What were you doing 12 yrs ago today!?

[LeslieDean]

Just thought today would be a good time for reflection. I remember our meeting was the night of the attack. I could not get to the meeting because our living arrangement was very unique. We lived on an 1100 acre oilfield in LA. The largest active producing oilfield in the western United States . Within few minutes of the plane taking down the second tower we had all sorts of army tanks and federal security combing the fields. They were putting up tall fences with circular barbed wire and locked gates with armed security manning both entrance and exit roads to the fields. They came and told us that the reason for the top security was because when terrorists strike they go after things that will send a huge statement and shutting down or crippling a major producing oilfield would hurt 'us'. They were calling it a terrorist attack and had so many men there it seemed to us that they knew it was going to happen before it did. I am not saying that but I mean it was mind boggling how they could get do many army tanks and bomb squads there so quickly!'

Anyway, I was talking with a couple of the elders and they said the meeting was SRO that night and it probably would be for a few weeks then it would die off. They said some have not learned and reflect the attitude of the forgetful Isrealites in that they had no appreciation foe all Jehovah has done for them. I wonder where all those that showed up that night are tonight? What they are thinking and remembering.

What were you doing, thinking and feeling? An anniversary of something tragic always conjures up such vivid feelings and emotions--just like you were there,

[cricket246]

I was living in Indiana. I was only only 13 at the time and had been studying for around 2 years with the witnesses (my mom had her study going as well). I woke up that morning to find my family chattering about the News. I asked what was going on and saw the t.v. I think I watched the news for a few days afterwards worrying it might happen again. All I could think about was our upcoming assembly and that it might be the next target.

[ava]

My family was at home, we were not aware a plane hit the first tower til my brother in law called us to let us know.  We turned on one of the news stations, think CNN.  We were watching the news and then the second plane hit the other tower, and then of course the Pentagon and the one that went down in Pennsylvania.

 

My husband had to go to work, he works for American Airlines.  By the time he got to work, all flights in the US had been grounded.  He spent the day at work just watching the news with his coworkers.  Many of his coworkers died that day.  Not just the pilots and flight attendants, but there were employees who were on the planes flying to their vacation destination.  The American plane that hit the tower was a plane he had worked on alot, he realized it after the plane's tail number was made available. My husband was not baptized yet, but I remember the anger and sadness he felt that one of his companies planes was used like that.  It really disturbed him.  I also started to think about all the times we had flown on American Airlines, as employees, we fly free, so we are on their planes alot.  I remember thinking that I was glad we didn't go anywhere that week.

 

I remember thinking of all our brothers and sisters who live in New York.  With such destruction, I knew that some witnesses had to have lost their lives.  I remember praying alot that day as well.  I was not doing well in the truth at that time, missing many meetings and had not been in service in a long time, basically I was inactive.  But that day, I just started to pray to Jehovah, alot.

 

I think I watched the news all day long til I went to bed.

Edited September 11, 2013 by ava

[Blueyedchanel]

I worked for Continental Airlines at the time, I worked in the maintenance hanger which was located off one of the runways in Houston. I was supposed to catch a flight to New York that evening and from there fly to Hawaii the next morning. My husband had called me at work and said an airplane hit a building in NY and asked if it would affect our trip. I told him I knew nothing about it and would look into it. By the time I got to a tv at he office the second plane was coming in hitting WTC. I just remember a feeling of shock and disbelief then worry be ause two planes were still unaccounted for and I worried they my have been one of ours. After awhile our building was made to evacuate and I remember it being so eerie outside with no planes taking off or landing anymore. For,weeks afterwards our cars got inspected everyday at work, they would walk around with mirrors on sticks and run it along the bottom of our cars, and look in the trunks. Needless to say we don't make it to Hawaii that day, or even that month. I remember a friend of mine and my ciusins that were in Brooklyn at Bethel and praying he was safe and that our brothers could be calm during such a tragedy.

Edited September 11, 2013 by Blueyedchanel

[GrumpysWife]

I was in New Hampshire at my cousins house. I was worried sick about my son and daughter in law. They were living at Bethel and Julie told me that the housekeepers she was working with saw the first crash.

[Bluebell]

My husband and I were working at the Airport in Duesseldorf, Germany at that time.

We both had the day off. My daughter called us and told us to switch the TV on.

We saw the second plane flying into the Tower.

Never forget the day!

