A day of Rememberence.

On September 11, 2001 the world changed. The United States is a young nation. As such, we are not accustomed to German tanks rolling through our cities, Mongol hordes destroying our villages, or living under the yoke of the Roman Empire. Our bloodiest war, the Civil War was self-inflicted. All wars since have been "over there". Our nations collective memory had no real reference for the events of September 11, 2001. As the world unraveled around us, we realized that we were at war.

Today we present the story of the Georgia's bloggers on September 11, 2001. While many of these publications did not yet exist, the people who write for them did. While this is this story- it is also the story of our Nation, and what thrust us into war. It is the story of one day in the life of the American people, it's cost and our spirit. Please feel free to add your own remeberences in the comments.

6:00 a.m.

"I rolled out of bed, like it was any other morning, to start my commute to Sears Corporate." George Dienhart

"Already out of the shower, getting ready for another day." Obi's Sister

7:00 a.m.
American Airlines Flight 11, Boeing 767 with 92 people on board, takes off from Boston's Logan International Airport for Los Angeles. (Foxnews.com)

"Herding cats - that's code for getting kids ready for school." Obi's Sister

7:15 a.m.

"Traffic to Hoffman Estates seemed light that day- I remember hoping that this would be a sign of a good day."- George Dienhart

"Out the door, traffic is moderate, I'll be a little early today! What a beautiful day - the sky is so blue. A perfect early fall day." Obi's Sister

7:21 a..m.
American Airlines Flight 77, Boeing 757 with 64 people on board, takes off from Washington Dulles International Airport for Los Angeles. (Foxnews.com)

7:30 a.m.

"My alarm went off as it usually did every morning so that I could get ready for my PT job that began at 10:00. This morning I was by myself because my husband was working up in Spartanburg, S.C." - Linda Powell

7:40 a.m.
Federal Aviation Administration notifies North American Aerospace Defense Command's Northeast Air Defense Sector about suspected hijacking of American Flight 11. (Foxnews.com)

In the shower, taking my time since I didn't have to share the bathroom this morning. I remember being quite happy about that. - Linda Powell

"Rolling into the parking garage at the Inforum; for once, a non-issue commute." Obi's Sister

7:41 a.m.
United Air Lines Flight 93, Boeing 757 with 44 people on board, takes off from Newark International Airport for San Francisco. (Foxnews.com)

7:43 a.m.
FAA notifies NORAD's Northeast Air Defense Sector about suspected hijacking of United Flight 175. (Foxnews.com)

"Stop at the cafe to pick up some coffee on the way to the escalators. Check with the husband; kids are at school. My daughter tells me later that day, that the TVs were on all day at school, no classwork at all. She was a high school freshman." Obi's Sister

7:45 a.m.

"I called out 'Hey Owen, I'm going downstairs to get a cup of coffee, if anyone is looking for me' and went to the deli to get a cup of Starbucks." George Dienhart

"At my little cubicle sweet cubicle, on the fifth floor of the Inforum, overlooking the atrium. Stowing my stuff and turning on my computer." Obi's Sister

7:46 a.m.
American Flight 11 crashes into north tower of World Trade Center. (Foxnews.com)

7:50 a.m.

"Sears has TV's all around the building, mostly used to disseminate information to employees. Today was different CNN was on all the TVs. I can't publish what I said when I saw the smoke pouring out of the building and heard the CNN commentators. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach that this wasn't an accident. I ran back up stairs to call my wife."- George Dienhart

"The phone is ringing. I figure it's my husband because he knows I should be up. I'm a little bit aggravated that he is calling so early. I'm trying to grab towels, dry off, and still get to the phone in time and stumbling all over myself. When I do pick up the phone, he yells, 'turn the tv on. there's something crazy happening in New York!'" - Linda Powell

"Husband calls, he's on the road home from dropping off the youngest at school. He says the radio news just said a plane has crashed into a building in NYC. See if I can find a TV. We had just moved into this office space a few months ago and the breakroom televisions weren't hooked up to the cable yet. By this time, the computers were booted up; but the news sites were overwhelmed with traffic. My boss continues to walk around muttering about 'all the glass in this place.' Meanwhile, at my daughter's high school, she sees the first plane hit. She doesn't understand what is going on, but there are kids laughing and joking about it. The teacher does nothing." Obi's Sister


8:03 a.m.
United Flight 175 crashes into south tower of World Trade Center.

