Where were you on 9-11?

Last week I found myself thinking a lot about 9-11. With the 10th anniversary looming I can vividly remember where I was that day and what I was doing. So I posted a question on my facebook and here are the replies.
On that day we all may have been in different places doing different things, but we were all connected by one event.
Do you remember exactly where you were and what you were doing when the planes hit the twin towers?
Dawn Tiboni: I was at home when my mom called me to turn the tv on, and as iturned it on, the 2nd plane was crashing into the 2nd tower, I will never ever forget that moment.....
Lisa Dawn Wood: Yep, i was standing at the front desk at Marvins... never will forget...
Donnie Gall: on a train to winnipeg got put in the siding at lorette and told not going anywhere
Darwin Tetreault: Sleeping between night shifts my wife woke me as the second plane hit, that was a busy couple days.
Crystal Lindal: at home, drinking coffee watching CNN news like I do almost every morning...I think my coffee got very cold that morning...
Cindy Godin Hamilton: I was at home on the Navy Base in Lemoore, Ca. My sister called me when the first plane hit, then watched the second one go down. I knew right away that Dave would not be coming home for awhile. He was out on the USS Carl Vinson doing workups. It was 10 days before anybody knew where the Carrier was, and only found out because CNN showed them on TV. Thats how I found out he was going to war. The whole base went on lockdown right away. The base has the largest concentration of FA-18 Hornets, and was deemed a potential target.There was so much security, it took hours to get thru the bomb search & dog search at the front gate to get back on base. When school resumed a few days later, armed security force guarded the school and children. Tina didn’t like that very much at all.Not a fun time for us.
Valerie Moor-Leininger: At school. Went to the office for something and someone said a Plane just hit one of the towers in NY I called my mom. After that, tvs were set up in a few classrooms...everyone watched.
Wendy Richter: I was in 9th grade science class.
Amanda Grinstead: I was in 10th grade math class and they suddenly announced it over the intercom. One of my dumbass classmates said “It’s like a movie” and to this day I wish I had punched the amazed smile off his face. Instead I sat there in shock. :(
Leah Stephani-Miller: I was at my desk working. My dad called and said that a plane had hit one of the twin towers and as he was telling me this, the other plane hit the other tower.
Richard Weeks: I was in Birmingham Alabama. Just woke up turned on the tv. Looked like a movie was on with the scene burning towers. Turned off tv went into truck stop to have a shower and the drivers were talking about it, freaked me out. Sat there for a week whle they opened the border again.
Kelly Lynn Abbott: Was at work at Marvin Windows
Betti Newgard Huerd: Yes, I was at the Post Office when I first heard it, then I ran in to The Northern Light tell Terri & we listened to the horror together. How about you Ken?
Libby Rinehart Hight: At home, getting ready to wake my boys up and go to work. I was still in the Air Force then. Bryan was deployed. I knew I had to get to work because I knew it would be crazy there but it was so hard to say good by to my boys that morning having no idea what else may be going to happen. I will never forget that feeling.
Norma-Jean Johnston: I was driving to work in Sturgeon Creek and heard it on the radio. Pop was watching the news.
Ken Johnston: I had just finnished printing the Record in Fort Frances at the Times when my boss, Jim Cumming, said, "A plane had just flown into the World Trade Center." I thought maybe a single engine plane. I remember driving back to RR and the regular broadcast of music on the radio went directly to Peter Jennings, the anchor for ABC World News Tonight. T.V. took over the radio.
When I returned to RR Linda Abbott had set up a t.v. in the office. I will never forget the images of the first tower on fire and seeing the second plane hit the other tower.
I felt completely sad and empty... like someone had gutted me.
The world changed that day and will never be the same as long as terrorists are bent on harming innocent people.
The only consolation from the entire event is that all of us who cherish freedom are even more united in fighting back to protect it.
Many of the memorial programs over the weekend brought tears to my eyes and my fiancees as well.
We even went out of our way to discuss 9-11 with our kids. One of them was 3 and the other was 1. They do not remember the event, but we can not forget.
There are many of the same lessons to be learned from 9-11 that our grandparents learned from World War II and their parents before them from WW I.
No matter how peaceful we try to lead our lives there will always be some evil entity out there trying to undermine our freedoms.
We can not let our guard down at any time.
My heart goes out to those people killed and their families on 9-11 and since 9-11 defending our way of life.
My thanks goes to those who protect us here at home, firefighters, police officers, border guards, our government and especially our troops.
This weekend the memories of that horrific day gave new mean for me to the saying "Lest we forget..."

–Until then,
Ken