Golf Sim Clubhouse Forum

Where were you 10 years ago today?

I guess I'm not the only one with PGA and WON in my history. On this morning 10 years ago, I awoke about 9:30am (EDT), fixed coffee, turned on the computer and accessed PGA99 for an early morning game. When I got to the lobby I noticed 15-20 people in it but no games in progress. I can't remember any names other than that of my usual partner Chip Green.

But I did notice the conversation was in earnest, so I asked what was going on. Someone typed back "turn on your tv to the news." I turned on CBS, and the view was a smoky NYC skyline shown from across the river and IIRC the scroll saying that terrorists had also attacked the Pentagon and that Bush was in Florida. (Announcing where the president was seemed rather stupid to me when no one knew the extent of danger at the time.)

No one was interested in playing, quite obviously, so I logged off and spent the rest of the day, like most of the people around the world, watching the coverage and trying to make sense of what had happened. My dad said the smartest thing I heard all day, something like "if a country did this we're at war. If it was a terrorist group we'll be screwed up in that g'dd'mn Middle East breaking eggs with a sledgehammer for the next 20 years."

I was also a little late to find out what was happening. I got up about 8am and did the usual stuff make coffee, shower and whatever but no tv or radio was on because I was going to get a new car battery as soon as I was ready. I didn't turn on the radio in the car either because of the battery. Once I got to Interstate batteries to have it checked there was just 1 worker and he was watching TV. I said I need my battery checked and he said something like "do you know whats going on?" Thats when I found out. As soon as I got the new battery installed I headed home to watch the TV. Just about the time I turned on the TV. (about 5 or 10 minutes later) the first collapse happened.
I got my @#@* together and called my mother to see if she was awake and watching. I woke her with the phone call and told her to turn on the TV NOW. Of course I sat there for hours watching. I also remember the 1st anniversary. I sat at the TV. that night and watched a speical. They scrolled all the names of the nearly 3,000 murdered that day and I couldn't help but weep as the names kept scrolling and scrolling for the longest time.

I remember it like it was yesterday. I was in my den watching CNBC and Mark Haines, the anchor, stopped mid broadcast and said something like "it appears a plane has hit the World Trade Center". As a matter of course, NBC has cameras scanning the NY landscape. They instantly focused those cameras on the WTC. At first, everyone thought it was a small plane that had strayed off course.

A short time later, there was a live shot of the second plane coming in to hit the other tower. Everyone instantly knew then that it was an attack. Like everyone else, I was totally stunned and mesmerized. I told my wife "Turn on the TV, you have to watch this!" We watched for a while without saying a word. We could not believe what we were seeing. It was like something out of a horror movie.

I remember saying to my wife... "I can't even begin to imagine how this will change our world. Everything will be different from here on." Little did I know how different.

God Bless the victims, the victims' families, the first responders and our military. If I have missed anyone, please forgive me.

Dar

Thanks to all those who responded with sacrifice and love in those difficult first hours of 9/11/01. I fly the flag of the United States proudly at my house and am so grateful for the sacrifice of our men and women for freedom. I don't want to get into memories of the day - just want to say thanks for those who share a deep love for this country and what it stands for.

I worked third shift at the time but was off... I was working on Lawndales Willow Hollow the morning it happened... I had the tv on the living room
and they were saying they thought a "small" airplane accidentally flew into the towers... I walked in and started watching...Called my Dad and was talking
to him when the second one hit.... Was shocked at what I was watching... Like everyone else I was glued to the tv the rest of the day...

Been wathcing stuff on Hisotry channel all afternoon today...just unreal.... still after 10 years

CBS had an outstanding documentary last night called "9/11: 10 years later". Two photographers who had set out to make a documentary about the life of a rookie NY fire fighter were accidentally sucked into the vortex of the 9/11 disaster. Some of their film footage was actually inside the lobbies of the WTC buildings as the tragedy was unfolding.

The film footage was very powerful. It gave you a real sense of what actually happened. Close-up shots of the fire fighters faces captured the fear and determination those men and women faced at that point. It was chaos. You could actually hear bodies hitting the canopy above them as people jumped from the tower to escape the fire. You can only imagine how bad it must have been in the tower that people would consider jumping 80 stories to their death to be their best alternative. After the towers collapsed, there was so much crap in the air, I don't know how those folks could breath. I got short of breath just watching the film.

The courage those first responders showed defies description. Most of us will never know exactly what we would do if faced with the same circumstances. I personally hope I never have to find out.

By the way, the film showed another group of people who deserve a big thank you too. There were untold numbers of people who came to the site to do whatever they could to help. Some brought food, water, towels, etc. Some local resturants/bars served as havens for the on-site people to get some water or get a bite to eat. It was heartwarming to see how people pulled together to deal with that calamity.

God Bless America

Still another heroic effort went on that fateful day... one that got almost no press... "Operation Boatlift"

After the attack and fearing even more devestation to come, people were desperate to get off the Manhattan island... but they couldn't. All bridges, roads, subways... were shut down immediately. After the tower collapses, a sense of panic set in and people headed for the water. Some even tried to swim off the island.

Another magnificent thing happened. Hundreds of boats rushed to the the island to pick up people... Coast Guard, fishing boats, private yachts, ferrys... basically anything that floated that could carry people. Over 500,000 people were evacuated off the island by boat in about 9 hours. Not one person was hurt in the process. It stands as the largest maritime evacuation in recorded history and it happened with no pre planning. This another amazing example of how people came together that day.

You can watch the video on Youtube... look for "Boatlift" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDOrzF7B2Kg

Woke up, saw on the news (cnn) a plane had hit WTC, talk of was it an accident or not. Not long after, saw the second plane hit in the background of a shot, I was just stunned. Spent most of the day watching updates on US and Canadian feeds. Seeing images of those that jumped still bring chills, as does footage of the towers collapsing. I have photos of the twin towers/NYC skyline from a trip to NYC in '92, I still pause whenever I look at those pics. Visited the observation floor in the 80's on a previous visit.

The story in Canada also moved to the various airports on the east coast (Gander and others) and the logisitics of taking in re-directed flights. The strange quietness of the next few days, not hearing the regular flights approaching Toronto Pearson in the late afternoon/early evening.