"I finally got a call through to my wife. She said her friend had called and told her to turn on the TV. As she was asking me if I had heard about the "accident" the second plane hit. She tells me, 'My God a second plane just hit'. I hear the Fox news announcer in the background. He states that this may be intentional. I hear my wife start to cry and ask "Who could possibly do this?" I think back to the USS Stark and answer "Bin Ladin"- George Dienhart

"My son tells me later that day, that his teacher switched the classroom TV to CNN after the first plane hit and left it on the remainder of the day. He was in the fourth grade. Both my babies saw the second plant crash into the tower." Obi's Sister

"I stayed on the phone with my husband and we were just wondering how someone could have such a horrible accident and talking about the poor people on the plane. I guess we were naive, but we never even thought for a second that it wasn't an accident until the second plane went into the tower." - Linda Powell

8:30 a.m.

"We stayed on the phone together, but neither of us could think of anything to say, so we hung up and promised to talk again in 10 or 15 minutes to give me a chance to get dressed. I kept the TV on and would run back and forth between the TV and the bedroom and the bathroom as I got ready for work." - Linda Powell

"The tears are starting." Obi's Sister

8:40 a.m.
American Flight 77 crashes into Pentagon. (Foxnews.com)

"I'm still on the phone with my wife, I can't bring up any news websites on the Internet. She says 'Oh God, they hit the Pentagon"- George Dienhart

"Charlie, my husband, calls back and asks if there was anything on the news about the Pentagon? By this time, I am ready to 'crash' myself as I can't believe my eyes or my ears." - Linda Powell

"Standing the breakroom with about 20 peole, when just moments before a co-worker had gotten a signal on the breakroom tv using a make-shift antenna made from scanvenged aluminum foil from the fridge. We see the smoke billowing out of the Pentagon. More of the women are crying. The men are pacing." Obi's Sister

8:45 a.m.

"I woke up around 8:30am or so with a phone call from my girlfriend, Molly. I worked as a server in a restaurant and had closed the night before. Needless to say, it was a very early day for me. After spending several minutes in bed trying to wake up, I grabbed something to drink and got on the computer, where Molly had sent me about five instant messages telling me to turn on the TV to watch the news. Immediately, I saw video of the second plane hitting. Honestly, I didn't know what to think at the time. One plane hits and you think it could be an accident. A second plane hits, everyone knew we were under attack. I had spent most of the time since hearing of the attacks trying to get in touch with my mother trying to find out what she had heard. All of sudden there was a report of another attack, this one at the Pentagon. I was horrified. I saw in awe for the next couple hours watching the news, switching channels trying to learn more." - Jason Pye

8:59 a.m.
The South tower of the World Trade Center collapses. (Foxnews.com)

"My 3 year old son (having just watched Independence Day) walks into the living room just as the South Tower collapses. He says, "cool", thinking he is watching a disaster movie. My wife, already in tears, has to explain that this is real, and not a movie. To this day, he still looks like he feels guilty every time someone mentions 9/11. - George Dienhart

"I am ready now and glued to the TV set. When they show the collapse of the tower, I figure that I won't go to work; that I don't know how I can work and not know what is happening. I will call in sick, because truly I am sick--in the heart and spirit." - Linda Powell

"I left the office and had just walked into the cafe downstairs. Everyone was just standing, staring at the televisions. In just moments, the tower fell. I felt dizzy and nauseous. One woman started screaming and a man escorted (mostly carried) her out. I couldn't get my breath. How could this be happening?" Obi's Sister

9:07 a.m.
United Flight 93 crashes in a field in Shanksville, Pa., southeast of Pittsburgh. (Foxnews.com)

"My mother begins to call, warning me to leave as soon as I can since we are just across the park from CNN Center, which she thinks is a target as well." Obi's Sister

9:15 am:

"I begin to worry about Atlanta. Yes, CNN, but also the Federal Reserve bank, Dobbins, the beautiful Federal building just a few blocks away, the CDC. I couldn't calm my thoughts." Obi's Sister

9:28 a.m..
The North tower of the World Trade Center collapses. (Foxnews.com)

"I'm still on the phone with my wife, I don't think anything would have surprised us at that moment. We wonder if Chicago is safe today..."- George Dienhart

11:00 a.m.

