Sept 11 2001, 8 years on - how it's affected us all

[munitalP]

Sept 11, 2001 - I was living in rural south east Auckland at the time and spending a lot of time in the Air on trans Tasman routes and a heap of NZ DOM travel. My INT travel was 95% QF and my DOM travel was mainly NZ.

Mr & Mrs had been to the local club for dinner and a case of heart burn had me out of bed at some crazy time, about 3AM from memory. I let the dogs in and made a cup of tea turning the TV on and choosing the SKY news channel. I checked the channel again because I thought I was watching a movie of some description - oh my God, a plane has hit the WTC in NYC. I was engrossed in the news, reports that it was possibly terrorists were confirmed as plane 2 hit the tower.

I wandered down to the bedroom and remember telling Mrs! to get out of bed, world war 3 had just started... we watched until it was time to go to work - Auckland was eerily quiet and of course the radio news chanels were reporting live...

I sent George Bush a fax from work offering my condolences - I got the Whitehouse fax number from the internet...

I had only weeks before been invited (and declined due to a miserable boss) to a user group meeting at the Marriott in NYC, I had no idea if that was anywhere near the WTC and I had no idea what day the meeting had finished, was it the 10th or was it the 11th, were my work colleagues OK - were they even anywhere near the WTC?

As it turns out they were OK and they were in the WTC Marriott(had checked out on the 10th) - only one guy, a good friend of mine George C was the only one missing in action - he had stayed an extra night and was due to fly back to Sacramento on the 11th.

We lost George C - at least for a period of time which did cause some anguish, he was stuck on a grounded plane unable to use a phone and unable to contact anyone - the first people he did contact were his parents to say he was OK, I guess they wouldn't have known about his good friends half way around the world in shock thinking he may have been still in the hotel...

I did have an associate who lost his son in the WTC collapse, disconnected from me but still pulled at the heart strings...

A few things came from that day which have changed my life...

• Air travel has changed from being a fun event to I guess in general a nervous and stressful experience
• I look at fellow travellers through paranoid eyes at times, especially when they are stereotyped (by myself) into a particular race or creed - I know this is wrong...
• My perception of religion has changed - I have become detached from the Christian belief I was bought up, have learned a lot about the Muslim beliefs and I have decided if I had to choose a religion for myself, it would be a form of Buddhism which is based on the simple concept of just being nice to each other...
• I learned that I can cry for people whom I don't even know...

I hope that the world never sees another event similar to 9/11, the problem is, I know that the chances of my hopes being fufilled are slim and I guess it is out of self preservation that I hope the next event is nowhere near me, nor does it affect anyone I know.

A somber day indeed

Mr!

 

[simongr]

Interesting comments MrP.

On some levels I was not as affected as others by this. The shock on the day was incredible and having visited the site twice now it s very moving. However it hasnt changed my habits. Growing up I had armed guards on the school bus and walking through the garden and we regularly checked under the car for bombs. So for me it just crystalised other people's understanding that there are risks out there.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Well I ignore the "fear" factor as I personally believe that the world is in generally much safer place that it used to be...but that todays Instant Media just makes one aware of everything that happens these days.

When I was growing up I remember for example that the IRA were regularly donging bombings and shootings....

While the actual day was traumatic for al and should not be trivialised...for me it actually produced a very good travel experience.

I had just redeemed 5 award tickets with Ansett on SQ to Cairo Yay!!!

Then Ansett went belly up. Grrr!! especially as I was a Plat with them. Lyckully. SQ still honored the redemption..Yay!!!

But then 9/11 happened and I was booked to go at Xmas. Grrrrrr!!

But after investigating I went anyway...and the 10 week trip through Egypt, Jordan and Israel...with a fornight Island Hopping in Thailnd to round it off was an amazing trip for my wife and 3 daughters aged 12, 90 and 6.

Virtually no westerners....and so no no queues..and everything was cheap..and we gained the BIGGEST and warmest welcome we have every had on any of our trips.

We had a great time...despite the amazed looks from everyone in Oz that we would still go.

 

[straitman]

I am currently in Florida and interestingly, with 1 hr and 10 min before midnight and there has been no publicity or mention of Sept 11th anywhere on the news that I have seen.
I will look again in the morning and see what may or may not be in the headlines.

 

[samh004]

I was in boarding school on the Gold Coast when it happened. Of course, no late night TV, so we found out the morning after when all the news was displaying it.

Can't remember what I felt at the time, and not being disrespectful now, but not really looking forward to all the time they're going to devote to it. You can't forget, but devoting so much attention to it can't be good.

 

[djfuzz]

I was in NYC last year - didn't go downtown, but in general it passed by pretty quietly. I think the biggest coverage it got was the fact that it was one of the few occasions Obama and McCain met face to face (other than the debates).

They still shone the lights into the sky at Ground Zero - visible from pretty much anywhere in the city - which was pretty much all that was necessary in order to provoke somber reflection and remembrance.

