It was a horrible time for me. My dad used to work in both buildings for Marsh McLennan and as I very helplessly watched the towers burn on TV in a cafe near my work, I didn't know if he was OK. As it turned out, he narrowly missed both planes and had to run for his life to survive. Regardless of your political beliefs, I urge you personally not to take your loved ones for granted today.
R. Villanueva

My husband and I were anchored out in a cove on our boat on the Chesapeake Bay. We were celebrating our anniversary, and I was happy he had turned down a job in the World Financial Center in New York, so that we would continue to have more time to enjoy each other. My husband called in to his office shortly after nine and heard what was beginning to happen. We turned on our radio, but could not believe the awful truth. My husband's grandmother had hidden under dead bodies and survived a massacre of her Christian town in the northern part of Iran on Lake Urmia around 1900. She and her husband came to our beloved country to practice their Christianity freely and without prohibition around 1910, arrived on Ellis Island with less than ten dollars in their pockets, and proudly learned the language, worked hard, became citizens, reared a family, and practiced their religion. They settled within sight of the future World Trade Center. Today I grieve for the loss of a cousin who lost a brother-in-law, for citizens who have lost a feeling of safety, and for the innocence which disappeared with the collapse of the buildings. I pray that the deaths of innocent Americans will not be ignored by the rest of the world because in some deluded way, they believe we "deserved it". I pray that our international friends will remember that we were attacked simply because we were the most obvious target to represent the freedoms that most of the Americas and Europe enjoy. I pray that the world will not decide to appease evil animals who glorify in death and killing, and who justify killing of innocents for political reasons or religious differences, as it did preceding the Second World War.
Linda Yates

I was resting in a hostel in Barcelona, Spain when the news hit. I remember thinking that someone meant the World Trade Center in the port in Barcelona and thought, 'why didn't I hear the sound'? The full impact of the event didn't really hit me until we were able to get to an internet cafe where we could read the news in English. However, the horrific graphics of the towers crumbling translated in any language and everyone standing there in that small hostel living room watching the news in Spanish knew that the world had changed in that instant.
Carmen

I was here at work, on the early shift. A colleague arrived and told me a plane had hit the WTC; we assumed it was a small 2-seater or a 'dash 8' at the most. As the morning unfolded, the market tickers we have in our department were switched to CNN news channel as the markets had closed down. We then witnessed the 2nd plane hit the WTC's. We all thought it was a replay of the first plane but soon realized from the commentary that it was not. That is probably the point at which most people realized that someone is attacking the US with all of their fury.
Brent Smith

I was at work and had just downloaded globeandmail.com to see the photo of the plane hitting the tower. Shortly afterwards, we received word from a spouse of one of our co-workers that another plane had hit the Pentagon. It was at that point we realized, it was not an accident and I phoned my husband to advise him he would be called in to work. My husband is a Military Police officer specializing in Aircraft Security Measures and stationed in Winnipeg. Within one month he was in Trenton, Ontario waiting to be deployed overseas with other Air Force members. He was deployed with the first wave of Air Force personnel, served 6 months in the Arabian Sea area and returned home July 3 of this year, safe and sound.
Daniela Block

I was in Canada's far north in a construction camp working night shifts. The morning crew came out to pick us up and they mentioned a plane had hit the world trade center. Thinking it was a small commuter plane, I went for breakfast then went to watch the news. I came in to see the first building collapsing. I watched TV until lunchtime before I needed to get some sleep. That night I had CBC radio on for the entire shift just listening to the news trying to comprehend what had happened.
Jeff Peterson

