BOP 9/11 Archive: Part One
By BOP Staff
September 12, 2011
BoxOfficeProphets.com
With these words by John Tree, one of the founders of the web site you are currently reading, our international shared experience of 9/11 began.
Those of you who are you are younger or newer to Box Office Prophets may not be aware of this, but the genesis of our site dates all the way back to 1998, the Jurassic Period of the Internet. At the time, we were a series of people who found one another on a message board forum and formed a group that would eventually become BOP. We began archiving our conversations on a fledgling service named Topica although we referred to our messages as what they were, Spam.
In the early days of (pre) social networking, this was the easiest way for chronicled communications between a large compilation of people. At the time, roughly 40 people spread over three continents participated in the list and the average day witnessed 350 emails exchanged among these contributors. Most of what was said then is irrelevant today, but what happened on 9/11 supersedes our other interactions. For this reason, we are posting the discourse for others to read.
What I find remarkable as I look back at these discussions is that I remain in contact with almost every single participant in the archived conversation posted below. Thankfully, the tight-knit group formed in 1998 has for the most part sustained its communication to this day. One of us unfortunately passed away and a couple of others disappeared over time but the rest have maintained this friendship of kindred spirits from disparate backgrounds. Given the novelty of our compositions and interaction, the tenth anniversary of 9/11 feels like an appropriate time to reflect upon how we as a group shared the experience on that fateful day in 2001.
Please note that some of the names have been edited to reflect nicknames or pseudonyms. The saltier language has been left as is rather than whitewashed to create a family friendlier read today. The reality is that emotions were raw at the time as we all desperately attempted to gather information and to an individual, our outrage was total.
The quote above was the first signal that something shocking had happened in New York City. That post went live at 9:13 a.m. on September 11, 2001, roughly ten minutes after the second plane crashed into the World Trade Center. To its credit, Topica maintained stability throughout the day, something few web sites could claim as servers were overwhelmed and resources were rerouted for security purposes. Still, some of the time stamps are questionable in that a delay was frequently involved between the submission of a Topica post and its actual publication. As such, the exact chronology of some of these posts is indeterminable.
Our belief is that John’s World Trade Center query was made after the first tower was attacked. Moments later, Martyd27 responded, “Holy shit! Take a look at the news.” And the nature of everyone’s day, week, year and decade was fundamentally altered from that moment forward.
The next post is when the reality of the situation struck us. BOP had two contributors living in New York at the time. One of them, Woody, checked in almost immediately (thank God).
Woody: “I FUCKING SAW IT/THEM.” – 9:16 a.m.
Woody: “I'm all good. Holy shit this is fucked up. I was walking down hudson on my way to work. All the sudden i'm like, "that plane is awfully low and sounds like it's losing serious altitude." Next thing i know "BANG!!!" Fucking smoke everywhere. Then i'm standing in awe outside with all my coworkers when the second fucking plane hits right in front of us!” – 9:17 a.m.
C. Hyde: “Holy crap are you kidding me? Visual contact?
Watch out, they may have been filled with a genetically enhanced virus.”
Woody: “It was exactly like watching a movie.”
John Tree: “Wow. I was mentioning to my co-workers the previous time this happened in NYC (a military plane striking the Empire State building back in the '30s or '40s, I think). I can see one plane happening as a fluke, but *two*? That close together? That really seems suspicious.”
Reagen Sulewski: “That was the first thing I thought of too when I heard the first report on the radio on the way into work. Obviously, this is very very different.”
C. Hyde: “Two makes it pretty certain it's some sort of terrorist attack...what sort of political history does today have? It's the day salvador allende got killed, maybe it was chilean marxists?”
Feathers McGraw: “I would (check the news) if I could, but every single news site is currently swamped. I got the story from someone on IM that one of the planes that hit the World Trade Center was a hijacked 737. This is nightmarish.”
Ursine: “Try a 767.
