18 years to the day since 9/11

2,800 clients of my firm were in San Francisco for a conference, including perhaps 20-30 who worked for firms with offices in those buildings. I work in the Transamerica Pyramid (now as then), arguably the most iconic building in San Francisco. And because of my early hours (6 AM California time), I was in the office watching TV when the second plane hit. All of us had one thought -- we'd better leave. Now. We evacuated via the stairs and made our way to the hotel where our conference was.

The grief and shock as those who were at our conference watching their co-workers die on television, knowing that the only reason they themselves were alive was their lucky presence in California was heart-wrenching. We provided all the support we could. My wife was trapped in Boston for a week before she could make it home, and shortly thereafter said she wanted to quit her job, try to have kids be a Mom full-time (this was before we had kids). So in my life, the outcome of 9/11 was the impetus to start a family. "Life is short", she said, simply. For thousands of others, and for a few people I knew, it was the end of their lives.

Still the worst day of my life and I was only on the periphery of it all.
 
BLUEYESTU said:
I went on holiday to Florida about 10 days after 9/11. It was a pre planned holiday that took years to save for (taking the kids to Disney etc) and I remember there was at least a week of uncertainty over whether we would go, would we get refunded etc but they finally started flights again a day or two before our date.
The airport security was so intense it was unreal, there were armed guards at the front of the plane and no way were you using the toilets by the cockpit! When we were getting ready to take off the american pilot made this big speech which ended with “god save the Queen and god bless the United States of America!” followed by a big round of applause by all the passengers.
In America almost every car had a Stars and Stripes flag hanging on it, I remember people were being incredibly nice to each other and tourists were greeted as hero’s in some places. It was really full on!
Disney was an experience in itself though - imagine every single person coming into the magic kingdom having to be frisked and bag searched. They even cancelled the fireworks at the evening parade in case the bangs upset people.
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I did Florida a few years before 9/11. Getting through Manchester was hard, guards checking everyone before they got to the check out, I had one dick question me because I 'had never travelled anywhere' because I had no stamps on my passport. I told him the in Europe you did not get a stamp. BUT coming back, we flew from a small airfield, Sarasota ? onto Boston and then home. There were absolutely no checks done. I remember saying to my wife that if I wanted to carry out a terrorist attack on the US I would do it from within as they were so complacent. They thought the attacks would be from abroad, it did not occur to them that the terrorist could already be in America !
 
FogBlueInSanFran said:
2,800 clients of my firm were in San Francisco for a conference, including perhaps 20-30 who worked for firms with offices in those buildings. I work in the Transamerica Pyramid (now as then), arguably the most iconic building in San Francisco. And because of my early hours (6 AM California time), I was in the office watching TV when the second plane hit. All of us had one thought -- we'd better leave. Now. We evacuated via the stairs and made our way to the hotel where our conference was.

The grief and shock as those who were at our conference watching their co-workers die on television, knowing that the only reason they themselves were alive was their lucky presence in California was heart-wrenching. We provided all the support we could. My wife was trapped in Boston for a week before she could make it home, and shortly thereafter said she wanted to quit her job, try to have kids be a Mom full-time (this was before we had kids). So in my life, the outcome of 9/11 was the impetus to start a family. "Life is short", she said, simply. For thousands of others, and for a few people I knew, it was the end of their lives.

Still the worst day of my life and I was only on the periphery of it all.
Click to expand...

FFS that brings it home.
 
aguerrrroooooooooooo said:
I think that was quite a while ago, it basically detailed how their was a lack of info shared between 3 letter agencies.
The thing is the investigation into 9/11 was so poor I'm not sure we'll ever know the full truth
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One of the things I recently read was that the agencies watched Osama declare jihad, and dismissed it - because it was a ‘simple’ old looking man with a beard, wearing nondescript clothes, sitting in a cave. Whereas they were generally WASP’s - and had no clue of Islam and the cues and symbolism inherent in how Al Qaida presented itself in their videos.
It’s like an echo chamber, they had no clue , because they couldn’t relate , because none of them were/had been poor, nonwhite, nonChristian or generally visited the lands they made decisions on.
 
