THANK YOU! We have all we need for the show.

Hi Everyone....

Because our SHOW 19 lands on the 6th Anniversary of the tragedy of 9/11, Johnny and I want to do a Memorial Tribute Show where not only do Johnny And I remember our stories... but where we allow the MEMBERS to tell theirs.

Here's the parameters if you would like to participate.

1. You can POST your story here on this thread and some of the best ones, along with your ATS Member Name will be READ on the show. Please keep in mind that we want to get to as many as possible, so try to time the reading to 2 Minutes or under when you post. We want to know where you were, what you were doing, how you heard, your feelings, etc.

2. You can CREATE A PODCAST that is 2 Minutes or under. Again, we want to know where you were, what you were doing, how you heard, your feelings, etc. Please START your Podcast with "Hi, this is ATS Member (Your ATS Member Name). You can send your MP3's to:

dave_and_johnny@mail2world.com

3. You can leave an MP3 MESSAGE on our Vonage Voice Messaging System. We suggest that you write out what you want to say, keeping in mind the 2 Minutes or under. Again, we want to know where you were, what you were doing, how you heard, your feelings, etc. Please START your Message with "Hi, this is ATS Member (Your ATS Member Name).

Our REGULAR NUMBER is 580-823-7902 which can be called from anywhere in the world.

Our Vonage TOLL FREE Voice Mail Number for the UNITED STATES and CANADA is:

TOLL FREE 1-XXX=XXX-XXXX TOLL FREE

Please keep in mind that this is a TRIBUTE to those who perished in this National tragedy and is NOT to be a platform for any political, religious, personal agendas, rants or conspiracy theories. THIS is to HONOR those that were KILLED and those that SURVIVED!

Thanks for making this a special show.

DEADLINE FOR INCLUSION IS: NOON SUNDAY 09/09/2007 PST (Pacific Standard Time)!

Dave

[edit on 9/8/2007 by Dave Rabbit]

Okay everyone.... we've gotten a few good ones, but we need MORE. It's a simple phone call for a couple of minutes with your memories. If Springer can do it...... YOU CAN!

Don't let us down on this important show!

Dave

I just phoned in my message to the hotline


If I need to re-do it or anything, just let me know.

Thanks guys.

MountainStars Morning of 9/11

I didn't sleep well two nights before 9/11 and had some horrible nightmares about things...... I can't even discuss here.
In spite of the fact, I wasn't sleeping well at night I was getting up early and the day of 9/11 wasn't any different. I live in Southern Nevada. I got my morning cup of coffee and turned on the television set to the 'Today's Show'. I can't remember times, but I seen it all come down. There was total Chaos on the television!..... Cops, Firetrucks, People running around, and a New York Tower on Fire!

My husband woke up and got his coffee and came into the living room where I was sitting. He asked, "What's that all about?" I said, I think their making another 'Die Hard' movie. It didn't take long before we both realized it wasn't a movie, but the REAL thing.
Oh, My God! My husband started switching channels and every scene was different. One channel showed the Tower on fire and another showed a Big Airliner Flying into it, another showed people bleeding, crying in hysteria and running. Another tower was hit! Nobody, seemed to know what was going on. Switched back to the 'Today's Show' and Katie Couric looked white, as a sheet. Some fellow took some video of a large airliner coming from another direction and hitting the tower. That was played over and over and over...............

They did show a large airplane flying very low over a freeway, near the Pentagon. Someone said, "Oh MY GOD it's going to hit the Pentagon!" That person was probably the one taking the photos. We never seen that film clip, since that one time. Strangely, the Empire State Building was shown on television a few days prior to 9/11. My husband made the comment, "I wonder how much longer that building is going to stand?"

Debris was coming off from the Towers couldn't tell if it was human bodies or not from the television. Later found out many people jumped. It showed nearby residents yards and balconies cluttered, with debris. Mothers were holding their babies and looking up in terror. The faces on the Firemen looked haunting. This was worse then my nightmares I'd been having and I couldn't make any sense out of it. What in God's name was going on?

We heard another Boeing 757 crashed in an empty field outside Shankville, Pennsylvania. Just 150 miles NW of Washington DC. The news said, passengers on board were calling on their cell phones to loved ones. Most were describing a horrible situation. I've never heard of or seen so much mayhem, in my entire life. As the days went on....the news stories became more and more grisley. I couldn't imagine Hell being any worse then being in New York City on 9/11 and the days, weeks, and months thereafter....

[edit on 9/7/2007 by MountainStar]

ok you got me...............

I am calling in now, as I clearly recall 9-11 and was personally effected by instantaneous job loss.........(my job loss didn't matter to me as much as the horror of what was taking place did however)......
But sure ....I will call the number and attempt to participate in this worthy effort....if my voice is a quiver it is only because I am already a bit shaky in trying to recall exactly what I was experiencing that awful day
I will try not to cry and I am planning that this will be a 'seat of my pants' message, and I will not let myself edit what I contribute.... so I hope I am semi coherent, and give you something you can use....