"I'm working at home today, but Mrs. U is in the Federal Building in downtown Chicago. I've got CNN on and she's got it on her speakerphone for the folks at the office; I want her *out of there now*. There's still another plane up in Washington....”
Kim Hollis: “There's no confirmation of that, but the president has absolutely confirmed that this is a terrorist attack (am I saying stuff that you folks already know?). All bridges, tunnels and airports in the NYC area are closed now as well.”
Kim Hollis: “This is absolutely terrifying. Parts of the Pentagon are confirmed on fire...appears it's another suicide plane crash.”
Feathers: “Can anyone call Petronella?” – Editor’s note Petronella was our other New York resident at the time…she was silent for an unsettling period of time before finally checking in. Our entire staff was terrified for her safety.
Kim Hollis: “And none of us are supposed to know this, but we've had a plane shot down over Iraq as well. My source on this is somewhat less than reliable.” – Editor’s note: Kim worked at a newspaper at the time and for that and other reasons, had access to some information that was not being given to the general public yet.
C. Hyde: “That was earlier, i think i heard that before i came to work. it was one of our unmanned surveillance planes (supposedly).”
Kim Hollis: “Hmmmmm...that's supposed to be classified.
*******And I so hate posting this. The south tower of the trade center has collapsed and is gone.**********”
Musubi: “Oh dear God. The world has gone fucking crazy.” - Our first West Coast staff member awakens to the horrific news
C. Hyde: “Human beings are just a nasty, vicious lot. Same as it ever was.”
Musubi: “I know, but...this is just fucking...I don't even have words. I am just filled with sadness.”
C. Hyde: “Yeah, me too. It's completely, totally insane.
The FAA has just shut down all flights nationwide.”
C. Hyde: “Damn. We're getting some reports here that one of the hijacked flights may have been out of Logan Airport, a Boston to LAX flight..
Of course, we're also in the rampant rumor phase, so.....”
Woody: “Where did you hear LAX? My mom was on an American
flight out of Logan to FLA this morning.”
Kim Hollis: “Boston is what I'm hearing, yes.
Doing much running between the newsroom and the computer.”
Lexy: “Anyone know if they've closed the courts in Manhattan? My dad is on jury duty this morning and I'm wondering how he'll get out of there. He had a bad knee and can't walk too far...subways closed...and phone service is spotty.”
Kim Hollis: “Lexy, All official-type buildings are being evacuated.
Confirmed: Three planes hijacked. Two from Boston, the third from somewhere else.
The plane that hit the Pentagon was a small commuter plane.
Again, this is all rumor, but the Boston info sounds pretty sound.”
Duke Fleed: “This is how you start a war.
This is so fucking bad.
They just anounced a car bomb outside the state department in addition to
the Trade center and the Pentagon.
Fuck, another plane has been hijacked.
Really fucking bad”
David Mumpower: “I disagree with you here. This is what you do when you aren't strong enough to start a war but want to impress your enemy.
Guerrilla warfare is the great equalizer but what hasn't been properly considered here is how bloodthirsty the American people are going to be after this.”
Ursine: “Amen to that. They have evacuated the downtown EPA offices; Mrs. U is on her way home in the train, where she reports that the trains are loaded to the gills.”
Musubi: “I'd agree with Walid, if someone were fucked in the head enough to try to start a war with the US (and you would think no one would be that stupid), this is how I would think it'd go down. Someone is going to fry for this, though. Remember the West Wing ep when the US helicopter is shot down and Bartlett wants to set up a 'disproportionate response?' I image that's how this is going to go down.”
Kim Hollis: “***********The World Trade Center is gone.***********” – 10:32 a.m.
Tony Kollath: “Everybody here is expecting to be sent home at any time, but most people who live in northern va won't be able to get home.” – Editor’s note: Tony is one of several BOP residents in the Washington D.C. area
Ursine: “The Metro goes through the Pentagon at one point....”
C. Hyde: “I need a video feed! I can't get any info, every g-d news site is fried solid.....unless of course we've got some DOS attacks working in conjunction with all this.
