Asked on Saturday, Aug. 20,
2011, at the parklet in front of Just for Fun on 24th
Street:
Where were you on Sept. 11,
2001?
David Lutterkort, Diamond
Street: My wife woke me up at 6:00 in the
morning because she heard that someone flew a plane into a
building. I watched on the news for a while. The whole thing
spooked me out. I didn’t know what was going on. I was living
in Berkeley at the time and saw the Berkeley bomb squad and
wondered if something was going on here. It was definitely a
memorable experience. Two weeks after that day, everything was
notably quiet.
Kim J. Powers, Grand View
Avenue: I remember I was getting ready
for work and I just happened to turn on the TV. I just
couldn’t imagine what was going on. I remember I was working
at the Chronicle at the time, so we were tuned in.
Viola Toniolo, Diamond Street:
I was in Bolinas at the time. My
relatives from Italy called me at 6:00 in the morning. I slept
through the first call, but when I heard their message, I
instantly turned on the TV. I had family in New York City so I
was concerned for them. We spent the whole day following the
news. No one got any work done that day.
Ryan Bowse, Jersey Street: I was in San Jose working for
Cisco Systems. When it happened, I had just come back home
from training for a 10-mile run. I used to take [United]
Flight 93; in fact I had taken it about two weeks prior, so to
hear what happened to Flight 93 scared me. And as it turned
out, someone I worked with was confirmed on that flight. I had
friends in New York City, so that scared me as well.
Joe Higgins, Day Street: I was at home watching TV when I
saw it happen. I was worried about my sister since she works
right near the Twin Towers. Her boss saw the first plane hit
the building.
Pilar Prassas and Finley, 24th
Street: I was in Boston sleeping when it
happened. I was in college at the time. My sister worked right
near the World Trade Center so I instantly tried to get hold
of her. As it turned out, no one in my family could. When the
first plane hit she was walking to her office. She ended up
running arm-and-arm with another woman all the way to the
Brooklyn Bridge. We didn’t hear from her for 12 hours.
Luckily, my grandmother eventually got a hold of her.
Cindy Mancillas, Fair Oaks
Street: I was at home in my room waiting
for my grandchildren. I didn’t have the TV on yet. But when my
young grandson arrived, he told me, “Something big is going
on, turn on the TV,” so I did. I saw the second plane crash
into the second tower and I started to cry. I still think
about it often and the tears still come.
Kate Simmons, Church Street: I was on vacation with my family
at Crater Lake. Looking back, I am glad my children missed all
of the horrible images in the media. I felt sorry for the kids
who were still in the city, because they were exposed to the
horrible images. When it happened, we were camping out in a
tent, but we were next to an RV campsite. At one point, all of
their generators and TVs went on. We went to do our laundry
and saw what was happening on the TV in the common store.
Everyone was dumbfounded.
Interviews by Shayna Rubin
