Staking out a house to dig the footings. Had the radio going and heard the first broadcast about it. Got a call from several friends, all like what the fuck. Didn't get much done the rest of the day for listening to the news. People talk about how united we all were in the time after. Unless you were in hijab, then you got death threats at stoplights. Old piece of trash was screaming for everyone to hear, "let's kill this towelhead", directed towards a middle age woman in hijab. This woman, I'm certain, was a better person and, without question, much classier than this fool. Looking back, I carry genuine shame for letting that man say those things. Thankfully, everyone at the stoplight was looking at him like he'd lost his mind, it went no further than one man looking like a psychopath.
I was in 20th century world history the morning of 9/11. Now this instant I’m in the middle of 30 thousand people in a football game. Creating a 9/11 a day in the covid era. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I’m enjoying the global warning and the 22 year old ass cheeks on display. FTW
I was doing some general contracting work at the time and was riding around in my boss' pickup truck with him between jobs. We never had the radio on. Small town, so he knew everyone, and we slowed down to say hi to someone he knew, and the guy asked if we had heard what just happened. Went straight back to my boss' house and turned on the TV in time to watch the second plane hit. My boss, who I'm pretty sure had never taken a day off in his life and would happily work outside in a monsoon on Christmas Day, told me to go home and be with my family.
Working in my office following on Yahoo! News as events unfolded. When the magnitude of events registered many of us went home to be with loved ones. As the day went on the following occurred: My brother-in-law worked in the World Financial Center, connected to one of the world trade buildings by a skywalk. They felt the first plane hit. Shortly after that, the poor intern they had sent out for bagels returned, white as a sheet and talking about how he had to dodge falling debris and body parts. At one point he stepped over what was clearly a scalp with hair. My brother-in-law had experienced the World Trade Center bombing in’93, so he knew to get the hell out of there. He grabbed his shit and ran to the ferry terminal just barely ahead of the huge crowds. It was hours before we heard from him, dust covered but safe in New Jersey. I had a sampling crew at a generating station in New York on the East River, with a clear view of Manhattan. They saw the plumes of smoke, then the station went on lockdown. They called me to ask what to do- they were trapped in station until 5 or so, no one was allowed in or out, with security on high alert. They decided to keep working rather than just sit there waiting to be able to leave. They worked until late afternoon, at which point they were told the gates would open for about 20 minutes at 5:00, and if they wanted to leave they had to leave then or be locked in until some unknown time the next day. They packed their equipment and then sat in traffic for hours during the mad rush to get out of the city. Another coworker stepped out of the PATH station at World Trade Center just as the first plane hit. He was there for a meeting with Port Authority on a contract we had with them. He looked up to see debris raining down, turned and ran back into the station and got on a PATH back to New Jersey before they shut down the system. I found out a day later that a my friend’s husband had one of his high school buddies killed in the attack.
Working at a franchise automotive shop, with the worst boss I ever had. I got into an argument with a co-worker who thought Saddam Hussein was responsible. Simpler times... In other news, happy birthday, Dad. I still miss you.
I was in 2nd period, senior year. Taking a test on something or other in a class where we were allowed to listen to music, so I had on some headphones. I remember looking up and seeing my friend just point at the loudspeaker, and I took my headphones off and heard our principal saying “-has crashed into the World Trade Center. It looks like an accident, but we’ll monitor the situation.” Then five minutes later, a second announcement that the second plane hit and it was likely a coordinated attack. It was a new school building and we had no cable service, so we spent the day listening to AM radio news and watching one grainy portable black and white TV with a 6” screen. Other memories: -our teacher calling her husband and being scared to death they were going to nuke DC or something like that, because we were in the “Greater DC Metro Area” -calling home and saying “Mom, what the fuck is going on?” And I can distinctly remember her voice when she said “it just FLEW INTO THE FUCKING BUILDING! ON LIVE TV!” -gym class outside the next day, no clouds, no contrails at all.
I was in bed sleeping off a hangover from playing in the bar the night before... Dad called and said "hey, someone just flew into a building in NY" "so? what's the big deal?", I thought, thinking it was a 172 or something small that clipped an apartment while on approach... "no... it's an airliner... downtown.... turn on the TV" I turned on the TV, just in time to watch the second one go in... and watched it for the next 2 days non stop. I was doing a remote contract working on some online banking systems for Wachovia bank at that time, and I had no idea that most of the team I was dealing with on the phone had offices in the twin towers. The project I was on was cancelled, and I never talked to about 3/4 of the team ever again, as they went down with the building. It was surreal. In other news, a new shipment showed up today.
Jesus. I could've wrote that verbatim. Dad called and woke me up (With a hangover.) " A plane flew into the WTC." I shrugged it off as an inexperienced pilot in a 172, no biggie. Then he told me "Just turn on your TV" Weird.
Yeah... Dad was a pilot since he was 18, and I was a pilot since I was 16... we always talked aviation. It was just so far outside the realm of comprehension that the brain refused to even consider it as an option when imagining what he was talking about. Shit got real pretty fast.
It’s the “Kennedy assassination” moment in our lifetimes. I was training a new hire a few months ago and I asked him his age. He’s 19. I said “Oh, wow. So you don’t even remember 9/11 as, like, a thing that actually happened.”
His dad hadn’t even pumped a fat creampie into his mom yet. You should tell him that the next time you comment on him being too young for something. Anyway, 9/11. Thoughts and prayers.
Well, the Dad could have and likely did. He just hadn't made it past the birth control yet. I'm sure he was their happy little accident.
He’s a good kid, but it’s been strange working with somebody literally half my age. He takes videos of me and puts them somewhere online, TikTok or Snapchat or whatever. Back when I worked in food service during high school and college, my friends and I would make fun of the older guy working the dish room, and laugh at how oblivious he was to it. Now, I realize he just didn’t give a shit about us because we were stupid asshole kids.
Sitting on the deck, watching the F1 sprint race from earlier today, having a few cocktails, and totally enjoying my monstrous bug zapper just frying the fuck out of anything that happens to get close to it. There are some big fucking bugs that are frying so hard they are catching on fire.
Whew, these drinks are stuff. Using the glug glug method is so imprecise when ice is in the glass. But, it's spiced Bayou Rum so it's fine.
I just freely pour, or glug it, into the glass for 4 counts and call it good. It was like half the glass this last time so I think I overpoured by a lot. My dad used to call it the glug glug method, I think I got that phrase from him.
Huh. Maybe it was a joke/reference. If you google the glug glug method it has to do with imprecise mixing of chemicals.
Well, when I bartended you could count for semi accurate shots based on the speed of the spout. I still count in my head but it's totally useless. Today, an overpour was acceptable. My nerves are frayed.