Pretty successful start to a war, you've got to admit. Total shutdown of US markets and airlines. Total meltdown of European markets.
Christ on a crutch.”
Ursine: “...the main news links are jammed here - NYT, Washington Post, even the BBC.
This is so incredibly ghastly. This is like something out of Clancy crossed with DIE HARD.”
Musubi: “Fuck this. Someone is going to pay for this.”
Duke Fleed: “I am chilled to the bone. The horror of this is unbelievable.
I have a friend leaving for Thailand on the 23rd to spend a year and there's no way in Hell i'm letting him go.
I just remembered who the president is. This is really fucking bad.”
C. Hyde: “WBUR reports that one of the planes was American Airlines Flight 11 Boston-LA out of Logan.”
Woody: “Thank you! Any word on the second?”
C. Hyde: “No, but if i get any more news i will post it here IMMEDIATELY.”
Woody: “Thanks!
As i'm sure you can tell, since i'm a mile away from this nonsense, i can't exactly get a hold of anyone.”
Kim Hollis: “The LAX is confirmed for the Boston flight. I'm now hearing the second plane came from Dulles.”
Reagen Sulewski: “Boston to LAX flight is confirmed by Reuters.”
C. Hyde: “Another plane has just crashed in Western Pennsylvania.”
Ash: “I'm watching stuff that looks like a bad Tom Clancy novel. Two of the world's tallest buildings collapsing live before my eyes. Unbelievable carnage. My voice cracked up as I called Esther in to look at it, much like the CNN's reporters is as I type.
I hope that everyone is safe and there is no more to come. I'm on the move so I can't stay.
My God.
Peace everyone.” – Editor’s note: Ash is a resident of England who was on vacation in Belgium at the time of the attack.
David Mumpower: “Pet(ronella)? I know we're very low priority milady but please check in if/when you can. We're just worried because we care about you.
(thank God you're fine, Woody...don't even feel like joking about it right now)”
Woody: “Thanks. just to give you all some perspective on how terrified i am right now...
Yahoo map of New York City
The star is where i am. the black dot is where the World Trade Center used to be.”
Feathers: “Stay safe. I hope those you love are okay, too.”
Jerry Simpson: “Why the Pentagon? of all the demoralizing icons in DC, why there?”
Ursine: “CNN says that normally 50k people work in the World Trade Center towers, and 30k in the Pentagon.”
C. Hyde: “Ummmm. they're now reporting yet another plane crash at Camp David. And there's supposedly another hijacked jet in the air.”
David Mumpower: “I don't have a good visual of it yet but part of the Pentagon has collapsed.”
David Mumpower: “Panic journalism is already a factor (which is what was being planned on by the terrorists). CNN was reporting further explosions near the WTO before realizing it was just resoundings from the collapsed buildings.
MSNBC has just recanted on like 4 news "possibilities" but there is definitely a school being evacuated due to a bomb in NYC near the WTO. They have it on video right now.
Still haven't seen video on the Pentagon on any of the major news channels so I'm getting skeptical about the veracity of that report.”
C. Hyde: “Yeah, they just recanted an earlier report about a car bomb outside the state department as well.”
Kim Hollis: “Pretty sure the Pentagon report is correct.”
Musubi: “ABC radio had a reporter live on scene that said she could see a portion of the Pentagon is collapsed.”
C. Hyde: “I saw film of the pentagon smoldering earlier, so that one is probably accurate.”
David Mumpower: “And there is CNN with the video. Part of the Pentagon has unbelievably collapsed.”
Lexy: “My dad just got home. Walked all the way to Chelsea. Thank goodness he was wearing his knee brace. Big fucking sigh of relief. Saw one of the towers go down.”
Kim Hollis: “Second plane was American Flight 77, a Boeing 757 from Dulles to LAX.”
Lexy: “I wonder what this portend's for my Thursday flight to NC, via Dulles. In fact, I wonder how soon air travel will be reinstated at all.”
