I was laying out sanitary sewer in the 11th addition of Deerfield subdivision in Springfield Illinois, when our crew received a phone call from another crew informing us what had happened. Then we stood there watching the wide open blue skies and all the planes turning and preparing to land at the nearest airport.
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Was shooting monitoring wells at the airport for the Air National Guard as the environmental team was installing them, we all were sitting in the trucks listening to the radio when someone from the guard came out and told everyone to evacuate immediately. As we drove out they were scrambling the F-16's to cover Air Force One into SAC in Omaha.
I was local to our office, just been surveying a boundary. Switched on the radio as I got back into the car and the news was just breaking - no details. Arrived back in the office to break the news - everybody thought I was making it up. the the details came through...
Unfortunately, many can't forget and will never forget for personal reasons. Too many reasons. All the innocent victims will be remembered.
I have been wearing this Tee once or twice a month for 18 years.?ÿ I wore it yesterday and decided to wear it again today.?ÿ
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I first got the news when I walked out of the bathroom at Hayes Instrument Company.?ÿ
That was my first trip there.?ÿ I was afraid of making a second trip.
Thank you to everyone who shared their story. I am still shocked and horrified by the events of that day, but I don't want to, nor will I ever, forget. It's a reminder that you can never be too complacent. That doesn't mean we should all go around worrying that something will happen, but I do feel like we should be aware of our surroundings and pay attention. That doesn't seem to be a problem with this group, since that's what you do -- survey your environment.
No idea what I was working on that day (looks like an office day by my records, I do know it was NOT field work). I woke to the news on the clock radio. Here on the west coast the 1st plane to crash into the towers was at 5:46 am so when the alarm clock went off that morning they were reporting a "small plane" had hit one of the towers. I think I will always associate that 1st news with this horrible attack. I initially kind of dismissed the news as way less than the event it was as I went about getting ready for my day not realizing the enormity of the attack.
SHG
was standing there drinking a cup of coffee in the boss' home office while he calc'ed some set points for us, watching CNN when plane #2 hit.?ÿ i don't remember anything remarkable work-wise about the day, only that it would have been a routine day of 3-5 house lots.?ÿ but i do know we were out in the cedar park area (when it still actually lived up to its name- might could call it "concrete park" now).?ÿ
had lunch at jason's deli; it was packed, and everyone was dribbling broccoli cheese soup and french dressing all over their shirts with their necks crowed up at all the TVs up high.?ÿ i remember having that eerie feeling of "it's all different now" and actually bringing up the george carlin bit about how different the american experience would be were it not divorced from terrorism like no other society on earth is (was).
after lunch we walked out to the van and parked next to us was some shiny little texas lady, smoking one of those skinny, shiny-little-texas-lady cigarettes, with a look on her face like somebody just punched her puppy in the nose.?ÿ she'd pulled her sequin stars and stripes jeans jacket out of the mothballs and was wearing it despite it being about 108 degrees outside.?ÿ all the windows were down in her big ol' lexus, and she just stood there in front of the hair salon next to jason's, weepily singing along to that damn lee greenwood song i hadn't heard since sometime before people started making bird-sh*t jokes about gorbachev's forehead.?ÿ and that's when i really thought "oh hell, it's all the same again."?ÿ
I was already at Esri. I usually went to the office around mid- to late-morning. My boyfriend woke me up as his start time was earlier. I grumbled at him about it until I saw the tv...
I went to the office so I could use their faster internet connection, probably a T-1 or T-3 at the time. I don't remember getting much work done.?ÿ
A friend worked in Manhattan. She had to walk over to Long Island before she could get a train back home. Another friend knew people on one of the high floors.?ÿ
I'm sure there is, I've seen them posted here in the past. I'm just not that savvy to help; maybe someone else knows?
Dougie
Thanks for starting this thread Wendell. It's interesting to read all the responses.?ÿ I was working in the office.?ÿ I don't remember why I was running late that day, but I do remember that I knew about the first plane before I left home that morning, and the second plane hit just as I was getting to work.?ÿ I remember that our office wasn't getting much work done either.?ÿ I remember how mad the big boss was that we were distracted by the news.?ÿ I remember seriously considering jumping in my car and driving from Houston to NYC because I wanted to do something to help.
That day, along with the day of the Rodney King riots (I lived in Santa Monica at the time), are the two days I will always remember.?ÿ Strange that on the day of the King riots, my boss at that time was also mad that we were distracted by the news.
