jmp833,
I can't even begin to imagine how that felt to hear the things you did. I consider the NY Fire Dept. to be true American heroes for their bravery that day. We may look back now and try to put blame on people and organizations for lack of foresight and action in preventing 9/11, but the actions of those who had to respond to it showed the stuff we are really made of.
I was out for a bit that morning collecting on a bill when the news came over the radio , and came home to start the VCR a little before the second tower fell. I recorded for an hour or so and kept thinking - like many others have told me - that it looked like something out of a movie, that it couldn't really be happening. I guess I needed time to come to grips with the reality, so like you, I left the house and just drove around for a while. I stopped in to see different friends and talk about it. It seemed like everyone was in a state of shock and disbelief and wondering how long the war was going to last, because no-one I talked to that day that doubted that we were about to kick somebody's a$$ straight to hell.
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I saw what I guess were AWACS planes a few times at night but it was weird to not see anything else in the sky although two nights later, a little after dark, I did see a single - engine plane flying low a few miles north of my house. I figured he was trying to sneak his plane back home, but I almost called it in to make a report. Always wondered if I did the right thing, because of what it it could have been.