I was driving home from Massachusetts General Hospital to my home on OTIS Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod after working a night shift. As I rounded the air strip on the way to my house, I thought it was very strange to see eight F-15 fighter jets taking off on each other's tail, a sight I have not seen since I moved here in 1999. Usually only 2 to 4 of them are ever out at the same time. I got home to turn on the television to see that "a plane" had hit the World Trade Center. As I was taking it all in, the second plane hit. I tried to reach my husband, a Coast Guard pilot, by phone, but he had already been diverted from his test flight here in Massachusetts to NYC. I woke up later that day to messages from my very upset husband that I should stay at home that night, that the threats on the city of Boston were real. As a nurse, I had no choice but to go back to work. All day they had been busy discharging the "healthier" patients to make room for trauma medevac patients from NYC. I was almost the only car on the road on my way to work into the city - Boston was a ghost town. The subway was running for free, and I was the only one in my subway car for the 30-minute ride to my stop. I spent the whole night in an almost empty cardiac intensive care unit full of nurses and residents waiting to hear of new admits and arrivals from NYC. Nothing came. My husband, meanwhile, waited on the ground in NYC for smoke to clear so they could move in with their helicoptor to air lift people from the roof or windows. We all know that never happened. Instead, he flew military officials over the decimated sight the next day. He says he can still smell the acrid fumes - it was the worst sight he had laid his eyes on in his career. Meanwhile, some of my close friends from work had been deployed to Ground Zero with the Boston Disaster Medical Assistance Team (D-MAT). They spent the first week sorting body parts, and three more attending to injured workers and searchers at the sight. The impact of their stories and experiences are still felt profoundly today. I am a Canadian living in the U.S. Although we poke fun at the egocentricities and idiosyncrasies of this country, I have seen such incredible honour, integrity, determination and patriotism as you could find in any country. Although I miss my beloved Canada dearly, I can honestly say I am proud to live among these people. God Bless America.
Sarah Montgomery

Last year at this time I took my cup of tea and turned on the news and watched in horror as the first plane hit tower number one and thought this is not normal, a gut feeling. Then the second plane hit, a large liner and I knew in my heart America was under attack. I prayed to God for America's strength for her people and guidance for the leadership that they act not in fear or hate but with intelligence and planning and prayer.
Isabel Hayes, Owen Sound, Ont.

I was sitting at my desk in downtown Toronto when the newswire service we used flashed that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. Like most people, I assumed and hoped that it had been a small aircraft, rather than a large commercial airliner. I tried to get on cnn.com but the website was jammed. I ran into the boardroom to watch TV and saw the second plane hit. Looking back a year later, it is all very surreal. We watched in horror but it somehow felt unreal. I have been watching the numerous documentaries playing on television all this week and it saddens me to think of all the lives lost. Especially those handicapped people who had not choice but to sit and wait for help, who died under the collapse of both buildings.
John

My husband and I were still sleeping and our daughter phoned us to tell us to turn on the TV. It stayed on for many days. We have a very close relative who is in the navy and is in Asia now. Hopefully he will be home by Christmas. It has been a year of hell knowing he was going over seas and we have friends in the army that just came home and it will take along time for them to forget their experience over there if they ever do forget. It is still hard to believe that so many families lost their loved ones. A lot of them were from Canada. This did not only happen to the U.S., it happened to the whole world.
M. Cole

Arriving at Marko recording studios in Montreal, I was hustled down the hall to a screening room where a crowd had gathered around a monitor showing the first tower on fire. Naturally, I thought it was a special effect the video guys were proudly showing off. I was just getting my head around the possibility of it being real when the second plane struck. Through the screams I heard myself say, "I've got a meeting there on Friday!" Someone dryly replied, "I don't think so." I was scheduled to attend a leadership training program on the 15th floor of the north tower Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, September 14-16. My thoughts flew to the meeting room, imagining the 350 people who would have been there trying to get out if the attack had come a few days later. I thought of Hector, the security guard on the main floor. And then I thought of Windows on the World. I'd been to the WTC several times and had never gone up to see the view. In July, I had half an hour to spare but at $16 (U.S.), I decided it wasn't worth it. I said, "No, I'll go up the next time." As the saying goes: Carpe diem.
Kathleen Fee

