the ritual sacrifices of those we call to Honor everyday.
To remember the brutality of the day and others like it.
We remember…

To remember where we were that day.
To remember the rushing panic when we remembered our loved ones
and the friends we loved, and where they were at that moment;
we might have not wondered it before.
To remember that we are not safe from ourselves anymore:
our ambitions, our carelessness, and our fears.
We remember…

To remember that unheard screams will tap us on the shoulder with
Man's rage someday.
Then, we will remember…again.

N. Andrew DaCosta, October 2001

[Mahogany Love]

continued education class to better my chances for a brighter future. Classes were locked-in and no one could leave. The initial feeling I had was I WAS scared & worried frantic about my children. In times like these you do not really know how far these things have reached. All of the frantic scariness is out of my bones NO ONE can save me or my children but MY LORD & SAVIOR.

This and so much more WILL reach our very back doors just like in Iraq it's time to get it together before it is far too late! READ, STUDY YOUR BIBLE'S!!!!!

Always: Love, Peace & Harmony all over the world

[dlove78]

I was in the towers that morning before the towers fell. I was visiting a My Cousin (RIP). I had meet with him at around 7:30a before a business trip to Delaware via Amtrak. I remember riding on the Amtrak going through New Jersey and seeing the destruction in NYC Skyline and calling him Immediately. I got a hold of him but the phone got disconnected. That was the last i heard from my Cousin. Today I'm living on the other Coast in the City of Angeles. And I will never forget that day for the rest of my life.

[JukeboxJones]

When 9/11/2001 arrived, I was at my desk exited about going to Los Angeles, CA that Thursday. I had voted in the NYC Mayor Primary, we were going to talk about the race in the office. I finished breakfast, my friend Keshia called me to tell me a plane hit the WTC, then my Mother called and then my firend Michelle emailed me from Cincinnati, OH. I told them I think a plane was trying to hit te Hudson River and accidentally crashed into the WTC. When the 2nd Plane, All Hell broke loose, my phone was ringing like crazy, I was calling up family and friends (New York City, Havelock, NC, Atlanta, GA, Georgia in General) to see if they were alright. Within minutes, I heard both towers were gone, I was upset, shocked, angry, I wanted answers as to why. I was ready to get in shape to join the Air Force, cause I wanted to hurt the people who caused this disaster.

The Office Stopped working, we were all in shocked, I just got over the passing of my Cousins: Hattie (Severe Asthma Attack on 12/25/2000) and Tommy (Drowned while Kyaking in the Netherlands on 7/28/2001) a bitter breakup with my girlfriend, owing the IRS a large amount of money (I paid them in full) Serving Jury Duty. It was a long year for me, After we got a grip at work, the firm ordered lunch for everyone. I went to get the food from outside and I saw the scared looks on the faces of my fellow New Yorkers. They were looking up to see if there were any planes, they were all grounded. We ate lunch and then was sent home. I went to the Supermarket to get some bread and the Supermarkets were packed. When I got home, I saw that everyone (my family) was okay and caught up with my friends. We talked about what happened for a long time. I got home around 11:00PM and I saw Army Trucks driving down 125th street, then I tried to get some sleep. I heard Crickets in the night, that is a noise I never heard living in NYC. I couldn't sleep, I was having nightmares about planes crashing into the WTC and people screaming.

I went to work the next day and Midtown Manhattan looked and felt like a Ghost Town, my job was just a spooky. I came into work because I couldn't sit at home, the first thing I did when I logged in was to email all of my bosses to inform then that I was cancelling my vacation (that was the first time I ever cancelled a vacation) I talked with my friend Carol and she told me she may have family who is presummed dead. When Friday arrived, Carol found out her Sister was killed at the Pentagon, Her Brother and Sister in Law was killed at the WTC. I found out later my Cousin Vanessa was in the WTC, through the Grace of God she got out alive. I loss some good friends at the WTC, It still haunts me what happened that day. I live in Charlotte, NC now and that is a tragedy that will never leave my mind. I don't measure tragedies, whenever a life or lives are loss, it is a tragedy.