BLUEYESTU said:
I went on holiday to Florida about 10 days after 9/11. It was a pre planned holiday that took years to save for (taking the kids to Disney etc) and I remember there was at least a week of uncertainty over whether we would go, would we get refunded etc but they finally started flights again a day or two before our date.
The airport security was so intense it was unreal, there were armed guards at the front of the plane and no way were you using the toilets by the cockpit! When we were getting ready to take off the american pilot made this big speech which ended with “god save the Queen and god bless the United States of America!” followed by a big round of applause by all the passengers.
In America almost every car had a Stars and Stripes flag hanging on it, I remember people were being incredibly nice to each other and tourists were greeted as hero’s in some places. It was really full on!
Disney was an experience in itself though - imagine every single person coming into the magic kingdom having to be frisked and bag searched. They even cancelled the fireworks at the evening parade in case the bangs upset people.
Click to expand...

We could have been on the same flight. Wierdly I booked for myself and my 2 daughters to go about 3 days after it, figuring it would be the safest time to fly. The price was unreal and they threw everything in. The manager of the hotel reckoned that if it wasn't for the Brits still flying Florida would have shut down.
Went a year earlier and apart from airport security everything was so easy, and why not. The reality was I booked a flying lesson around the Florida Keys and didn't have to show one scrap of ID. I just pulled off the highway and 20 minutes later I was in the air..........
 
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I was due to relocate back to Toronto from San Francisco on Sept 13. The missus, furniture and dog had gone on Sept 9 leaving me on an inflatable bed in the rental place. I was already in the office at 6am PST when the event was happening, I recall the internet grinding to a halt when trying to follow online. Some people, my boss included, came into the office at 9am completely unaware. Everyone left to collect kids and went home. I watched a Korean 747 land at SFO (one of the last planes to land in US airspace) flanked by a pair of USAF fighters.
Had to leave the rental on the 13th and on to a mates couch, couldn’t get out of the US due to the closing of airspace. Land boarder crossing had 10 hour queues. I think airspace opened to internal flights on the 15th and then late on 16th they opened for flights to Canada, managed to get a seat on the red eye to Toronto, first international flight out of US, it was eerily quite on the flight, hardly a word spoken. I’ll never forget it.
 
i was here, was stood on the corner of 7th Avenue in Greenwich Village when we saw the second plane hit.That was when we knew it was terrorism not a small plane accidently flying into the WTC as people had been guessing, though that didn't make much sense with such clear blue skies. City blue, I'd thought at 8 that morning. Dreadful day. TV showing the people jumping from the high floors, three of them crossed themselves before holding hands and stepping into the air. NYC life shut down for days, theatre, sports, etc. Ten days later the Mets played the first baseball match in America since the attack and Lisa Minelli led the crowd at Shea singing "New York, New York" before Mike Piazza won the game with a 2 run home run in the bottom of the 8th. All these years later never been to the 9/11 museum.
 
Blue Mist said:
I have done the 9/11 'museum' twice. They have all that, including the footage of the woman jumping 90 odd floors to her death. It is a vey moving experience, hence why we did it twice. it needs remembering.
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My wife and I were there this August, I am not surprised you went twice as there is so much to take in.

We found the cockpit transcript from the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania particularly moving.

The damaged vehicles, the section of the communications aerial and the bent and battered pieces of steel were truly astonishing. Also the pain of glass that had survived was like a message of hope.

The day of the event was our 25th wedding anniversary, so we are never going to forget what happened that day.
 
We were due to fly home that day from Florida. Knew nothing about, loaded the car up and drove to Downtown Disney where you could check your cases in on Virgin flights. Started unloading, a security guard came rushing over and said “No put your cases back in the car America is under attack”, he then went on to explain the terrible events of the morning. Mrs KC proceeded to look pale and slide down the side of the car.
We were stuck out there an extra 5 days, which was a nervous time, but great to see how the Americans came together under such horrific circumstances.
Ended up flying back into Gatwick and then coach back up to Manchester.
 
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