On September 11th, last year, I was traveling back from Paris where I had attended my brother's wedding. I got the first idea something was wrong when the captain announced we would be landing in Montreal, instead of Toronto, due to some "incidents" in the United States. Once in Montreal, we were asked to leave the plane as Pearson had been closed. By then, I knew from a flight attendant a plane had been hijacked and had crashed but it is only at Mirabel that I realized the magnitude of what had happened. I immediately called my parents in Paris to let them know we had arrived safely in Montreal. My mother cried. She had been worried sick, not knowing where we would end up. All the flights bound to the United States were turning back, landing wherever they could. So they had heard on TV. She was haunted by the fact we would be going to Scotland where the weather was chilly. As it turned out, I had forgotten my sweater in Paris and she was worried I might get cold. Sweet mum! My travel companion and I managed to rent a car and, together with a couple from Kingston, we drove in silence, listening only to the radio. As soon as I got home, I turned on the TV and then it hit me: The world I knew had come to an end.
Olivier Courteaux

This time last year I was on an exchange at a high school in France working on homework out in the courtyard when my History teacher comes up to me with this grave look on his face, but my French skills weren't too sharp yet. All I can make out was that there was a plane accident (my first thoughts went to the Swiss Air crash). But he kept apologizing to me saying he was sorry I had to go through this. It wasn't until I got back to my host family and flipped on the TV that I got the whole picture. I was totally shocked, never had home felt so far away, and yet I felt so safe to be away from it all. I felt so unbalanced, ended up spending the whole day locked to the TV screen, while my host family started whispering of a Third World War. I'm nineteen now but back then I felt like I was twelve.
Erica Webb

I was at work this time last year trying to help my patients to get themselves out of bed, so they could feel better. I suddenly heard a scream from one of the other nurses on the floor and that is when I saw the first building going down. I think all that has happened is very sad, but it a lesson for all of us who are left behind. It teaches us that life is precious and we should live everyday as if it were our last because we don't when we are going to be next. I pray for all the families mourning today but we have to keep in mind, that there is a place and time for everything under the sun. So for whatever reason these things happen we don't know but we just have to continue living and keeping our heads high and just pray to our God.
Andia Brown

Last year at this time I was working. My job is a permit agent for oversize and overweight truck and trailers going in and out of Canada and the U.S. After the first plane hit, our phones just stopped ringing for the rest of the day. What a horrible feeling of disbelief at the time. We had no TV's to watch what was really going on. My heart goes out to everybody that was involved, and to the men & women who risked their lives for others.
Lori
Beamsville, Ont.

It was the first day of my final year in architecture grad school. On my way to the introductory seminar, I heard from someone at a newsstand that a plane had hit one of the towers at the World Trade Center. My first thoughts were of a similar incident at the Empire State Building some seventy-odd years ago; I just couldn't comprehend that these structures weren't permanent. After a mercifully short meeting (most of us were squirming in our seats, anxious to find out what had happened), half the thesis class ran to a pub across the street that we knew to have several big-screen TVs. We sat there for hours, just staring in shock; not only was this a great humanitarian tragedy, but it called into question our chosen profession. Nobody talked, except the odd exclamation of disbelief as the towers collapsed. I think that that was the first time I've cried in a public place.
Aaron Costain

I just came over to see my parents and my brother. I was sitting on the floor playing with my dog when I saw the planes hit the Towers. I still can't believe it happened or better yet why it happened. My heart goes out to all the victims lost in the WTC I even came down with my girlfriend and a bunch of people to Ground Zero. I still can't get that sight out of my head.
Nathan Hughes

God bless America and her president. Sept. 11 is very sad for this world. Many innocent people died in WTC in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. The act of terrorists is very shameful to this world. We all remember this evil act of terrorists in this world and will not forgive and forget this day in our lives. Our good friends and family people have died in America on Sept 11, 2001.This is a black day in the history of American people. We are giving full liberty to George Bush to control terrorism and their activities in this world either by peace or by war. The terrorists must be punished for their dirty acts.
Mano

It was mid-afternoon and I was working in my office in Paris, France when one of my superiors came in and told me that the two World Trade Centers in New York had collapsed after a terrorist attack. I could not believe it and immediately tried to reach the CNN, Globe and Mail, London Times and any other news websites to get more information. All were not responding, at which point I knew something terrible had happened.
Darrel Houlahan

