[Tom Burns]

What is your memory of the morning of 9/11? What were you doing and how did it affect you? (This may be posted under wrong category. If so, please move.) Without boring you with details, I ran into a friend this morning and we both recalled we were in his living room watching on TV that morning when the crashes occurred.

[Ang]

I was working at Plant Planning, listening to WEFM. I was on the phone and when the call ended I heard Todd Alan say something about a plane crashing into a building. I only heard the tail end of the story so I went into the Director's office and asked him to turn on the news (I thought it happened in Chicago) and we turned the t.v. on to MSNBC just in time to see the second plane crash into the other tower live as it happened.
The rest of our day was pretty much shot after that as all the management people were in the Director's office glued to the set.

[taxthedeer]

I was hard at work at ANCO (9/11 is also my ex-supervisors birthday), one of my former co-workers came over from another department and told me what happened. After I pulled my shift that day, driving home there was a INDOT state road crew doing work on the 212/20/35 cloverleaf and they were all flying giant sized U.S. flags from each of their big yellow construction vehicles (I figured they snagged 'em up at Fly 'Em High at lunchtime.) When I got to the Family Express at Johnson & 20 everyone was lined about 10 deep buying gas. Got home and turned on CNN like everyone else.

[MC Born & Raised]

I remember my then-fiancé waking me up with a phone call saying we were under attack. In a sleep-induced haze, I grumbled something about her being crazy then made my way upstairs just in time to see the second plane hit. I don't think I spoke for 30 minutes. Just sat, jaw dropped, watching the events unfold. Really the only time in my life I genuinely had a feeling of not being safe. Very humbling.

Anyway, I had just been hired full-time at the N-D a few weeks before that. My editor called and told me to come in, and I pitched in with the local coverage, going out to PNC to get a reaction story.

But the lasting memory is watching that second plane slam into the tower. I don't know if I'll ever be able to wash that out. In fact, I'm not sure that I'd want to erase it even if I could.

[Ang]

But the lasting memory is watching that second plane slam into the tower. I don't know if I'll ever be able to wash that out. In fact, I'm not sure that I'd want to erase it even if I could.

I couldn't agree more. That was the first (and only) time that my knees went weak and I had to sit down. My breath was literally taken away.

[southyards]

I couldn't agree more. That was the first (and only) time that my knees went weak and I had to sit down. My breath was literally taken away.

On that day, the world was forever changed. Innocence lost. We discovered that Evil truly does exist and no one, least of all us, is immune.

[Southsider2k12]

I was still working on the floor of the Chicago Options Exchange at the time of 9-11. We hadn't yet gone up to the trading floor, as the markets didn't open for another hour. We were all sitting in the cafeteria, eating breakfast and reading the newspapers. After the first plane hit, someone said a plane had hit the WTC, so most of us went upstairs to the trading floor to watch the action on the TVs. There were about 50 of us standing in our crowd, and hundreds of people in the different crowds when the second plane struck. I have never heard that trading floor so quiet with so many people on it. After about 10 seconds is when people started freaking out. Our second in command took the initiative to tell everyone to get out of the building a few minutes before the exchange itself was evacuated. Everyone poured out onto the Plaza right next to the CBOE only to be looking up into the shadow of the Sears Tower. At the time there will still crazy rumors about missing planes, and specifically the plane that ended up being crashed in Shanksville was rumored to be targeting Chicago and the Sears Tower. The fear was palpable. I ended up catching a train out to the burbs with a buddy, who ended up driving me back to City later after things had settled down a bit.

Because much of the AMEX was damaged during the attacks, the CBOE even allowed their members to come out to Chicago so that they could still work. It was amazing to see their resolve in the face of what had happened.

[TSNSPYDER]

Off Topic - I think it's so stupid they renamed the Sears Tower. I've heard the name several times and still can't remember what it is. The Sears Tower is a historic building, they should have kept the name.
Back on topic. I turned on the tv and saw the news talking about the first plane, then saw the second plane hit live. I actually thought it might be armageddeon.