September 11, 2001

I remember it well.

I had just taken hom the first batch of cattle from the summer pastures. Then my mother came and said that there was a big accident in NY. My cousin is a stewardess and flies to the states regulary, we were concerned for her safety.(she flew to Seattle not NY that day) When I went inside and sat down, the second jet hit.

I knew straight away that this was no random act.

 

I'm a bit late on this, but would like to share my own thoughts. I too remember the day with alost perfect clarity. It was my senior year in high school. The football team I was a part of had just scorred a major victory against a team who was ranked 5th in the entire nation, so the atmoshpere of the school that day just simply electric. It screeched to a halt in a hurry. I remember the tv's coming out and watching as the towers burn. One of the networks was conducting an interview with a defense expert in the Pentogon when the third plane struck that building as well. Thats really when it sunk in. I was furious, and worst of all, we didn't yet know where to direct the anger. The nation was clearly under attack and we had no idea who was doing it.

The imige seared into my memory the most is a personal pic a friend had taken. He was/is a voulenteer firefighter and they sent an engine to help. The pic showed dozens of firefighters, exhausted, dragging their gear behind them, looking like they hadn't slept in days. Instead of the tired men walking away for some much needed rest, every man in the pic was walking towards ground zero, to offer more help.

When I was young I remember asking my parent's what was it like the day Kennedy was killed? What was it like to live through an event that can change the world in the blink of an eye? Now I can answer that for myself. It's a time when nothing else matters. Where time and the world stands still. When each second lasts a lifetime. A hundred emotions fill our bodys with every passing moment. In a word, it sucks.

 

I was in Vienna staying with a friend, walking round the city we kept hearing odd bits of news but between the confused early reports and the language barrier we couldn't tell what was happening. When we got back to her house my friend's boyfriend was watching the news - he was a New Yorker and his dad and brother were a policeman and a fireman (both turned out to be ok)

The next day we were due to fly home, the airport was full of armed soldiers and the security procedures were very rigorous.

 

I worked at DoD Central in Canberra when it happened…The place closed down overnight. Barriers up everywhere…The BIG problem was that it is right near the Canberra airport…So for months people cringed whenever hearing an aircraft…