Where were you on 9/11?...

[RevStPatrick]

47. I live in Brooklyn, and I was heading to work at 9am...

I was able to see the World Trade Center towers from the corner where I catch the subway each morning.
When I got to the subway that day, the first plane had struck and there was a plume of smoke, and a bunch of people were standing around looking.
I asked a guy what was going on, and he actually said the words "that was one bad pilot!"

I watched the smoke rise from the tower for about 20 seconds.
Then I ran the 3 blocks back to my apartment.
In those 3 blocks, the following thoughts popped into my head:

"This will be blamed on Muslim terrorists.
The Bush administration is somehow complicit.
This is a world-changing event. Everything is now different."

I got home, and my girlfriend was getting ready to leave for work.
I turned on the TV, and in the time it took me to get home, the second plane had hit.
Naturally, all hell broke loose.

I know this won't be a popular sentiment here and now, but I thought Mayor Giuliani was terrific.
Exactly what we needed for about 3 days there.
And then, of course, he lost his mind and became a parody of himself.

After watching the TV for a little while, we decided to go back to the corner where the subway is to look at the towers burning. Shortly after we got there, the first tower collapsed. Yes, I watched the South Tower collapse with my own two eyes.

Actually, this picture from Wikipedia is almost the exact view that I had, except with shorter buildings in my way:



We stayed home with the TV on for the next 3 days.
My cousin, who lived upstairs from us, was supposed to go to job interview that afternoon.
At the World Trade Center.

Luckily, I did not personally know anyone who was lost that day.
But I do have a number of friends and acquaintances who lost people.

So sad...