"Both of my children are OUTSIDE, due to bomb threats at their school." Obi's Sister

"I decided to go to work after all. I couldn't sit around by myself in that apartment and not have other people to talk about everything. All of the people in the office building got together at lunch for prayer. That was comforting, too. It was hard to concentrate but we would pop into one of the accountant's offices where he had a little portable TV that he didn't mind us watching. So we did throughout the afternoon. Throughout the day, I spoke with my husband on and off, and told him to please get home as soon as he could." - Linda Powell

12:00 p.m.

"The reason I had gotten up so early was to pick up a couple records coming out that day (the mind of a 20 year old drummer in a punk rock band). Rumors were flying at this point. A friend worked at the store I was at and he and his co-workers were talking about how police were not letting anyone in or out of Atlanta ." - Jason Pye

"Husband finally gets our son checked out of his school. He's scared. Husband tells him bad people attacked our country." Obi's Sister

1:00 p.m.

"I dropped by the restaurant where I worked. The place was a ghost town. One cook was on the line and only three servers. During any down time, every employee was watching the news in the bar to see the latest. It was one of those rare occasions, outside of a Friday or Saturday night, where more people in the bar than in the dining room." - Jason Pye

2:00 p.m.

"Daughter's school finally releases and she drives home. My boss finally decides to send us home, since no one is working; everyone is glued to the internet and crying. I'm so numb - I go out of the wrong exit and basically get lost in the 2 blocks around my building. It takes me about 10 minutes to get my bearings and figure out which way is home." Obi's Sister
2:30 p.m.

"My daughter is let out of school early that day. She is in Kindergarten. We take her home and explain what happened, and that she is safe. She starts crying. How can we make our children feel safe after this?"- George Dienhart
"Home. The interstate was eeriely empty. Standing in the kitchen, numb." Obi's Sister

4:25 p..m.
The empty, 47-story Seven World Trade Center collapses. (Foxnews.com)

"I'm sitting in the living room with my wife. We are both numb. The building falls as we sit in silence" - George Dienhart

"On the sofa, crying." Obi's Sister

9:00 p.m.

"I showed up to work, filling in for a friend on what was supposed to be an off day. I was cut around 9pm and headed over to the bar for dinner and to watch the latest news. A couple co-workers were talking about what had happened. One of them said, "I don't see why everyone is watching this, it doesn't affect any of us." Customers within earshot were pissed, though no one complained to management. Other employees around quickly apologized. I told my co-worker that this affected all of us because we would probably be going to war." - Jason Pye

September 12th

"A near panic is set off at Sears Corporate (at least on my floor) as a military pilot breaks the sound barrier somewhere above us. What could possibly be happening now?" - George Dienhart
"The next night at church the guy who typically played guitar for the praise and worship band couldn't play, he couldn't stop crying. He had held it in for a while, but he finally let it out. He asked me if I could fill in for him, which I had no problem doing (didn't know any of the songs though and had to wing it). Turns out a close friend of his, and a member of the church, stayed in a hotel near the WTC during the attacks. She was fine, but her friends were still emotional about it." - Jason Pye


"Charlie got home from S.C. and I felt much better. But everytime we heard a plane, we would stop and look up and search the skies. Who knew if Atlanta would be a target or not." - Linda Powell

"My brother's 40th birthday. His wife cancelled the most excellent surprise party she'd planned for him. Instead the family gathered close and tried to sort out what had happened the day before." Obi's Sister

September 13th

"We reach an old friend of mine whose sales territory included the WTC. Thankfully, he was not there that day."- George Dienhart

"The skies are so quiet with the jets grounded. A friend's husband who travels finally gets home - he'd rented a car with three other people and dropped them all off as he worked his way home." Obi's Sister

On September 11, 2001 the world changed for every American, no matter where they lived, how old they were, or how they voted. We became a country at war with a foe that we had underestimated, and often ignored. In the coming days we would learn that we had a strong and resolute president, and that our military has no equal. Many of us would come to understand that this would be a protracted struggle, that would be fought over the course of many years. Our military families felt the sting of sacrifice, as their hearts filled with patriotism, and all our hearts swelled with pride.


Today, after so much tragedy and triumph, the staffsof the Atlanta Politics Online and JasonPie.com would like to pass our condolences to the victims, our thanks, to the troops, and a hearty "God Bless America" to all.


Atlanta Politics Online
Jason Pye
Obi's Sister