Cliche - I know. But what were you up to this time 7 years ago
Me? I had been made redundant and was worrying about paying the mortgage when I heard the news of the first aircraft hitting the WTC. All of a sudden my problems were put in to perspective
(conanow, Thu 11 Sep 2008, 15:40, 31 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

I was walking the floor with an ill baby
and watching Sky news in utter disbelief. I hadn't slept well for a couple of nights (damn chickenpox) and I think that added to the sense of unreality.
(TheWeeWitch hasn't been here much recently .., Thu 11 Sep 2008, 15:44, Reply)

I was working in a small village pub
during the summer between uni years...

not particularly interesting.
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 11 Sep 2008, 15:44, Reply)

Was at school, in year 9
It was the first day I stood up to this one lad who had been giving me shit, I did this while walking from history to textiles.

It made my day, went home with a smile on my face, which faded pretty quickly.

I also remember it was a tuesday!
( Agnostic Antichrist Baltimora, Thu 11 Sep 2008, 15:46, Reply)

I was
in a History lesson. Headteacher walked in and did a bit of spiel.

It didn't really affect me properly until I got home and saw the footage.

:edit: still haven't got the hang of the reply function...
Just when I thought I was ready to trade in my L plates.
( SuperWeasel slightly better than the average weasel, Thu 11 Sep 2008, 15:47, Reply)

Yeah

I remember just thinking

"FUCK ME! IMAGINE ALL THE DEAD BODIES!"

I had the best wank of my life 12 seconds after that thought.
( Donkey Gums @mattcomedy, Thu 11 Sep 2008, 15:54, Reply)

Measuring the VOC emissions of a major paint factory in the NE
(Uni summer holidays)

Oh, and learning to drive a forklift.

And visiting my Dad in hospital after he suffered his first heart attack.

Twas an interesting day.
(Shippy likes linebreaks and doesn't care what you think, Thu 11 Sep 2008, 15:54, Reply)

I was
cutting the grass in the front garden (hadn't started uni yet), and my mum came out and told me.
(bamboozled Can hear you getting fatter, Thu 11 Sep 2008, 15:55, Reply)

I remember
getting a text saying someone's flown a plane into the World Trade Centre and thinking, "what a twat, it's not as though they're difficult to see or anything."

In hindsight it was quite a naive way of looking at it.
( Moey, Thu 11 Sep 2008, 15:56, Reply)

I was on holiday in Greece...
Wondering where all the people were after a day trip. They were all in the bars, staring at the TVs.

It was a terrible day, alright.
( Devil_In_Tights the *real* DiT!, Thu 11 Sep 2008, 15:57, Reply)

I was on nights
and my mate Wez phoned me up telling me to turn on the TV "Doesn't matter what channel - You'll know what I mean".

Went into work that night to hear a lot of people who were very unhappy at a particular religious group.
(SpunkyMcSpunkbubble Diddled your nubbin on, Thu 11 Sep 2008, 15:57, Reply)

oh wait haha no today
coming back from sixth form, looking like a munchkin.
( GrandmaOfShoes, Thu 11 Sep 2008, 15:59, Reply)

I was woken by a mate phoning me
he was a huge bullshitter so I didn't believe him til I got to work later that day.
( CowJam, Thu 11 Sep 2008, 16:03, Reply)

I was in the office
and the guy sitting behind me was listening to the radio. He told us that someone had just crashed a plane into the world trade centre. By a coincidence (which although remote still had a finite probability of occuring), a few weeks ago, we were discussing the time when a plane slammed into the empire state building in 1945. At first, I just thought "Oh dear!", but then, I was told that a second plane had collided. WTF?!?!?!? And then, the truth started to unravel. We went to the meeting-room and watched Sky News on the large telly they had there. Things just seemed unreal. It was like watching a film.

I did however think that some people in England were panicing and over-reacting (buying gas-masks etc.). I was just hoping that this wouldn't become an excuse to let religious hatred flare up.
( mistaspakkaman and the inedible shifting caterpillars, Thu 11 Sep 2008, 16:10, Reply)

My brother...
... was in a Youth Hostel in Salzburg. There were Americans there, too.

They were doing the whole "Why do they hate us?" thing. My brother - bless him - sat them down and explained why they hated them. In great detail. For two hours.
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Thu 11 Sep 2008, 16:23, Reply)

@Spakka
I was just hoping that this wouldn't become an excuse to let religious hatred flare up.

Really? You atrociously smarmy, smug, self satisfied tosspot.
(Star Wars Starwarsy McStarwars Face, Thu 11 Sep 2008, 16:24, Reply)

I was on the way home...
Bought some lagers, skinned up and watched for the next few hours. Then I lolled a bit. Then I got harassed by flatmates for loll'ing. Found out it wasn't a film and was actually real. Loll'ed a bit more.
(The Archduke of South London I'm in your Girlfriend eating her organs, Thu 11 Sep 2008, 16:29, Reply)

I was staring away from the screen in disbelief
wondering why nobody expected this or something like it.
(bazmorningstar efil4nat3b, Thu 11 Sep 2008, 16:37, Reply)

@Enzyme
Kudos to the patience of your brother.
( mistaspakkaman and the inedible shifting caterpillars, Thu 11 Sep 2008, 16:41, Reply)

@Spakka
I don't think he was being patient. I think he was enjoying making them feel small.