[lavritt]

I was driving to work when I heard the news about the first plane. And I had this really weird feeling...like it wasn't an accident like they first thought. I mean, how could you "accidentally" fly directly into the side of the WTC?? At the office (I worked in the Communication Dept...access to TVs) it was standing room only as more and more employees heard and came to the news room. It was surreal to watch the second plane hit...and then just a little while later watch the tower simply disappear. At that time I really thought that this was the beginning of the end. Not Armageddon, but the beginning of the world falling apart. And I knew there was going to be a war and thought about all our young people who may be facing the draft issue...including all of my sons and nephews. One nephew was at Bethel at the time. His room faced the WTC. They watched from the rooftop until the brothers had them come inside. He was interviewed later by his hometown newspaper in South Carolina about what he saw, the people jumping from the Towers, and how they (Bethelites) helped people. What cannot be conveyed in print or pictures was the heaviness in the air from all the debris and dust. And then later...the stench of death. He has PTSD and 12 years later he still has nightmares of what he witnessed.

[dubois]

I was at work in Michigan at one of the big three auto companys.  Some guy (that people told me they thought was a witness) had been trying to fix the boss' TV equipment in his private conference room.  While standing at the door a co-worker came over and read me a msg on his beeper how a plane hit some building in New York.  I guess the guy (working on the TV) heard the comment and did something to the equipment so it would get the local news station.  Word quickly spread and within moments the small conference room was filled with people watching the news.

 

I remember everyone went silent as we watched the 2nd plane hit the other tower.  Being relatively new in the truth, I turned to the "TV fix it guy" and noticed he was watching the people - not the TV.  I whispered to him "was this the beginning of Jehovah's great day?" Never taking his gaze off the people, he didn't say anything - just reached down and squeezed my hand. Suddenly I was no longer scared.

 

Shortly after the bldgs collapsed, Security came into the orom and said mangement was closing the office early and everyone should go home. We did and from the quantity of other cars I saw on the road and subsequent gridlocked traffic....I realized every company in the city must be closing their doors early that day.  So what was normally a 20 min drive home,  took me 3 hours that afternoon.

 

At work the next day I looked for the TV repair guy / witness to thank him -  but I never saw him again.

[Fee-bee]

I slept through it all!  It happened at night Australian time.

 

I woke up the next morning, and you know that feeling you get when every channel has the same thing on?  I caught up on it all hours after the buildings had collapsed.

 

We all thought the system would start crumbling from that point, but somehow Satan has managed to band-aid it all together.  The system will still be functioning when false religion is destroyed.

 

I suppose I will sleep through "peace and security" and Babylon's devastation unless there are some night owls in Australia who will wake me up.

[Qapla]

At that time I was a flooring installer and did all the flooring for a small company that owned several apartments buildings and some office buildings.

 

I was ripping carpet out on an office that had vacated. It was a rather difficult job to get it out since it was "glue down" that had been replaced more than once, so the old glue made removal very slow.

 

We had the radio on (my oldest daughter was helping me) and I had called the radio station and had just won a prize. While waiting for the "on-air" announcement of my winning they came on with the news about a plane hitting a building in NY.

 

It didn't take long before it was on every station and it was announced that it was the WTC and then the second plane.

 

When we went to lunch, there was a TV and we saw the news.

 

Since we are in Florida, it did not have an immediate impact on us.

[lgoldsmith]

I was at home.  My neighbor called me to see if I had TV on.  I had just woke up & didn't have it on yet so I went & turned it on.  I just LITERALLY stood in front of the TV not being able to move for the longest time.  Like some of you have said....it was surreal.  Watching that all happen live on TV.  I immediately thought of the brothers at Bethel.  Having never been there yet (at that point) I wasn't sure how far they were from it.  Now, after having been able to visit NY twice (and go to Ground Zero once in 2011) it makes it more "real" almost.  Having stood on that very ground is so humbling.  SO many people affected that day and continue to be to this day....not only ones who lost loved ones, but the ones fighting horrible sickness from the debris.  

[Ms. Piffle]

I was at the kingdom hall to meet for service. A brother came in and told us a plane had hit the WTC. As we went door to door the householders kept us updated on the situation, as it seems every house had the news on and everyone wanted to talk.   The householders expressed such a mixed bag of emotions. We saw long lines at the gas stations. People were afraid they would not be able to get gas the next day, or the prices were going to jump considerably overnight. It was almost surreal. I was so thankful to be out in service that day. It truly was memorable.   

[Holly]

I was at work, the TV's were on and EVERYONE, including the bosses and owners, kept going back and forth to the TV's.....  none of us got very much but the bare minimum done.  I worked in a Nursing Home/Assistant Living Facility...... wow..... I called my parents, my sister, etc.. we were all crying, praying and terrified.....

