I remember once putting in a Trade for ValueJet (one of their planes exploded and they were most likely liable). I put in a buy thinking the stock was too badly hit. But I still felt bad making a trading decision so clearly linked to human tragedy. The weird thing is that the trade just disappeared. I called the broker, they had no record of it--and it was a market order. I didn't complain about it at the time (and it prove to be a dog). But I just stopped trading for awhile. I just felt kind of ill. Just thought I'd share; I know it's not at all comparable to what you went through.
I came into work and my coworker called and said a plane hit the World Trade Center. Well, since I live in Baltimore, MD, I thought about our "smaller" World Trade Center in the Inner Harbor region -- but then he said it was one of the towers in NY. I tried to log onto CNN but couldn't get onto their site. I tried MSNBC and a few others, but I couldn't access anything really. I tried to call someone on my cell-phone, but that wasn't working either. He then came in and said another plane had hit the other tower. I finally got onto CNN's website and all they had was a white screen with one headline and a picture of one of the tower's on fire. My first reaction was, "this is a dream -- but everything is so realistic! It must be a lucid dream." I then remember hearing that the Pentagon was on fire, and I thought, "this isn't a dream, this is a lucid nightmare!" We closed up shop early and went over to the local bar where they had televisions. I saw the first tower collapse and I just started crying. I know it isn't the right thing for a man to be doing, but it was just too overwhelming for me -- and the thought of a third World War and reports that a plane was headed for the capital -- it was like everything in my life was over and there would never be a "normal reality" again. I went home and watched the rest with my parents and brothers, and we basically all sat around speechless while watching the footage. No matter how many times they replayed it, each time I saw it, it was like seeing it for the first time. If someone does that to your country, they don't just destroy two important buildinds and kill a lot of people -- they violate and trespass on the very essence of what it means to be a compassionate human with morality. Quite literally, it was the epitome of pure evil. aphie
I'll never forget Mark Haines (CNBC) saying that it appears a plane has hit one of the World Trade Center towers. I immediately invisioned a small Cessna wedged between 2 of the steel columns. I'll never forget the gaping hole and the silhouetted image of the plane's outstretched wings in the first tower. What really sucks is that my baby daughter was born 2 weeks later so now her birthday will be forever preceeded by remembrances of 9-11. The most aproppo headline was in the SF Examiner (attached).
Thank you. I've been wanting to see this again for some time. Let's never forget. I was in Manhattan inking my deal on 9/6. It was a beautiful day to be in a beautiful city. I remember flying out. What a sight. Leaving LaGuardia we circled west and south right around the whole incredible place. All the way down the eastern corridor, flying over the historical landmarks, the bozo male stewardess regaled us with a revision of history, about how democrats did everything that was ever good in this country. First off, the democratic party of history is not the democratic party of today. But that doesn't matter to people like him. Neither do facts. The sunset scenery was so awesome it totally blew his BS away and made the flight excellent in spite of it. Anyway, I hadn't been set up to trade yet by 911. I was praying in the morning. My wife came in and told me what happened. We immediately turned on the toob. I will never forget Dan "the Eunich" Rather saying, "We DON'T know who did this." I turned to my children and told them, "that man is lying. We do know who did it. It was Osama Bin Laden and his people." Of course everyone knew this. But that didn't stop the emasculated (or is it traitorous) talking heads from doing what they get paid to do. The markets stayed closed. I determined that I would not short when they reopened. It was just something small I could do, to deny myself, to pay some little respect. And I still haven't got my head around what happened. And I still weep when I think about it. And has anyone said it? <font size = 8>Let's roll!</font>
"The markets stayed closed. I determined that I would not short when they reopened. It was just something small I could do, to deny myself, to pay some little respect." That's nice. I shorted estx50/dax into 9/11 morning. Why? Well, before I even knew what had happened in New York, prices started slipping rapidly in small spurts, more so than normal. Had been trading up all day mind you. Got my signal so I took it. A little blurb then flashed across DJnews, "plane flies into WTC". For some reason, my brain immediately thought of a cessna, and I suppose a large majority of market participants thought that way too, since prices hadn't really plunged yet (50-90). Something was amiss (indeed) however, when I couldn't get a fill on Eurex! Finally 80 points later, I called my broker (wasn't with IB then) and started bitching-putting it nicely- about my relatively large sell market order not getting filled (still "working/pending" at the time. Had experienced technical glitches with Patsystem in prior days, so I was a little pissed and a little concerned (ok more pissed than concerned). I told the broker to cancel the previous dead order. While still on the phone with him, I noticed the log clear up, so I tried shorting again at market. I got filled this time. I don't normally have the news on, but from the sound of his voice (confusion and panic) and comment, "something major going-on in US", I had to tune in. As we spoke, the market rallied about 16 points against me. I let it run. Given behaviour, I thought it seemed ok. Then I turned on the tv. Dear God. I shorted some more. Time didn't seem real that day. Measured instead by a series of events and horrified responses. I watched as the 2nd plane crashed into the other tower. Then prices really went into a downward spiral. It kept bouncing off the lows, but the finale didn't happen till the first building came down. I am shedding a few tears as I write this, thinking about the lives that were lost, the chaos, falling bodies. I closed my position the next day, and didn't short again.
This could only happen with you on board. Never heard a political comment by a flight attendent in my life. But I probably haven't flown enough. Of course when the WTC was concieved and construction started, John Lindsay was mayor of New York. Gee, he was a Republican. The first since LaGuardia in 1945. He was the one who insisted the World Trade Center be called that...and not named after the Rockerfellers. (Lindsay later smartened up, and switched parties) I lost a friend on 9/11, and a several acquaintances. My sister in law has 3 brothers and a father in the FDNY. Her dad was the pilot of the John Harvey fireboat, which pumped water and ferried survivors across the Hudson. Saddest day imaginable. They spent a month going to funerals. One of my best friends actually went to almost 40 funerals of co workers at Cantor Fitzgerald. Chas, what's all this I hear about you moving to North Korea? Is it true? rs7
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CRG204A.html http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/02_11_02_lucy.htm Yeah, that is real touching. It makes me want to go to DC, and Wall Street and get my hands on the necks of a few big time bankers and oil men and their CIA/military lackeys who fully set that whole thing up from way back in the early 1980's, and who had direct exact knowledge of what was going down. Not to mention stringing up both Bushes from the nearest lamp post. Find Bin Laden? Shouldn't be hard. Two of his brothers own houses right near Langely (CIA HQ). Bush sr. still fully has a business realtionship with the Bin Laden family. You traders turn off the propaganda box and regrow your brains. You think the CIA funded, armed and trained (through Pakistani ISI) Bin Laden & co. in the late 70's, set up the future Al Quaida recruits, funded the Tora Bora caves construction (Bin Laden Construction Co.- business is good: they got a job going right now about 40km from my house) and plenty of other stuff and then just walked away without leaving anyone around as an insider or keeping an eye on them, and constantly knowing what was going on? It is all one big time, well set-up long oil and defense money play. Oops, now I will probably be locked away in some camp with no 'constitutional rights'.