[avacar]

My husband and I both worked in Manhattan and we drove in that morning and parked our car in a lot on 26th St. Just before leaving the car we heard on the radio that a plane crashed in one of the world trade building we both were surprise at the news but we hurried off, in separate directions, to work. Upon reaching my office on 23rd st I heard one of my co-worker saying that a second plane went in the building and that's when the city got crazy. The police and emergency sirens screamed throughout the city my husband called me and told me to meet him at the lot. Everyone was scrambling to get home, the streets were jammed with trafic, people were trying to get out of the city. It was so much chaos, trafics were being re-directed, people were walking in the streets. Commute to Bklyn normally takes 30-45mins, well on 9/11 it took us 4 hrs to get, there were detours all over the city.

When we got home the news reports were constantly running, I remember listening to so much news that all dreams were made up of newsflash reports; I swear even when the tv and radios were off I could still hear the news. One news network report on how people were just jumping from the buildings, can you even imagine the horror that these people were going through that they would rather jump from the 20th floor than face what they were up against. I couldn't sleep for months. When we were finally allowed to go to the city the #3 train would swiftly pass the stops for the world trade and we could smell the stench from the bodies and the smoke from the dying fire.
After 9/11 NYC was never the same I was just counting down my graduation from college (PACE University) to get away from the city, the bomb scares, the constant arrassment on the train was just too much for me. I remember that semester college was like a ghost town, people barely spoke to each other, the faculty were encouraging students to get counseling. Air filters were placed in all the class rooms, you could tell that the air was still not safe to breathe but life goes on they say. A foreign student in my class became a chain smoker, she worked in the Millenium hotel, she lit up one cigarrette after the other while unfolding her event on that day. We both had tears in our eyes as she described how she was covered with glass and soot and had no clue of what was happening around her. She said that she has no recollection of how she got out, she just knew that she was walking aimlessly on the streets.

I can't imagine what those family who lost their loved ones went through and are still going through but I'll always keep you in my prayers. Eventhough I left the state the memories lives on forever.

[Sir Ez]

Post your comments and your stories. Share you thoughts and memories of those that were lost on 9/11.

Remembering how you really acted during 9-11 to others
Remembering how you really acted during 9-11 to others magnify
Do you remember how you were effected by the 9-11 incident?

I mean do you remember how you felt about other people during that time?

Do you remember how the country felt about the people who were the cause of this terrorism?

Do you remember the hate we had?

Do you remember the anger?

Do you remember the rage that made us all call for war?

Do you remember the lust for revenge in every direction

Even many around your every day life

People that made you question who they were

Made you question how safe they were

Made you hate them

Made you not understand why you don't like them
Don't trust them

And today you see them a bit different than then

But at a time ago you were different too

9-11 changed you too

I wonder if they remember them days too?

I wonder if them 7-11 dudes remember?

I wonder if them Muslim name dudes remember too?

I wonder if the people who live in this war remember you?

I wonder if you remember them too?

Do you remember what happened to all of you?


I do

I will never forget the Dis-respect of 9/11
I will never forget the Dis-respect of 9/11 magnify
Everyone has a story
9-11

The day everything changed
Including
"We the people"

...

I have my own memories about that day
And the many days after that day

And how my life changed

Because of not just the event
But the actions of many of you simple people

And I do mean many of you people

Do YOU remember how YOU acted towards other people?

Let me re-paint that picture for you

Two days before 9-11
I was on a mini tour with Gladys Knight
I was the "Back line tech" for her band
She was one of my principle groups I teched for often for about 4 years
The others included The Isley Brothers, Tina Marie, and a few others

I set up their band gear for them and did some lite production
As well as other clients I worked for as a A/V tech and Sound tech and a Stage Hand
I had been doing that kind of work for over 15 years
As well as being a party promoter and percussionist and a DJ
Based in the Atlanta area

I was spoiled
I lived Downtown
I was a freelance tech and a artist
I made good money and was respected by many

And my name is
HAFEZ

A muslim name
But I digress so you can see how my name played into this
"Shituation"

I was in Dover Downs for two nights with Gladys Knights band
Two great shows
And then we had to be in Canada the next day
So we packed up the gear and loaded the truck by ourselves
And headed through New York to get to Canada

We saw the towers and the traffic a day and a half before 9-11

We barely made the show due to the long drive over the boarder
And got there just in time to set up the show while the opening acts were preforming
Local 103 London Ontario rocks!