[LeslieDean]

I slept through it all!  It happened at night Australian time.

 

I woke up the next morning, and you know that feeling you get when every channel has the same thing on?  I caught up on it all hours after the buildings had collapsed.

 

We all thought the system would start crumbling from that point, but somehow Satan has managed to band-aid it all together.  The system will still be functioning when false religion is destroyed.

 

I suppose I will sleep through "peace and security" and Babylon's devastation unless there are some night owls in Australia who will wake me up.

Give me your number. I'll call ya. I fell better if I'm not the only one suffering!

[Elijahsmama]

Was at work, less than an hour from manhattan. My husband and my boss called to let me know what was going on. The only radio station broadcasting live was a New York talk -Howard stern. He has a straight view, of the towers and did a play by play of sorts. I called my friend who was in bethel at the time and no calls were connecting. His family didn't get him to late the next day. Longest wait of their lives. I left work early - none could concentrate especially with military helicopters and fighter jets flying over every hour. Matter of fact it was like that for days after. It was sad starting to hear reports of local friends that commuted daily and what their experience was.

[LeslieDean]

I was at home.  My neighbor called me to see if I had TV on.  I had just woke up & didn't have it on yet so I went & turned it on.  I just LITERALLY stood in front of the TV not being able to move for the longest time.  Like some of you have said....it was surreal.  Watching that all happen live on TV.  I immediately thought of the brothers at Bethel.  Having never been there yet (at that point) I wasn't sure how far they were from it.  Now, after having been able to visit NY twice (and go to Ground Zero once in 2011) it makes it more "real" almost.  Having stood on that very ground is so humbling.  SO many people affected that day and continue to be to this day....not only ones who lost loved ones, but the ones fighting horrible sickness from the debris.   [/quot

My toxicologist headed up the study for the first responders. I remember when he was treating me in 2005 he said that due to the jet engines diesel, the asbestos and all the materials from those buildings that that group of people suffer from a cancer that no other group will ever have or experience. He explained it like those ingredients combining together made a certain combustible material that when inhaled effected all the people with the same thing. I know I am not explaining it like he did but I hope you get the jist. So very sad.

[LeslieDean]

We were right in the flight pattern of LAX and the planes in holding patterns above our heads were erie. It looked like the 405 fray only up in the air. All flights being grounded and returning for landing

[Anakalia]

I live in a small rural town. I had 2 kids seeing the ENT doc that morning.  The doc's brother worked in the first tower that was hit.  It was 2 days before he was able to find out that his brother was ok. All over the clinic TVs were on - unusual then - now it's expected.  All over town people were finding ways to get TVs plugged in, especially in public places.  Surreal doesn't begin to describe it. When I took my 2 kids to school after their appointment (which took much longer than expected) every adult I saw wanted to know what I knew! They knew something bad had happened but the school wasn't wired for regular TV yet - although this was a brand new school so the wiring was there and they already had some techs working on making it accessible to TV stations (that was done by lunchtime).  It was announced on local channels and radio stations that schools would not be allowing children to leave the buildings until a family member came for them.  It was optional to have the kids stay at school or get picked up - whatever families preferred was fine. 

As the friends all contacted one another we realized one of our young sisters, on a Bethel tour, was scheduled to have her tour group be at the WTC at 9am! There were several others from our area, not our specific congregation, but from our circuit and nearby circuits, that we knew were on that same tour.

We all awaited news anxiously!

Just before suppertime her parents got a call from her - she was safe at Bethel.  There were a series of somewhat comical delays all morning long so the buses for tour group were not going to even get to the bridge until 9:30-9:45 and of course, getting the news of the crashes, etc. they were told to cancel plans and report to one of the residence buildings at Bethel.  Brothers and Sisters of the Bethel Family comforted and assisted everyone on the buses thruout the day & night. Phone service was difficult so they organized potential callers by need & age - those needing to contact parents could make a call earlier as it became possible.  While the adults (then) still have some struggle with things that connect them to the events of that day. Our young sister (she was 17 at the time I think) and 2 other young ones suffer from severe PTSD to this day.  They are doing better than when they first arrived home. Their tour was cut short and I know several of them stayed together on trains & buses until they got back here safely.  And although local groups still get together for Bethel tours I don't know of any of that particular tour group that have returned since then.

For days local news ran stories of people here who had loved ones there that day.  All of us knew of someone, or a few someones, who perished that day.  And all of us knew many who survived that day - though for some the "how" they managed to survive cannot be explained.

