To live in New York is to live with the memory woven into daily life. It’s in the firehouse plaques, the fading murals, the names etched in stone. It’s in the way strangers become neighbours.
I was at home when my boyfriend called from his job at NSA where he and his coworkers were not allowed phones, TVs or radios. He asked me to turn on CNN and tell him what happening.
The first tower had already fallen and the second was on fire. Reports were coming in about the attack on the Pentagon building and the hijacked plane still in the air on its way to DC.
The way cable and other news channels kept playing the footage of the towers falling was highly traumatic for everyone, the endless yammering by the commentators speculation about who was behind was so trivial.
Yet life must go on, I had to go teach a yoga class later that evening. I played a recording of a musician chanting a mantra for the souls of those passed and later learned about a directive from BKS Iyengar (the Indian yoga master) for his teachers to instruct students to keep their eyes open during the final rest at the end of classes so that practitioners would not see those images in their minds...
and now we have the trauma of people sharing the clip of Charlie Kirk getting shot. another heinous act being politicized to justify attacks on people who had nothing to do with the shooting...
My 13 year old son asked that he and I do a minute of silence this morning, to remember everyone who passed that day, and the ones who have passed over the years from illness that came from helping... and, of course, we thought of the loved ones left behind 🩵
Beautifully written and remembered, Jason and others remembrances. I remember the shock and sadness and then the fear of safety. I was assured by friends that air travel would be even more safe so I flew to a dog show the following month in October just to have the war announced and all air travel temporarily grounded for about 24 to 48 hours. The sky was quiet with just military planes. Fear set in among all of us how to get back home to our destinations but nothing compared to what New Yorkers experienced. We will never forget .. never.
September in New York is often the loveliest month—sunlight warm but never oppressive, skies clear, and a breeze cool enough to remind you that autumn waits just around the corner.
Having lived here before, during, and after September of 2001, I can’t recall a more flawless day—weather-wise—than September 11th. Your memory stirred my own: the light, the air, the sheer perfection of that morning, eerily mirrored today, twenty-four years on.
And yet, that beauty became a ghost. Beyond all that happened, and all that unfolded in the days after, it marked the last morning for a long while—months, perhaps years; the span blurs—when the sky was still unclouded and the air sweet. Soon, a haze settled in, heavy with the stench of all that was left behind: buildings; smoke; and people.
I really would like to share your essay and say all my impressions in the comments part, but as a Parisian in 2015 I also lived the two terrorists attacks in Paris during the year of 2015. I was living in le 11eme arrondissement de Paris when the Bataclan attack happened. In 2001, I was 15 and when the World Trade Center attack happened, I was coming back from a basketball training session. This is a lot in more than 10 years and a significant part of our lives. I'm not ashamed to say that I'm that one claiming to stop all wars and really start to build the worldwide peace.
Thanks for posting this Jason. My wife and I were living in Jersey City and working in Midtown when 9/11 happened. In fact, on that day, shortly after we both exited Penn station in the morning, the first plane flew overhead towards the WTC. My wife watched fly low down 7th ave and crash into the building. I was far ahead of her walking down 33rd St. and only saw the plane miss the Empire State Building by less than 50 feet. The rest of the day was something that all New Yorkers will never forget and signaled a horrible turning point in our world. Someday I might put our experiences that day into a graphic novel but I'm not sure I can plumb that horror again. (Too many weird and troubling stories.)
We moved to the West Coast in 2008 but went back to NYC in 2023 to visit friends and family. While there, we visited the memorial and found it rather unsettling to see that space where once there was a building we spent so much time visiting and commuting into. It was made more surreal by the tourists who were TikToking and posing for smiling selfies with the memorial. However I'm still glad we went back if just to get some kind of historical perspective and slight closure.
Thank you for sharing this. I sat and watched on TV as the unthinkable happened. So many were lost that day. Such heart ache. Such brave souls rushing into buildings on fire. We must not forget.
I remember being at work and the whole company gradually gathering around the television as they realised something was going on. I remember the pictures my children drawed when they were in primary school of bodies falling out of the building.
I was at home when my boyfriend called from his job at NSA where he and his coworkers were not allowed phones, TVs or radios. He asked me to turn on CNN and tell him what happening.
The first tower had already fallen and the second was on fire. Reports were coming in about the attack on the Pentagon building and the hijacked plane still in the air on its way to DC.