And that was the last show on that weekly tour
And we had busted ass to get everywhere they were due to play that week
And just like the other gigs with other acts
We got paid
And now we were off with money in our pockets
And time on our hands

I remember us trying to get into the only club/bar that was still open after the show

And they would not let us in
At first I thought is was a Black thing because they would not let "my kind" into their club/bar
But my truck driver "Dallas" who was white was told the same thing
As we asked why we could not get in they told us
"Because you are American"

And we was pissed!

So we took our money back to the hotel and talked mad shit about them racist ass bitches
And packed and got ready to go home
America

As we got to the boarder we went shopping at the duty free store and then crossed the boarder on the way back down south from Canada

We went through Pa, Ohio, and headed down I think 75 to Ga

The ride was interesting
We talked about how fucked up it was to be discriminated on in Canada by the cops at the door at that club/bar
And how there was plenty of people who looked like us who were let in even after we left
And we compared Canada to America
And as we argued down the road we noticed that the sun had not come up as usual and how time seemed to drag as we got through Pa and Ohio with ease

And then came this freaky ass fog

It was thick and moved over the road like something out of the Twilight Zone
It also turned blue, then red, then green too
And that freaked us out
So we rolled up the windows and drove through it as fast as we could until we got to the moutains
As we went up the mountains the fog cleared to see that the sun had been up for some time but you could not see any sun due to the fog

As we drove up the mountain we noticed the road crews had stopped working and was all standing at the edge of the mountain looking out as if something was wrong

We didn't pay it much attention until we came back down the mountain to notice the fog was back and the sun was barely out in the mid day

We gassed up at the station and that is when "Dallas" my driver saw the TV fr the first time

They were showing the first building falling over and over
He called for me to come see as he went to the pay phone to call home as we gassed up

I was shocked to see the tower falling but even more shocked to see the faces and the moods of many of the people who were running around seemingly with their heads in a cloud

And all we wanted to do is get out of Tenn and get to Ga to drop me off so he could head down to Fla where he knew some Radical white groups who had compounds in Fla that he could hide at just in case this was the end of the world

*blank stare*

And we hauled ass back to Ga

I lived down town
And as we drove into down town it looked like a ghost town
There was not even a homeless person on the street

Most of the people in my building was gone too
It seemed as if everyone was thinking that Atlanta was gonna be next

And I stayed next to the Eleventh court of Appeals and the old Treasury Department building
So most folks thought it would be next

So I unpacked my gear, got my money, and went inside to watch the news like everybody else

And I knew there was no real place to run at that time and felt that if it was my time to go? I was gonna go in my crib

And all day it was cloudy and lonely

And then the hate came

What hate you ask?

The hate that was advertised by the media about who possibly did this act

Muslims

And the country shut down

And when something tragic happens and people stay home?
The entertainment business gets hit hard
Because nobody wants to go out and spend money
And so I sat and waited to find out how bad it was because I was booked solid for mounths

But all my artist was not feeling like taking a plane or bus or running the risk of being killed in another terrorist attack

So I was stuck

And then I watched as the hate spread

Anyone with a muslim name or a look was shun
By everyday people
And as work started to pick up I noticed how many of my clients were not calling me or speaking to me
I wondered why at first
And then I remembered my own name
And wondered if that was the case

I got one call from the Union for a private gig that I was told that I had to go work
I wondered why me, but it was work so I went to the GWCC for the gig

When I got there I saw few people in the building but then noticed Secret Service around and as I asked they told me it was the Presidents first speech after 9-11
"We the people"

And I was one of the only stagehands that was allowed to secure the stage that the President was to speak behind his bullet proof podium to the country for the first time after 9-11

And at that point I thought my fares were over
The government trusted me to secure the platform that the president spoke on top of
So maybe the rest of these other Americans would trust me too

Not the case

As I sat along with everyone else in America and watched his speech on the platform I built
And listened to his words in hopes that my struggle was over and I would be treated like I was
As a Vet (USMC) as a American Black Man
And as a skilled laborer with a skill set of over 15 years

And after that speech I sat hopeful

And the phone did not ring
The same feeling I got before the speech came back
I called people and they acted like I was Usama's son or something

I got one call from my client to set up a show for Gladys Knight in Memphis at the Fairgrounds

And as the truck came to pick me up we hit the road again
And I was happy to be back working and making money

Prior to that gig I took all my money out the banks
I didn't want to risk loosing it
So I stashed it in damn near all the places I could find around my crib
But I digress again

So as we got to Memphis to set up the show
I met a little black man who was security at the back of the stage
He spoke to me
He said
"How you like Memphis? ... You know WE killed King here!"
With a smile as if he was proud to brag on something
I was floored
But I shook it off and set up the band for the show

I have watched many of these artist preform for years so I could tell what mood they were in

And Gladys was scared shitless!

