I was on maternity leave from work. My son was four months old, and hungry around the clock! I often watched TV while I fed him. I happened to be watching Canada AM at the time when the second plane hit the towers. Prior to this, reports speculated that the first plane crash was accidental. I now hugged my son close, fearing the world was never going to be the same again, and that indeed this was not an accident, but an act of terror.
Debra W.

I was in England visiting a friend. We were at the Gloucester Cathedral when her friend called to tell us to get to a television ASAP because something terrible had happened. Everyone we spoke to told us something different, and when we finally found a TV in the local public library we couldn't believe what we saw - the second plane hitting the WTC.
Karen DeBortoli

I had just showed up to work about 8:35 am and then within a matter of minutes heard what was unfolding in New York as the first plane hit at 8:46 am. At that time, people kind of thought that it might have been an accident. There was no way to know at that time that it was the first of many acts of terrorism that would happen that day. I for one didn't realize the impact the damage that plane made, as we all would know within an hour or so. When the second plane slammed into the other tower it was clear that these were all acts of terrorism!
Rob Dorland

On the day that madmen caused the greatest world upheaval, the greatest loss of life in one day that recent history can remember, I was in Quebec City on a business trip. I had been preparing for a meeting and needed to know if I should wear a sweater. I turned on the television in search of the weather and saw NBC's Katie Couric looking over her shoulder at a large television screen. On it was One World Trade Center in New York City. There was an angry hole near the top of the building. It was belching smoke. Nobody knew what was going on. It was around 8:55AM on September 11, 2001. I stared, listened, shook and prayed as the story quickly escalated. Producers and people from the street called into the television station on cellular telephones with accounts of horror. A big plane. A small plane. An explosion. People on fire. People falling. Paper everywhere. Could it really be a plane, I thought. An explosion? Had air traffic control gone crazy? Was it…on purpose? Then we all knew. We watched in shocked horror as a very large commercial airliner banked sideways as if to go between the buildings. It smashed into Two World Trade Centre in a massive fireball. I called my Mom.
C.F. Hicks

I had skipped first period to hang out with friends and I had to go home to get some books for my next class. When I got home, my grandmother had told me that a plane crashed into the pentagon. I laughed at her and said "yeah, right." When I got to school, I had told a few people and, thinking it was a joke, we all had a good laugh. How could a country so powerful with defence let something like that happen? Little did we know what was really going on...
Danielle Ricci

I was in Montreal planning to drive to New York City for the day. My family was visiting from Australia and we had decided to take the day to site-see there. We were watching the TV as we were preparing in our hotel rooms when we saw the second plane hit the towers. We obviously didn't leave for New York. We just sat there stunned and scared for the remainder of the day. We should not ever forget our freedoms and those who defend these freedoms.
Leigh

I was working from home when a colleague called and told me about the first tower being hit - I turned on the news and started watching. It was a surreal experience to watch the second tower being hit - live - while outside my window birds were chirping in the sunshine. And then when the first tower collapsed I was on the phone with another colleague. She didn't have a television, so I reported to her what was happening in real time. As soon as the first tower collapsed, all I could think of was that anyone at the base of tower was dying as I watched. Overall, it was a very unreal experience for me, and I imagine most North Americans watching. We're not accustomed to the horrors of war, especially not on our own soil.
James O'Grady

I'm a student, at University of Western Ontario. I didn't have classes until Tuesday afternoon in the fall of 2001. I slept late, and when I got up, turned on my computer put on some coffee and had some breakfast, all as usual. My homepage in internet explorer was set to the New York Times, and for some reason it was very slow to load. So I started checking other news sites, I like to skim several newspapers online in the morning. Again none were loading. Then I started chatting with a very close friend on MSN messenger. She said to me "I suppose you've heard about the U.S.?" A chill ran up my spine, the slightly ephemeral chill that suggests something is wrong, but you don't know what. I held back on what first came to mind, the reply "What? Is it not there anymore," instead I simply asked what was going on. When she told me, I couldn't quite believe it, but CNN soon confirmed that as bad as I had imagined it, in reality it was worse.
Michael

