My birthday is 11 Sept. On the day itself I was 36, at work, and thinking about buying Bob Dylan’s Love and Theft LP (released that day) in my lunch hour.
Felt to me that the world changed that day. A truly horrific atrocity.
We were in the middle of lunch service Che Restaurant & Cocktail Bar St James’s Street . . . I was the new General Manager . . . Hedge Fund guys, Bankers & CEO’s falling over each other to get back to the office . . . I sadly watched the 2nd plane hit the towers . . . Horrible day that changed the world. . . 🙏🙏🙏
I knew someone by reputation at a company I worked for in Los Angeles from 1991-1999. A week after 9/11 a friend still at that company told me about a freak close-call by that worker.
I don’t like to fly. Apparently he hated it and so did his wife. So much so that when they flew with their kids, the husband and wife would take separate planes for separate airlines, each with one kid in tow.
They were on vacation at her parents in Boston. They were due to fly back to LA on 9/11 but over the weekend cancelled their flights and decided to stay a few more days.
Turns out the husband and daughter were originally scheduled on United Flight 175 that flew into thw South Tower and the wife and son were booked on American Flight 11 that went into the North Tower. The all would have died in the same place despite all their planning. They would not have known the other died just 20 minutes apart at the same spot.
That story also freaked me out. Not as much as him though. He retired a few weeks later. Never heard about him again. That’s “Final Destination” kind of stuff.
That's shocking and astonishing. Lucky, lucky people. I imagine the FBI were all over them when they investigated.
In the Malaysian airlines tragedies wasn’t there something similar where an airline worker changed her shift and avoided working on the plane that disappeared and then the same again on the plane that was shot down over Ukraine by Russia ?
I knew someone by reputation at a company I worked for in Los Angeles from 1991-1999. A week after 9/11 a friend still at that company told me about a freak close-call by that worker.
I don’t like to fly. Apparently he hated it and so did his wife. So much so that when they flew with their kids, the husband and wife would take separate planes for separate airlines, each with one kid in tow.
They were on vacation at her parents in Boston. They were due to fly back to LA on 9/11 but over the weekend cancelled their flights and decided to stay a few more days.
Turns out the husband and daughter were originally scheduled on United Flight 175 that flew into thw South Tower and the wife and son were booked on American Flight 11 that went into the North Tower. The all would have died in the same place despite all their planning. They would not have known the other died just 20 minutes apart at the same spot.
That story also freaked me out. Not as much as him though. He retired a few weeks later. Never heard about him again. That’s “Final Destination” kind of stuff.
That's shocking and astonishing. Lucky, lucky people. I imagine the FBI were all over them when they investigated.
Actually don't know those details as I was in Wisconsin at that time. But lots of co-workers said he should tell the press, as it's the kind of story they would be all over. But he just wanted to stay quiet about it.
@usetobunkin@SouthWest_Addicks I work at Aon and spent a lot of time in the WTC. I also worked in the Aon Center in Chicago post 9/11. I was in London at the time too. Horrific day. Aon lost 176 people on 9/11, many I knew, and there were 531 insurance professionals killed between Aon and Marsh and a few others.
I have heard literally hundreds of stories from that day. One of the more familiar ones within Aon was a large client presentation (that client makes the Covid-19 vaccine) which was moved late the night before from the 105th floor of the south tower to the Hilton hotel opposite due to the large meeting room in the Aon office being double-booked.
The meeting started at 8.30 and everyone in that room watched from the hotel window across the street as the planes hit the towers. My old boss from Chicago was in that meeting, and I have only ever heard him talk about it once.
Never forget.
That's awful. If I remember right, Aon lost more people than any other company except for Cantor Fitzgerald .
Was on a flight from Orlando on the Saturday before (8th). Flew up east coast and when over NY the pilot dipped left so we could see sunset over the city. I vividly recall seeing twin towers and statue of liberty ... would never have thought what was going to happen 3 days later.
My wife and I flew into Sandford Orlando the evening before. I remember pointing out the twin towers to her as we passed going down the east coast. The next morning we had just started our road trip of Florida and the Keys when a newsflash came on the radio saying that a light aircraft had flown into one of the WTC towers. That news was a shock which multiplied exponentially as the day progressed. From that point on we felt we were intruding in another nation’s grief.
Just watching a documentary about this now and didn't realise there was a few billion worth of gold bullion in the basement of one of the towers that they eventually dug out a few weeks/months later from the fully intact vault in the basement.
Just watching a documentary about this now and didn't realise there was a few billion worth of gold bullion in the basement of one of the towers that they eventually dug out a few weeks/months later from the fully intact vault in the basement.
Remember reading something about that a while back, the workers getting it out used to stay down there for lunch and eat it using stacks of gold bars as a table.
They kept announcing things in Portuguese over the tannoy, and all the locals kept stopping and listening to it, looking concerned. We didn't think too much about it, really. We had no idea what they were saying. We thought if it was really serious, somebody would tell us.
When we got back to the Villa (my sister had stayed there that day), she told us as we walked through the door... and we sat down in front of the TV and saw the awful scenes of people jumping from the buildings. Some members of the family were Jehovahs Witnesses and were saying this was the beginning of the end of the world.