She could barely sing for fear that something was about to happen
She cut her show short and sang
"GOD Bless America"

And left the stage
And that was the last time she played until she took the offer to do her show in Vegas

And the last time I set up a show for the rest of that year and it was on the beginning of October

I didn't work for 68 more days!
Nobody wanted to touch me

My friends were also the same way

I was not happy
Because if I was trusted by the government to keep the president safe
Surely I should be ok for everybody else

But work was slow
People were still out of work
And what little work that was being had I wasn't getting

And then I called a old friend of mines who had a circus that he needed help with getting started
And asked me to help
But could not offer me much money
And I was so desperate for work I took it
It was 27 weeks on the road working the second tent for
Universoul Circus
With a bunch of Canadian Verilight techs
My nic name was
"Pimpy the clown"
Because every city we went to I found people in the area that would service the crew
lol

Anywho

As the tour got going I was unable to go back home to go to court about my late rent
I was sending money back to the land lord so that he would not have to use that "rit for posession" that I got for not showing up due to work
But I have lived there for over 4 years and never had any issues and the and lord was getting payments from me
So all was good

And then while working I got a call from my cousin say'n that I had made the news
I ask how and he told me that all my shit had been evicted on the street of down town and there was a feeding frienzy that stopped traffic for 3 hours in down town rush hour

I found out that the land lord had gone on funeral leave and had left the desk to a ex con dyke chick who along with some of the cleaning crew had found alot of shit in my apartment to steal
And they covered it up by evicting my belongings

And the land lord had my money that I had to get back
But I had loss much more than my stuff
I lost my money that was hidden in my stuff too

And I was on the road working 3 shows a day for 5 days and two shows on the weekend and then we broke the tent down after the last show on Sunday and was off to the next city
So I had no time to do nothing but work

As I talked to the owner about the improvement of the second tent on tour, he told me that he was not making enough money to keep the show out on the road and that he had to curb cost somehow
So he hired a crew from South Africa where we had been the year before
And I helped train them with the agreement that I would not be let go too
Because I had nowhere to go
In theory

And as we broke the tent and packed up in Loisville Ky I was given a letter that stated:
"Thank you for assisting the Universoul Circus, we will no longer be needing your assistance"
With a check for bus fare back to Atlanta in a check

And there I stood in the lobby of a air port hotel with two g=bags of work clothes and a lap top

And I had to find a friend off of Black Planet who I had met while there and ask her to stay there until I found a place to go and what my next move was gonna be

It was Derby week and no hotels were available

And stay'n with people you don't really know can get scary
And it did
lol

So I talked to my little brother and moved to the DC area
Why DC

Because DC has a Union that is the 3rd highest paying union in the country and the only one that staffs black techs with the backing of the union in masses
No other place in my craft respects tech of color but Dc
Because DC had a black and a white separate union
At one time

So that was the only place I could get work with the skills I had without being treated like a nigger
No offense but that is real

Anywho

I got here and got set up with the union
And found a hole in the wall spot in Dc to live and got to work

And then the Snipper came
And shut down the city

And I was stuck again

And it took a long time to rebuild to where I am not

I had lost alot

I lost over 200k in finances and personal property
I lost my home
I lost friends
I lost respect

And I will never forget the mindset of so many people who had issues with people of Muslim names and ethnic backgrounds
During 9-11

I will never forget the vision of them Towers as we drove by

I will never forget how proud I was to see the President of my country standing comfortably on my stage as he spoke to the nation

And I will never forget the respect I got from so many and so few

And Usama is still alive
Sadam is dead
A war is still killing my people and theirs

And everybody is still walking around with their heads in their butt

And I am still just getting on my feet

In a new town
With new people
Starting almost all over

And I will never forget
9-11

And all the people who changed that day too
Many of you

And all I have now is what?








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