We haven't forgotten 9/11

[judianne]

I've been sitting here reading everyone's words - and quietly crying. I'm a native New Yorker living in NJ for 31 years now. So many in our area were affected by this attack. My DH helped stop those in '93 who wanted to explode the tunnels, etc in NY, but they found more willing victims to do their dirty work. I'm just so thankful that on 9/11 he wasn't working in NY any longer.

There were cars left at RR stations for days...the cops taking down plate numbers to see who was missing. My son's dearest college friend was killed (Cantor Fitgerald lost everyone at work that day) - and witnessing and hearing his grief as he came downstairs and saw the TV pictures.

I remember smelling the smoke in my backyard as it drifted across Raritan Bay from lower Manhattan ...going to the bay and seeing the smoke ...seeing the fighter planes as they wheeled and turned over our house, flying CAP over NYC ...and hearing none of the normal air traffic from the airports. No one honked their car horns for the longest time...it was as if everyone was sleepwalking their way through life.

 

My thoughts and prayers are with all who have been affected by this - directly or indirectly.

 

I also wrote a short piece on 9/11 here: www.judithsdesk.blogspot.com

[darski]

 

I also wrote a short piece on 9/11 here: www.judithsdesk.blogspot.com

 

I really like this part from your blog and I agree with it.

I don't want to get over this; I don't want anyone to forget the pain and horror that we went through that day and the pain that the families and friends of those who were so brutally taken from them still experience.

 

I too try to keep in touch with the horror and the pain we saw then. it would be disrespectful to just "get over it".

[judianne]

Thanks so much, Darski:manyheart

[ErinLindsey]

I have a silver bracelet that I wear every year on 9-11.

 

The bracelet has an American flag on it, and the name of an FDNY firefighter, and the name of his ladder company engraved on it. (Firefighter George DiPasquale, FDNY Ladder 2. His ladder company was located in Manhattan)

 

I wear it for the day every year on 9-11 to remember him. I never met him, never heard of him until I got my bracelet. I did Google him when I first got the bracelet. I know he was married. He had a daughter named Georgia Rose who was probably only about 2 when her father died, he was 33, his nickname was "Holy Man". His 9th wedding anniversary would have been on 9-12, and he would have been 34yrs old on Sept 23rd of that year.

 

He died when Tower 2 collapsed. Firefighter DiPasquale's body was never found (that I know of) Seven other firefighters from his ladder company died with him, along with 3 firefighters from Battalion 8 (they were all stationed at the same fire house) From what I've read, he and his ladder company were apparently attempting to climb the stairs in Tower 2 to help the people trapped at the top when the building collapsed.

 

So, I'm wearing the bracelet with his name on it, and I'm hoping that someone will see the bracelet today and ask me about it so that I can tell them about FireFighter DiPasquale's life (what little I know about him), so that other people will remember him too. I know his family does, but I think it would be nice for others to remember him too, and dont forget the other 342 firefighters that died in the Towers that day either.

 

As for what I remember of THAT day. I live in Omaha, Nebraska. I had worked the night before at WalMart. I slept till about 1130am (CST) that morning. First thing I did that morning was turn on the tv. First thing I saw on the tv that morning was video of Tower 2 collapsing. (it was about an hour or two after it'd happened)

 

Then I read the headline on the screen. It said that the country had been attacked, the WTC was gone, an unknown number of people killed and that an airplane had crashed into the Pentagon.

 

I went downstairs to see if my mom knew about it. (my mom had a bad head injury in the 1950s that probably explains the way she acted that morning) My mom had seen the news about it, but she was acting a bit...indifferent. She was going about her day like nothing had happened.

 

I called my dad, he's a CRNA (Nurse Anesthetist) at the local hospital. He calmed me down a bit. A little while later, my mom started to complain of chest pains (she has acid reflux and has had ulcers before) So, I had to call my dad and see what he wanted me to do with mom. I ended up having to drive her downtown to the hospital he works at to drop her off at the ER. My dad asked me what the news was like when I got there to drop off my mom. I told him that I'd heard on the news on the way there that part of the Pentagon had collapsed, and that they were saying there were 343 firefighters missing.

 

I went home, got ready for work (I was late) and heard on the news that President Bush was landing at Offutt AFB (air force base that's in the city of Bellevue just next door to Omaha)

 

I left for work a little around 3pm and on my way there, saw a big airplane in the sky flying over the WM I worked at. I was a bit freaked for a second until I realized that it was Air Force One. His Air Force escort met up with AF1 right above the WM I worked at. I felt a lot better when I saw those fighter jets. Felt safe knowing that I lived close to an Air Force base.