If I sound stupid or incoherent PLEASE send me a u2u and I will give you a redo.......(if you want/need)



[edit on 7-9-2007 by theRiverGoddess]

i live in northern ireland
it was in the afternoon and i was at work when i got a phone call from a client (who was not famous for telling the truth) telling me about 9/11 on the telly and that it looked like a hollywood movie, he said he could not believe what he was seeing, i found this hard to believe, 2 planes fly into the twin towers, no way.
the radio was only giving the usual news until 3 or 4pm, then they said about the attacks.
i drove home from work and where i usually sat in traffic jams, the whole town was empty and i mean VERY EMPTY and that was an eerie feeling.
i got home and the telly was showing bush being told of the attacks when he was sitting listening to the kids at the school. my first thought was, bush knew it was going to happen but cannot believe it has finally happened and i still get that feeling when i see that clip of bush being told.
he knew it was going to happen but had no power to stop it and his heart stopped beating for a few seconds.....
then the telly showed the towers being hit and i sat looking at the telly, dumbfounded, speechless and confused.
then the pentagon was shown and all i seen was a hole in the building and the reporters saying that a passenger aircraft had also hit the pentagon.
all i could see was a round hole and a perfect lawn.
my girlfriend and i sat up all night watching sky news.
the next 3 or 4 days was all about 9/11 and life just did not feel the same, life changed that day for me, it was a big wake up for me..
dj sammy made a tribute from "we are in heaven" and listening to that little girl, literally broke my heart and still does today.
i still cry my heart out when i listen to that brave little soul......

peace
spliffy

I feel the need to point out there is NO "bad entry" or "bad recording" here folks, we are PEOPLE sharing our VOICES and our very personal experiences on that horrid day.

We are HUMAN BEINGS sharing a REAL and emotional experience via audio, it's something ELSE, all together, to lend your REAL VOICE to a project like this and I SALUTE ALL who find the courage to do so.

p.s. I've heard them ALL and they are GREAT!

Springer...

Well Dave, I try to tell you our story, and how we experienced it, hopefully without errors.[ I can’t do it without translation dictionaries]

I am from The Netherlands and I remember that I came back home midday’s on 9-11-2001 after my every days work.
Direct after I was home, we had a phone call from our daughter-in-law, who tells my wife with a very exited voice that we must look at once to the TV.
She said, that there are happening terrible things in America, something about a large terrorist attack.
So, I run to the TV, set it on, to watch it together with my wife.
The first images that we see was the moment that a plain hit the second tower, and seeing that big explosion of fire and smoke.
On that moment we did not know that the first tower was already hit by another plain, but we did see the smoke coming out of it.
I push the button to increase the sound level.
At once we heard a cacophony of sounds, all kind of sirens and we saw screaming people who were totally shocked, its was absolute horrifying.
On that moment we stood there, nailed at the ground and also totally shocked.
I yelled again and again, o my God, this is terrible, this is absolute terrible.
I begun very nervous moving around in the living room, walk to the window, and back again to the TV, call some friends and family to say what happened and if they see it to.
And every time I saw those horrifying images on the TV, I good not understand that it really happened.
Than came the moment that the first tower collapsed and there after the second.
I can't put the feelings that we had then, on paper, but is was unbelievable.
Our after our, and day after day, I watch this immense tragedy, and I cursed Osama Bin Laden with his al Qaeda to hell.
Again and again I said to my wife that, of course America will strike back, and knowing the potential of its army the strike will come quick and very hard.
And so it was.
I watched and followed the whole operation, and in the beginning I was absolute convinced of the right of America to do it the way it happened and still is ongoing.
But?


Remark;
I now know, I am really convinced, that after some years, watching and following the huge amount of discussions and films on the internet, about what really happened on 9-11 that those who in reality where/are responsible for this immense tragedy are not those that is told by the American government.

I was just waking up in the Midwest USA when my mother called and told me to turn on the television.

I did and found the horror to be happening before my very eyes, on live TV. It seemed to be surrealistic. I felt numb like I was watching a movie.

Just when it seemed like it was over there would be another development, another crash.

The fear on all the people's faces was shocking. The courage that those who were attempting to help the others touched my heart. Seeing so many willing to put their own life on the line to save their fellow man was something I had never witnessed before. Everyone was dirty with smoke and debris flying all around. It appeared to be mass panic and confusion, yet the level of concern for others was paramount.

I was angry and it immediatly came to my mind how the newspaper had recently been running stories about something involving a man named Osama Bin Laden. When I had read the story about a court case involving him it seemed a bit "wrong" like he was going to be a big player in something. I was angry thinking what was happening and I knew then it would be blamed on Bin Laden from the set up I had already been reading about.