I remember that I was at home that day with my then 5-year old daughter. She was lying on the sofa watching TV and I was upstairs when I heard her shout, "Mommy, a plane just crashed into a building!" Obviously, the news flash had interrupted the children's TV show she had been watching. My initial reaction was that it couldn't be, that she had misunderstood some news event. I ran downstairs to watch the television and was horrified when I soon saw the second plane hit the second tower. I was numb and felt chilled and scared, truly wondering if the world was coming to an end and wishing that my son (who was at school) was with me as well. What I also remember was a reporter on television who kept using the word "grotesque" to describe the situation; I was angry at this odd choice of word and felt that it did not capture the horror and magnitude of the event.
Louise Marcus

Where was I this time last year? Well, September 11th was supposed to be the end of my first trip.... Ever. I had decided to travel through the Greek islands for seven weeks, and unfortunately for me, my flight from Athens to London was to occur on the morning of September 11th. During the flight, which was only my third time on a plane, the pilot announced that we may be turning around. I had heard rumours that something major had occurred in the U.S. while I had been in the airport, but the specifics had thus far eluded me. Eventually, we landed at Heathrow, only to be rushed by military personnel into one of the terminals. Once there, all communications were shut down except for phones, that is, if you could get to one. Eventually, I managed to phone home and heard my panicking mother describe to me what was occurring. By this point, it was several hours after the towers had collapsed, but I still had not seen any of the footage. The next day, after spending the night in Heathrow, I attempted to get a room, unfortunately, the only thing the airport kiosk could tell me about were rooms that cost over 300 pounds a night. Eventually, I found a room to share with four other men. That still cost me 70 pounds a night. The day of September 11th is a day that I will not soon forget. Not only because of the tragedy that occurred that day, but also because of the personal hardships it placed on me as well. The unsympathetic attitude many had to my situation (and the situation of hundreds, perhaps thousands of others that were inconvenienced because of that day) took me totally by surprise, and opened my eyes to the essentially selfish, and profiteering attitude many people hold within themselves.
Corey Clamp

I am a Canadian, living in Colorado. I was getting ready to go to work when my husband came back into the house, shouting at me to come downstairs. He was on his way to his office and the news was on the radio, the second plane had already struck, so he came back home to see it on television. I came downstairs and we watched CNN together wondering how this could have happened; when the first tower fell I went into some sort of shock. I thought no, it couldn't fall, people were still inside, what would happen to them? It took me some time to understand what had just happened. I will never forget that moment. Later that day we saw a clip of a local news reporter who had just started a story on the first plane hitting the tower. At the time he didn't know what was going on; it could have been an accident or anything. The second plane hit as he was talking and he forgot where he was, that he was on camera. He said something like what is going on? with such pure panic that it chilled me all over again.
Katherine

I had gotten up early in Calgary, to drive to Jasper as part of my job with Parks Canada. I was just starting up the Ice Field parkway north of Lake Louise when the news of the first plane was on the CBC. As I drove, thinking it must be a small plane or pilot error, the second plane hit, and the world and I knew that terrorism had reached a new level of infamy. As I drove beyond radio reception, the doubts and thoughts increased. Do I turn back, is it a general attack, should I be at home with family? I continued, a thousand thoughts in my head, finally arriving in radio reception range of the Jasper station. Pentagon, a crash in Pennsylvania, all flights shut down, collaspsing towers, confusion. Memories of the rest of the morning, sitting in offices in bright sunny Jasper sky, watching history and tragedy unfold 3000 miles away. In a place where I had worked in the 60's and 70's, icons of my architecture profession, heart of North American culture, my birth country. Shock, sadness, and fear. And a worry that the world is no longer improving, no longer solving its issues, and maybe is starting a downhill slide into decline. An irreversable slide into harding of positions, into use of force as a solution, a loss in the humanity of all of us. A reassessment of what is important in my life, my family, my friends, my adopted country.
B. Merchant

My wife and were taking a vacation day at home and so were transfixed by the horrific pictures on TV. Early on, it seemed as if the attacks would follow each other without end - thankfully, they did not. Today, one year later, we are remembering the senseless tragedy, hoping for the capture of those responsible for it, and praying that it will not happen again. Gavin and Debbie Windeler