I will always remember that day. My husband and I were in Sudbury at the hospital for cancer treatment visiting my dad. I walked in and saw a bunch of health nurses and workers standing around a small TV, thinking to myself that must be nice to have time to watch TV; little did I know what was happening in NYC. I walked out and said: "I don't know what happened but it must be big because a bunch of people are standing around a TV watching something," never realizing this breaking news was that horrific. Then someone walked by us and was kind enough to explain the devastated news that was going on. My husband rushed to the closest TV to catch the reality of the situation then proceeded to explain it all to me after viewing it on the TV. Not that I was not interested but I was dealing with the treatment of cancer for my father at that moment. When I did have the chance about half an hour after being in the hospital then I watch some it on the TV (by then the three planes had crashed I saw the horrific tragedy of it all). Even then I did not understand it all, my husband (more into politics than I am) had to explain it all to me. Wow! What a day to remember. All those people who died, who were trapped, who were injured, people risking their lives to save others; and the uncertainty of my father with his cancer in his throat. Yes, I will remember September 11. Today my father is still alive, well and cancer-free; and today all day my prayers and thoughts are with those people who died and helped with September 11.
Linda

A friend and I were enjoying a game of golf at a course adjacent to our international airport in Ottawa. A newly retired teacher, Marilyn, was her name, joined us. Having played this course the strange and eerie silence was extremely disconcerting to us. What had happened, at the airport that no planes were flying? No roar, no low flybys, no din? What on earth had happened? We played on, but our focus was not on the game. Painfully, we learned the answers to our quandaries as a terrible story was related to us by a young man whiles we packed our clubs into our vehicles. "The world will never be the same" he stated. "History will show that this day saw one of the most horrific acts. Several planes have crashed into the World Trade Center in New York". With these chilling words, my friend and I walked slowly back to the clubhouse, heads down, stunned. We were in shock and disbelief. We entered the club, ordered a sandwich for lunch, sat down. A television was showing the reruns of the towers as they disintegrated in smoke and ash. The surreal images of human beings covered in ash will forever be etched in black and white on my mind. The racing vehicles with firefighters, police, ambulances, sirens, panic and conflicting statements kept us glued to our seats in the clubhouse lounge. Shortly, armed forces personnel entered the clubhouse and advised that all roads to the airport were closed. This I learned as I left in a hurry to rush home by the shortest route possible around the airport. I was turned back and had to follow a more congested route to get to my home. On return, the Television news reports related the horrific events, continually reinforcing the image of destruction and devastation in my mind. I will never forget this day. To the families who still suffer from the losses I send sympathy and hope for a speedier ease of the pain. To the friends, employers, and others who have survived this terrible crises I pray for a more gentler release and ease of the effects of this trauma. To quote, Joseph Conrad, "Oh, the horror, the horror......the horror".
Mavis E. O'Neil

At the time, I was a manager with a major retailer in Toronto's Bay and Bloor shopping district. I was preparing my store for another day of business when we received a delivery from Fed/Ex. The carrier, who was always so lively and cheerful looked bewildered as he told me that a plane had hit one of the World Trade Towers. it was 8:51am. People had stopped in the street to hear the radios in the delivery vans that had paused their early morning rush. And then, the other tower fell victim and I though to myself - this is no accident. How could this have happened? How many more of these planes were out there and where are they going to hit next? My customers updated me throughout the day. The collapse, the panic, the outrageous loss of innocent lives. I was horrified. I returned home at about 4:00 in the afternoon. All the talk of the day's events could never have prepared me for the images that dominated my television screen. I thought I had an understanding of it until I saw what I did, and I was awed. I knew nothing would ever be the same. Some try to rationalize such terror by pointing out that it exists every day all over the world, but no one can minimize the magnitude of what terror really is. In "sheltered" societies such as ours, terror is no less horrifying than it is in countries plagued by it. What is just as sad and heart breaking as the events of 9/11/01, is that there are innocent people in the world who are forced to accept it as a part of their daily lives. My heart goes out the victims and the families of all those who lost someone they loved on September 11.
Sharyl Valere

I was on the phone wishing happy birthday to my son when the first plane hit and we watched the second one hit also. He will never forget that birthday - the day the world changed!
Louise Febril

I was at work when I first heard about the attack. Even at lunch I resisted going home to watch the news and when I did finally see the 10 o'clock news I couldn't believe what I was seeing. This was the most disgraceful act by a bunch of cowards and anyone associated with them should be shot on sight. None of this lolly-gagging around with was crime tribunals etc., just execute them like they did the people in all the places those planes crashed.
Charles Bateman

It was the last the day of the registration week at the University I work for - a group of us was a way from our desks, in another building helping out students with registration. I checked my e-mail to find out that there would be no courier letters going out of the office due to the terrorist attack. I thought, "Oh, it's probably another hijacked plane, or a bomb - that sort of thing that you read in the paper from time to time." The next student I was helping asked me where the closest TV on campus was because she needed to watch the news. I advised her and thought, "What an eager student; it's only the first week of classed and she's already preparing for (probably) political science assignments..."About a half an hour had past and the e-mail about 'a' terrorist attack kept impatient. I decided to check out the Globe and Mail website, and saw - one cannot describe the feeling that will stay with me for the rest of my life. Today, I radio-clock woke me up early morning with a sound of a woman's voice." There are people jumping out of the windows, oh my God!"
W.P.

