Friends til the end Community Group
A group for those of us here who get more from our friendships than from the available discussion groups. A place to be accepted and appreciated for who we are. Somewhere to always feel safe and know that especially on the bad days we are here for each other .A place for encouragement and love.
People who were alive during 9/11/2001 have a story of how the attacks on the USA impacted their lives. Feel free to share.....
I graduated from law school on Sat, Sep 15, 2001 at age 24. Many families did not attend the graduation ceremony because the airplanes were grounded. I was a law clerk for a certain government agency for two years while in law school and was looking forward to a great career with that agency. However, I wasn't hired bc all state agencies were on lockdown and a hiring freeze was implemented by the Governor (kinda like the 2020 pandemic). So, I took the exam to obtain my license to practice law in Feb 2002 and failed it! I moved back home with Mom and she had a disabling heart attack about 3 months later. As an only child I spent the next 20 years of my life caring and focusing on her needs.
Lost mom in April 2023. Oddly, her last words to me when she called my phone were "CALL 911" (the worst day of my life)
25 years later, my favorite coworker quit and her last day is today 9/11/2026
Lots of life has happened in 25 years (marriage, multiple homes, complete hysterectomy at age 26, travel, divorce, death, lots of career changes). My plan is to retire in about 10 years and somehow I'm still trying to be hopeful)
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This week, I have been feeling a bit sad, a bit depressed. Since April, I've generally been doing well, so not a bad run of decent moods for about 4-5 months. The last few days, however, I've been plagued by thoughts of "what's wrong with me." What's wrong with me that I don't have a female companion now. It's been a long time since my last relationship. I don't sit on my butt waiting for...
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Twenty-five years since 9/11 attacks on the US changed things (or not).Current NYC Mayor Mamdani has released a shi*-ton of files about the air quality as it was known to be by the Giuliani administration 20-plus years ago. Turns out, yes, they knew it was that toxic. And, since people of all faiths died that day, let's not go into that, please. They were firefighters, bankers, cops, cooks,...
I remember the Pentagon burned for like 8 days before fire fighters were able to completely put out the fire. The smoke was thick and heavy and it filled the air even miles away from the crash site. The airplane that hit the building dumped over 11,000 gals of jet fuel. One mile from the exit ramp off the freeway, you could even smell the fumes nd smoke of burning jet fuel.
When I arrived at the Pentagon, the smoke was so thick I could barely see my own hand in front of my face. I was enlisted but only the officers were given hazmat suits - I requested protection but was denied due to being enlisted (laws have changed since then because so many people got sick and died from inhaling the toxic smoke that day). The smoke burned my eyes, my nostrils, my throat, and my lungs. I had to return to the Pentagon about 3x a week for the next year to help with clean up. Jet fuel had soaked through everything on that side of the building. And the reinforced concrete wall that the airplane broke through had created a brick oven and the blaze reached temperatures upward of 3,000 degrees F. It was so hot, the heat melted cars in surrounding parking lots, electronics and other materials melded together all over the place. I remember hazmat crews trying to separate debris into categories.
I remember coming back to the barracks at the end of each night smelling awful from my hair down to my toes, including my clothing. I smelled of strong jet fuel fumes, smoke, and burned human remains. The smell of the burned human remains is something I will never forget. And that particular smell tends to permanently stain whatever it touches. I remember washing and washing my clothing and the smell not ever going away. Other vets and fire fighters have complained to me that they too could not get rid of the smell of burned human remains from their clothing. And it was stuck in my hair, too.
Within a month of being exposed to 9/11, I began to suffer from multiple health issues. I had migraines, fatigue, shortness of breath, and horrible stomach aches. The navy diagnosed me with a stomach ulcer and asthma. But doctors could not explain the fatigue, migraines, etc. 3 yrs later I injured my back (disc herniation) and the pain spread all over my body. After the Marine Corps gave me a medical retirement and the VA took over my health care, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia.
Since then I have been through a marriage, divorce, and a second marriage. My current husband and I are currently fostering twin babies whom we plan to adopt. I feel like I couldn't do any of the things I have been through (and currently) without God. He carries me through the hardest things in life.