This year's reflections of the awful tragedy of 9/11 have, naturally, been subdued this side of the Atlantic, due to more pressing Royal news. But, if anyone has more stories, information or recollections about where they were on that fateful day, it would be good to share them here.
I wonder if the Queen dying will be a similar moment in people remembering where they were when they heard.
Yes won't forget that, we were in Epernay in France, was watching the news unfold in a bar, then we went for something to eat, got back to the hotel and put the news on to find out the queen had passed RIP.
I was in the dark having an eye test and from outside the room I heard someone say the plane crashed into the building. As I tried to listen I'm sure I gave wrong answers to where the light was in my vision. 9/11
Nickolas Owen the newsreader on ITV was the person who confirmed Diana death after my wife shouted down from upstairs She had been in a car crash. That was a bigger shock to hear she had died at 36 than the Queen at 96.
Ed Chamberlain said we wish her majesty well on ITV racing at 1.30pm I believe, while the BBC were going into the rehearsed protocols when the end was near or had already been passed as the official time of Royal deaths have always been problematical to dovetail with where the family are. In transit then they wait until it's appropriate to announce to the nation. I had BBC red button on watching Athletics and just as the gun went for a race at about 6.30pm they cut to an announcement which if anyone had been paying attention that afternoon knew what Hugh Edwards was going to say. Both Hugh Edwards and Prince Charles have practised for this day for so long that no wonder they were word perfect. They both did well on such a sad occasion.
I don't think I recall precisely where I was for any of these seismic events. I mean, I knew at the time and no doubt for some time after but I have never quite understood the fascination with proclaiming your own insignificant status at the precise time. Maybe it's because I have a crap memory. Seems to have become a thing since JFK.
Working. Watched the second plane hit the twin towers, in the crew room.
Filmed about thirty interviews almost non stop, in and around the ITN building on Grays Inn Rd. Crews were sent to Heathrow and Gatwick, but never made it to the US, as flights were cancelled.
9/11 - we were at TSB in Dartford arranging our mortgage for our 2nd house (the one we live in now, not a 2nd home I hasten to add) went to the in-laws to pick our children, walked into their house, to find them watching the news, literally my father-in-law and mother-in-law were sat there open mouthed in shock
Diana - I think I found out when I put the BBC on in the morning before going to work - but I may be wrong - I do recall the incredible silence where we lived at the time (Crayford) during the funeral - it was like lockdown 2020 - distinctly recall the hearse driving out of London on the TV coverage taking her body to be buried, and the hearse having flowers thrown on its windscreen by people on the roadside, and having to stop regularly to remove them - her funeral was a very strange day
The Queen - working from home
I think the Queen’s funeral will be a ‘nation stopper’ - the streets will be largely deserted
I’m sure I’ve written this somewhere before, but can’t see it.
I was in a meeting room going over a new project when someone stick their head through the door and said a plane had just hit WTC. Nobody paid it much attention, it wouldn’t be the first time a small plane had hit a building in NY. It was only when the second plane hit somebody came back to tell us it was serious. We all went down to the operations room, which had the only live TV, and saw what was happening. The scariest part was getting on the phone to our downtown office, which was just off Wall St. The had been told to stay in place, while we were talking we could hear a loud rumbling and then the line went dead as the first tower collapsed. Luckily they were far enough away that nobody was injured but it took us a while to make sure everyone got home safely.
Like SommervilleAddick I feel I might have written this before. We were in bed in Wellington, NZ. We received a phone call at around 4am from my sister in Cambridge telling us that the US was under attack. We turned the telly on to see fire and chaos.
Our daughter’s apartment was corner of 13th street and 2nd avenue Manhattan. We phoned our daughter and miraculously got through to establish she and her husband were ok. That was our last contact with her as not surprisingly the phones went down.
Our (former) son in law - a Buddhist - was at his dojo at the time and phoned our daughter to say one of the twin towers was on fire and to nip out and get a photo. His dojo overlooked the World Trade Centre and he went back to his meditation. When he finished he looked up and the second tower had been hit. While most people were running away from the tragedy our daughter ran in the opposite direction to get her photos.
Was playing my Tuesday night gig in front of Kim, Dimitry, Terry, Mickey, and Fernando (my crowd) at Minsky's Bar in Nedland Perth when a group of uni students burst in, ignoring the magnificent artist going through his requested 'Roni Levi' encore and headed straight to the TV in the corner. From the visions, I worked out they must have got a new computer game, and so I kept on playing to the end to no applause as was customary during what I like to call - "My Career..." Then Nick came on to the stage all apologetic, explaining... All I could think of was: 'I've got to cycle home with guitar on my back, will I make it there before WW3..?'
I was in the dark having an eye test and from outside the room I heard someone say the plane crashed into the building. As I tried to listen I'm sure I gave wrong answers to where the light was in my vision. 9/11
Nickolas Owen the newsreader on ITV was the person who confirmed Diana death after my wife shouted down from upstairs She had been in a car crash. That was a bigger shock to hear she had died at 36 than the Queen at 96.
