(This isn't exactly the 90's, but this forum did say recent history)

What do you guys know about 911? Do you remember anything about that day? I don't, since I was only four. Has anyone thought about writing about it? Or does it seem like too recent of a tragedy to portray in fiction just yet?

There are fascinating conspiracy theories about what really could have happened on September 11th, 2001. Some things simply to not line up. Here's a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcbGIdeNnTQ Warning: Do not read the comments if you do not want to encounter not-so-nice language that happens on YouTube.

I do not remember anything of it - My earliest memories are from 2002-2003. When I was younger (Somewhere around 2003-2006, maybe) I actually didn't understand what people meant when they said "Nine-Eleven".

I actually am going to write about it as part of a time travel thing, but that probably won't happen until 2015.

I was well aware of what was going on. Not only was I old enough, but I have friends in NY who lived through the towers. I was actually watching the news with my grandparents when the very first news blast came across the tv (all tv programming was cut off within the hour and all you could watch was the events of 911). My mom got home shortly thereafter and I remember her taking me and my two brothers into the bedroom where we got on our knees in a circle and began to pray not only for our friends, but the thousands of men and women who would be affected by the event.

Later on I made a trip to the 911 memorials. I know that some people like to focus on the conspiracy theories behind 911, and while I am willing to grant that they could be true, my family and I were too focused on the lives of the men and women lost to try and analyze the reasons for it. So, I would be able to give you the emotional side of things, and what was going on at the time, but if you want any of the conspiracy stuff, I'm not the best one to get it from.

Cool! Be sure to let us know, Balec.


Thank you for the info, Airi. Conspiracy theory or not, it was still a horrible tragedy.

I do have some memories of that day, and of the fright and terror of my parents and other adults around me. I remember seeing a few images on TV, too, although I think my parents kept it out of my sight to some extent. I was in Japan at the time, but even there, it was very major news. I also remember when I flew from Japan to the US a few months afterward, both of my parents were rather afraid and the security was more than I ever remember. It was most definitely a horrible tragedy.

I was seven when it happened. We didn't watch TV much, and I didn't really understand what happened. The only thing I remember is that my grandparents were visiting, and my parents were worried that they wouldn't be able to fly home. The airport security was also really tight when they did go home.

I remember watching it on tv before preschool. Didn't make much sense to me then. I don't give much credence to the conspiracy theories, because such theories pop up everytime something bad happens and their reasoning doesn't match the evidence, or twists evidence to far to be reasonable.

I was quietly doing my math while at Mum's prayer group and I heard them talking about what had happened and heard more on the radio later. I didn't know him at the time, but a friend of mine lost his own mother that day.

9/11 is an odd thing for me. First of all, it was my son's 6th birthday. We intentionally tried to shut out what was happening (at least for the day of) in an attempt to keep his birthday "normal". For a long time he got very strange reactions when he would tell people his birthday was 9/11. He got reactions of, "That's not funny," or "That must be depressing," etc.

It doesn't happen much anymore, which is also interesting ... it's especially weird to read some of these replies with people talking about how they don't remember it - how it's something in the past.

I realize this is a mixed up jumble of memories, but, to be honest, the initial event didn't impact me that much. I live in the Midwest, and it all happened on the east coast. Further, it didn't surprise me. What surprised me was that everyone was caught off guard. I remember when President Clinton took a moderate course against bin Laden when he was causing problems in Sudan and let him slip away. The result was the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993, the Kenyan embassy in 1998, and the USS Cole in 2000. What did people think was going to happen?

But then it got weird. I had a dream I was on an airplane and bin Laden got on the plane. I did nothing. Just sat in my seat as they took over the plane. But another passenger attacked him, there was a scuffle. A gun came loose and slid across the floor toward me. I picked it up and pointed it at bin Laden. He smiled and walked toward me, saying, "You won't shoot." But I did. I killed him. The dream made me physically ill, and I felt horrible that I chose to shoot.

I started praying that bin Laden would be the next Saint Paul. Imagine what could have happened had he been converted.

In the meantime, I had been invited to speak at a conference in NYC in November of 2001. A lot of people cancelled because they were scared to fly and the conference was almost empty. Only 2 or 3 people came to each presentation. My flight was scheduled for 11 Nov 2001 ... exactly 2 months to the day. I didn't tell my wife about my dream - she would have freaked. I was pretty nervous about the flight - everyone seemed nervous, but maybe it was just my imagination. Still, nothing happened. It was a perfectly normal flight.

And then on 12 Nov 2001, Flight 587 out of JFK crashed. I had gone to the Empire State Building for a tour, and they forced us all out into the street because people didn't know if it was happening again. It turned out to be a mechanical problem, but I remember standing in the street looking up at the Empire State Building, and thinking, "This is stupid. How does this make me safe? If a plane hits that building, nothing is going to make me safe."

When I left for NYC people asked if I planned to visit ground zero. I said no. I didn't want to gawk - to go just for the sensationalism. After all, I didn't have a connection. Instead, I decided I would go to Battery Park, Wall Street, and the Statue of Liberty (as it turned out, the statue was closed for safety reasons). But I didn't know the city well. Since I didn't know the city, I decided to take a bus to those places. Suddenly the bus stopped and they made us get off. The line was closed because there was still so much damage around ground zero, and we had to walk the rest of the route down to Battery Park.

When I got off the bus, the stench was unbelievable - choking, horrid. The buildings were still smoking and all they had between us and the wreckage was a plywood barrier. The plywood was covered in messages written by people who had passed by. Letters were taped there, and the ground was covered with flowers and teddy bears. Tears came to my eyes. I paused for a moment, read a few of the messages, and then just put my head down and hurried on to Battery Park.

I made sure to check a map so I could get back without having to go by it a second time. I don't know what it was supposed to mean. It doesn't seem anything ever came of the dream, so I don't know what I would write.

Thank you for sharing that, Resha.

*can't wait until she returns to her normal Airianna self *

Wow. Thank you for sharing, Resha. I was only ten when it happened and frankly, I do not remember much except watching some of it on the news. I didn't really understand what was going on and didn't understand until a couple of years later. It is sad that people do not remember it. If they were old enough to understand, they should never, never forget. 9//11 was a warning and a tragedy. We should never forget what happened. Especially now in light of the Boston Marathon bombings.

Well, I'm from England so it's bound to be different for me. I was about 11, 12 so I remember it, but I don't remember much about it really. I remember watching the television footage with my Mother. I don't remember what my thoughts were and things like that, but I know that so many people mourned that day, all over the world I think.

9/11 is definitely something that should never be forgotten, those brave men and women who risked their lives to save others should be remembered, as should the many who lost their lives that day.

As for all the conspiracy theories, I tend to shy away from them. There are so many people who try to make up theories surrounding any tragedy these days, it's very hard to work out what is right and what is made up. I've heard a lot of different theories, and talked over them with people, I just don't really know what to make of them though.

Yes, thank you for sharing, Resha.

I think I probably don't remember it only because I was so young. I was four when it happened. Had I been ten, I would have certainly have remembered it.

Yes, it is indeed a horrible tragedy and we need to be respectful of that. Sometimes, though, by examining the events and the things that did not make sense it can be prevented from happening again.