I was pregnant and I was at the hospital for an ultra sound and the news was on and I saw the planes hit the Trade Center and I said to the person next to me, "Is that real?" She said yes. Then, this lady came along and she said to me, "You're not going to see your baby. This world is going to end today." I told her to shut up. On Sept. 19, 2001 I had my little girl and I'm so glad to have her in my life.
Rosalie Piercey

I was on a glacier trip with five friends and we didn't know anything about it until we got down off the glacier the following Friday. Our only clue was with clear blue skies for five solid days we stopped seeing any jet streams the final two days of our trip. When we stopped for something to eat in Radium, B.C. and found out people couldn't believe we didn't know anything about it. More than one person asked if we'd been on moon the past two days.
Trevor Dumba

It was my birthday and a special day for me cause it fell on a Tuesday, the day I was born. I was going to school with my dad very excited and as I switched on the Radio, I hear what had happened and all the excitement was gone. Today, a year later, here I am celebrating, a special one again, my 18th birthday. My heartfelt thoughts are with everyone who lost their loved ones and I pray for everyone to overcome the loss and have courage to sustain the loss and face the adversities of life. Amen.
Farrah Ladak Toronto

I was working at my local Post Office, in Ontario. One of our couriers had been packing up his mail in his truck and heard the news on the radio that a plane had struck one of the twin towers. I remember thinking what a horrible accident and what could have caused that pilot to hit the tower. When we heard the next plane had hit I knew right away it was deliberate. My next thoughts were WAR! I was expecting that war would be immediate and all allies would be needed. I was impressed with how the Americans handled all situations, the Mayor of New York and it's people, the Pentagon and it's people, the President, our Canadians and especially the brave people who overtook the flight that crashed in Pensylvania. I feel that any Nation that wants and expects freedom and a civilized world must do everything possible to help in this fight against terrorism.
Nancy Robinson

I made sure my pre-teenaged girls watched as much as they could of all the events that unfolded. From the very moment the first plane hit the first building, we were turned to the TV. They now have more respect for military figures, veterans, their country, their freedom and they understand now what the 'brevity of life' means.
Sue

I was at home with my 13-month old daughter as I watched in horror as I witnessed the falling of the twin towers, I was in shock and all I could think of at that moment was "all those people"! When I started to realize that all those people were someone's father, mother, husband, Sister, brother or child. As that moment I got down on my knees and prayed to god to ask that his loving hand is upon the souls lost and the souls that will hurt till the end of their days for their lost loved ones. My TV stayed on that channel for the next week as I prayed for survivors. May GOD have his hand on those still trying to make a difference on this terrible world and pray that justice will come to pass.
Fern M. Fiddler
Kamsack, Sk

In our small town in north-eastern Ontario I watched with great sorrow and pride as I watched two firefighters (volunteer) move the Fire vehicles to the edge of highway 60 all flashers going, flag lowered and the firemen dressed in their yellow fighters uniforms stand for quite some time, Hats in hand and heads bowed. Even though we are a very small town,no one will forget.
Patti Weckworth
Golden Lake ,Ontario

I was at home, eight months pregnant with my first child. Both my husband and I watched in horror - we are both airline employees - myself a flight attendant and my husband a pilot. That tragic day changed our lives forever, the way we look at passengers now and how we do our jobs. It was a very sad day in the airline industry not to mention the world. We watched the airplanes hit and the towers come down, we cried and watched with stunned and shocked looks on our faces. to know that this is something that could happen to any country at anytime, and to know how easily we could have the same thing happen to us. I return to work soon and will be with a different attitude and certainly a lot more aware of my surroundings while I work. What has this world come too, what kind of a world did i bring my daughter into. I fear for her future and what there might be in store for her when she grows up..
Pam Korpan

I was getting up in the morning as usual, at about 8:45 am my brother had called me from his place of work. He had told me there has been a terrorist attack in New York. I immediately turn on CNN. I watched the second plane hit! I can't believe this was unfolding! I was stunned what I was watching! I feel bad what had happened. National security was breached in the United States. I'm glad they have taken a stand, but first and foremost I really feel bad for the families that lost so much. Also for the Police, Fire, Port Authority and Medical personnel who everyday put there lives to save others. To both governments who have come together to weed out terrorism.
Mike Humphreys

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