 

I got to work, and the girl I worked with was a <bad word> and kept <bad word>ing at me because I was late. (gosh, sorry, had to take mom to the ER because of chest pains)

 

The store manager asked me to come up to the front of the store and take over for the girl who was walking around the store wearing a hat that had American flags all over it, carrying a bucket to put Red Cross donations in.

 

Later, my department manager asked me to figure out something that we could make to sell for Red Cross donations. I figured out a simple pin that I could crochet with yarn and put safety pins on. This is the one and only time I was truly paid to crochet. I sat at the front of the store and crocheted pins for 3 days. I taught another girl to make the pins for when I went on break. We raised (I think) $3000 and the WM matched the amount of money we raised. So the Red Cross got a $6000 donation from our store.

 

I remember the day after the attacks, we had a mandatory meeting in the front of the store. I was sitting there looking at my boxcutter the entire meeting. Totally freaked out that boxcutters were used to take over the airplanes. My department manager took my boxcutter and told me to not worry about working my shift in the craft department and that's why I sat in the front of the store for 3 days working on those pins.

[judianne]

Erin, thank you for sharing...and for wearing the bracelet. I think it's such a comfort to their families knowing that even strangers care and remember. Those fighter planes in the sky were such a comfort...yet, to me, also a frightening sight since we still weren't sure what might happen next.

Hugs:manyheart

[01buckler15]

When I was able to get home and watch the news I just stood staring at the TV. My son was 19 months old so I didn't want to cry in front of him. I was at school and as soon as I could I got on the computer in the library to see about it. I just kept on thinking, "this looks like a movie. It can't be real!" Wow. I still cry about it sometimes, thinking about how many people were lost, and how many more were affected. It's a day I will NEVER forget.

[Crocus58]

Thank you Darski -

 

This thread has me sitting here in tears.

 

911 - a number that we always remember, now a day we can never forget.

[judianne]

The biggest miracle: those towers normally held 25,000 people on any given workday...

[Real Deal]

Buckler ~ you are absolutely right. It did look like this had to be a movie, only it wasn't. We actually live in the same world with BARBARIANS who do things like that. And not all the barbarians are out in a desert somewhere. Some of them are on Wall St. Excuse me for saying so, but they are.

 

The really evil people are getting pretty bold, so you have to stay strong and stay in your integrity. And crochet of course.

 

I remember seeing a square called Fallen Hero. I don't know who did it, but it's red, white and blue, and I liked it. I think it would be a nice memorial square. I'll see if I can find it, unless anyone out there knows. I don't care for a lot of patriotic stuff, but this square I liked. I wonder if the designer would mind having it used as a 911 memorial square?

 

Real Deal

[Navymomx2]

Buckler ~ you are absolutely right. It did look like this had to be a movie, only it wasn't. We actually live in the same world with BARBARIANS who do things like that. And not all the barbarians are out in a desert somewhere. Some of them are on Wall St. Excuse me for saying so, but they are.

 

The really evil people are getting pretty bold, so you have to stay strong and stay in your integrity. And crochet of course.

 

I remember seeing a square called Fallen Hero. I don't know who did it, but it's red, white and blue, and I liked it. I think it would be a nice memorial square. I'll see if I can find it, unless anyone out there knows. I don't care for a lot of patriotic stuff, but this square I liked. I wonder if the designer would mind having it used as a 911 memorial square?

 

Real Deal

 

http://members.aol.com/elegantcrochet2/fallenhero.html

 

Is this the square you are talking abt?

[WendyLee]

No this isn't something that will be forgotten. We don't have to have big events to remember it. I am just outside the beltway in VA and we could see the smoke from the Pentagon back on 9/11. No we won't forget, I am retired Navy and my friends were in that building. We will not forget.

[Ladycrochat]

Like judianne ,I too am a native New Yorker. I just got back from visiting the USA this summer....and looking at the NY skyline without the towers always makes me sad . It is important to never forget the men, women and children who died that day. May God bless them and thier families and friends.

[~Kel~]

I was covering a 2nd grade classroom for a teacher who was stuck in traffic, she came in and said the Pentagon had been bombed, obviously some misinformation but that was the first thing I heard about not the Towers. The superintendent sent word, no TV< no radio, and no discussion within student hearing so it was like being in a diff world for the day.

 

WE went to a friend's apt that night he his fiancee, and my DH had watched all day so they sat and talked I sat and watched the tv just feeling that it was all so surreal. WE spent a lot of time hugging each other. I called my mom the first chance I got bc my g-parents were supposed to be on a plane but I didn't remember if it was that day or the day b4, it was the day b4 thank goodness.

