Open Thread Sunday — Special Edition: What Are Your Memories Of 9/11?

An aerial image from space shows the plume of smoke from the World Trade Center's destruction arching over Sheepshead Bay. Source: NASA. Click to enlarge.

If you were in Sheepshead Bay, as I was, the day the World Trade Center was destroyed, you will never forget the ominous plume of smoke, emanating from the site of the horror, across the East River, and arching over Sheepshead Bay Road. It was not only a haunting vision, but a frightful scent that I will not soon forget. The scent of the dead innocents, incinerated so prematurely, unexpectedly, and cruelly… I imagined that it was what the crematoriums of WWII concentration camps must have smelled liked.

As we remember the horrific acts of terror that robbed so many lives, and the bravery by so many that was exhibited in the overwhelming face of evil, on this anniversary of the attacks on 9/11, we’d like to hear your story. Tell us, in the comments: Where were you? What were you doing? How did you learn the news?

Also, how have the events of that day changed you? How does living in a post 9/11 world continue to affect your life and your daily routine? Will you be going to any memorials later? Tell us if you lost a loved one in the attack. Feel free to share a link to a photo of them, tell us their story, and tell us your story.

Sheepshead Bites thanks all the brave men and women who gave of themselves so selflessly that day, and we remember all of those who perished in the attacks.