I suspect next year will pass by pretty quietly too - the cascade of coverage will hit the year after for the 10 year anniversary. The terrible thing is that it was one of those moments that affected pretty much everybody and created such a groundswell of unity all around the world - that was promptly squandered and turned to political football.

 

[samh004]

They still shone the lights into the sky at Ground Zero - visible from pretty much anywhere in the city - which was pretty much all that was necessary in order to provoke somber reflection and remembrance.

I have them as a desktop background somewhere, they look great.

 

[drron]

A day that changed my life.
I too was up early but only because the US breakfast shows were on the TV.I turned on the TV at 0430 and I too thought I was watching a movie.When I realised what was happening I too woke my wife and told her WW3 had stared.I also penned a note to GW-scary isnt it.
Unfortunately my plan was to convert my AN points to 2 RTW awards the day after AN collapsed-missed it by that much.
However we already had tickets for the USA for October 2001 and went.Was able to stay at New York,New York Las Vegas for $25 a night and got a rental car for $100 for 10 days.Was in San Fran wwhen there was an alert on the bridges-they thought a bridge was going to be bombed-my reaction was to drive from Napa where we were staying and drive over each SF bridge-accompanied by Humvees.
6 months later I bought a timeshare in NYC,even though our dollar was in the doldrums it was cheap.It set in motion my travel plans-we were going to do what we wanted now rather than wait.Set up my retirement 5 years later.
This is the first year that I have not flown on 9/11.Just my way of thumbing my nose at those who want to destroy our way of life.
And yes I cried for people I did not know.

 

[Keith009]

Whilst I don't think air travel has become a fearful experience, it has certainly become a more stressful experience due to all the security measures - undoubtedly necessary that these are.

I too cried for people I didn't know. I remember visiting Ground Zero for the first time and they'd put up artwork from kids who have lost their parents in the attack. I burst into tears right there and then. Same thing happened when I went with the rents a few months later.

Then a few years later in 2005 I visited London. In my typical wayward ways, i was running late for an appointment with a mate for brekky. The day was July 7 2005. I was staying in Russell Square. I will never forget the sickening sounds of explosions - and being eternally grateful that for once I was late and didn't get to the bus or tube on time. I actually thought the noises I heard were demolitions. Until I stepped outside. I will never forget the look of a double decker bus after a bomb had ripped through it, nor the many different ways people's bodies can be mutiliated beyond description by a bomb. It was hard to reach my parents as all the mobile networks seemed to be jammed, but when I finally did they didn't know what I was on about, I had to tell them to turn on the news. Some panicky SMSes from friends also eventually trickled in as well as an avalanche of emails, I simply spent the day replying to emails and SMSes. All plans for shopping and bar hopping forgotten. At the local bar that night everyone had their 'near miss' story to share. Things returned to normal a day later however, apart from sections of the streets blocked off in Russell Sq. And I remember being amazed at how stoic people in London were - it was then I learnt to 'get over it' and fight back against those terribly evil people by simply shrugging it all off and going back to business as usual asap - almost defiantly. So i decided to hit Sloane St.

 

[QF WP]

I remember coming home and turning on what had become my nightly ritual - watching the 11pm Channel 10 news.

I had the same experience as munitalP (thinking I was watching a movie), so I switched to all the other free-to-air station, which by then were all showing it as Breaking News.

Remember the feeling of dread watching the 2nd plane go into the 2nd Tower. I was gob-smacked and remember ringing my best friend (another FF) in Singapore on his mobile (waking him up) - telling him he had to put on his TV. He didn't believe me until he saw the live feed.

I remember watching it unfold until about 3am, when I remembered I needed to sleep. But I knew it was going to rate alongside "where were you when Princess Diana died" for people of my generation.

I had just returned from a RTW in J on 26 August, so I considered myself somewhat fortunate that I wasn't there at the time. Had flown CNF/MIA on 19/8, MIA/SEA on 20/8 then finally SEA/SJC/LAX on 22/8 (all on AA).

Still sends shivers down my spine....:shock:

I've been to Ground Zero twice subsequently (once with Mrs LW) and it never fails to move me.

 

[NM]

I was on a late night conference call when the news broke. Many of the people on the call was in the USA and one guy was driving around I495 is DC at the time and reported seeing smoke from the Whitehouse area. Obviously very little business was conducted on that call as everyone was reporting what their local news media was reporting.

8 years on the main impact for me is the end to flight deck visits. I used to really enjoy the chance to visit the flight deck and chat with the pilots. Now that is a thing of the past.

We visited Ground Zero in NY on 2003 and it was a sombre time.

 

[SimonM]

In bed when it all happened (by 3/4 of an hour), the next morning I checked my email and read the first CNN news flash email that a plane had hit the WTC. Then a few emails further up another CNN news flash saying a second plane had hit. Like a lot of people, I spent a lot of that day watching the TV.

It has set a pattern for me. Just about every day since then, I first turn on the TV and have my cup of tea with Fox News.