For weeks no one turned us away in witnessing and no one had any doors slammed shut or guns raised up or any other threats we sometimes have to deal with here - EVERYONE was listening to what we had to say.  Many new studies were started.  Some are still with us.

[pinkpopcorn]

I was still asleep but my sister was at work. She kept calling my phone in the living room, which woke me. Lisa said. "Quick turn on the TV!" I stood rooted to the floor watching as Katie Kourick and the Today Show team were telling what they were seeing as it happened. I was in such shock I could not move. I hung up with Lisa and just then the other plane hit the second building. I ran in and woke Julie saying, "I think this might be the beginning of the end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She was up in a shot!

 

All day long I kept the radio on because I had work I needed to get finished. I was just sick inside. Finally I had to turn it off. I kept crying off and on. I could not watch the news any longer and felt like I was beginning to become horribly traumatized.

 

This event reminded me of the shock the nation was in when Kennedy was shot. I was severely traumatized by that when I was 12 years old.

 

One other event that happened here in Florida was the day the Challenger blew up. It was a beautiful winter day with bright blue cloudless skies and very cold. I was pioneering and drove to my house with my partner, for lunch. My daughter, Jessica, was home watching my son, who was little. As we got out of the car she ran screaming out of the house and into my arms. She was watching the shuttle take off and it had just exploded. We looked up toward the Cape (about an hour and half from us) and saw the whole thing hanging in the sky above the trees. Jessica just kept screaming and crying. That cloud formation formed from the shuttle where it split in two, hung in the air for over an hour!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My girl was so traumatized by this event. How horrible to see these kinds of things with our own eyes.

 

We, friends, will see much more tragic events very soon. Yet I honestly feel that the destruction our eyes will see will somehow not leave us traumatized. Like the Israelites, when they saw the dead bodies of the Egyptian armies, they were relieved. They even formed and did a circle dance. They had great shouts of praise go up to the heavens about Jehovah being a manly God of war. This will be entirely different at Armageddon! It will be an event that will change the world forever!

[bogartd]

I remember that day!  I was at home and my oldest son called  telling us to turn on the tv. My husband and I were barely up and about. We turned the tv on and what we saw was like a bizarre movie, I could not fathom what was happening ! I was numb, unbelieving. This didn't happen in real life I told myself.! I was DF at the time and thought that the tribulation was probably going to be starting. I was terrified for days. I cannot imagine being there and seeing this happen in person. I was sick for days thinking about all these poor helpless people that were killed, and their families looking in vain for their loved ones. And I think that this is how it might be during the tribulation and Armageddon. People not  knowing the way out, then realizing that there IS no way out...

 

[Joey]

I was driving to the Hall with my son in his car seat.We met at 9:15 then,I heard about the first plane and imagined it was a small propeller plane.Reporter said it was an accident.I asked the friends at the Hall if they had heard about it,they said no.We took a while getting organized and talking and when we got to the very nice neighborhood to do door to door,we saw a man in pajamas yelling to his neighbor "The tower fell." Other neighbors came out.It was such a shock to see them so upset,we talked with them about bible prophecies of the last days.

When we got in the car we listened to it all on the radio.We were preparing to go on vacation at the NC beach.I just wanted to stay home and go out in service and be with friends.It was so disturbing.

[LuanaGlobal]

Sitting on the couch at home,Holding my 6 month old baby girl, then the 2 boys were at school. 

 

Both of my parents were visiting us in North Carolinia all the way from Nebraska.

 

My Husband was away in another country for work.  I was comforted by having my parents there with me.

 

Since we were living on a Military base, I thought, Oh my are they going to attack here too?.

 

What a shock to see on the T.V. .

[stuagu]

here in the uk, i went shopping with my wife and baby girl... on the way back i popped into my local music shop for strings.... it was like a ghost town... no one in sight... i then get a call from a back roon... " come and look at this!" and thats when i saw the terrible events unfolding.

i went home and was glued to the news... as someone who knew the truth but not part of Jehovahs organization i spent the next days waiting for armegeddon to start... and waiting to die.

seems like a ling time ago now...

[bohemian]

I was in Czech Republic with brothers, and my wife had returned to the UK.  It was quite a surreal time as we both watched the events unfold and were not together except by text and phone.

 

Glad you didn't ask me about yesterday, though!  I can't remember that far back!

[GrumpysWife]

 

 

Glad you didn't ask me about yesterday, though!  I can't remember that far back!

I have a similar problem.