Ed Chamberlain said we wish her majesty well on ITV racing at 1.30pm I believe, while the BBC were going into the rehearsed protocols when the end was near or had already been passed as the official time of Royal deaths have always been problematical to dovetail with where the family are. In transit then they wait until it's appropriate to announce to the nation. I had BBC red button on watching Athletics and just as the gun went for a race at about 6.30pm they cut to an announcement which if anyone had been paying attention that afternoon knew what Hugh Edwards was going to say. Both Hugh Edwards and Prince Charles have practised for this day for so long that no wonder they were word perfect. They both did well on such a sad occasion.
9/11. Back in the day i was invigilating at the IOCAEW exams at the Horticultural Halls in Victoria. Anybody that needed a Jimmy was escourted to the toilets and back to insure,as much as possible, that no cheating took place. On my way back to the Hall, 2 of the Hall reception staff were huddled around a radio and 2 more were heading towards them. Took my student back to his desk and then went back to see what the Staff were listening and found out that one Tower had been hit..Then the second Tower got hit. Now, the Halls were on the flight path into London City and there was always some aircraft noise as they went over. Some students used to complain that it put them off so how they ever got on in a busy office i don't know. It then became apparent that there was a lot of emergency services rushing about and no flights going over. That shutdown had begun. Scary stuff at the time. As an aside the worst offenders for cheating, at that time, was the Police Sergeant exams at Alexander Palace. All the pigeons flying around shitting made it an interesting day as well!
Comments
Felt to me that the world changed that day. A truly horrific atrocity.
Actually don't know those details as I was in Wisconsin at that time. But lots of co-workers said he should tell the press, as it's the kind of story they would be all over. But he just wanted to stay quiet about it.
Absolutely harrowing
They kept announcing things in Portuguese over the tannoy, and all the locals kept stopping and listening to it, looking concerned. We didn't think too much about it, really. We had no idea what they were saying. We thought if it was really serious, somebody would tell us.
When we got back to the Villa (my sister had stayed there that day), she told us as we walked through the door... and we sat down in front of the TV and saw the awful scenes of people jumping from the buildings. Some members of the family were Jehovahs Witnesses and were saying this was the beginning of the end of the world.
I was just a kid at the time.
This year's reflections of the awful tragedy of 9/11 have, naturally, been subdued this side of the Atlantic, due to more pressing Royal news. But, if anyone has more stories, information or recollections about where they were on that fateful day, it would be good to share them here.
Nickolas Owen the newsreader on ITV was the person who confirmed Diana death after my wife shouted down from upstairs She had been in a car crash. That was a bigger shock to hear she had died at 36 than the Queen at 96.
Ed Chamberlain said we wish her majesty well on ITV racing at 1.30pm I believe, while the BBC were going into the rehearsed protocols when the end was near or had already been passed as the official time of Royal deaths have always been problematical to dovetail with where the family are. In transit then they wait until it's appropriate to announce to the nation.
I had BBC red button on watching Athletics and just as the gun went for a race at about 6.30pm they cut to an announcement which if anyone had been paying attention that afternoon knew what Hugh Edwards was going to say. Both Hugh Edwards and Prince Charles have practised for this day for so long that no wonder they were word perfect.
They both did well on such a sad occasion.
I mean, I knew at the time and no doubt for some time after but I have never quite understood the fascination with proclaiming your own insignificant status at the precise time.
Maybe it's because I have a crap memory.
Seems to have become a thing since JFK.
Diana - I think I found out when I put the BBC on in the morning before going to work - but I may be wrong - I do recall the incredible silence where we lived at the time (Crayford) during the funeral - it was like lockdown 2020 - distinctly recall the hearse driving out of London on the TV coverage taking her body to be buried, and the hearse having flowers thrown on its windscreen by people on the roadside, and having to stop regularly to remove them - her funeral was a very strange day
The Queen - working from home
I think the Queen’s funeral will be a ‘nation stopper’ - the streets will be largely deserted
Our daughter’s apartment was corner of 13th street and 2nd avenue Manhattan. We phoned our daughter and miraculously got through to establish she and her husband were ok. That was our last contact with her as not surprisingly the phones went down.
Our (former) son in law - a Buddhist - was at his dojo at the time and phoned our daughter to say one of the twin towers was on fire and to nip out and get a photo. His dojo overlooked the World Trade Centre and he went back to his meditation. When he finished he looked up and the second tower had been hit. While most people were running away from the tragedy our daughter ran in the opposite direction to get her photos.
From the visions, I worked out they must have got a new computer game, and so I kept on playing to the end to no applause as was customary during what I like to call - "My Career..."
Then Nick came on to the stage all apologetic, explaining...
All I could think of was: 'I've got to cycle home with guitar on my back, will I make it there before WW3..?'
Some students used to complain that it put them off so how they ever got on in a busy office i don't know. It then became apparent that there was a lot of emergency services rushing about and no flights going over. That shutdown had begun. Scary stuff at the time.
As an aside the worst offenders for cheating, at that time, was the Police Sergeant exams at Alexander Palace. All the pigeons flying around shitting made it an interesting day as well!