After all, what's the point of a wound unless you can pour salt there?
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Thu 11 Sep 2008, 16:44, Reply)

I was in Thermodynamics class at the time.
I emerged from class to find my friend waiting for me outside in a state of agitation, to say the least. When I finally got the story from him my blood ran cold, as I had friends and family in that area at the time.

It was days before I managed to confirm that they were all okay.

It's a very good thing that I was not in charge at the time, or Afghanistan would be an expanse of glass right now.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Thu 11 Sep 2008, 16:53, Reply)

@trl
is that not why folk have issue with Americans?
(bazmorningstar efil4nat3b, Thu 11 Sep 2008, 16:55, Reply)

Perhaps.
As I said, it was a good thing I was not in power at the time.

That said, it would have helped to stop a lot of the subsequent horseshit if we had swatted them once, hard.

Sorry, I'm in a bit of a temper today. Rationality will return soon, I'm sure.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Thu 11 Sep 2008, 17:06, Reply)

hurrah for rationality!
See, what you need is for Afghanistan or Pakistan or any of the countries your lot are 'saving' to participate in a sport your country also plays. Then you can gloat when they lose. Last night was a bad night for Ireland. England beat Croatia 4-1. Still, they'll trip themselves up next match with their giant heads as they proclaim 'Englands glorys days are here again' and 'It's just like 66'. That way, nobody dies and pints are shared over schadenfreude and cigarettes.
(bazmorningstar efil4nat3b, Thu 11 Sep 2008, 17:13, Reply)

@Enzyme
Your brother sounds cool.


As for me: I was getting ready to celebrate my 19th birthday, whilst packing to move down to London for uni.
(The Empress it seems you CAN polish a turd!, Thu 11 Sep 2008, 17:27, Reply)

I thought
"Maybe those families in the States who financially support the IRA whilst they're blowing up our shopping centres and mortaring our airports will stop now."

And they did.

/cold
( Kroney, Thu 11 Sep 2008, 17:30, Reply)

Visiting..
A really good friend in hospital who'd beed medevac'd home from a holiday. Private room and a big tv. He was feeling quite chipper and we had a few belly laughs until the footage came on. We sat in silence as the story unfolded.
I made one comment "Bin Laden finally did it then"*

At the time that was a throw-away line from me.

But, as the subsequent days went by and Al Quaeda and Bin Laden's name were bandied about more and more, he finally called me and asked "How the hell I knew"?

I maintained a mysterious aloofness from the question. He now thinks I'm a spy.

*I had been following the radio 4 coverage about the middle east and Afghanistan for some time and the names were familiar to me.
(Captain Placid 24/7 ball gags, brownie mix and clown porn, Thu 11 Sep 2008, 18:37, Reply)

I'd just woken up (California is 3 hours behind NY)
and was staring at the TV, and then watched as the 2nd plane hit.
Went into work, and someone brought in a spare TV and we just spent all day watching the footage.
Got loads of emails and phone calls from England asking if I was ok (Hello, people, wrong side of the country!).

It was also the night I had my first girl on girl encounter.
( Batshitmentalist is sane for once, Thu 11 Sep 2008, 18:46, Reply)

I've spent the past seven years
trying to push it out of my mind, honestly. I don't want to spend the day thinking about it- but the rest of the world won't give me that option, it seems.

Fuck.

I know about all the shit leading up to it. I know what the US has been doing over there in an effort to keep some control over the oil supply. I know why there's so much resentment of the US.

What I don't understand is why anyone would think it acceptable to kill civilian bystanders who had NOTHING to do with it.

Yet if that's the way they prefer to wage war, so be it. I've come to the conclusion that the civilian population of the West has been so concerned with trying to soothe their feelings that we've swung too far the other way. They wish to attack up? One glowing crater where there used to be a town. They blow up buses? Another glowing crater or two. They think they can threaten our families? We can take their entire family, their friends and everyone they ever knew out and replace them with a glowing crater. They wish to hide among their civilians? Well then, their civilians had better be made of steel and Kevlar- because if ours are fair game, so are theirs. And ours are not hiding us.

They're fucking cowards, using civilians as shields and as targets, and we're unwilling to fight on their terms. Why not? They set the fucking rules. Let's play by them. I don't think it would take more than a few glowing craters to make it stop.

And yes, I'm still in a temper. Which is why I will never run for any sort of office...
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Thu 11 Sep 2008, 19:01, Reply)

I was sent home from work early
as I had friends in the area and wasn't able to get a signal on my mobile. Found out later that night that they were fine as they'd stayed home that morning to have sex :) Another guy from school died and he's now being hero worshipped on facebook which is kinda wrong as he was a tosser.
( fuck shit up the best you never had, Thu 11 Sep 2008, 20:32, Reply)

@ Enzyme and becky
Enzyme: Please pass on my highest regards to your brother.

Becky: I'm sorry for your loss, it's weird how people's opinions of the dead change pretty rapidly once they hear the news.
(Shippy likes linebreaks and doesn't care what you think, Fri 12 Sep 2008, 0:31, Reply)

In work at a printworks
Where we had just finished printing 50,000 promotional leaflets for a local newspaper where people could 'Win a trip to New York"
We got a phone call from the customer telling us to lob them straight in the skip, and put the radio on.
(turtles head is touching cloth poked a dwarf on the forehead at, Fri 12 Sep 2008, 10:41, Reply)