the obvious question. Like when Kennedy was shot. --- i had the day off Tuesday, so i woke up at noon in the boy's bed, to the sound of the garbage trucks. I drove home. The radio in my car was set to the godawful trend rock station. The DJs were giving their account of the attacks, and since this station is known for it prank-pulling unfunny wacky annoying morning show, i swear to god, i thought it was all a joke. Some lame "War of the Worlds" type prank they were pulling that day. After their report, they ran commercials and i thought of how sick and wrong that was, joke or not. I figured that proved it, no one would run pizza commercials after that. Pulling into the house i changed to the all news station, who were running the CNN coverage. That's how i found out . I ran into the house where the only housemate left around was eating. Our tv gets no channels so he hadn't heard, so we crowded around the radio for hours like it was 1940. Then i went to the art store, where they were playing it over the P.A. I didn't actually see any footage until 6 or 7 that night, when the boy got home and i could watch the coverage on his tv. --- i just found out that my aunt is stuck in NY.

At the time it happened i was just finishing the early shift at the mill, and cycling home. I got in to find out it had all happened 20 minutes ago, the two towers being hit, then i watched as the pentagon reports came in, then as the towers collapsed. all the time in complete disbelief of all that i was seeing. i watched the TV untill 9 at night when i had to get to sleep ready for work the next day. It all seemed so unimportant when so many people had lost their lives, or had them changed forever.

heather and i woke up in cuba, missouri. i walked out to the car to get something and saw the smoke over manhattan on the lobby tv. when i got up to the room i told heather 'something's happened' and flipped on the tv. i teared up. we lay around until we had to check out. i called hal from the road periodically to check on nyc sorabjiites.

I was at work at the AF Base. I don't know if I should say this or not... but we were put on Force Protection Condition Alpha on Friday. No one knew exactly why. Alpha means a threat exists somewhere. Part of my job involves registering comp users to access the network and what type of access they should have. I give them a Cert that goes on a floppy disk for now, until smart cards come out. I had an old lady come in and say have you heard the news? A plane crashed into the WTC. Then, a person came by to tell me they went to FPC Bravo. We were in middle of NORI at the time, so I was not sure if this was just part of the exercise or not. Then they hit the pentagon, and it went to FPC Charlie. Door gaurds, etc. I was outside smoking (under supervision) I looked up in the sky, and could see the Con trails of aircraft that looked for all the world like the aircraft had done an abrupt U-Turn. I figured that meant that the airspace above whiteman had been restricted. I still did not know about the second plane. Then they said that there was a car bombing at the state department, and we had better enjoy our cigarrettes, because it would be the last one we would be allowed to have for a long time. Then they said that's it, we're going to delta. Then antoher sergeant said "How do you ever come back from delta?" We were locked down (Everyone was) in their duty stations, and only mission-specific trips to other buildings were allowed. An hour later my boss MSgt Johnson told me if I wanted to go home at all until this was over, I better go now. I left. On my way to the gate, I noticed the Humvee's running round. They were gaurding the gate with M-16's and german shepards. Cars, inculding, I swear to god, A school bus, was being thouroughly searched before being allowed into the base. I had the same search yesterday when I went back. The radio had been going nuts in the com squadron, and a man was manning an old fashioned telegraph machine, writing something down furiosly. On the way out the gate yesterday I saw 3 b-2's fly out. They were not allowed to fly training missions, because they had to be ready to deploy at a moment's notice.

watching CNbC for pre stockmarket reporting and then the whole event unfoolded.

well for me it was wednesday at 8.15am our time, my day off, and i'm planning on a huge sleep in. i woke up to my phone ringing - it was mum, she told me to turn on the tv, and then mumbled something about the pentagon and the towers and some planes, and i thought wtf? i climbed back into bed and drew asked me what was going on, so i repeated the woman's word and he flicked on the tv in the bedroom. After 10 minutes of that we moved to the lounge to watch CNN on satelite. then i started wondering about you guys and jumped online.

yeah thats one of the first things i did, come here, i did so about 15 mins after i had heared of it. before the towers had collapsed, or the pentagon strike had occured. still couldnt really beleive it had happened.

I had just gotten back from dropping my spawn at school.I already had the morning news on.I had just signed onto the net,and came to check the boards. The first plane was all over the news,but I thought it was just a terrible accident.I saw the second plane hit,but still didn't comprehend that this was a planned terrorist attack.I guess maybe I didn't want to think that someone could do something so evil. When the Pentagon was attacked,my blood ran cold.Thats when I realized the implications of this.

I had just taken a shower, and was getting dressed--J came in and said: "Have you been listening to the radio this morning?" Why would I be listening to the radio? We're under attack, he says. Right, J, I have to GO, I'll see you later. No, no, we're under attack, he says. Whatever, I replied, I really need to go, it's 9:30 and I'm going to be late. They just evacuated lower manhatten, he says...

