5 ms·

I was in the 7th grade, and in my Texas History class in the morning when the news hit. We had a television system that would play news broadcasts for the whole

I was in the 7th grade, and in my Texas History class in the morning when the news hit. We had a television system that would play news broadcasts for the whole school to start off each morning, and as soon as the news broke, the administration turned those on and had all the classrooms tune in. At first we thought it was a freak accident... and then we saw the second plane hit. "Shaken" is the word. It was all anyone could think about for the rest of the day.

billti 7y ago
“...rest of the day” seems like an understatement. I was living in Australia at the time, never having lived in the U.S, and everyone was pretty shaken and lost for words for a few days (at least in my circle and workplace).
- girvo 7y ago
  My dad woke myself (an 11 year old) and my two brothers (5 and 6 respectively) up, and explained what had happened. It was all we could talk about or focus on, and school ground to a halt for most of that day
shantly 7y ago
> "Shaken" is the word. It was all anyone could think about for the rest of the day. Best essay I've read that captures the experience of the few days right after in the parts of America that weren't especially close to where it happened is DFW's "The View from Mrs. Thompson's" in the collection Consider the Lobster. Looks like Rolling Stone's got it available: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/david-foster-wallace-on-9-11-as-seen-from-the-midwest-242422/ https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/david-fost... Those who've grown up after 9/11 may not appreciate how many fewer US flags (or representations of same) one used to see on a given day, even in Red State America. I mean they were around, of course, just not quite as everywhere.