Duke Fleed: “But from watching TV, I've seen at least two new smoke stacks close to where the WTC used to be, one of them major. Haven't heard anything official.”
C. Hyde: “Looks like the plane that crashed near pittsburgh was a United flight going from Newark to San Francisco.
Still nothing about the rumored 2nd plane out of Boston.”
Lexy: “My mother takes that flight about once a month.”
David Mumpower: “The planes themselves are a source of fascination to me. Were all these people on board already dead when the planes crashed?”
Ursine: “You'll never know until the black boxes are retrieved. My guess is not, but how in the world would they get the pilots to fly into a building??”
Tony Kollath: “Yeah. i'm supposed to be from DC to Denver Thursday evening.”
David Mumpower: “Two planes for UA and two for American. That's a PR nightmare for them on the side. Just why the fuck do we have airport security anyway?
Estimating the casualties in the thousands but apparently a lot of people in the upper portions of the buildings were evacuated. They're interviewing a dude who was on the 81st floor when it broke right now.
Call 877-Red-Cros and they might be able to give you information about your family's safety.”
C. Hyde: “I'd think it would be a waste of energy to kill them if you're just gonna crash the plane anyhow.”
Lexy: “But you've got to keep them under control to prevent them from stopping you. This certainly changes the SOP for what to do when you're on a hijacked plane.”
Musubi: “Please stop this line of discussion.”
David Mumpower: “Agreed (with Hyde) but I'm wondering if the one in Pittsburgh crashed because the people realized they were going to die anyway and just swarmed the terrorist.
Sorry, Moose, I'm not being gruesome here. The line of thinking is that SOP on planes has been to sit idly by in the past. We're seeing the flaw with that right now.”
Musubi: “Same thought crossed my mind about the Pittsburgh flight too. I know you aren't trying to be gruesome, and I'm not mad at you or anything, it's just very very hard for me to read it.
I haven't been able to do any work today, and as a gov't employee who works very near a federal bldg, we have been told we can take vacation if we choose. But I'm kind of scared to even move. This is horrifying.”
Ursine: “Musubi, as another Fed, my comment to you is that getting out is not a bad idea. They have evacuated and closed the Chicago Federal complex, and my wife's on her way home. This is so horrendous....gunships over DC. Fighters over DC and NYC.”
David Mumpower: “Musubi, please go home. This really goes for everybody on the west coast because I love you all and I'm worried about you. The guards are up now so while I think it's probably all safe, I can't shake the notion that the people who planned this would have taken that knowledge into account and would set up something that would work on a time delay. If you don't have to be at work today, get in your car (*not* public transportation) or get a taxi, go home and get back in bed.
Boston to LAX 767 is confirmed to have gone down but they didn't say where. Would that make it the plane that hit the Pentagon?”
C. Hyde: “i believe that that was one of the planes that hit the World Trade Center.”
Scooter: “I'm pretty sure that the Cantor main offices were in the WTC.” - Editor’s note: Cantor Fitzgerald and BOP were on friendly terms and our site featured a column involving them in 2001
Reagen Sulewski: “ A person who answered the phone on the trading floor at interdealer-broker Cantor Fitzgerald, located near the top of the World Trade Center, said "We're fucking dying," when asked what was happening, and hung up. There was screaming and yelling in the background. A follow-up call was not answered."” – Editor’s note: Reagen wrote the Cantor Fitzgerald column
David Mumpower: “just held up a picture of his friend's brother who he was talking on the phone with when the first explosion was heard. The phone was cut off and he's not heard back so they're showing the picture up in the hopes someone at a hospital might have seen him.
The man was on the 102nd floor and worked for Cantor.”
Ursine: “Tom Clancy (who suggested this sort of thing in one of his novels) is on CNN now...
Clancy is saying that (and I agree) that finding more than one guy who's able to fly a multi-engine plane of these sorts, and then into a building is just unimaginable...it's just gotta be someone with great resources.”