As I stated elsewhere her in Sorabji land. I was in the Waiting Room of one of our local Opthomalogical Surgury Centers. Waiting to have Cataract Surgery. The guy sitting next to me received a call on his cell phone. "Great, I thought to myself, I have to sit here and listen to some itiot talk on his GD cellphone." He finished his conversation and informed me and my friend his daughter worked at the WTC. But, she was in Boston that day. It didn't mean much to me until after my surgury. When I heard more details. The first plane had hit prior to my going into the preop/recovery area. The second sometime during my surgury. I was later greatful that my surgury was not in a hospital as all elective surguries had been cancelled at area hospitals. I don't think I could have taken another delay. I was a bit aprehensive about our fellow NY Sorabji land friends. But, I could do nothing about it for two days. With my new eyesight and no glasses reading is a pain.

i got a call at 9 am, woke me up. mom was calling from work "something's happened in new york, turn on the tv." i spent at least 5-6 hours that day watching tv and on sorabji.

At work. My phone call to my roommate was interrupted by the usually unfailingly polite Englishman down the hall, who told me that New York and the Pentagon had just been the targets of terrorist attacks. I was like, "Oh, really??" Not believing him. But then he said the TV in the conference room was on if I wanted to watch, and then I saw people scurrying around the halls, and I could hear everyone talking about it, so I logged onto the BBC's website, and yes, there it was, it was true. My boss came in to make sure I had no family or friends at the Pentagon, and I could see he was shaken, and I said no, but then I remembered my uncle works in the Financial District in NYC, and then I felt like I was going to be sick. Like I said somewhere else, it didn't really sink in that it was all truly happening until I heard helicopters from the hospital in Bethesda fly overhead. I didn't hear from my uncle till 10:30 that night. He had been in Brooklyn at the time of the attacks and had to walk all the way home, but he was okay. Never have I made so heartfelt a "whew!" as when that boulder was lifted off my chest.

Got to work a little later then ussual that day, around 10:00 or so, sat down checked my email, and then jumped to sorabji. Saw a string that hadn't been on yesterday something about the WTC and I thought to myself oh someone just bringing up the bombing a couple years ago, and just ignored it. Started working when Steve, the asshole behind me who also is my boss asks me if I've heard the news, my response is only, "What news?" He proceeds to tell me and at first I thought to myself, sure whatever Steve not funny. Till I realize what I saw on sorabji, and then John another software tester comes over and says yeah we've got MNBC online up with the broadcast, I got over just in time to watch the vieo they got up of the second plane hitting... Thats when I realized this wasn't some elaborate joke. Scared the fuck out of me, my cousin in NY is still unaccounted for, he worked about a block and a half from the WTC. I then jumped back on sorabji to make sure that all the other people I know in NY were Ok. I still haven't seen anything from or about Swine, any word?

yeah he posted on the wayd Hal.

Ok, I wasn't sure... No internet at home, and don't get to check sorabji that much lately at work.

I was finally lucky enough to hear back from him yesterday,but Agatha was kind enough to post that he was o.k. last tuesday. He told of a co-worker of his who died on flight 93,his name was Jeremy Glick,he had just turned 31 and had a baby girl.He was a hero who called his wife from his cell phone to tell her what was happening,he told her he was going to fight the terrorist,and he and a few others did,may God bless them.I wrote a really lame reply,I'm just at a loss for words.

I hope the people aboard flight 93 are elligble for the Medal of Honor. I've heard some members of congress are investigating this.

wait.... honor for what? Wrong plane at the wrong time? huh?

I was buying stamps at the 7-11. It was around 8:55 CST, and as I was putting my money on the counter, the CBC switched over to the CNN for a live broadcast. I was like, hey this is a little weird, and then the news of the first plane. So I figured it was an accident. Too much haze and a controler sleeping on the job, that kind of thing. Got back in the car, and spent the rest of the drive to work listening to Willie Dixon. (Willie Dixon is the blues...) So I got to work, logged onto CANOE.CA for some news, and bang! the images from the second plane. That was when I felt my brain twist itself into a god awful pile of dog shit.

No, fighting the terrorists. And, saving the lives of the intended target.

they shot that plane down. giving them a medal is more smoke and mirrors. not that it matters to me.

THE UFOS!! THE UFOS SHOT THE PLANE DOWN.

no you crackpot. the Thundercats.

black helicopters in little gray men suits! the eye of thundera has been stolen! its use has been detected in the four corners removing lips and adrenal glands from cattle! fleshy tool beasts!

you kids. it was thunderbirds. thunderbirds are GO!

a choice between this bad ass or these wankers well, do the math sir.

at least the wankers are three dimensional.

the cunt next to me is eating as loudly as she can. please dispatch crew of said wankers to kill her. I MEAN IT NOW PLEASE TAHNK YOU./

Uh oh,he's starting to use CAPS again. Thats never a good sign.

Lady Penelope would not like to be known as part of a bunch of Wankers. Should that be bunch? a cream of wankers? a fistfull of wankers? hmm

fistfull works. as in, a fistfull of finger sandwiches

Terms of venery are so interesting, aren't they?

"a pitying of turtledoves." a pitying of wankers might work, too.

There's a book called An Exaltation of Larks that is nothing but a huge list of these collective nouns. Some of them are really cute. An absence of waiters. Heh. A murder of crows. An unkindness of ravens.

JONATHON LIVINGSTON SEAGUL !!!!!!!!! ITS A SMACK O JELLYFISH!!!! ARGHHHHHHH