 

I never forget this nor the OK bombing, I have family there too the windows in their building were blown out with the blast, we were terrified for hours that they ahd been in the building but fortunately they weren't

 

My heart goes out to the families of all of the victims of terrorist acts and those who did what they were trained to do and died in the line of duty.

[ErinLindsey]

My boyfriend (who I didnt know at the time) told me that he was in Pennsylvania the day before. He was there visiting a friend, and was in Shanksville the day before the attacks. He flew out of Shanksville (I think) that afternoon.

 

Got home that night and went to bed. He was totally freaked out the next morning when he found out about the attacks and that Flight 93 had crashed in Shanksville.

[Real Deal]

Oh Pam, YES! That's the correct square! Thank you for finding it. Yes, Bonnie Pierce made it and offers it for free.

 

When I first saw the Fallen Hero Square, I liked, it's hard to explain, the clean lines of it. It isn't gaudy, which is why I often don't like patriotic items. They are usually just too gaudy IMO.

 

If anyone else likes the Fallen Hero Square, Navymomx2 (above me on the page) has put up the link to it. I will write to Bonnie Pierce and ask if she minds if it is used as a memorial square.

 

Real Deal

[Real Deal]

Hi Everybody! I did write to Bonnie Pierce to ask about using her Fallen Hero Square as a 911 Memorial Square. Here's her reply:

 

Thank you so very much for writing. It is always heartwarming for me to know how my patterns are being used.

 

I designed my free squares to reach out to people, to touch lives and hearts. I make many comfortghans, for many reasons. I'm very pleased that my creation reaches out to you.

 

Feel free to use my patterns to make aghans that will comfort you or others. They are not meant to be used to sell for mass produced profit (like over 6 items for instance) but any way they can spread the love then I am happy.

 

I would love to see any pictures that you or your friends have using my patterns!

 

hugs,

Bonnie Pierce in Vancouver, Washington state

elegantcrochet.com and elegantcrochetfreeform.com

 

~~Thanks to Bonnie. We have permission. I will write back and thank Bonnie personally. ~~

 

Real Deal

[kiwikitti]

That was truly a horrible day in history. I remember it all seeming just so surreal.

 

However, I have another reason to remember, and admittedly a much nicer one. While that terrible thing took place on that day, the very next year on that same day my fiancee and I officially started dating. It helps me remember that while there are terrible things in this world, there is also so much wonderfulness that makes it worth fighting for.

 

I'll never forget that day. Not the bad or the good that came from it.

[Anoula]

I remember Sept. 11th quite vividly. I was still in college (Mount Holyoke, South Hadley, MA)... it was morning, first class of the day was studio art. The professor came in and said that class was cancelled because a plane had crashed into one of the twin towers. We literally ran at the speed of light across the campus to the campus center, where they had a huge screen TV with live coverage. It was packed and so many of us were crying uncontrollably. After a while I ran back to my dorm room and went online to check all the instant messengers... I had a few friends studying at NYU. If I was able to reach anyone I offered to phone their parents to let them know they were okay.

[Real Deal]

Anoula ~ That was so thoughtful of you to call the parents of your friends who were at NYU. This state went on "lock down" and it was pretty scary. I'm close to the Canadian border, and we had National Guard coming through. We were pretty much told to stay off the phones so the telephone trunk lines could be used by all the emergency people.

 

When we had the 3 days of NO FLYING, they meant it. Some guy not far from here at a tiny airport was an instructor, and thought it would be a great time to take one of his students up. Oh, man! The government sent fighter jets up after him and forced him down! Can you imagine that? So fighter jets were zooming around. They really scared a lot of people.

 

I cannot imagine what it was like in New York City.

Real Deal

[darski]

Hi Everybody! I did write to Bonnie Pierce to ask about using her Fallen Hero Square as a 911 Memorial Square. Here's her reply:

 

Thank you so very much for writing. It is always heartwarming for me to know how my patterns are being used.

 

I designed my free squares to reach out to people, to touch lives and hearts. I make many comfortghans, for many reasons. I'm very pleased that my creation reaches out to you.

 

Feel free to use my patterns to make aghans that will comfort you or others. They are not meant to be used to sell for mass produced profit (like over 6 items for instance) but any way they can spread the love then I am happy.

 

I would love to see any pictures that you or your friends have using my patterns!

 

hugs,

Bonnie Pierce in Vancouver, Washington state

elegantcrochet.com and elegantcrochetfreeform.com

 

~~Thanks to Bonnie. We have permission. I will write back and thank Bonnie personally. ~~

 

Real Deal

 

Thank you for taking the time to do this. it is a good square to use for this.

 

And thank you to Bonnie for agreeing.