I travelled to LA and Toronto on the 18th of September 2001 and as you might expect, things were still pretty raw. Airports were madness.

Finally made it to Ground Zero in 2004 and even after 3 years, found it a very moving experience. Going back in March.

 

[medhead]

Got the early hours phone call from my brother in europe on the day. Told my boss later that day that I thought they'd definitely invade Afghanistan and also maybe iraq or N Korea. He wasn't so sure. We were about the only 2 that interested, still went underground.

Since then the world has become a scary and paranoid place. The government's of the west have proven by their more extreme actions that in some ways they are no better than their opponents (IMO). Our society has moved a long way to the right - it is now unbalance to favour authority (mindless in some cases) over individual rights. This is sad because the real strength of our society is respect for individual rights. Those who attack us totally lack that respect.

Hence I think we are a long way from winning this one. And I think this will always be the case until some unpleasant choices are made.

But I'm not more scared of flying and in many ways feel more secure. At least, I feel secure that pax are no longer going to passively sit through a hijack like they might have in the 1970s or 1980s.

My perception of religion has changed - I have become detached from the Christian belief I was bought up, have learned a lot about the Muslim beliefs and I have decided if I had to choose a religion for myself, it would be a form of Buddhism which is based on the simple concept of just being nice to each other...

I believe that was the fundamental message of Christ.

not to mention Brian - he also said we are all individuals.

 

[QF WP]

This is freaky, I just had a friend email me this:

For the anniversary of 9-11, follow the flights of September 11, 2001

 

[serfty]

I was in Hobart for work - went to sleep at Wrest Point ~10pm; I had been doing some preparatory bookwork and did not have TV on - went stright to sleep after that.

Called my wife at 6am the next morning to say g'day to be greeted with "Isn't it terrible!" ... I said "what was terrible?" I knew nothing about it.

I had to work at HBA that day and it was a very sombre experience. The HBA QP was very quiet that evening as was the flight home.:-|

 

[Maca44]

I remember it well as it was about 6am and I was just out of Seattle having breakfast and getting ready to drive to Seattle for my flight to San Francisco and then Sydney. Needless to say, stayed at my friends house watching the TV for hours and then it was revealed that all aircraft were to land at the nearest airport and that all airports were in shut down. So much for my flights home that day.

However, I was one of the lucky ones who used 200K Ansett points and flew F class return with United, and Ansett went belly up whilst I was away for three weeks. I wanted to be away for 4 weeks, but there were no F award seat available with UA on the fourth week, so the day after the 911 tower incident I contacted UA and was put on a flight the following Tuesday Seattle time as it was Wednesday downunder.

I remember that the following week when I flew home Seattle and SFO terminals were like ghost towns, and only ticketed pax were permitted into the terminals; and I don't recall any of the shops inside the terminal being open for trade. I have travelled back to the USA on two occasions since 911, on and around September 11 of those years, and think about the number of innocent people who perished in the towers and other targeted buildings.

 

[tuapekastar]

Pretty similar to most...had been out, got home and turned the telly on, a bit of channel surfing, Ch 10 looked like a bizarre 'end-of-the-world' movie, then the penny dropped that it was real. Watched till 2 or 3 AM (saw both towers go, IIRC). Keeping it as brief as possible, a former (Aussie) work colleague fronted from the subway for a meeting at his company's office one block from WTC. Thought things were odd with bits and pieces of paper and stuff flying around through the air. Into the building, up to 49th floor, heading out of lift, all people at the window, 2nd plane hit, all people (including colleague) moved quickly to the lift he had just vacated, and headed down. Lift stopped at virtually every floor, but no-one could get in 'cos it was chockers. He went straight back into the subway and off Manhattan.

It really was just one of those defining moments when you realise the 'rules' have changed forever.

 

[Shooter2712]

Had to work that day..... was woken up early by a number of text messages. In my weary half asleep state turned on the television to see scenes out of what appeared to be a movie.

At work needless to say everyone was stunned.

In terms of the sheer impact on the world and news coverage in this country, was only matched to some degree by the death of Princess Di and the Port Arthur massacre.

Interestingly enough I flew to the UK the following month. Was surprised at the time of the lack of security at Heathrow. Strangely enough was not the least bit apprehensive despite what had occurred a month earlier.

Getting into central London then though, and around Buckingham Palace there was a clear step up in security with armed Police, then in Paris a culture shock for me seeing Police with machine guns!

 

[munitalP]

...

I believe that was the fundamental message of Christ.

not to mention Brian - he also said we are all individuals.

I have been praying to Saint Google about the Buddist Crusades - its funny, I get no answer....

So I tried Saint Yahoo, same result...

But....

then i thought apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?


Mr!

 

[medhead]

I have been praying to Saint Google about the Buddist Crusades - its funny, I get no answer....

then i thought apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?

Not to confuse the fundamental teachings of Christ with the application of those teachings by organised religion.....


Of course, what christ didn't seem to understand is that it is the meek that are the problem.