Quoted: I will never forget that awful day either. I heard from a co-worker that an airplane have crashed into the WTC building, my first thought was that an idiot flying a cessna or small plane just been lucky enough to hit something that huge.
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I heard it on the news while I was driving into work, and I had the exact same reaction! I thought some idiot was probably doing an airplane tour of the city and smacked his Cessna into the building. By the time I had gotten to work the second plane had struck, and everyone knew what was happening.
Some guy in the office had a little black and white TV with a 4" screen, and I stood with about 20 or so other people watching everything. I still remember the feeling I got in my stomach when the reporter said that between 80,000 and 100,000 people would be in the WTC on any given business day. It reminded me of the story that I had heard, that the original intent of the first WTC bombing was to kill 250,000 people. I stood there feeling numb and watching as the towers fell. The rest of the day was surreal to me. At that time, I though that I was literally watching the deaths of upwards of 80,000 Americans! I went to the bank and got my almost all of my cash out, and listened to the radio all day to get more news.
I actually had to work late on 9/11/2001, doing an evening installation for a customer. I remember driving home EVERY gas station was packed out, with people lined up around the block. Several gas stations that I had passed were already charging $5 per gallon. I found a BP that hadn't jacked up their prices, and I filled up there. I called my mom, called my dad and all of my sisters, and went home and cried.
I have not forgotten!