I was asleep when the first towers were hit. I watched them fall on live TV. I was a pizza delivery driver in the DC metro area. I was young. I lived with my parents. I woke up and my mom heard me, came and said “There has been a terrible tragedy and you should come watch the TV with me.” I did, and was horrified. I was of perfect age to draft, as were most of my friends. Later in the day we sat around doing what teenagers do while watching footage replay and hearing new news. If there was a war would there be a draft? If there was a war would any of us enlist? If we were drafted would we try to get out of it? We called friends, we tried to make sure everyone we knew was okay.
My older brother almost bought a ticket for flight 93. His boss told him to fly out of BWI instead for a cheaper fare, essentially saving his life. He drove someone home from the airport, helped a few people figure out what to do as they were stranded.
A friends father watched the plane hit from essentially across the street. He had PTSD and nightmares for awhile.
living in the dc metro area, it was literally close to home.
The area is known for lots of air traffic, and seeing none in the sky was a crazy thing. Eerie quiet. Except on 9/11 itself when we saw fighter jets flying over.
It’s definitely a day I won’t forget.