I'm an American living in Canada. I was at my office and had just turned on my radio at 8:46 a.m. to hear about the first plane crash. CBC1 went on babbling about some local story, so I telephoned my cousin at home and asked her to turn on CNN and see what the Americans were saying. Before CBC1 decided to cover the story, I was on my way home, knowing this was war. My officemates were more bewildered by my reaction than by what had happened to my country. I have traveled extensively and lived in other countries and this is the first time I have lived in a country where I have, since that day, been made to feel like a foreigner.
Kate Shaw

I was sitting in my College's game room watching a game of pool as the news broke across the television. The room immediately fell quiet and we watched in disbelief as the terror sung out to us from the screen. Some were not realizing the seriousness and others weeping, including myself, knowing the damage that was unfolding before our eyes.
Serena Hamilton

I was in my bedroom trying to get my children ready for the day ahead. My mother called me shortly after the first plane hit and I quickly turned CNN on. Knowing that my friends were in New York at that time and that we have many friends working in New York I was worried but really didn't understand the gravity of the situation at that point. It was only when the second plane hit and when I discovered that our dear friend David Barkway was in the World Trade Center for a meeting that the whole situation really hit home. I will never forget the pain of that day and week. It is very difficult to watch the ceremonies taking place at Ground Zero and to hear all the names being read aloud. I am reliving that horrible week all over again and mourning the loss of a truly remarkable person. Too many people perished that day in what was a truly senseless act against not only the U.S., but every single person living in the free world.
A. Barr

I had just gotten out of bed and turned the TV on as per morning ritual. I went to the bathroom and it was a few minutes later when the heart breaking news came on. I woke my husband up to come and see what was going on. To our surprise, just as we sat down to watch. That's when the second flight hit. It was a few minutes before we said anything to each other. Then it was "did you see that?". We are disgusted to see what society has turned into. We just want to let all those families whom lost loved ones to know that you are in our hearts and today we will pray for those whom were brave and those whom were left with sorrow.
Stacey Dorward

At the time of the attacks last year I was getting ready to attend my day of classes at Niagara University's Teachers College. I live in Niagara Falls and I crossed the border every day for school. I was not able to cross that day because of the state of alert that the two countries were put on following the attacks. My brother and his wife live just outside of Baltimore, only an hour from the Pentagon. I remember trying to get a hold of him to make sure that they were all right. I cried for a long time that morning. I remember it like it was yesterday, and my heart goes out to all of the families that lost loved ones.
Jessica Huffman

I was walking through the trading desk at Yorkton Securities. I walked by, watching the traders all standing at the television screen. I asked what was going on and they said a plane had hit the WTC. We all thought the same thing, huh, Cessna hit the building...then we watched as a 2nd plane hit --- we all knew right then, right there it was something monstrous and horrific. The Investment Bankers were all in a general meeting in the boardroom -- I went in and broke it up --- "You're not going to believe this," I said, "The WTC has been attacked". We all went into the boardroom and watched - no one said anything - we were in complete and utter shock. Then we heard about the Pentagon --- we all ran back to our desks, called loved ones, and I just sat at my desk and cried like a baby.
Leigh Darlington

Last year I was in Atlanta, preparing to board a morning flight for Calgary and home. My friend was going to drive me to the airport and we were in the car when we heard the first reports of the terror attacks. We stopped at her workplace and joined her colleagues clustered around a TV watching what was happening. It was such an eerie feeling as a Canadian being among Americans as they viewed this horrible attack on their country. Some of the women were crying; others were trying frantically to reach friends and family in New York. I tried to get through to my own family, but the lines were jammed. In the days to follow, I saw firsthand the massive outpouring of grief, outrage, and patriotism, and even as I felt deeply for what they had endured, I sensed that I only saw as an outsider--a visitor to their country. I could be outraged too. I could and did shed tears and donate money for the victims, but it was with a very real sense that I could only stand on the sidelines and offer my support. Many have said that the attacks were an attack on all Western civilization and ideals, and I know they have a point, but in that time and place, it was a time for Americans to come together because it was their home and their family that had been attacked...not mine.
L.J. Hart

