What are your memories of 9/11?

We all remember where we were when we first heard the news .. saw the video ... and told someone else.

We all remember that we couldn't sleep that night and how we awoke on the 12th hoping it had all been a dream.

On this seventh anniversary, we invite you to share your memories and read others in a special section on our website at WKYC.com.

The attacks of 9/11 certainly touched us all .. and I'll hope you'll share your thoughts both here and on wkyc.com.

Here's a compilation of what my co-workers at Channel 3 remember from that unforgettable day.



and here's my memories as I posted on wkyc.com:

9/11 still feels like a nightmare, even today.

I was home when the first plane hit, and when the second one pounded the other tower, I quickly jumped into the shower so I could get to work early. No reason to wait for the bosses to call; I knew immediately that as a TV journalist, it was time to get in to the office.

I was driving down Market Street in Akron when I heard a report on WAKR-AM that the Pentagon had been hit. At that moment, I realized that the whole country -- and not just New York City -- was in danger.

I arrived in the newsroom and tried to call a news crew that was over at the Summit County Courthouse to tell them to blow off the story they were on and get to the Akron-Canton Airport for reaction. Unfortunately, the judge made them turn off their cell phone so I couldn't reach them.

Videogapher Carl Bachtel and I watched in horror as the first tower fell. It wasn't long before the decision was made to carry local programming on the PAX channel (23) while WKYC carried NBC's national coverage.

We had live interviews with local ministers, a defense expert, and Akron-area residents who had relatives in New York. We also were reporting all of the closures, including the University of Akron and many of the larger Akron businesses.

I remember a call from a woman who asked me, "is it safe to drive?" I told her, "I think so." I realized right then that our lives had changed forever.

I remember saying to an intern, "next to Jesus Christ coming back as promised in the Bible, I don't know that we'll ever see a bigger news day."

Ironically, a news crew from PBS 45/49 was here that day to record video of our newsroom "in action" for a series PBS was doign on local news. Under the circumstances, I was surprised the crew stayed that day. Every time I review that documentary and I see the video of the people in our Akron newsroom working the phones and running around, I remind myself that it was 9-11.

At the end of the night, I was just exhausted .. like everyone else.

I also remember not being able to sleep, and waking up the next morning in time to see the beginning of the Today Show -- just to make sure I hadn't been dreaming.

For the next few nights, our Channel 3 and PAX23 newscasts aired commercial free .. so we all had to turn multiple stories to fill the newscast. It was a tremendous challenge because of the few staffers we had no duty, but we all pulled together to get the news on the air.

When I wasn't here in the newsroom, I was packing my bags .. assuming that the National Guard unit I was commanding would soon be called to duty. While my unit wasn't mobilized as part of the immediate security call-up, I was mobilized a little more than a year later as we headed to Iraq.

All of that started with 9-11. Eric