All I could think is how could anyone pull off such a thing knowing that those who got up that morning to start their day could be used like that in such an insideous plot. That something so tragic happened in NYC right before my eyes just blew me away.

I was numb and apathetic until I started hearing the personal stories of the individuals who lost loved ones. Then it became real and then I could cry for them.

The phone was ringing off the hook with people calling to see if I saw and what was going on. Everyone I spoke to was shocked and scared.

My husband woke me up with "Some idiot crashed a plane into the Twin Towers."

When we saw the second plane hit, he said "bin Laden."

Shortly after that I left for work, making my standard stop at the neighborhood Starbucks. The barista there told me she was glad I made it in when I did, that I was the last customer of the day. They had been told to shut down, as had every business in the area. I sat in my car with the radio on for 15 minutes, and the caffiene and the truth hit me about the same time. I was afraid in a way that I never imagined possible, I was afraid this country was going to die. That even those of us not directly harmed by the attacks would lose our "American-ness" and become professional victims. I imagined living under air raid sirens and home to home searches. I cried on the rest of the drive to work.

I worked in a mall back then, and the drive into the employee parking lot was strange...I normally got to work well before most of the other mall employees, but the ghost town appearance of the place shocked me. There were police everywhere, and I had to show my ID several times before I was allowed in to my store. I helped the workers secure the store, and sent them home. On my way out of the mall, I asked one of the police officers if he really believed we were under a threat here in Houston. He looked at me, very seriously, and said "Go home, pack what you need, and be ready to evacuate. We are at war."

I mourned for the people killed, the firefighters and civil servants who died, their families. And I mourn still for the loss of innocence for all of us.

I see that I can not edit anymore on this tread, so I do it this way.

I want edited the following after I read my story and see that something important is missing.
How is it possible that on this tiny planet that we call Earth, there is so much hate and bloodshed for so long.
I am now 61 years old, and 9-11 is just one of the countless tragedies I have been witnessed in my lifetime alone.
Our history shows countless of others.
And how terrible it sounds, it will not end here either, or, we much change our perspective on a very big scale of who we humans really are.

Is it not so, that in reality, all the people on this planet, who call themselves “The Homo sapiens”, despite their origin, despite wherever they are born, and despite their religion, are in fact all the same.
The body’s are the same, the hopes end expectations on a good and happy life are the same, so what is the difference?
We are all people of this planet, so we must change.
It must be possible, because nothing is impossible when you want it to happen.
Who, or when, comes the spark, not to ignite a bomb, not to ignite a war, but ignite the fire of peace and happiness for all.

My story is one of those coincidence stories. I do not tell it much, outside of family.

Just before Labor day of that year I was in Albany, NY working IT work when FedEx dropped a server I was installing. Thus I got to stay longer in Albany waiting for a replacement. They let me come home for Labor day but I flew back up there from Virginia (via BWI) that week (missed my sister's wedding as well so parents were out of town). Work got corrected and I had to wait till Monday evening (09/10/2001) to fly back to verify that the office was set with their migration that weekend.

My wife (at time girlfriend) was ticked off with me traveling and being stuck up there for another week and stated, "I hate Albany" (Beltsville, MD as well) as I was stuck there. Myself, I was bored to wits end. Watched football on Saturday and Sunday watched HBO. Well on 09/09/2001 I watched a movie (very bad d-movie) about a airline highjacking. Having worked previous in a jail environment as an officer and then in administration, I was having troubles with the premis of the movie. One guy hijacks the plane with some kind of knife that came out of his sleeve (like with Spidey shoots his webs). I'm thinking this is not realistic, still I watched being bored.

Monday (09/10/2001) evening I'm in the Albany airport and bought my wife an I Heart NY shirt since she stated she hated Albany and that is my type of sense of humor. I also saw a plane land (DC-10) that had no painting on it at all and went over near the National Guard unit side of the airport. Thoughts of the movie popped in my head hey that might be terrorists, etc. Subsequently I flew back on a crappy U.S. Air Dash style plane with the overhead wing. Myself and 3 others were flying back and I kept thinking I can get into that cockpit and cause some trouble. Again my maximum security days making me aware of people placement and security itself.

I get home that evening to my parents house where my wife was house sitting and give my wife the shirt, she loved it after some choice words. I was due in Philadelphia the next day driving but decided to take the day off due to the extended travel.

Next morning I wake up to my parents phone ringing, ringing, ringing, and ringing. It is my step-father's secretary calling crying asking did I see what was on TV. I turn it on and see the film of the first tower on fire. She called knowing I was in "NY" and due back soon. Albany, but "NY" nonetheless. Also if I had heard from my parents who are due back from the wedding on the west coast.

I watched TV all day long and skipped work. My wife's work closed early due to kids at her school (she was a teacher) having parents in the Pentagon.