The way cable and other news channels kept playing the footage of the towers falling was highly traumatic for everyone, the endless yammering by the commentators speculation about who was behind was so trivial.
Yet life must go on, I had to go teach a yoga class later that evening. I played a recording of a musician chanting a mantra for the souls of those passed and later learned about a directive from BKS Iyengar (the Indian yoga master) for his teachers to instruct students to keep their eyes open during the final rest at the end of classes so that practitioners would not see those images in their minds...
I got chills reading this story, Sandra.
Thank you for sharing.
and now we have the trauma of people sharing the clip of Charlie Kirk getting shot. another heinous act being politicized to justify attacks on people who had nothing to do with the shooting...
The more things change…
Hey Jason.
My 13 year old son asked that he and I do a minute of silence this morning, to remember everyone who passed that day, and the ones who have passed over the years from illness that came from helping... and, of course, we thought of the loved ones left behind 🩵
I’m so glad the younger generations still remember and pay respect.
We're in Tassie. Our son is really interested in learning about our world, and paying respect where he should.
Beautifully written and remembered, Jason and others remembrances. I remember the shock and sadness and then the fear of safety. I was assured by friends that air travel would be even more safe so I flew to a dog show the following month in October just to have the war announced and all air travel temporarily grounded for about 24 to 48 hours. The sky was quiet with just military planes. Fear set in among all of us how to get back home to our destinations but nothing compared to what New Yorkers experienced. We will never forget .. never.
September in New York is often the loveliest month—sunlight warm but never oppressive, skies clear, and a breeze cool enough to remind you that autumn waits just around the corner.
Having lived here before, during, and after September of 2001, I can’t recall a more flawless day—weather-wise—than September 11th. Your memory stirred my own: the light, the air, the sheer perfection of that morning, eerily mirrored today, twenty-four years on.
And yet, that beauty became a ghost. Beyond all that happened, and all that unfolded in the days after, it marked the last morning for a long while—months, perhaps years; the span blurs—when the sky was still unclouded and the air sweet. Soon, a haze settled in, heavy with the stench of all that was left behind: buildings; smoke; and people.
I really would like to share your essay and say all my impressions in the comments part, but as a Parisian in 2015 I also lived the two terrorists attacks in Paris during the year of 2015. I was living in le 11eme arrondissement de Paris when the Bataclan attack happened. In 2001, I was 15 and when the World Trade Center attack happened, I was coming back from a basketball training session. This is a lot in more than 10 years and a significant part of our lives. I'm not ashamed to say that I'm that one claiming to stop all wars and really start to build the worldwide peace.
Thanks for posting this Jason. My wife and I were living in Jersey City and working in Midtown when 9/11 happened. In fact, on that day, shortly after we both exited Penn station in the morning, the first plane flew overhead towards the WTC. My wife watched fly low down 7th ave and crash into the building. I was far ahead of her walking down 33rd St. and only saw the plane miss the Empire State Building by less than 50 feet. The rest of the day was something that all New Yorkers will never forget and signaled a horrible turning point in our world. Someday I might put our experiences that day into a graphic novel but I'm not sure I can plumb that horror again. (Too many weird and troubling stories.)
We moved to the West Coast in 2008 but went back to NYC in 2023 to visit friends and family. While there, we visited the memorial and found it rather unsettling to see that space where once there was a building we spent so much time visiting and commuting into. It was made more surreal by the tourists who were TikToking and posing for smiling selfies with the memorial. However I'm still glad we went back if just to get some kind of historical perspective and slight closure.
Yes, it’s very strange to see the people taking goofy selfies with the memorial for TikTok. It feels more than a bit inappropriate.
I haven’t been into the 9/11 memorial museum. I’m told it’s a bit maudlin.
Thank you for sharing your story.
I’m so sorry you had to go through that. What an horrific thing to have to live through.
No need to apologize. There were folks who went through much much worse.
Thank you for sharing this. I sat and watched on TV as the unthinkable happened. So many were lost that day. Such heart ache. Such brave souls rushing into buildings on fire. We must not forget.
Thank you for sharing this Sharon.
Yes, the heartache still remains
I remember being at work and the whole company gradually gathering around the television as they realised something was going on. I remember the pictures my children drawed when they were in primary school of bodies falling out of the building.