Discover Yahoo! With Your Friends

Explore news, videos, and much more based on what your friends are reading and watching. Publish your own activity and retain full control.

To get started, first

YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    9/11: The Day the Post-World War II Generation Lost Our Innocence

    Once Thought to Be Untouchable, We Soon Learned Just How Vulnerable We Were

    By K Kerrebijn | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Tue, Sep 20, 2011
    This story comes from the Yahoo! Contributor Network, where individuals publish their unique perspectives on some of the world’s most popular websites.
    Do you have a story to tell? Become a Yahoo! contributor

    Yahoo! is asking Americans how September 11 changed them. Below is an account from a reader.

    As I was laying in bed pondering what to do on my birthday, the phone rang. My 3 younger children had left for school and my husband had gone to work. I excitedly answered it expecting the caller to wish me a happy birthday, but what I was told left me in total disbelief. Instantly I turned on the TV and called my oldest daughter in, she was pregnant with my first grandchild. Soon after, we watched in horror, it was the second plane hitting the second tower. I held my daughter close, we cried, we knew this was no accident.

    [Your story: How has September 11 changed you?]

    Later we would hear of more tragedy in Pennsylvania and the Pentagon. It was then that I realized you must savor every moment with those you love. I, like many others, became very patriotic and participated in every event to commemorate in our community. I began to thank service people when I saw them in uniform or learned of their service. I became vigilant about my surroundings. My birthday no longer has significance because I'm a year older, but because it is the day that our entire way of thinking was changed forever.

     

    There are no comments yet

    [ [ [['A picture is worth a thousand words', 5]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/why-facebook-bought-instagram-4-theories-160400376.html', '[Related: Why Facebook bought Instagram: 4 theories]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 9]], 'http://contributor.yahoo.com/join/yahoonews_virginiabeach', '[Did you witness the jet crash? Share your story with Yahoo! News]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Dick Clark', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/dick-clark-dies-at-82-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/c/21/c217c61aa2d5872244c08caa13c16ec5.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'Reuters', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
    [ [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

    News For You

    Loading...

    US News »

    • U.S. Secret Service chief: no security breach from scandal Susan Cornwell
      Director of the Secret Service Mark Sullivan at the National Peace Officers Memorial Service on Capitol Hill in Washington

      WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A prostitution scandal in Colombia involving U.S. Secret Service employees did not result in any security breach and was not behavior that reflected the high ethical standards of the agency, the director of the agency said. Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan defended the culture of the agency in …

    • San Francisco best for parks, Fresno worst
      Two men look out over the San Francisco skyline from above Dolores Park in San Francisco

      (Reuters) - San Francisco has the best city park system in the United States, while its neighbor less than 200 miles away, Fresno, has the city parks most needing improvement, according to a new ranking of 40 local park systems released by the Trust for Public Land. Using "the most comprehensive park rating system ever …

    • Mayor seeks more federal help to slash New Orleans murder rate Kathy Finn
      Mitch Landrieu, Lt. speaks at the 10th Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills

      NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu asked the federal government on Tuesday for more help fighting a murder epidemic that took almost 200 lives in his city last year. Landrieu, who invited federal intervention in fighting local crime shortly after taking office two years ago, sent a letter to President …

    • Chicago police erase 1968 stain at last with NATO summit Andrew Stern
      Police arrest a man during an anti-NATO demonstration in downtown Chicago

      CHICAGO (Reuters) - The NATO summit ended without major violence between police and protesters, winning praise for Chicago Police Chief Garry McCarthy and helping erase bad memories of the bloody street battles here during the 1968 Democratic convention. Ever since anti-Vietnam protesters were beaten in what a commission …

    • Thousands walk to mark year since tornado hit Joplin, Missouri Kevin Murphy
      Artists Emily Frankoski and Dolores Bilke paint a tornado damaged tree in Joplin

      (Reuters) - An estimated 5,000 people participated on Tuesday in a "walk of unity" to Joplin, Missouri, along the path of a deadly tornado that tore through the city one year ago, killing 161 people. The anniversary of the tragedy also was marked by President Barack Obama, who traveled to Joplin to give the commencement …

     
    Episode 11: Hard times for Hometown Hardware
    Should Bill and Donna take on more risk to boost their business? Join the conversation.
    Episode 10: Mother's Day Tribute
    Remake America celebrates moms everywhere.
    Episode 9: A prosthetic for Kyle?
    Wounded veteran Kyle lost his hand during an explosion in Iraq.
    Learn more about Remake America »