the reality those outside do not face

ice is right, you guys who say this isn't as big of deal as it is have no idea.
Your life is changed forever. All of our lives are.

think about what you guys sorta felt knowing that some of the people on this message board travel to and from manhattan all the time. who have family there.

Imagine that feeling magnified about a billion time.
 
most of us spent yesterday and all last evening answering and calling people who we worry about and who worry about us. Our family, our friends, and our friends families. People who we see at picnics, spend time at their home, who we have known, and even those who we haven't.

I spent 2 hours yesterday morining knowing a planes crashed and supossedly 8 others were hijacked.

My father left on a plane for a bussiness trip yesterday am. I knew he flew out of a ny airport, and thats it.  I didn't know if he was ok or anything.

Thank god he was alright. His plane landed in Michigan. All they told them was there is a national emergancy we are landing now. Peple ran off the plane, New Yorkers ran off the plane as a group to the nearest television and watched the horror unfold. He said people threw up where they stood.

The man next to him on the flight worked on the 98th floor of tower 1.

The horror that we as New Yorkers face is different. Many people didn't know who was comming home last night, and who wasn't. My friend's sister, is still not accounted for.
 

My mom is preparing herself to go in. She's an RN. Medical staff is needed ASAP.  Practically no one is working today. Schools are closed. Many of which sent home the children yesterday on early relase.

Long island is blocked off from the rest of the country right now. There is really only one way in and one way out. And thats through the bridges and tunnels.  The shevles of the supermarkets were very empty last night.  So if something else happens major, those of us on long island are stuck here with no way to move.

lines for ATM's were out the door.

Banks were all closed by 11 am.

All our parkways are closed that run east and west.

Most of the Universities on Long Island have turned into Shelters. No one can leave who was here untill the airports open up.

People walked across the bridges to get into brooklyn. to be one step closer to home.

Aircraft carries are on the way here to sit in our waters.

And you can hear helicopters go overhead.  And some people are already hearing military planes also.

So many of my friends watches the buildings fall. I heard from my friend last night who works in Soho. Who saw the 2nd plane hit, from about a mile away. She watched the buildings fall.

This is horrific. Flags across my neighborhood hang half mass.

Too many  lives were lost, over a war started over land over 2000 years ago.

you're right Kaoru. This is a huge tragedy, only made worse by the fact that it is one of international dimensions. The entire world is watching us to see what we will do. And sadly, there is no right answer. We're going to catch hell no matter what we do...

You have all been in my thoughts the last two days; I am deeply sorry for any losses any of you may have suffered. This attack has left far more than just a physical hole in America, we are forever changed.

im glad your father is ok Kaoru. i was worried too, i still haven't heard from a friend of mine, i hope shes ok

I don't recall hearing anyone say that this wasn't a big deal.

Once again, some pooeple will take offense if you don't react to this as much as they, give it some time and rationality will kick in.

Kaoru, I think you stated that very well. It tells somewhat of the reality of what's going on there. And it sounds pretty damn scary. For everyone. For their family and friends.

Jesus.

I'm living in Canada and since i'm considered "outside" but have relatives "inside", i think i can understand both sides.  I have been shocked and moved by such a tragic event.  I talked to my cousin living in NY and i thanked god she was alright.  I knew right then that everyone's life would be changed.  Yet at the same time, it looked so much like a movie that i almost mistook it for one.  I think the reason why so many people think it's no big deal is because it doesn't feel real.

I don't know what tv is like outside of ny but local channels are running constant conversations with people who have missing family

its one after another of talking to those who are waiting.

have you seen my husband please call me, my son, my brother, showing pictures one after another of local people pleading with others trying to find out  if their loved ones are alive or dead.

i don't know what you guys get when watching network tv , but this is what we see.

And going back to work and class today, is going to be a very somber thing. Because you know people are not going to be there.

Well I dunno. Just the realization that hundreds, perhaps even in the tens of thousands, of people have perished in one timed blow, is enough to make me want to steal an empty plane and blow up the people who did this monstrous bull**** myself with it.

I get a lot of people talking about it. Phoned-in convos and such. I don't watch that.

Those that don't realize that this was a big event an international tragedy just have not allowed it to sink in. It could be too much for them to understand.

TV is the same here as there in NY. There are so many stories. Even where I work there are so many people affected by the event. That day I was speaking to one of our suppliers when I went into work for a couple of hours. She told me what was happening as it was unfolding. She could see it from her office in NJ.

I thought that I was in the all clear when I heard from all my friends and realtives. I found out that one of my friend's father was on one of the floors that the first plane hit. I can't even begin to understand. I don't think I truely want to. My friend told me how her neighbors are constantly walking by the phone or getting expressions of hope every time they hear a car door, hoping that their missing are not truely missing.

I can only imagine how it must be for those of you in NY. The closest thing that I can picture is when I was in Charleston when Hugo tore that city apart. Even so, I don't think it comes at all close.

My heart goes out to everyone in NY and DC. You guys have a long road ahead of you. It's not going to be easy.

Peace.

Man...wait, is there anyone here who's missing or hasn't posted yet?

All I gotta do is ask myself this: What would I feel if my relkatives or friends were in a building and it was bombed?

Crap. I couldn't move when I saw the images on TV.