Coincidentally, I was one the phone booking airfare for a business meeting in New York City, taking advantage of a seat sale. My wife called out to me to come and see the events as they occurred on TV, and I remained glued to the set. I have been to NYC several times since September 11th, and have visited Ground Zero each time. That moment in time is something I will never forget, as many others won't.
Paul Canning

On September 11, 2001, I had a dentist appointment in downtown Ottawa at 9:00 am. Since I was at the dentist in the morning, I did not hear any of the news until I stopped to do some shopping in the Byward Market at around 10:30 am. While in one of the stores, I heard a very faint news bulletin on the overhead radio and immediately knew that something was wrong. I asked the cashier, who was glued to a small radio by her cash, what was going on. She told me in a somber tone that two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center, and that another had just crashed into the Pentagon. I got a sick feeling in my stomach and stormed out of the store to the Rideau Centre to one of the electronic stores so that I could get to a television. The televisions in the Radio Shack on the ground floor were surrounded by a crowd of people so large that a person in the back could not hear a thing. So I rushed off upstairs to the Sony store, where a similar, but somewhat smaller crowd had gathered. It wasn't until then that I was able to piece together all the details of the news. It was almost unbelievable, like something out of a movie! However, I knew that this was real and it made my stomach turn. I just kept shaking my head in disbelief and could not join in on the conversation that had started around me. Several streets in downtown Ottawa were closed off and the Parliament buildings were evacuated. It made for traffic mayhem, but everyone was patient and kind in light of the circumstances. At home, I watched the news in disbelief and in horror that someone could actually do all this to harm other people. I cried for the victims, their families, and for the heroism of the firefighters and emergency crews. During the days that followed, I felt helpless and wanted to do something. I decided to go to the American Embassy downtown and lay some flowers at the gate. I went a few days later and spent a couple of hours just walking along the gate and reading the many different tributes that were left behind by fellow mourners. I picked a nice spot for my flowers, inserted them into the fence, said a silent prayer and then left. In my way, that was a small tribute to the victims and their families, even though I knew no one that had perished. The world has changed for me from that day on. I aim to be a better person who can hopefully help in some way to make the world a better place.
Lenka Podzimek

I was at home September 11, 2001, when my sister called and informed me that the incident had taken place. I sat in front of the TV most of the morning frozen. About lunch time I took a lunch and sat on the bank of Cape Spear looking out over the Atlantic Ocean and watched the overseas flights coming in to land at St. John's Airport in Newfoundland. It was a beautiful sunny day and it was like watching something on a movie screen. Every fifteen minutes or so I could see another and another plane coming in to land. That night was the opening meeting for our ladies church group, and our meeting was shortened so that we could make sandwiches to bring to the stadium for the passengers of the flights that had arrived unexpectedly. Shortly after retiring for the night I received a call that our church would be taking some of the passengers and was called on for bedding, cots, air mattresses etc. to try and make the passengers comfortable. After collecting supplies from friends and neighbours we set up our Multi-Purpose Room at the church. I was called at 6:00 a.m. the following morning to find out that we had approximately 50 passengers at the church to care for. This was my working days and I had offered to take time off from work to help in anyway that I could. For the remainder of that week I spent my days and nights helping out with anything that needed doing. I met some very wonderful people during those days. We did a lot of socializing and praying during those days. The passengers themselves did not know each other so that in itself made quick friendships. Our church, The Salvation Army, Mt. Pearl, Newfoundland for those days did what we do best "Hand to Man and Heart to God" I still hear from some of the passengers and feel it was a great privilege for me to have been part of the group of volunteers to serve them and take care of them in such circumstances. My prayer is that God will give them peace in the days to come and that this world will be a better place in which to live.
Pearl Vokey

I was in my office in Sudbury, Ontario, when my partner told us of a radio announcement of a plane crashing into the WTC in New York. I told him when I was in New York the WTC wasn't built, but the NY Yankees were my team. I was a young man of 16, who had with awe gone to see the Yankees, and the new NY Mets. When we heard about the second tower, we went home to watch the TV coverage in total shock. Today, after watching the early part of the TV coverage, I'm at the same office, thanking God we're alive. I cried for the families that suffer, and will always. I'm 61 now, and doubly vigilant, and had to reschedule my trip to Ground Zero this summer due to illness. Hang in there guys, see you next summer!
Guy Forget

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