Very erry evening since air traffic was halted since my parents lived in a rural area south of DC. All we heard that evening were the jets making their turns to head back up to DC over us.

Other than remembering I ate General Tso's on 9/10 and had the remainder in the morning on 9/11. That is my weird coincidence story relating to 9/11.

(i don't have the time to produce a pod-reply but i can share this moment with you here in text)

hi, i'm zooplancton
i first heard about the 9/11 event that morning driving down to work in the mission district of san francisco.

i had the "howard stern" show on the radio and while on oak st. heading downtown, i noticed there was NOBODY on the streets. it was completely out of the norm' for week day traffic commuting to work in the hustle and bustle of SF; i thought "did i miss a holiday or something?" then as i tuned into the howard stern show, they were running commentary on the 'event' as i drove into work.

as i get into work, nobody is in the office. it was dead cold and silent. i went to my office and saw a blinking message on my phone. i check the message and it's my manager saying to go home and that he didn't have my cell phone number recorded as i was a new employee at the time and couldn't call me.

as i headed back home (to the outer richmond district) i noticed everyone was looking around at each other. almost like asking each other "what's going on?" or "can you believe it?"

there was an ultimately creepy atmosphere in the usual "bee-hive" of san francisco that morning. i went home and proceeded to watch he endless hours of news and propaganda till i couldn't take anymore. (like the rest of us)

during that day i contacted my father whom i only talk to once a year per his request. i called him at work and we both had a small intimate "mortality talk".

that was my first 24hrs.

-brandon

[edit on 12-05-2006 by zooplancton]

LAST CALL - NO MORE EXCUSES - You Can Call TOLL FREE. Sunday 09/09/2007 NOON (Pacific Standard Time) Is The CUT-OFF!

Dave

The last time I was in New York was September 2nd, 2001. It was the Sunday of Labor Day weekend and I met an old friend for beer and blather at McSorleys' Old Ale House on East 7th Street. McSorleys' is the oldest extant ale house in New York (heck, even Abe Lincoln drank there), and my friend and I met about once a year there just to catch up on things, knock off a Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle, bitch about stuff, yammer about politics and philosophy and kids and nephews and life and mutual friends and, of course, knock back a few cold ones.

After a long afternoon of banter and debauchery, my friend caught his subway home and I began the long walk from Greenwich Village to Grand Central Station. I could have taken a bus or subway, of course, but I prefer to walk and see and feel New York on my skin.

Nine days later, my clock/radio went off and I hit the snooze button. Nine minutes later it went off again and the radio was playing the Imus In The Morning program.
Imus was talking about a plane that had apparently crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center. Was it a passenger plane? An airliner? No one was sure yet. Did the pilot fall asleep? Have a heart attack? Who knew? I remembered the old photos of the B-25 that hit the Empire State Building back in 1945 with it's tail end sticking out, and I took a shower.

When I returned to the bedroom after my shower and shave, etc, Imus said (as best as I can recall) these words: "Well...., then this is the worst attack on America since Pearl Harbor."

I went to the living room and turned on the TV. Both towers of the World Trade Center were on fire.

I continued to get dressed for work while I watched. I don't remember feeling anything then, but I do remember that it didn't seem real. No matter how many times they re-ran the footage of the second plane hitting the south tower I kept thinking: "I'm watching this happen, yet I still don't believe it."

In that time, there were also reports of "an explosion at the Pentagon". But, I was staring at the TV for too long and I had to get to work. I turned it off, locked up the house and got in the truck. I turned on the radio. In those few minutes that had elapsed, the south tower had collapsed.

"No," I thought. "That can't happen. There were too many people there. People trying to get out. People who had rushed to the scene. Thousands of people running in and out and around that tower. It collapsed? On them? No."

It takes me about a half an hour to get to work and, as I approached my destination, and amid news of a crash in Pennsyvania, the north tower had collapsed.

If you're at all curious to know what I was feeling that morning, I think I can sum it up thusly:

A co-worker of mine and I often talked politics throughout the day. After a couple of hours of silence, she asked, "So, no political discussion today?"
I told her, "Thousands of innocent people are dead. This isn't politics, this is war."

At McSorley's, my and my buddy's favorite hangout, there is a wire that hangs between the hanging lamps above the bar. On that wire rests quite a few wishbones covered in dust. A very thick coat of dust. I mean, these wishbones are caked in dust!

This is the undisturbed dust of the past 90 years. They were placed there during World War I by local draftees. Each man placed a wishbone on the wire when he left, and took it down when he came back.

The wishbones that still rest on that wire are the ones that were placed there by those men that never came back.

New York never forgets.



[edit on 9-9-2007 by Tuning Spork]

[edit on 9-9-2007 by Tuning Spork]

THREAD CLOSED! Thanks for your participation. The show will air 09/11/2007.

Dave