I got to my office a lot later than usual that day, as I tend to be an early bird and prefer to avoid Atl traffic. I was working at GE Power Services at the time. About a 3+ year contract. I got on the elevator and a guy said something about a plane hitting the World Trade Center. I didn't think much of it. Figured some newbie sight seeing pilot lost his bearings in his Cessna.
When I got up to my office, they had the coverage on assorted TV's around the floor and it was apparent this was no Cessna. Within a few minutes, another jet struck the towers and we all knew this was no accident.
Within a few hours, we had set up a "command center". This division of GE rented generators and "Chillers", portable air conditioning units, and we were coordinating the efforts to move equipment from all over the country to ground zero.
Later that day, I realized there were companies all over the country making similar efforts to get needed equipment and supplies to ground zero and I realized once again that America is at it's very best when things are at their very worst. It's what has sustained us and made us a world power.
Thanks Tim!
I was on MarketForum at the time and monitoring the markets, with my tv set on CNBC financial in the other room. This was before the days of electronic trading for most of us individual traders. I didn't trade in September usually because the weather is not a big factor in any markets at this time of year...........so fortunately had no positions on.
Someone on the forum mentioned that a plane had hit one of the Twin Towers. I went to watch the tv and saw video of the plane hitting the first building. I also noted that none of the markets were trading(whew! glad to not be stuck in a position).
Watching tv now and incredibly, a 2nd plane hits the other building. We had pool guys coming that day to close our pool. I can't remember any other time they came after that but funny, how something like this causes your brain to remember everything that day, including the fact that it was on a Tuesday.
My sons had piano lessons after school that day. When we tried to leave, we were blocked in by cars lined up at a gas station 1 block away. I called my wife and she said that everybody at her work had left to fill their tanks up with gas. I told her NOT to go because this was people panicking and this would not effect gas supplies. Then I called my Dad in Detroit and told him NOT to get gas, that if he waited until tomorrow, he would be the only one at the pump and not have to wait. I read about a few places actually price gouging(in other states) to take advantage of the situation.
I was coaching my sons soccer teams and one of them had a game. Half of the kids/families didn't show up.
All the markets stayed closed for several days. The soft markets for longer than that and when they did finally open for many months, they shared the same temporary facility, with only 1 at a time opened for a short period each day.
I knew some of the people who worked on the top floor of WTC-1 (not personally, but through numerous phone conversations). It was difficult for me to watch this tragedy unfold. When the second plane hit, we all knew it was not an accident.
I found it interesting how the NYT commemorated 9/11 today… they tweeted about airplanes taking down these buildings and causing the death of more than 2000 people.
This comment created a big backlash, with readers complaining that it wasn’t “airplanes”, but “terrorists” who are to blame. The NYT then deleted their comment and apologized.
It is my personal belief that this “airplane” comment was intentional. There is overwhelming evidence that explosives brought down these 3 buildings (including a very recent 4-year study of the WTC-7 collapse), and efforts are being made to re-open the 9/11 investigation.
I also find it strange to refer to the 2977 fatalities as “more than 2000”… wouldn’t you say “almost 3000”, if you don’t want to quote the exact number? An attempt to downplay the severity of this event?
While we are at it…. let’s not forget that, in addition to the 2977 victims, more than 2000 first-responders suffered early deaths due to the toxic dust they inhaled, and more than 10,000 people who where involved have cancer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_for_the_day_of_the_September_11_attacks